"That massive size over there... is that Orochimaru's Manda?!"
The battlefield between Kumogakure and Konoha stretched across flat plains, and the low-lying trees couldn't conceal the enormous body of Manda II.
The moment Orochimaru summoned it, many Konoha ninja immediately recognized Manda, their expressions turning slightly dazed.
War. Giant snake summons.
In both the Second and Third Great Shinobi Wars, these creatures represented a core part of Konoha's top combat strength. But now...
"Although its appearance is a bit different, that's definitely Manda—no mistake."
On the Konoha side, a Hyūga clan ninja stared toward the forest and turned to Danzō Shimura, replying, "But I only detected Orochimaru's chakra. He's definitely fighting someone else—an unidentified individual."
"This sensation is very similar to those Soul Society people from a few days ago. Lord Danzō, what should we do?"
"Orochimaru's fighting the Soul Society, huh." Danzō snorted coldly. "Looks like that guy's trying to grab something for himself from the Konoha-Kumogakure war... Ignore them. Focus on Fugaku's position, lock onto the Kumogakure formation, and make sure their jinchūriki isn't on the front lines."
"Yes, sir!"
To Danzō, Orochimaru fighting the Soul Society was undoubtedly a good thing.
Orochimaru might've once been his partner, but he was now a traitor to Konoha.As for the Soul Society group—even if they'd helped in this war—their power made Danzō uneasy.
Both were threats—not just to him, but to Konoha itself. Now, with both sides at each other's throats, if Orochimaru could weaken the Soul Society, all the better.
"Orochimaru... You may have betrayed the village, but you're still a product of Konoha."
Feeling the faint tremors from Manda's movements in the distance, along with the rising, suffocating Reiatsu, Danzō Shimura's eyes grew darker as he muttered, "Let those half-human, half-ghost freaks see what real strength looks like."
...
"Shikai..."
Facing Orochimaru, who stood atop the giant Manda, Tsunade slowly drew the Zanpakutō from her waist and held it horizontally in front of her chest.
Suddenly, an invisible pressure surged outward—as if the world itself were rejecting him—making Orochimaru instinctively narrow his eyes. That pressure expanded sharply with Tsunade's voice, to the point where even Orochimaru's breathing became labored.
"Flourish unbound—Kareki!"
In an instant, the Zanpakutō in Tsunade's hand transformed into a stream of light and merged into her body.
Her brown eyes lifted slightly. The gazes of two former teammates met in midair. In that moment, Orochimaru felt like the entire world had turned against him. His body was weighed down by crushing force—as if he might collapse at any second.
"What terrifying spiritual pressure!"
Orochimaru's golden slit pupils widened. There was no fear—only fascination and excitement at the overwhelming power Tsunade had just released.
"So this is your ability? Releasing your Zanpakutō to obtain special powers—that's the essence of your Shinigami transformations, isn't it?"
"Tsunade! As the Fourth Division Captain, what exactly is your Shikai...?"
Her figure vanished.
The next instant, Orochimaru felt a terrifying, unstoppable force slam into him. By the time he realized what happened, he could only glimpse strands of orange-yellow hair and the fluttering hem of a white haori—and then both Tsunade and Manda II were already crashing to the ground.
Blood splattered through the air, and in Tsunade's indifferent eyes was the reflection of Orochimaru's stunned expression.
In that single instant—
The earth shattered. Manda howled in agony.
"ROAAARR!!!"
Even the most obedient of summons would cry out in pain after suffering such a severe and near-fatal blow.
The intense trauma rippled through body and soul alike. No matter how loyal Manda II was to Orochimaru, the damage was too much. Within moments of appearing, Manda II was forced to return to Ryūchi Cave.
As the white smoke dissipated, Orochimaru's body was nothing more than a broken pile of flesh beneath Tsunade's leg strike. Her gaze remained calm.
From behind the trees, a new Orochimaru stepped forward, licking his lips, his eyes gleaming as always.
That speed—so fast even he couldn't react.
That explosive force—enough to instantly cripple Manda.
Tsunade, having achieved Shikai, had become something terrifying: a humanoid Tailed Beast. A being who, unlike Bijū, had perfect control over her power and retained full cognitive ability!
"I can feel it—there's barely any chakra fluctuation in your body, yet the energy you release is immense."
Orochimaru licked his lips again. "And just now, when your attack landed, my chakra—and Manda's—was instantly drained… If I'm not mistaken, you absorbed both our chakra and converted it into your own explosive force."
"Absorption. Explosion."
"So this is your Shikai, Tsunade?"
This was a power the old Tsunade never had.
As an old teammate, Orochimaru knew her strength better than anyone. The granddaughter of the First Hokage, her talent was unquestionable. Even among the Legendary Sannin, she outclassed both him and Jiraiya.
But ever since Nawaki and Dan's deaths, Tsunade had developed hemophobia. Not only did she stop improving—she had regressed. To expect strength from a woman lost to alcohol and gambling was a joke.
Yet now, after becoming a Shinigami and joining the Soul Society—she had bloomed anew.
The power of the Shinigami… was truly mysterious and overwhelming.
"Don't give me that look, Orochimaru. I know you've learned a few things about the Soul Society and Shinigami—through Akatsuki or whatever sources—but you probably still don't understand their most defining trait."
