A blinding white light.
Dust Release materialized.
"Damn it—!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils shrank. His aged face trembled, and he moved instinctively.
That old bastard actually attacked mid-conversation? He was never this shameless before!
At the very last second—
Hiruzen didn't have time to dodge completely, so he sprinted madly toward the hillside on his right.
At that moment, a massive, white, pot-lid-like shield spun through the air and slammed toward Ōnoki like a flying saucer.
Ōnoki was momentarily distracted.
Boom—!
The region targeted by Dust Release happened to envelop the incoming shield, instantly disintegrating it.
That pot-lid shield had bought Hiruzen a brief moment to escape. He broke out of the area of effect, though his helmet and half his white hair were sliced off by the edge of the technique.
A shadow loomed over the land.
"Huff—huff—"
Hiruzen panted heavily, face flushed, heart racing. He looked up to see a massive, purplish-red toad diving toward Ōnoki like a cannonball.
It was Gamaken of Mount Myōboku—the same one who had thrown the shield just now.
Whoosh—
Ōnoki narrowed his eyes and stared up at the enormous toad, which towered like a mountain and now raised its barbed trident to bring it down from above.
A roaring gust of wind.
Gamaken's blow carried the might of thunder, leaving Ōnoki with nowhere to flee.
"Heh... a toad from Mount Myōboku—so this is your trump card, Hiruzen?"
Ōnoki sneered and made no attempt to escape. Instead, he formed hand signs:
"Earth Style: Fused Rock Technique!"
Rumble—!
The earth trembled again. Both Iwa and Konoha shinobi looked toward the commotion. Their faces turned grim, and they quickly scattered.
The ground split open. A gray-yellow giant made of rock slowly rose before Ōnoki.
It extended both arms, forming a stone wall as sturdy as a fortress—positioned to shield Ōnoki.
"So this is what a fight between Kage looks like…"
"This level… far surpasses the limits of ordinary ninja!"
Both Iwa and Konoha shinobi murmured in awe.
At the frontlines, Hiruzen furrowed his brow, immediately analyzing the technique. It was a giant rock golem, summoned through refined Earth chakra and stone. Its attack and defense were entirely under Ōnoki's control and boasted tremendous durability.
Ōnoki smirked and continued.
In his youth, after witnessing Uchiha Madara's Susanoo, Ōnoki returned to Iwagakure, deeply shaken. He resolved to develop his own giant-summoning technique—thus this Earth Style jutsu was born.
"..."
Gamaken widened his giant amphibian eyes. Watching the rock golem emerge, he had no choice but to smash his trident down upon it.
Boom—!
Shards of stone flew in all directions.
The golem's left shoulder was struck, but it showed no expression. Towering more than ten meters, it stood firm, then slowly extended its arms to grab Gamaken.
"..."
Gamaken's palm bled from the shock. That strike had felt like hitting the world's hardest stone. The recoil had rattled his core.
But being lighter than the golem, he twisted in midair and narrowly evaded its grasp.
Before he could exhale in relief—
Ōnoki suddenly appeared silently behind him.
"Earth Style: Ultra-Added-Weight Rock Technique!"
He lightly tapped Gamaken's back with his palm.
Swish—
Gamaken's pupils shrank. His agile body suddenly felt like it had been filled with lead, slamming into the ground and creating a massive crater.
Dust billowed upward.
Ōnoki flew behind the rock golem and cast "Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique" on it, making it lighter.
Boom boom boom—
Now unshackled, the rock golem moved faster, leaping straight into the crater.
It pressed one hand on Gamaken's head and raised the other in a brutal punch.
At that moment, Hiruzen—unused to such high-intensity combat after all these years—finally came to his senses.
But before he could act, the exhausted Ōnoki appeared before him and punched him hard in the stomach.
Bang—
"Ugh…"
Pain exploded in Hiruzen's abdomen. He spat blood but still managed to form hand seals, exhaling a fierce gust:
"Wind Style: Cyclone!!"
Ōnoki dodged with a serious look. His aging body was still nimble as a rabbit, boosted by his Light and Heavy techniques, easily evading the wind attack.
He then moved behind Hiruzen and delivered a vicious kick.
Bang—
Hiruzen was hit square in the back, canceling his jutsu and slamming him to the ground.
Now visibly exhausted and disheveled, only half his white hair remained.
"Hmph, didn't expect you to be this old and weak!" Ōnoki mocked.
He then began teleporting and engaging Hiruzen in close-range taijutsu.
Veteran fighters can gauge each other's level in a flash. To Ōnoki, Hiruzen's explosiveness was still decent.
