Chapter 95: War Breaks Out, Orochimaru Takes a Disciple!
Hearing that voice, Tsukasa raised his eyebrows, recognizing it as his younger brother Hidan.
But something wasn't right—hadn't Hidan been killed by Tōgō Hayato, stabbed through the heart?
Before Tsukasa could process this, Seiichiro opened the sliding door and walked out, veins throbbing on his forehead.
"How did this kid bite through the gag again?"
Hearing the noisy commotion from the opposite room, Seiichiro couldn't help but curse.
He quickly opened the door to reveal a figure bound to a wooden post in the center. Turning to Tsukasa, he said:
"This is the first matter."
"The brat keeps spouting nonsense, constantly yelling about you being his 'Jashin brother' and all that. But according to the information we obtained from interrogating the other ninja—"
"He and the jonin you fought, Tōgō Hayato, had a master-disciple relationship."
"Tōgō Hayato is closely connected to the earlier Kumogakure ambush. We originally wanted to kill this brat outright."
"But he has a special constitution, and he's connected to you."
"So it's up to you to decide what to do with him."
Seiichiro frowned as he pointed at Hidan bound to the post.
Hearing this, Tsukasa understood.
Tōgō Hayato had intended to manipulate and kill all of Hidan's closest connections, forcing him to suffer. Finally, he would reveal their master-disciple relationship, driving Hidan to utter despair and causing him to suffer beyond the limits of death itself.
Then he would sacrifice Hidan to achieve true immortality.
According to the original timeline, this sacrificial ritual should have coincided with a clash between Shinnō and Orochimaru. Ultimately, Tōgō Hayato would have been defeated, while Hidan narrowly survived—albeit driven insane.
As for himself, having preemptively killed Tōgō Hayato and scattered even his ashes, the ritual's reward should have been bestowed upon him—the only survivor—by Jashin.
However, the system had blocked this gift of unknown origin.
Ultimately, immortality fell to Hidan, whose body remained relatively intact, bringing him back to life and granting him the immortality he was destined to possess.
All in all, not the worst outcome.
Tsukasa stroked his chin thoughtfully.
At that moment, Hidan, having also heard the commotion, immediately began wriggling frantically against the wooden post, howling loudly:
"Hey! Hey! Is anyone there?!"
"What exactly are you going to do to me? Can you give me a straight answer?"
"You're scaring me with this!"
Seiichiro looked up at Tsukasa, his eyes cold as he asked again:
"Well? What should we do with him?"
Tsukasa stared expressionlessly at Hidan, who was wriggling like a caterpillar, and frowned:
"Kill him."
This troublesome bond is too dangerous.
It seriously affects my plan to die and collect the insurance payout!
Hearing this, Seiichiro said nothing, drew the long sword from his back, and stepped forward.
Seeing that he was actually serious, Tsukasa sighed and grabbed his arm.
"Forget it. Get him something to eat first."
"Send him back to Yugakure afterward. I don't really want to see him right now."
Seiichiro nodded, picked up the gag from the ground, and shoved it back into Hidan's mouth.
Then he closed the door and led Tsukasa downstairs to a private room on the second floor.
After they sat down, Seiichiro's face became serious as he said solemnly:
"Next, the second matter."
"During the three days you were unconscious, war broke out."
Hearing this, Tsukasa couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. This was actually good news for him.
Seiichiro continued:
"Two days ago, Sunagakure ended its conflict with Kirigakure and officially declared war on Konoha. Large-scale ninja warfare has already begun in the Land of Rain."
"The Third Shinobi World War has officially started."
"Iwagakure and Kumogakure are both getting restless. Unrest has already begun in the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Grass."
Tsukasa took a deep breath. "The Blood Pond Clan currently residing in Hell Valley is a very important strategic piece for Kumogakure."
"And wasn't our original mission to go to Hell Valley and support our clansmen there?"
Tsukasa suppressed his excitement and spoke righteously:
"What are we waiting for? We must depart for Hell Valley immediately!"
From the very beginning, Hell Valley had been Tsukasa's target destination for this trip outside the village.
It was now embroiled in conflict between Kumogakure, the Blood Pond Clan, and the Uchiha. Experts from all sides had gathered there:
The Two-Tails Jinchūriki, Kumogakure's elite forces, and even the Blood Pond Clan, who possessed abilities that could counter the Sharingan.
Furthermore, there was a wild card—En Oyashiro.
Mangekyō-level Blood Dragon Eye, Blood Dragon Avatar, Human Bombs, Ultimate Genjutsu—when all these abilities were combined in one person, even Tsukasa couldn't imagine how powerful he'd become!
And once there, he wouldn't need to think of any excuses for his insurance fraud scheme.
