October 3rd, Year 58 of the Hidden Leaf
Kirigakure officially announced the Fourth Mizukage's death from illness and submitted a formal surrender, withdrawing from the war against Konoha and Kumogakure.
Both Konoha and Kumogakure welcomed the news, agreeing to peace talks without pushing Kirigakure further.
Hyuga Gakuya suspected what really happened—Ao must have discovered and broken the genjutsu cast by Uchiha Obito. Yagura, fearing further manipulation, took his own life… along with the Three-Tails sealed inside him.
If the Akatsuki still wanted the Three-Tails, they'd have to wait at least three years.
March 9th, Year 59 of the Hidden Leaf
With Kirigakure out of the picture, Sunagakure and Iwagakure couldn't hold out any longer. They submitted their own peace proposals.
The path to negotiation was full of setbacks, with hardliners and moderates clashing constantly within both Konoha and Kumogakure.
April 20th, Year 59 of the Hidden Leaf
Tired of the mounting war expenses, the daimyo of the Five Great Nations applied pressure on the Hidden Villages to bring the meaningless conflict to an end.
A Five Kage Summit was convened in the Land of Iron. The war officially ended with Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure agreeing to pay reparations.
Thus, the Fourth Great Ninja War came to an unceremonious close after a year of chaos.
...
Far away in the Land of Rain, Hyuga Gakuya's life had returned to a more peaceful rhythm. He resumed training, and his bond with Uchiha Hikari and the others at home deepened by the day.
His thirst for revenge against the shinobi world had nearly faded altogether. These days, his routine mostly revolved around going to and from school with Karin, a peaceful existence he was growing far too comfortable with.
While seated cross-legged in deep meditation, refining the power of the Tenseigan, Zetsu suddenly emerged from underground, holding a scroll.
"A mission from the leader," Black Zetsu said. "Orochimaru has appeared in the Land of Fields. You're to eliminate him."
Gakuya didn't open his eyes. "Understood. Leave the scroll on the ground."
Black Zetsu quietly observed the chakra fluctuations radiating from Gakuya, estimating that he had likely completed more than half of the Tenseigan integration process.
Only after Zetsu left did Gakuya open his eyes, sit up, and pick up the scroll. He scanned its contents.
"Orochimaru… he might make a useful piece on the board."
His eyes flickered with interest. After all, Kimimaro—one of Orochimaru's loyal subordinates—was a vital key to bloodline evolution.
Though Kimimaro was fiercely devoted to Orochimaru, Gakuya had no shortage of ways to bend a mind to his will. If his Mangekyō's Jōka didn't work, the Tenseigan's Mind Sphere could do the job. And if all else failed, Uchiha Hikari's Yachihoko would certainly break him.
Orochimaru's soul, having gone through countless reincarnations, was already fragile—controlling him would be the easy part.
After briefly explaining the situation to Uchiha Izumi, who was cleaning up the house, Gakuya set off alone for the Land of Fields.
Mounted on his puppet hawk, he quickly arrived at the location marked on the scroll.
Gakuya gazed at the cave ahead of him. "So this is Orochimaru's snake den?"
Activating his Tenseigan, he immediately spotted an intricate network of tunnels within.
"Looks like we have company," a voice called from the shadows.
Two silhouettes emerged from the cave's depths.
Seeing the pair, Gakuya couldn't help but smirk—they were both ideal pieces.
One wore a white robe and radiated a cold, sinister aura—it was Orochimaru himself. Beside him stood his future sage and right-hand man, Kabuto Yakushi.
"The Akatsuki sent you, didn't they?" Orochimaru said, noting the red cloud robe Gakuya wore.
"Strange, I don't remember you. Must've joined after I left. Listen, the Akatsuki's a dead end. Why don't you come work for me instead—"
Before he could finish, Gakuya removed his straw hat, revealing a youthful, refined face.
Orochimaru's eyes widened with shock and hunger. His tongue flicked across his lips greedily.
"Hyuga Gakuya… the one who absorbed countless Byakugan and even awakened the Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan."
"How did you do it? How did you absorb that many bloodlines without being consumed?"