But his chakra—perhaps due to long disuse—was no longer as refined or under control. For a Kage, that was a fatal flaw.
Bang bang bang—
Hiruzen clenched his teeth, fists flying like a final flurry, but Ōnoki's Earth-wrapped arms blocked them with ease.
Pebbles flew.
Hiruzen's stamina waned. Ōnoki seized the moment, kicking him in the stomach and sending him flying.
Before Hiruzen could react, Ōnoki mounted him and began pummeling with his fists.
Thud—!
Hiruzen hastily raised his arms, but still took several blows to the face.
"Ha! How pathetic!"
Ōnoki laughed as he looked at Hiruzen's battered, half-bald, bruised face.
Though he wasn't in perfect shape either—his chakra nearly exhausted—he could still easily beat down Hiruzen.
As the battle between the two Kage neared its end…
Konoha's morale collapsed.
The Konoha shinobi on the battlefield cried out:
"Lord Hokage!!!"
"This can't be happening…"
"That's our strongest Hokage!!!"
---
Elsewhere…
Akatsuki Base.
In a cold, dark underground cavern, Orochimaru followed Zetsu down a branching corridor.
"Your last experiment failed again. I'm warning you—the leader is already very unhappy with your performance. If you don't want divine punishment, you'd better behave yourself," Zetsu said lazily.
Its body was strange—draped in an oversized red cloud cloak, nearly scraping the tunnel ceiling, yet it moved with steady, precise steps.
"Hehehe… just give me one more funding request, and this experiment will be complete. Wait a second… isn't this the wrong corridor? This doesn't lead to the treasury, does it?" Orochimaru asked, glancing around suspiciously.
His pale right hand lifted from within the red cloud cloak, pushing the dark round sunglasses on his nose as he asked in a deep voice:
"Oh? The treasury was relocated? You know how Kakuzu hates keeping money in one place for too long. We're almost there."
Zetsu replied calmly.
"True." Orochimaru's lips curled slightly, but beneath the sunglasses, his face returned to its usual coldness.
"Now tell me—what have you been doing lately? And why are you wearing sunglasses? That's not your style, Orochimaru."
As Zetsu spoke, he turned his head. In his eyes, Orochimaru wearing sunglasses looked more like a blind man.
Orochimaru smiled. "I've been wandering the ninja world… searching for seedlings that pique my interest."
"Is that so?" Zetsu brought Orochimaru to the door of a dimly lit room and said in a low voice, "We're here."
Creak—
Zetsu pushed the door open. Inside, the lights were bright and the layout was minimal. Zetsu led Orochimaru in.
Suddenly, the door slammed shut.
A familiar silhouette emerged from behind a vermillion pillar—masked, grim-faced… Kakuzu.
"Heh heh…"
Orochimaru still smiled. His eyes behind the sunglasses swept across Zetsu at his side. He stepped back half a step, hands twitching slightly beneath the cloak.
Internally, he sighed—just as Yu had warned, there was no going back to Akatsuki now.
"Orochimaru, you deserve to die."
Kakuzu walked toward him slowly.
"Oh?"
Orochimaru replied calmly.
Hiss—
He flicked out his long tongue to lick his lips, noticing a disturbance behind him. He turned to look.
From behind Zetsu's massive frame, a faint rustling emerged.
Hiruko crawled from beside the door, hunched and dragging himself forward, cutting off Orochimaru's retreat.
From behind, Sasori's icy gaze locked onto Orochimaru's back.
"I've always found you annoying," Sasori said coldly. "Not sure why, just don't like you."
"Hehe… All I did was borrow a bit of the organization's money. Is this really worth all the fuss?"
Orochimaru's smile remained as he casually stepped away from Zetsu and turned to face the three Akatsuki members.
He then removed his sunglasses—revealing a pair of three-tomoe Sharingan.
All of them were S-rank rogue ninjas. Orochimaru didn't fear any one of them individually. But facing two at once? That was tricky.
"Sharingan…"
Kakuzu and Sasori's eyes lit up at the sight of those legendary eyes, each falling into thought.
"The leader was right. You recently went to Konoha," Zetsu stated coldly.
"So what?" Orochimaru smirked. "Did my actions interfere with some secret plan of the organization?"
Kakuzu's tone was icy:
"Even without the leader's orders, I've long wanted to kill you. Your head's worth a lot. It'll make up for the treasury losses."
Inside Zetsu, Black Zetsu's eyes narrowed—his thoughts tangled.
Only if the Uchiha Clan was reduced to just Madara and Obito could his plan to save his mother go smoothly.