Different factions, opposing sides—all he had to do was fight!
Fight with everything he had, and that would be it!
However, at that moment, Seiichiro shook his head.
"No."
"Hell Valley doesn't need us for now."
"Elder Setsuna Uchiha contacted the clan three days ago and is heading to Hell Valley to take command personally. Captain Fugaku also mobilized the Uchiha specialists he brought on this mission—they've all gone to Hell Valley."
"The Kumogakure ambush failed. They couldn't kill the Elder, and their plan has completely collapsed."
"For now, Kumogakure and the Blood Pond Clan have settled into a temporary ceasefire."
"What?!" Tsukasa slammed the table and stood up, glaring at Seiichiro.
Kumogakure just lost once, so they're backing down?
Keep fighting, damn it!
If there's no fighting, what am I even doing in the Land of Hot Water? Just sightseeing?
Seiichiro's eye twitched as he looked at Tsukasa, speechless.
Even though he'd changed somewhat, he still couldn't understand such extreme belligerence.
"Calm down. This is only temporary stability. Kumogakure is taking action in the Land of Rice Fields, so things here are on hold."
Seiichiro analyzed calmly.
"As long as Kumogakure still wants the Blood Pond inheritance, we can't avoid this battle eventually."
Tsukasa frowned and sat down.
Seiichiro's assessment made sense. After the outbreak of the Shinobi World War, Kumogakure would undoubtedly prioritize invading the Land of Fire over the Blood Pond Clan.
According to the original timeline, Kumogakure would soon gather its forces to invade the Land of Fire from the Land of Rice Fields.
This would also be the first battle between the young Minato Namikaze and the Kumogakure brothers—the battle where the reputation of the Yellow Flash would spread throughout the ninja world.
Still, he felt somewhat dissatisfied. He looked up at Seiichiro and asked:
"Is there really no movement at all in Hell Valley?"
This question stumped Seiichiro. He rolled his eyes. "What else do you expect to happen there?"
Tsukasa frowned, deep in thought.
What kind of movement?
Obviously the actions of En Oyashiro!
With his wife already dead, he should have immediately begun his massacre of the Blood Pond Clan.
Tsukasa pondered this for a moment, then froze.
It dawned on him that his arrival had changed everything—unleashing a butterfly effect!
The Blood Pond Clan was under the Uchiha's surveillance. If En Oyashiro wanted to exterminate them and escape, he would need to break through the Uchiha defenses.
And now, Elder Setsuna Uchiha hadn't perished. Instead, he'd successfully led reinforcements to strengthen Hell Valley's defenses, forcing Kumogakure to back off.
Without Kumogakure's intervention to occupy the Uchiha, En Oyashiro wouldn't be able to escape even if he did exterminate the Blood Pond Clan.
From a strategic perspective, Tsukasa understood that the Mangekyō Sharingan marked the threshold of Kage-level power, and that En Oyashiro with his Mangekyō-equivalent Blood Dragon Eye was now incredibly powerful.
But En Oyashiro himself didn't know this.
Facing the Uchiha clan—who had imprisoned the Blood Pond Clan for nearly a century—En Oyashiro must have felt uncertain about his chances.
Therefore, he could only bide his time.
After realizing this, Tsukasa let out a long sigh, feeling as though the clouds had parted.
In that case, he only needed to wait quietly.
Just then, Seiichiro suddenly knocked on the table, signaling Tsukasa to refocus. Then he smiled and said:
"And one last thing—"
"Tsukasa,"
"After internal consultation, the clan has agreed to the request in the Third Hokage's letter."
"Now, you're more than just a ninja of the Uchiha clan."
Seiichiro brought out a tray.
On it lay a Konoha forehead protector and a ninja registration card.
"Congratulations. From now on, you're a disciple of one of the Legendary Sannin!"
Tsukasa was stunned, completely dumbfounded, as he looked up at Seiichiro in confusion.
What the hell is going on?
A disciple of the Sannin?
Who accepted me?
Could it be that my handsomeness has caused such a stir in the village that Lady Tsunade heard about it and immediately decided to take me as her apprentice?
"What's going on?"
Seiichiro kept him in suspense, raising an eyebrow with a smile. "At first, I didn't believe you."
"But as Shisui said, you really will be a bridge of communication between the clan and the village!"
Then, with a faint smile, he sighed admirably:
"Lord Orochimaru is such a good man!"
"Three days ago, he went to great lengths to save you, then left looking exhausted and grim."
"Who would have thought that the very next day he'd show up with Root operatives, ready to negotiate with Captain Fugaku about taking you as his apprentice?"
"He said he was impressed by your talent."
Tsukasa was stunned, completely shocked by this revelation.
End of Chapter 95
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