"TOBIRAMA-SAMA!!!"
Naori's eyes reddened with rage as she swung her kunai, severing the wooden spike beneath Tobirama's body.
Then she leaped away, carrying Tobirama.
Sadly, it was too late.
The attack came so suddenly and was so lethal!
There were no signs, and with one strike, it pierced Tobirama's heart, a vital point!
Such a grievous fatal wound—almost no ordinary ninja could survive, except perhaps Hashirama himself.
Even Tobirama was no exception.
Unless Tobirama were in the 'mad snake' laboratory decades later, where a heart transplant might keep him alive.
But this was the wilderness, a battlefield.
No equipment or advanced transplant surgery technology existed…
'Princess Tobirama' spat out a large mouthful of blood, his vision blurring, his body's vitality rapidly fading.
As the second leader of the Senju clan, the third leader of Konoha, the unseen ruler behind the Land of Fire…
Tobirama never imagined dying so randomly, so humiliatingly.
Even worse than dying at the hands of Kinkaku and Ginkaku…
If his future self knew, he'd laugh hysterically.
"Na…"
Tobirama could no longer speak, only gazing at the girl before him, overwhelmed with guilt:
'Naori, I'm sorry, I let you down!'
'And that damn bastard Izuna, where are you? Why haven't you come to help!'
'So slow, no wonder I killed you!'
'Just wait, I'll meet you all in the Pure Land; my brother will surely avenge me!'
'And he'll use Edo Tensei; I'll definitely return!'
Tobirama roared, screamed, and went mad in his heart…
But he couldn't stop the approaching death that swallowed his life, exhaling his final breath.
"——!"
For a moment, despair erupted in Naori's heart. But she didn't scream, wail, or cry.
She wasn't new to war, nor unfamiliar with death or holding the bodies of fallen comrades.
The Warring States Period in the Land of Fire had ended just over a year ago.
She'd fought in blood-soaked battlefields for years, unafraid or shaken by death like a little girl.
But at this moment, an unprecedented pain and rage exploded in Naori's heart, surging to her brain with overwhelming force!
*BOOOM!*
An invisible spiritual wave emerged, a shocking ocular power flooding into Naori's eyes.
Her perfect three-tomoe Sharingan eyes rapidly transformed, spinning and merging into a blazing red vortex, ink-like lines spreading like branches, forming three crystal-like petals, resembling a lone rose blooming in a cold wind, radiating a chilling yet warm new light.
Mangekyou Sharingan awakened!
Naori didn't know why witnessing Tobirama's death triggered such a massive spiritual surge, instantly activating the powerful Mangekyou Sharingan.
Her feelings for Tobirama weren't akin to those for close kin.
They were complex.
Love? Perhaps a little.
Admiration? Some of that too.
Mutual respect among geniuses? Plenty of that.
And camaraderie from fighting together? A bit of that as well…
But all those bits, when combined, carried an unexpectedly heavy weight.
Humans are such complex creatures.
There's pure, extreme love and friendship, but also tightly woven bonds hard to untangle.
At this moment, with Tobirama forcibly killed, this rage and emotion finally pushed Naori past the final threshold!
As a pure Uchiha, Naori could withstand the mental shock and backlash of awakening Mangekyou Sharingan, not fainting like Kakashi.
Coupled with the intense spiritual surge, her consciousness was exceptionally clear and furious.
She knew what she had to do and how to save Tobirama!
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!
Naori formed hand seals, summoning two shadow clones to protect herself and Tobirama.
She knew that after activating the forbidden technique, she'd lose most of her combat strength.
But she had to do it, had to activate it.
Izanagi!
Naori used her remaining Mangekyou Sharingan, forcibly activating the forbidden Izanagi again.
As the Uchiha clan's greatest master of this forbidden technique, she naturally knew Izanagi could 'turn all unfavorable realities into illusions.'
This included a teammate's death.
But activating it required immense chakra, and the Sharingan would go blind instantly!
She could no longer sustain the invincible effect for minutes.
But for Naori, it was enough!
All she wanted was to revive Tobirama and thwart the enemy's final conspiracy!
"Tobirama-sama! You can't die! I won't let you die!"
"Live again!"
Izanagi activated successfully, reality and illusion swirled and shifted, the forbidden technique's immense power reversing death once more!
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Tobirama's corpse turned illusory and faded, but soon, his living body materialized again.
"Hoo—!"
Tobirama gasped and regained consciousness, like a drowning man.
'Is this the Pure Land?'
'Why does my body still hurt so much?'
