"Lady Tsunade, why won't you wake up?"
"Sob... what will happen to the Leaf from now on..."
Inside the tent, Shizune clutched Tsunade's withered, aged hand, her face a mask of grief as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Naruto had ended the Pain invasion, and the dead had been restored to life. Everything should have been returning to normal.
But why...
Why did disaster keep striking the Leaf over and over?
First was the death of Jiraiya, then came Pain's assault.
The village had suffered a devastating blow, and Tsunade had collapsed after exhausting her chakra to protect the villagers. Then, Danzo had suddenly emerged to seize power.
If that were all, it might have been manageable, but after Danzo left, a group of uninvited guests had suddenly arrived.
The village's remaining forces were simply unable to resist them. They had stormed the Leaf's temporary camp, slaughtering shinobi and civilians alike.
Even the two elders and their families, as well as the Third Hokage's relatives, had perished under their blades.
Some of the victims were just children.
Although the attackers wore masks, those Sharingan eyes had long since betrayed their true identity.
They were undoubtedly Uchiha!
The only Uchiha currently known were Sasuke, who was with the Akatsuki, and that mysterious masked man.
When one considered that Sasuke was currently seeking revenge on the Leaf, the answer became obvious.
"The Akatsuki! And Sasuke Uchiha!"
Shizune collapsed to the ground, weeping. Perhaps sensing her disciple's grief, the fingers of the woman on the sickbed suddenly twitched.
Though the movement was slight, Shizune noticed it immediately.
She snapped her head up. Through a veil of tears, she watched as the elderly-looking Lady Tsunade slowly opened her eyes.
Joy replaced the despair on Shizune's face as she found the pillar of support she so desperately needed.
Wiping away her tears, her voice trembled uncontrollably.
"Lady Tsunade, you're finally awake."
"Everyone in the village has been waiting for you to wake up."
Tsunade felt groggy, her consciousness not yet fully returned.
She opened her eyes to see Shizune's tear-stained face, where grief and relief were intertwined.
"Shizune... I thought I heard you crying..."
"What has happened to the village now?"
"Lady Tsunade! Please focus on your recovery first. I'll tell you everything later."
The Uchiha who had returned to the ninja world were unaware of these events.
By now, following Shisui's lead, the group had already reached Danzo's location.
They were within the borders of the Land of Iron.
The Land of Iron was a nation of samurai that maintained neutrality. The Raikage had chosen it for the Five Kage Summit specifically because it was neutral ground.
Shisui and the others had witnessed almost the entire summit.
From the initial verbal sparring between the Five Kage to Sasuke's sudden assassination attempt on Danzo, followed by the Kage's intervention and the masked man's appearance to rescue Sasuke into a pocket dimension.
The masked man, claiming to be Madara Uchiha, had declared war on the Five Kage, sparking the Fourth Great Ninja War.
The Uchiha were still fuming after watching the masked man act high and mighty before slipping away. Then, they saw the Five Kage actually uniting under the name of 'Madara Uchiha' to prepare for war.
"Elder Setsuna, you and Elder Kakkaku are the only ones left from that era... Do you really think that masked man is our ancestor?"
Facing Tekka's question, Setsuna made an immediate judgment.
"Bullshit!"
"Lord Madara was arrogant and proud. He would never resort to such cowardly, sneaky behavior, hiding in the shadows like a rat."
To Setsuna's angry shout, Tekka whispered, "But didn't he say he was injured?"
"Injured, my foot!"
Setsuna cursed again.
"If that were really Madara, he would have beaten those Kage into submission right then and there, even if he were hurt!"
"No one makes Madara bow his head except for the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju."
Seeing Setsuna's rising anger, Inabi quickly changed the subject.
"I must say, Sasuke's actions were quite refreshing. Attacking while all five Kage were gathered... he clearly doesn't fear them."
"As expected of a genius of the Uchiha. That's how it should be!"
Mentioning Sasuke calmed Setsuna's anger significantly, and his expression softened.
"Naturally. He's an awakened Mangekyo user of our clan. It's only right that he has some spine!"
"Fugaku, I have to give it to you. You certainly know how to raise sons. Both of them have the Mangekyo."
'Was that a compliment?'
Fugaku glanced at Setsuna, speechless.