At that moment, Orochimaru's obsession peaked. Of all the shinobi in the world, the one who fascinated him most stood right in front of him—someone with both the evolved Byakugan and the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan.
This was the jackpot.
"I've been looking for you," Orochimaru grinned. "But since you came to me, I won't let you leave alive."
With a sharp slap to the ground, he summoned reinforcements.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Four white coffins rose ominously from the earth.
Gakuya narrowed his eyes. Even after leaving the Akatsuki, Orochimaru hadn't been idle.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The coffin lids slammed open. Four figures stepped out slowly, as the coffins vanished behind them.
"The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. The Third Kazekage. And the Third Raikage, A."
Orochimaru's voice trembled with excitement.
"I handpicked your opponents, Hyuga Gakuya. Let's see what you're truly capable of."
Tobirama looked back, narrowing his eyes at Orochimaru's face. "You little brat… misusing my technique like this. Are you a Konoha ninja?"
Hashirama sighed at his brother. "I told you not to develop such a sacrilegious jutsu… and now look—it's been used on us."
The Third Kazekage said nothing, but his eyes made it clear—he knew he was being used.
The Third Raikage turned to face Orochimaru, recognizing the face from intelligence files.
"Damn you… Konoha's Orochimaru. You dare make a puppet out of me?"
Orochimaru grinned unnaturally. "The one and only."
Gakuya stepped forward calmly.
"Honored Kage, allow me to introduce your puppet master—Orochimaru, former student of Konoha's Third Hokage and now a missing-nin."
"And me? I'm Hyuga Gakuya, another missing-nin from Konoha."
The Third Kazekage sneered. "Konoha really does produce geniuses by the dozen."
His words were laced with bitterness. During his lifetime, Konoha had been a fountain of prodigies—Sannin, the Yellow Flash, even the White Fang.
Tobirama eyed Gakuya. "You're from the Hyuga clan?"
Gakuya offered a small explanation. "Konoha today no longer has the Uchiha, Hyuga, or Senju clans. They've all been wiped out—only a few scattered survivors remain."
"They're gone, huh…" Hashirama scratched his head and let out a sigh. Then he smiled gently. "Maybe that's for the best. I hope Konoha now belongs to civilian shinobi."
Before Gakuya could answer, Orochimaru scoffed, throwing his former teacher under the bus.
"Konoha belongs to the Sarutobi clan now. From Hokage to ANBU captain to hospital director—it's all in the hands of the Sarutobi."
"Monkey…" Tobirama muttered, speechless. Perhaps Sarutobi Hiruzen had his own burdens.
"Enough chit-chat," Orochimaru sneered. He stabbed talisman-laced kunai into the back of each revived Kage's neck.
"Now, surrender your bodies to me!"
The four legends lost their self-awareness, reduced to nothing more than Orochimaru's puppets.
Gakuya frowned slightly. He wasn't sure just how far Orochimaru had pushed his Edo Tensei research.
But seeing that even Hashirama and Tobirama couldn't resist the jutsu, it was clear—these weren't their full-power selves.
Still, he'd underestimated Orochimaru's speed of progress. If he wasn't careful, he might actually fall into the trap.
"You should feel honored," Gakuya said coldly, "to witness… my strongest form."
He opened his Tenseigan.
Twin orbs, brilliant and blue as galaxies, shimmered in his eyes.
In a blink, immense chakra surged from within him, coating his body in a tight, visible shell of radiant azure energy.
Tenseigan Chakra Mode.
With a flick of his hand, three black Truth-Seeking Orbs materialized behind him—his ultimate creation after months of painstaking effort. They'd consumed a massive amount of chakra, but three were enough for this fight.
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!" Hashirama clapped his hands together, and in an instant, trees erupted violently across a hundred-meter radius.
Gakuya took flight, only for a massive block of black iron sand to fall from above.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Creation!"
Tobirama hurled a kunai and vanished in a flash. In the next instant, he reappeared beside Gakuya, Water Blade spinning in hand.
"Flying Thunder God!"
The Third Raikage, using the cover of Hashirama's forest, charged from behind. His body crackled with lightning, and he extended a single, piercing finger.
"Hell Stab: One-Finger Thrust!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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