"Wait!"
Nawaki spoke up. "What did you just call my sister?"
Had he heard that right?
The Fifth Hokage?!
"And you said Sasuke-kun has the Rinnegan?!" Sakura blurted out.
What on earth happened in the future?! Even Sasuke has the Rinnegan now?!
Mitsuki nodded with a gentle smile. "Yes. The Fifth Hokage is Tsunade-sama. The Sixth Hokage is Kakashi Hatake-sama. And the Seventh Hokage is Naruto Uzumaki-sama."
"So what Kawaki said was true?!"
Naruto had already gotten used to the idea that he would become the Seventh Hokage in the future. He turned to Tsunade and bragged proudly.
"See, Granny? I told you! Until I become Hokage, there's no way I'm dying! Absolutely not, dattebayo!!"
"But what if the future of our world gets changed…" Tsunade hesitated.
"Tsunade."
Dan Katō suddenly called her name and beckoned with his hand.
She stepped forward to the sealing barrier and looked at him.
"Closer."
She moved a little nearer.
"Closer still."
Her forehead was almost pressed against the barrier.
"Stop." Dan Katō halted her just in time. "This is enough. People outside the barrier can't make contact, so this distance is fine."
The next instant, even with the barrier and that small gap between them, she felt it.
The others were momentarily stunned as well.
Right before everyone's eyes, Dan Katō kissed Tsunade's forehead through the sealing barrier.
Nawaki, standing beside him, didn't know where to put his eyes.
Tsunade: "!!!"
Seeing this scene, Sakura felt the small flutter of excitement that girls her age inevitably had. Naruto and Sasuke didn't quite understand this kind of romance, but even they could tell it was a good moment. Tsunade's lingering regret was being eased by what should have been a forbidden jutsu.
Watching this, Kabuto Yakushi was reminded of his own SSS-rank mission.
The Ninja World Reunion… everyone's regrets…
A figure flashed through his mind, a woman dressed in a nun's habit.
"Our time here is short," Dan Katō said softly. "The dead cannot, and should not, remain in the world of the living for long. Being able to see you again is already a blessing from above."
Naruto leaned toward Sasuke and whispered, "He really knows how to talk. Even though this is clearly Orochimaru's forbidden jutsu."
"Yeah," Sasuke replied. He had gotten used to it by now, and even occasionally played along with Naruto.
On this side, everything was proceeding smoothly. The boy named Mitsuki maintained a warm, harmless smile the entire time.
On the other side, Jiraiya and Orochimaru were locked in fierce combat. With one arm missing and unable to form hand seals properly, Orochimaru was gradually starting to lose ground.
Kimimaro was facing Adult Kakashi along with the three students from Minato's team.
Having already fought Jiraiya earlier, the prolonged use of the Cursed Seal placed an enormous burden on his body. Seeing the situation before him, he resolved to stake everything on one final assault.
Young Obito, caught up in the heat of battle, failed to notice the danger.
"Shikotsumyaku… Dance of the Seedling Fern…"
From Kimimaro's position, countless bone spikes erupted outward like wild grass, yet each one was as massive as a tree.
"Bones?!"
How could a human body even have that many bones?!
Obito instantly activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and entered his intangibility.
But the bones were spreading far too fast.
Rin! Kakashi!
Just as the bone forest surged forward, nearly reaching Rin and Kakashi's position—
Young Obito panicked. The sickle-shaped patterns in his eyes spun rapidly like pinwheels.
Using Kamui with both eyes at once, its activation speed more than doubled.
Kimimaro could only watch as his body was dragged into a swirling vortex of empty space. He had no way to resist space-time ninjutsu.
In the end, he murmured softly, "Orochimaru-sama…"
Then he vanished within the forest of bones.
With Kimimaro gone, the bone forest stopped expanding, freezing abruptly at the very tips of Young Kakashi's and Rin Nohara's feet.
Adult Kakashi lowered the Raikiri in his hand and glanced at Obito, commenting dryly,
"With a move like that, you could've used it earlier."
"Stop nagging! If he hadn't paused just now, my dōjutsu wouldn't have been able to lock onto his speed!"
Kamui's activation speed wasn't fast. Even with constant training, Obito's single-eye use was still several times slower than Adult Obito's.
Orochimaru, who was fighting Jiraiya, saw Young Obito Uchiha's ability and immediately realized that this boy was the one who had cost him an arm not long ago.
So that strange space-time ability came from the Uchiha clan's dōjutsu. That explained everything. The reason he could act without a sound was because he hid himself inside his own dōjutsu, creating a subtle overlap between the real world and the space-time world within his eyes.
That allowed him to appear anywhere, even bypassing seals and barrier techniques.
This was a Mangekyō Sharingan far more special than even Itachi Uchiha's.
At this moment, neither old grudges nor new hatred mattered. Orochimaru was ecstatic.
Compared to Sasuke and Itachi, what he wanted most right now were Obito Uchiha's eyes. He could never have imagined that the dead last who supposedly died on the Kannabi Bridge mission would, if he survived, possess such an outstanding Sharingan ability.
If they were closer, Orochimaru would have stretched out his neck and bitten Obito Uchiha without hesitation.
But the distance between him and the other battlefield was too great. All he could do was pin his hopes on the next Konoha Collapse Plan.
His gaze shifted to Dan Katō and Nawaki inside the Four Violet Flames Formation.
He would leave these two Edo Tensei here. After all, cursed seal talismans had already been planted in their bodies. When the time came for the Konoha Collapse Plan, they could serve as insiders working from within.