Perhaps because he was about to see the Supreme Eye of the Uchiha again, Setsuna had been highly excitable lately.
Even the temperament he had forged through years of imprisonment seemed to have grown volatile.
Thinking of Sasuke's condition, Fugaku's brow furrowed slightly.
"Sasuke's actions were bold, but he is still too young. He's squandering his Mangekyo's ocular power."
Setsuna scoffed at this.
"What does it matter? It's better for him to master his abilities as soon as possible."
"Once he obtains the Eternal Eyes, that wasted power won't matter at all!"
"No," Fugaku said with worry. "I'm afraid his actions have offended all five Kage. There will be no place for him in the ninja world."
"That matters even less!"
Setsuna's voice was full of pride.
"The Eternal Eyes are on a completely different level than a regular Mangekyo. It's not just about the ocular power."
"You haven't seen Madara at full strength, or how terrifying a Perfect Susanoo can be."
"Once Sasuke has the Eternal Eyes, he'll possess the same power Madara once had. He'll be invincible."
"Back then, Madara was kept in check by the First Hokage. But Sasuke... Hmph, there's no one in today's world who can stop him."
Fugaku had spent the whole trip listening to Setsuna ramble about how brave Madara was and how powerful the Perfect Susanoo was.
But what worried him wasn't just that; it was Sasuke's mental state.
That increasingly cold aura... he feared his son was falling so deep into darkness that he would never return.
'Perhaps he'll be better once his revenge is complete.'
Fugaku suddenly paused. He sensed the Kido anchor he had placed on the masked man again.
"The masked man has reappeared. He's likely with Sasuke."
"Sasuke's hatred is overflowing. He will definitely move against Danzo again."
"Move out!"
At his command, the Uchiha flickered away, following Fugaku's lead at high speed.
Shisui said, "I'll go ahead and check on Sasuke's condition."
Fugaku nodded.
Shisui accelerated, vanishing from everyone's sight in an instant.
"There are no spirit particles in this world. How does Shisui move so fast?"
"Perhaps it's just raw talent. Shisui has always been a master of the Body Flicker."
"As expected of Shisui!"
Shisui sped across the terrain, easily tracking the mark he had left on Danzo.
Sure enough, Sasuke and Danzo were already fighting on a bridge.
However, Danzo's current appearance was far beyond Shisui's imagination.
The arm he usually kept bandaged was a pale, sickly white, clearly unnatural.
More importantly, more than ten Sharingan were embedded in that arm. It was a gruesome sight.
He was even using the Uchiha's secret technique, Izanagi, to rewrite reality and fight Sasuke.
Fortunately, Sasuke had awakened his Mangekyo and was more than a match for Danzo.
Even with Izanagi, Danzo could not withstand Sasuke's onslaught.
"Danzo... you've fallen so low!"
To see his kinsmen's eyes mounted on the killer's arm and used against the last Uchiha survivor was intolerable for Shisui.
On the other side, the masked man was fighting two of Danzo's subordinates.
The masked man's space-time ninjutsu was incredibly troublesome. Even the Foundation ninja, despite their renowned secret techniques, were quickly defeated.
Shisui promptly set up a barrier to collect their souls.
By now, Sasuke had used Susanoo to kill Danzo several times, forcing several of the eyes on the arm to close permanently.
Shwoosh!
The sound of breaking air reached Shisui's ear.
Sensing a ripple in his barrier and a familiar spiritual pressure, Shisui looked aside.
"Elder Yashiro, have you collected Jiraiya's soul?"
"Yes."
After collecting the soul from the Rain Village, Yashiro had rushed to regroup with the others.
Seeing a battle in progress, he noticed the Kido barrier and entered, finding Shisui as expected.
When he looked at the fight and saw Danzo's true form, he gasped in shock, a surge of rage boiling within him.
"That bastard Danzo... how dare he do such a thing!"
"He must not be forgiven!"
Shisui nodded gravely.
Such trash would never find peace if not severely punished.
He had been blind to ever trust such a man.
He looked at Yashiro and asked, "Was there any fighting in the Rain Village?"
"Yes, just as you predicted."
Yashiro's gaze fell on the masked man watching the fight. Killing intent flared in his eyes before he forced it down.
