"To hell with his 'eternal art'! Trying to fool people with a blank scroll!"
Jie Uchiha hurled the scroll to the ground and stomped on it. What "unfinished eternal art"? Just slapping a blank scroll on his back to play the mysterious genius? Had he rushed to kill himself just to avoid being exposed?
Still fuming, Jie sealed away Sasori's human puppet before sweeping his gaze across the battlefield. There was still no sign of Kisame Hoshigaki.
"Kisame looks straightforward, but he doesn't hesitate to run," Jie muttered.
He waved over several Uchiha clansmen, ordering them to collect Kakuzu's corpse and secure Hidan.
Kakuzu's grotesque remains posed no issue for the seasoned Uchiha. Hidan, however, was a different matter—a severed, chattering head was enough to unsettle anyone.
"Keep his head and body strictly separated," Jie instructed calmly, offering no further explanation. As long as they remained apart, the immortal posed no threat.
With his orders issued, Jie turned and hurried toward the arena.
From a distance, he spotted Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi. Both were panting heavily, locked in a tense standoff. Judging by their haggard postures, their chakra reserves were nearly depleted.
Jie frowned. 'I've already slaughtered three Kage-level opponents. How has Orochimaru still not taken down Hiruzen? Is he holding back out of some lingering master-student affection?'
What Jie Uchiha had momentarily overlooked… was the timeline.
This wasn't the era of the Chūnin Exams that Naruto and Sasuke would one day take. This was a full decade earlier. Hiruzen Sarutobi was only around sixty—his strength was waning, but he was far more formidable than the frail old man he'd become in ten years. Even for Orochimaru quickly taking him down was no easy task right now.
"Stop playing around, Orochimaru," Jie Uchiha called out evenly as he stepped onto the Kage summit platform. "The audience has gathered. Bring out the special guests… and end this."
By now, the chaos from Jie's clash with the Akatsuki—and the destruction wrought by Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi—had drawn every major ninja clan in Konoha to the scene.
Hiruzen was still Hokage. Orochimaru was still an S-rank traitor with a kill-on-sight order. The only reason the clans hadn't already stormed the arena to protect their leader… was the Uchiha.
Jie's clan had completely sealed off the perimeter, their presence alone enough to keep the others in check.
"Jie, you finished so quickly?" Orochimaru licked his lips, a wicked smile spreading across his pale face. "It seems I underestimated you."
His golden eyes gleamed with interest... "Tell me… do you have the people I requested?"
Jie casually waved his hand. Two Uchiha stepped forward, dragging a pair of bound captives into view.
"I originally prepared one," Jie said indifferently. "But I happened to catch a second. Take your pick."
"Hidan?" Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Tenzo?!" Hiruzen Sarutobi gasped, his gaze snapping toward the second captive.
Orochimaru's attention shifted fully to the Anbu. There was something about his chakra—something strangely familiar.
A moment later, realization flickered across his face.
He knew exactly who this "Tenzo" truly was.
Tenzo—better known as Yamato—was a remnant of a darker past. Years ago, Orochimaru and Danzo Shimura had conducted brutal experiments using the cells of the First Hokage. Out of sixty infants, Tenzo had been the sole survivor—the only one fortunate enough to inherit Wood Release.
"Sacrificing the village's only Wood Release user?" Orochimaru sneered. "You really are bold, Jie."
Jie Uchiha remained completely unfazed. To him, a mere Wood Release "housebuilder" carried little value. Yamato had been molded since childhood—first by Danzo's ruthless conditioning, then by Hiruzen Sarutobi's indoctrination into the Will of Fire.
That ideology was already deeply ingrained.
Jie had no desire to waste time reforming such a pawn. With the Uchiha standing strong, Konoha had plenty of elite Jonin. Losing one wouldn't make a dent.
"Cut the nonsense and get started," Jie urged.
Orochimaru let out a low chuckle. Reaching into his robes, he withdrew a grotesque, demonic mask and slowly fitted it over his face. His hands then came together, weaving a deliberate sequence of seals.
A wave of unease washed over Hiruzen Sarutobi.
'That mask… I've seen it before…'
But in the tension of the moment, he couldn't place it.
Watching the Sannin, a faint, cold smirk appeared on Jie's lips.
The Shinigami Mask.
To release a soul trapped within the Shinigami's stomach, one needed the sacred mask from the Uzumaki Shrine beyond the village. By donning it, the wearer became a vessel for the Death God—forced to slice open their own stomach and free the sealed souls within.
'Open your eyes, Minato Namikaze… and witness what the Konoha you died for has become.'
With the Uchiha's power, locating the mask had been effortless. And now, with perfect sacrifices already in hand, Jie intended to make this moment unforgettable.
He wanted the Fourth Hokage to see it all—to witness the decay of his beloved village…and to regret ever sealing the Yang Nine-Tails into his own son.
Of course, reviving Minato Namikaze was merely a bonus.
Jie Uchiha's true target was the Yin half of the Nine-Tails—sealed within the Shinigami's stomach alongside the Fourth.
The more Tailed Beast chakra Jie absorbed, the clearer it became: the Nine-Tails possessed the most overwhelming, destructive power of them all. By releasing the Yin half of Kurama, he intended to claim it for himself—no System reward required.
For a Mangekyō Sharingan wielder, suppressing the Nine-Tails and becoming a perfect jinchūriki was hardly a challenge. And with his Intermediate Sage Body, his physical vessel was arguably even better suited to contain such power than that of a pure-blooded Uzumaki.
Suddenly, Orochimaru let out a sharp cry of agony. His body convulsed violently, moving against his will. His arms jerked upward, stretching out to either side until he resembled a living crucifix.
'Is that… the Shinigami?'
Jie Uchiha's eyes narrowed slightly.
'Wait… isn't the Death God only visible to the summoner? Then why can I see it too?'
A flicker of confusion crossed his mind as he stared at the towering, spectral horror looming behind the Sannin.
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