'Isn't it said only souls exist in the Pure Land?'
'Oh, I haven't asked Izuna how it feels after death.'
'And who's the bastard that attacked me? I, Senju Tobirama, won't let that bastard go!'
'Wait…'
'Why does this Pure Land feel a bit strange?'
Tobirama's heart filled with doubts.
He realized his body still hurt terribly, still paralyzed, with dislocated arms and jaw.
Clearly, Naori's Izanagi had a time limit; it couldn't restore Tobirama to peak condition, only to his paralyzed state before death.
"Tobirama-sama?"
Naori's murmur jolted Tobirama; this wasn't the Pure Land, it was a hellish reality!
He hadn't died, or he died and was revived?
But how?
Could it be that bastard Madara who revived him?
Tobirama stared at Naori before him, seeing her Mangekyou Sharingan eyes rapidly whiten, going completely blind!
In that moment, he realized Naori had sacrificed her other Mangekyou Sharingan to save him!
Wait, where did Naori get Mangekyou Sharingan?
Could it be…?
'Princess Tobirama's' heart ached, as if sliced apart, overwhelmed with misery!
His pride, confidence, wisdom, strategies, identity, strength… everything Senju Tobirama had didn't allow an Uchiha to sacrifice themselves to save him!
What was this?
How would he face other Uchihas in the future?
How could Tobirama repay this debt?!?
This Uchiha Naori was even 'eviler' than Uchiha Izuna!!!
"Uwu uwa~~~!"
"It's okay, Tobirama-sama, the important thing is you're alive!"
"Uhh—!"
"Calm down for now! The enemy's still here; we must hold out until Izuna-sama arrives!"
Naori, now blind, remained optimistic and gentle, struggling to carry Tobirama, hiding behind her two shadow clones, staying vigilant against enemy attacks.
But she knew the most dangerous moment had passed.
As long as she held on a bit longer, waiting for Izuna, it would all end.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
But at that moment.
"Hehehehe!"
"Finally succeeded!"
With a sly laugh, Black Zetsu, attached to White Zetsu, emerged silently from the ground.
He'd been hiding underground, waiting for this moment to launch a lethal strike!
Except for the Kyuubi's killing intent sense, almost no ninja below super Kage level could detect a carefully hidden Black Zetsu and White Zetsu.
Tobirama's senses were exceptional; theoretically, he might've detected them.
But in his terrible condition, paralyzed, unable to form seals, how could he activate his senses?
Coupled with exhaustion and carelessness after fighting the First Raikage, this was undoubtedly the best chance for a sneak attack.
And the result was excellent, instantly killing Tobirama.
Black Zetsu's true body had limited strength; even controlling White Zetsu, his Mokuton power wasn't very strong.
At best, it was Kage-level.
Even as the mastermind, he didn't dare appear before the First Raikage, lest he be accidentally killed by one strike.
Black Zetsu, waiting for thousands of years, was always patient.
Without ninety-nine percent certainty, he'd never show himself.
His appearance now proved he was confident of victory!
"You? Black Zetsu?!?!"
Naori's clone instantly recognized Black Zetsu and White Zetsu. The clone's Sharingan was fake and not yet blind, though it wouldn't last long.
She'd overheard Black Zetsu's information from Madara.
"How do you know me?!?!"
Black Zetsu was shocked, nearly fleeing in fear, but he held back.
Hiding for thousands of years, no one should know him, especially a young Uchiha female ninja.
She shouldn't possibly know him!
"Was this all your conspiracy?"
"Yes, me!"
Black Zetsu admitted confidently. Though curious and worried about how Naori knew him, the plan had progressed so far that he couldn't lose, so there was no reason to retreat or hesitate.
"So the First Raikage and First Mizukage were your doing?"
"Doing? Not quite. I just leaked some information, and they acted on their own. Fools desperate to protect themselves are easy to control and provoke, aren't they?"
Black Zetsu smiled, delighted.
He was the ninja world's top conspirator. Even beings like Madara and Hashirama were mere pawns he deceived and used at will.
His strength might be weak, but in cunning and deceit, even Tobirama paled in comparison.
Plus, he had many White Zetsus to infiltrate and spy.
With enough information, cunning intelligence, and a thousand years of planning, it was easy for Black Zetsu to deceive and provoke the First Raikage and First Mizukage.
He didn't even deceive them.
He used White Zetsu-disguised ninjas to logically leak Konoha's strength and threat to them.
The First Raikage and First Mizukage had no choice but to act.
"What's your goal?"
Naori deliberately asked, stalling for time while gathering information.