"That masked man really went after the Rinnegan. He even killed the user's companion, a woman named Konan."
"However, when I was collecting her soul, she made a request."
Shisui asked, "What request?"
"She wanted us to take the soul of their long-dead companion as well. His name was Yahiko."
"So it's him."
Shisui remembered the name.
He had heard Nagato and Naruto mention him.
He was also a disciple of Jiraiya who had been killed by Hanzo of the Salamander. Nagato had later turned him into the Deva Path of the Six Paths of Pain, the public leader of the Akatsuki.
"To find the soul of someone dead for so long, there's likely only one way."
"You mean the Reanimation Jutsu, right?"
Yashiro threw two spirit orbs to Shisui and pulled out a small glass bottle.
A label on the bottle read 'Yahiko'. Inside, a piece of flesh was preserved in formalin.
"By using this technique to summon a soul from the Pure Land back to this world, we can collect it without completing the resurrection."
"I took some flesh from the Deva Path to serve as the DNA sample. Now we just need someone who can perform the jutsu."
"As expected of a senior, you think of everything."
Shisui offered his praise and tucked the items away.
"Currently, the only one who can use that jutsu is Orochimaru's missing assistant, Kabuto Yakushi."
"We've been looking for him for so long, but he's hidden himself well."
Yashiro nodded slightly and looked back at the battle on the bridge.
His eyes remained fixed on Danzo.
"Danzo bears the primary responsibility for the massacre of our clan!"
"Now, only the souls of Danzo, that masked man, and the Third Hokage remain uncaptured."
"Danzo and the masked man are right here, so capturing them will be easy. But the Third..."
Yashiro paused before continuing. "I checked the records. Three years ago, when Orochimaru attacked the Leaf, the Third sealed Orochimaru's arms, the souls of the first two Hokage, and his own soul."
"It's the Reaper Death Seal," Shisui said. "A sealing technique of the Uzumaki clan. Breaking it won't be easy."
"Not easy? That means it's possible!" Yashiro looked at Shisui. "Shisui, do you have a plan?"
Shisui nodded. "I have a few ideas, though I'm not sure if they'll work."
"What is it?"
"The Third sealed Orochimaru's arms. To get them back, Orochimaru must have searched for a way to break the seal."
Shisui's voice was full of conviction.
"In the entire ninja world, he is the only one with both the motivation and the ability to undo that jutsu."
"We just need to revive Orochimaru."
Yashiro looked confused. "Didn't the Patriarch's report say Sasuke killed Orochimaru?"
"Are we going to reanimate him?"
Shisui shook his head. "No, not the Reanimation Jutsu."
He thought back to what Fugaku had said and remembered the time Orochimaru emerged from the Cursed Seal during Sasuke's fight with Itachi.
"Orochimaru split his soul into several pieces and infused them into things he calls 'Cursed Seals,' which he then placed on people he was interested in."
"Sasuke was one of them, but the soul in his seal was sealed away by Itachi."
"As far as I know, there is another ninja with his Cursed Seal—his former disciple, who is currently in the Leaf."
Yashiro realized immediately.
"Orochimaru's disciple, Anko Mitarashi?"
"That's her."
"Shisui, how sure are you about this?"
"Seventy or eighty percent."
"That's plenty."
Yashiro's expression turned determined.
"Shisui, stay here and keep an eye on Sasuke's safety."
"I'll head to the Leaf right now to bring Anko Mitarashi back."
With that, Yashiro hurried off toward the Leaf Village.
Shortly after he left, Fugaku arrived with the rest of the Uchiha.
When they saw the eyes on Danzo's arm, they were instantly filled with righteous fury.
They wanted to skin him alive then and there!
These Uchiha were the elites of the clan, most possessing the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Those eyes on Danzo's arm likely belonged to their comrades, friends, or even family.
To the Uchiha, this was an unforgivable humiliation!
How could they endure it?
By now, Danzo was nearing his limit under Sasuke's Susanoo.
As the last eye on his arm closed permanently, he lost all hope of turning the tide.
Faced with Sasuke's vow of revenge against the Leaf, Danzo resolved to seal Sasuke away along with himself.
Reverse Four Symbols Sealing!
In the end, half the bridge was successfully sealed away.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]