But thanks to Orochimaru, another Uchiha—Uchiha Yu—had appeared out of nowhere.
Black Zetsu hated Orochimaru so much he nearly ground his molars to dust.
"So there's no room for discussion…"
Orochimaru shook his head helplessly. His three-tomoe Sharingan scanned Kakuzu and Sasori.
Now that he possessed the Sharingan, he needed real combat data to analyze how much it could enhance him.
Although he knew—this fight wouldn't yield much data.
Riiip—
Orochimaru tore off his Akatsuki cloak and casually tossed it aside, revealing the usual pale yellow robe beneath.
The battle began.
Orochimaru vs. two.
Zetsu watched like an observer.
Five minutes later…
The dust settled.
The underground chamber lay in ruins. Stone pillars had collapsed, half the ceiling caved in.
Orochimaru's lower body was crushed under a boulder. Surrounding him were dozens of red-robed puppets—each piercing his body with sharp blades.
"Cough, cough…"
Orochimaru's face was pale, blood gushing from his mouth. He lay on the cold floor, Sharingan still active.
Kakuzu flicked his cloak, still unsatisfied, and stepped forward to grab Orochimaru's eyes.
"Your strength is mediocre," he muttered, "but these eyes… not bad."
Before he could finish—
Sasori coldly reminded, "That's just a snake clone."
"…"
Kakuzu's expression twisted.
Orochimaru's body began to distort, then disintegrated into countless colorful snakes that slithered into cracks and disappeared.
"I hate snakes like this!" Kakuzu snarled, stomping one into paste and kicking it aside viciously.
"I'll report to the leader—let me handle this bastard personally!" Sasori turned to leave, controlling Hiruko.
Then—
Zetsu spoke up:
"The leader has a new mission. The situation in the ninja world is changing. It's time to push forward the plan to capture the Tailed Beasts."
Sasori and Kakuzu froze.
---
A few kilometers from Akatsuki's base…
In a forest.
Orochimaru, still wearing his sunglasses, received feedback from his snake clone and sighed:
"Just as Yu said. By helping him, I've stepped on the toes of either the Akatsuki leader or the masked man behind him. There's no going back."
He disappeared into the shadows.
Now that he had the Sharingan, Orochimaru's biggest headache was chakra allocation.
If the chance arose, he still wanted to take Itachi's body. Without it, he couldn't unleash the full power of these eyes.
---
Land of Water. Western border. A remote island.
Seagulls circled overhead. Waves lapped against the beach.
A ship approached the dock from afar. On the deck, many Uchiha looked excitedly toward the port.
"We've reached the border. Just two more islands and we'll be at Kirigakure."
Mei Terumi explained eagerly.
Yu nodded slightly and walked from the bow to the cabin—where he found Tsunade, still lying down after two days. Her expression was cold.
Seeing no one else around, Yu spoke calmly:
"Care for a chat?"
"…"
Tsunade shot him a scornful look and turned to leave—until she saw the green medicine in his hand.
The two stepped to the quiet right-side corridor behind the ship's railing.
Tsunade took the vial, her thoughts in turmoil. She couldn't focus on analyzing this strange medicine, and handed it back to Yu.
"That night… I'll take responsibility."
Yu quietly pocketed the vial, looking a bit guilty as he studied her face.
Tsunade glared sideways, voice full of fury:
"What you left in me… I've already expelled with chakra. There's nothing between us!"
Yu: "?"
Tsunade turned to leave.
Behind her, Yu called out:
"I heard about your past from Shizune. Once this Kirigakure mission is over, I'll find a way to bring back the one you love most."
Her angry expression froze. She stood stunned, thoughts in disarray.
Then a shout from above:
"Six o'clock! Enemy attack!!" yelled Nonou.
Before anyone could react—
The ship trembled. The sea roared. This passenger vessel—rented by Mei—spewed black smoke as it was sliced cleanly from below.
Rumble—!
The ship capsized.
Yu, Tsunade, Mei, Nono, Ao, and the other Uchiha stood on the slanted deck as it began sinking. Shizune clutched a small pig.
Tamao and Minami dove into the sea, quickly rescuing the drowning captain and crew.
Everyone looked ahead—
At the bow, two figures stood with their backs to them—each carrying bizarre swords.
Mei's pupils trembled.
The one with the greatsword Samehada, Kisame's predecessor—Hoshigaki Fuguki—turned around, his eyes falling on Mei's figure.
He sneered:
"Running with Uchiha now, Mei? You've fallen to the dark side!!"
°°°
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