"My goal? To take Tobirama from you, of course!"
Black Zetsu's pride mixed with deep resentment and reluctance.
His original plan was going well.
Observing and provoking Indra and Asura's reincarnations across generations, he finally reached Hashirama and Madara's generation, both at the peak of normal ninjas, qualified to awaken Rinnegan and save his mother.
Thus, Black Zetsu began this conspiracy early, including provoking Izuna's death, altering the Uchiha's ancient stone tablet, and inciting Konoha's hatred toward the Uchiha…
All to force a rift between Madara and Hashirama, letting Madara gain Hashirama's cells, awaken Rinnegan, and execute the Moon's Eye Plan to free Kaguya.
But this perfect plan, with a bright future, somehow failed!
Black Zetsu had no idea what happened.
He only knew that after Hashirama met Madara, they fully reconciled, and Madara became the next Hokage's heir!
The developments after were even more absurd.
The two roamed the ninja world, laughing and talking, capturing the nine Bijuu, casually destroying Iwagakure and Sunagakure…
Meanwhile, Tobirama entered the Fire Daimyo's palace, secretly controlling the entire Land of Fire.
If this continued, the whole world would be theirs!
Somehow, Madara had acquired a pair of Rinnegan!
Even if Madara got Hashirama's cells and experimented, theoretically, he couldn't awaken Rinnegan without decades of accumulation and catalysts.
But facts were facts—he did!
This was beyond Black Zetsu's predictions and control, and he had no clue what caused the change!
No choice.
Black Zetsu couldn't just sit idly.
Since Madara had Rinnegan, he'd accelerate the rift between Madara and Hashirama.
Make Madara despair of the world, show him Infinite Tsukuyomi's beauty, and trick him into the Moon's Eye Plan!
But breaking the now-harmonious Madara and Hashirama was harder than ascending to heaven!
The only way Black Zetsu could think of was targeting their beloved siblings.
Izuna was long dead, leaving Tobirama as the only option.
Thus, Black Zetsu had long monitored Tobirama, sending many White Zetsus to disguise and spy.
Gradually provoking Kumogakure and Kirigakure to collaborate and set this trap.
All to take down Tobirama!
Originally, he should've taken the exhausted Tobirama at the daimyo's palace.
But Black Zetsu's perfect plan was disrupted by Izuna's unexpected revival, causing Tobirama to leave the village, making the first attack fail, only capturing Naori.
But Black Zetsu was cunning enough to adapt, setting this second trap.
Luring Tobirama here!
Though Izuna's revival and strength were slightly unexpected, by properly separating and defeating them one by one, Black Zetsu's victory odds remained high.
Like now!
"Your target was Tobirama-sama? Then why kill him?"
"Killing him was to weaken you! Think I don't know Izanagi's effects?"
Black Zetsu grinned.
He wanted a living Tobirama, but with limited trump cards, he took a risk.
After the First Raikage escaped, despite Tobirama and Naori's weakness, Naori's Izanagi hadn't fully ended, and she had another eye to activate it.
Even controlling White Zetsu, Black Zetsu wasn't sure he could win.
Or rather, he lacked full certainty before Izuna with his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan arrived.
He could quickly kill Naori and kidnap Tobirama.
So, striking Tobirama fatally, killing him to force Naori to use Izanagi again to revive him, thus blinding her other Sharingan.
That was Black Zetsu's conspiracy!
Facing a paralyzed Tobirama and a weakened, blind Naori, he could ensure taking them both without error!
Of course, there was risk.
What if Naori didn't revive Tobirama, or if the revived Tobirama recovered from his injuries… and so on.
The plan would fail.
But even if it failed, Black Zetsu would abandon everything, keep hiding, and wait for the next chance.
Now, his calculations succeeded!
Tobirama and Naori, stripped of combat ability, were Black Zetsu's!
What were Senju and Uchiha geniuses? Before Black Zetsu, just a bunch of foolish monkeys!
"You're… truly formidable…"
For the first time, Naori felt Black Zetsu's cunning and deceit, beyond human and ninja imagination, even exploiting emotions to the fullest.
The enemy was truly too evil!
"Thanks for the compliment. It's time—let's end this!"
Black Zetsu spoke proudly, waving his hand.
Suddenly, hordes of White Zetsu emerged from the ground around, attacking Naori and Tobirama simultaneously.
As Naori and Tobirama stalled for reinforcements, Black Zetsu had quietly gathered White Zetsu for an assault.
Now, clearly, Black Zetsu was one step faster, one step ahead!