However…
Was there something she had forgotten to ask?
That's right!
Tsunade suddenly reacted.
"Akihito, earlier you said you warned Orochimaru not to lay a hand on your clansmen. Don't tell me he set his sights on your clan for his human experiments?"
"That disgusting bastard!"
Akihito nodded. "More or less. Orochimaru has mastered a forbidden technique called Living Corpse Reincarnation. It allows him to transfer his consciousness into another person's body and achieve a form of immortality."
Tsunade froze for a moment before realization dawned on her.
No wonder, when she had met Orochimaru, she had wondered why he hadn't aged a day after so many years.
Even Jiraiya now had a head full of white hair, wrinkles lining his face, showing signs of age.
So that was it—he had developed such a twisted forbidden jutsu.
The current Orochimaru was certainly no longer in his original body.
Who knew how many bodies he had already switched?
"So… he set his sights on your clan? He wants a vessel with Uchiha blood?"
"More precisely—Sasuke."
"Uchiha Sasuke?!"
Tsunade was speechless.
Orochimaru truly had guts.
To openly target the disciple of the "Flame Demon of Konoha"—was he tired of living?
...
Meanwhile—
Inside the Four Violet Flames Formation.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
"Summoning Jutsu! Impure World Reincarnation!"
"One! Two!…"
The coffins opened.
The First Hokage and the Second Hokage stepped out.
Seeing the two teachers he respected most standing before him once more, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression turned sorrowful and furious.
"Orochimaru, you dare to toy with the dead. You will not meet a good end!"
Orochimaru sneered.
"Can you understand it? The sense of accomplishment and joy that comes from hurting someone you once called 'teacher.' I prepared this spectacle just so you could experience it yourself. Enjoy it, Teacher…"
Soon, the Third Hokage found himself suppressed by the combined assault of the First and Second Hokage, struggling on all fronts.
On Akihito's side—
"That's… Grandfather and Great-Uncle!"
"Damn it! Orochimaru—he deserves to die!"
Seeing Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama reanimated through Impure World Reincarnation, Tsunade's eyes widened.
Her expression shifted from disbelief to rage.
Clenching her fists, she moved to rush forward without hesitation—
But Akihito stopped her.
"Tsunade, don't be impulsive." He grabbed her hand.
She struggled fiercely.
"Let go of me, Akihito! That bastard Orochimaru dares to desecrate Grandfather and Great-Uncle—unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable!!!"
Enraged, Tsunade's strength was astonishing.
"Don't worry. After this, I'll personally hand Orochimaru over to you. You can deal with him however you like. But for now…
Let's not interrupt this reunion between master and disciple."
It took Akihito quite some effort to calm her down.
Given Tsunade's turbulent emotions, he decided to divert her attention by taking her to check on the other battlefields.
The fight between Orochimaru and the Third Hokage wouldn't end anytime soon.
...
A corner of Konoha—
Boom! Boom!
"Hisss—!"
Four or five giant serpents, summoned forth, rampaged without restraint.
In an instant, sections of Konoha's walls and countless residential buildings were destroyed.
With long purple hair, clad in ANBU armor and wearing a fox mask, Uzuki Yūgao stood facing a massive serpent, katana in hand.
She was already wounded, her expression grave.
Now assigned under ANBU Commander Tsunade, Yūgao had been dispatched to intercept the Sand shinobi during the sudden assault.
She had already eliminated a squad of Sand ninja.
The price—moderate injuries and the loss of several teammates.
Now, faced with giant serpents wreaking havoc across the village, how could she not intervene?
"Hisss—!"
The serpent flicked its tongue and lunged at her, maw wide open.
At the critical moment, Yūgao used the Body Flicker Technique to evade.
Her figure leapt—
Suspended midair for a fleeting moment, she unleashed her signature move.
"Konoha-Style Kenjutsu — Hazy Moon Dance!"
As she swung her blade in the air, the katana traced a crescent arc, leaving behind illusory afterimages like a hazy full moon.
The serpent, enraged at missing its strike, lunged upward again.
Yūgao's speed exploded in an instant—
Slash!
She landed.
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, the massive snake's head fell to the ground.
Yūgao's breathing grew heavy and uneven.
She had already endured a brutal fight earlier, and unleashing her ultimate technique had drained her stamina even further.
Her current strength was not much different from how it had been in the original timeline.
In contrast, Kurenai and Tsunade, who spent much time around Uchiha Akihito, had grown significantly stronger under his influence.
It was a matter of choice.
After realizing that Akihito likely had no such feelings for her, Yūgao had forced herself to pull back, gradually ceasing to hover around him like Kurenai and the others did.
Even so, restraint did not equal release.
A person one had secretly loved and chased since their days at the Ninja Academy could not simply be forgotten.
People are often trapped for a lifetime by what they could not obtain in youth—until something or someone finally resolves that lingering knot.
Yūgao was still trapped in that unresolved state.
Especially recently—
She had seen her former "rival," Kurenai, frequently entering and leaving Akihito's home.
Just days ago, she had even witnessed Akihito strolling through the streets with Kurenai and Tsunade.
In that moment, her composure had shattered.
She regretted it.
Regretted giving up too easily.
At that instant—
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The sharp whistle of projectiles slicing through the air rang out.
A dense volley of shuriken shot toward the exhausted Yūgao.
"Watch out!"
Her comrades shouted in alarm.
Startled, Yūgao snapped back to her senses.
Her katana flashed, deflecting the incoming shuriken.
Even so, several slipped through, grazing and cutting her.
"Die!"
From her flank, a Sand ninja seized the opportunity and lunged in with a vicious downward slash.
For a moment, Yūgao was stretched too thin to respond.
She could only watch as the Sand ninja's twisted grin loomed closer—
Am I going to die?
At the brink of death, her expression was strangely calm.
She closed her eyes.
Perhaps… death wouldn't be such a bad release after all.
Just as her life was about to fade—
Clang!
A crisp metallic snap rang out.
Yūgao slowly opened her eyes.
The blade before her had been cleanly severed, leaving only a broken hilt.
The Sand ninja collapsed to the ground, terror frozen on his face.
"Lord Akihito! It's Lord Akihito!"
"Lord Akihito is here—thank goodness!"
The excited shouts of Konoha shinobi echoed around her, jolting Yūgao fully awake.
At the same time, a voice she knew all too well sounded beside her.
"Well? Uzuki Yūgao, are you alright?"
It was him.
Akihito had come.
He had saved her.
Staring at the figure of Uchiha Akihito before her—
For a moment, Uzuki Yūgao was completely stunned.
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