Then his eyes moved to Minato Namikaze and Naruto Uzumaki.
Thinking about how that scroll had once again ended up in the hands of that father and son made Orochimaru feel deeply unbalanced.
Although he was far from Kimimaro's battlefield, he wasn't too far from the Four Violet Flames Formation. Orochimaru curled his lips into a cold smile, prepared the Cursed Seal of Earth, and deliberately guided Jiraiya in that direction.
"All right, Tsunade," Dan Katō said softly. "We can't stay here forever."
He blinked lightly.
"Consider that kiss an early congratulations gift for becoming the Fifth Hokage. Don't let my existence bind you. If you meet the right person…"
The rest didn't need to be said.
"Dan!"
"Sis," Shizuki said beside Dan Katō, "you have to protect Grandfather's gift."
She knew the gift didn't mean the necklace itself, but Konoha Village and its people.
"I really want to see you become Hokage, Sis." Nawaki looked at Naruto.
"If you end up getting the necklace, you absolutely can't come to our side this early. Otherwise, I'll definitely fight you!"
"Of course!" Naruto grinned and confidently held out his fist, bumping it against Nawaki's through the Four Violet Flames Formation.
"Before I become Hokage, there's no way I'm dying!"
"Mhm." Nawaki nodded.
"Please take good care of my sister. Her fists are terrifying, but she's actually soft-hearted."
"I will. That's what being Hokage is all about, protecting everyone in the village!"
The two boys grinned at each other, reaching a mutual understanding.
Even Dan Katō nodded at him.
"Become a great Hokage."
"Oh! I definitely will!"
Just like the promise he once made to Kushina, confidence and sheer guts were the things he lacked the least.
It was a final farewell, leaving no regrets behind.
None of them expected that Orochimaru, who was still fighting Jiraiya, would actually take Jiraiya's toad oil head-on and then stretch out his neck again, lunging straight for Naruto.
Tsunade had already made up her mind. Even if her hemophobia wasn't fully cured, she was ready to place her final hope on Naruto Uzumaki.
She was willing to believe in this boy, and in the will left behind by Nawaki and Dan.
Seeing Orochimaru's attack coming, she reached out to block it for Naruto.
Naruto never expected Granny Tsunade to shield him. Worse still, Orochimaru was even faster than before.
Naruto couldn't freely draw on the tailed beast's chakra yet. To have Kurama's chakra envelop both himself and Tsunade, he would need Kurama's approval, and there simply wasn't time.
Orochimaru hadn't expected it either, but he was already too close to pull back now…
Whoosh!
A ghostly, dark green chakra flared up like will-o'-the-wisps, lighting up their faces.
A slender arm suddenly extended, grabbing Orochimaru by the neck and flinging him away, forcibly stopping his attack on Tsunade and Naruto.
This was…
That child named Mitsuki?!
"Sage Mode?!!"
That eerie green chakra, and the changes to his body marked by sun-and-moon patterns!
That was right.
Perfect Sage Mode.
Orochimaru's snake-like pupils dilated sharply, followed by an uncontrollable surge of ecstasy.
Mitsuki said calmly, "Just as I thought… back then, you truly were a very despicable person.'"
After successfully stopping Orochimaru, Mitsuki withdrew his Sage Mode and did not follow up with another attack.
Orochimaru pulled his neck back, his eyes filled with manic delight.
Discovering two even more perfect vessels in a single day—how could he not be thrilled?
"Oh, by the way," Mitsuki added casually, looking at Orochimaru, "your cursed seal doesn't work on me, Orochimaru-sama."
Kabuto: "!!"
He addressed Orochimaru as Orochimaru-sama, and he came from Kabuto's own mission scroll…
Could this boy be Orochimaru-sama's subordinate in the future?
But why would he side with Tsunade and Naruto? And why was he wearing a Konoha forehead protector?
Especially the word "back then" he used—it was far too suggestive.
The others fell into thought as well, just like Kabuto.
Had Orochimaru reformed in the future?
Was Konoha really planning to take back every former missing-nin one by one?
Sasuke stared at Mitsuki warily.
"Who are you? Where did you learn Senjutsu?!"
"My name is Mitsuki. I'm currently a genin of Konoha," he replied gently.
"As for Senjutsu…"
Mitsuki thought seriously for a moment.
"Is that something you need to learn?"
He looked toward the Seventh Hokage he trusted, another twelve-year-old genin—Naruto Uzumaki.
"Isn't Senjutsu something you're born with, Seventh Hokage-sama?"
Everyone: "…"
This was… honestly a bit too much.
Was sending a kid like this over really necessary? Wasn't this just pure flexing?
Orochimaru leapt back several steps.
"Looks like I've discovered something even more interesting. We'll continue this next time we meet."
With that, he took Kabuto and withdrew.
With only one arm, it was hard for him to fight at full strength, and he still needed to conserve chakra to face the Third Hokage.
Jiraiya wanted to chase after him, but then remembered how that slippery man often left contingencies behind.
Last time, it had only been a mud-like clone.
In the end, he didn't pursue.
He walked over and looked at the blue-haired boy who had just forced Orochimaru to retreat.
"Hello, Jiraiya-sama. It's truly an unexpected honor to meet you."
Jiraiya nodded.
"Oh. In your time, I'm already dead, right?"
The news of Jiraiya's death was something Minato Namikaze had brought back late last night after crossing timelines.
Tsunade hadn't known about it before.
She looked at Mitsuki in shock.
So in the future, Orochimaru was killed by Sasuke… then Jiraiya died as well.
Among the Three Sannin, only she was left.