Tsunade's eyes held a trace of pity as she said calmly, "The soul."
"I know that wasn't your real body. And I know this one isn't, either. It's just a construct made of chakra imbued with a fragment of your soul."
"To me, your soul is like a candle in the dark—blatantly visible. But that little flame sways in the breeze, flickering as if it might go out at any moment… Your soul, like Konoha right now, is in shambles. Broken."
"You…!" The grin faded from Orochimaru's face. His eyes narrowed coldly. "You don't really want to fight me seriously, Tsunade."
"And what if I do?"
Tsunade snorted lightly, voice relaxed. "Your intel has long been archived in the Soul Society database. That so-called Eight Branches Technique, your Impure World Reincarnation—those are meaningless to a Shinigami. Gengetsu Hōzuki should have told you that."
"If I wanted, you'd already be dead, Orochimaru. A corpse whose soul couldn't even enter the Pure Land!"
"…Is that so?"
Orochimaru smirked coldly and formed a hand seal.
A strange glow lit up the ground in front of him. Two wooden coffins slowly rose from the soil, appearing before Tsunade.
"Impure World Reincarnation, huh? I already told you, it's meaningless to us Shinigami—"
Clunk!
One coffin dropped to the ground with a sharp thud, cutting off Tsunade's words mid-sentence.
Her eyes locked in disbelief on the figure inside. Her pupils shrank. Her body began to tremble.
"Of course I know Impure World Reincarnation is useless against Shinigami."
Watching her reaction, Orochimaru licked his lips and flashed a wicked grin. "Your Sixth Division Captain, Gengetsu Hōzuki, left quite the impression on me back then."
"But this little trick… should still work on you, shouldn't it, Tsunade?"
"…Is that… Tsunade…?"
As Orochimaru finished speaking, the figure inside the coffin slowly raised his head. In his dull reanimated eyes was a hint of recognition.
"It's been a long time, hasn't it? You haven't changed at all… And you, too, Orochimaru."
"Dan…"
Tsunade's lips trembled. She couldn't believe her eyes.
Endless longing and emotion surged all at once. Her throat locked up, her heart aching with grief and longing.
"It's been a long time, Dan-kun… Honestly, I'm sorry to let you two meet like this. But I really had no other choice."
Orochimaru licked his lips again, flashing that same twisted grin. "This is a reunion that transcends life and death, time and space. Shouldn't you be smiling, Tsunade? Why wear that expression?"
"Or is it that, aside from Dan-kun, you'll only smile… if I show you the other one as well?"
"No… Don't…"
Tsunade's body trembled even more violently. She didn't need to guess who was inside the second coffin.
She looked at the man she had longed for day and night and instinctively took a step forward—but that step made her freeze in place, and she quickly backed away several paces.
Her expression twisted into a complex, pained grimace. Her thoughts spiraled into chaos.
Anger?
Orochimaru had violated the bodies of the two people she had loved most, ripping them from their rest in the Pure Land. That alone deserved her deepest fury.
But… it was precisely because of Orochimaru's actions that she could see them again—hear their voices once more.
What was she supposed to do?
Impure World Reincarnation allowed complete control over the revived. If Orochimaru commanded Dan and Nawaki, what could she do?
Against Shinigami, Edo Tensei was useless—but precisely because it was so fragile, she didn't dare act rashly.
One mistake, and Dan or Nawaki could be gone… forever.
"What do you want?"
She shut her eyes in agony. After a long pause, she opened them again and forced herself to look only at Orochimaru, not at the man she had longed for all these years.
Her voice was bitter: "Orochimaru, what exactly do you want?"
"You came looking for me, Tsunade. Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?"
Orochimaru smiled darkly. He had gambled correctly.
In a head-on fight, he wasn't her match. Even before she became a Shinigami, he wouldn't dare underestimate her—let alone now.
But with these two trump cards, standing before Tsunade was like playing with a stacked deck. He held an unshakable advantage.
Even so, he knew better than to push her too far.
He didn't understand the full reason why his old teammate had left Konoha and joined the Soul Society. But it must have required deep emotional struggle and an iron will—for her to walk away from her clan, and from the village.
If he pushed too hard and made her sever her ties to her loved ones again—he'd lose his leverage.
"Withdraw."
With a soft command, the Edo coffins of Dan and Nawaki slowly sank back into the ground.
With her loved ones out of sight, Tsunade's emotions slowly began to calm.
A moment later, she let out a long breath. A faint glow shimmered across her body as her Shikai retracted, re-forming into her Zanpakutō, which she sheathed at her waist.
"Looks like we can talk civilly now."
Orochimaru clapped his hands, dismissing the white snakes hidden in the battlefield in puffs of smoke. "Shall we speak as old classmates?"
"Tch. Whatever you want."
...
Boar—Ox—Dog—Horse—Boar—Tiger!
Wreathed in the skeletal armor of Susano'o, Uchiha Fugaku leapt high into the air. His Susano'o swung chakra-forged blades, cutting down enemies on both flanks as his chakra surged toward his throat.
He exhaled in a massive breath—
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
A sea of flames erupted from Fugaku's mouth, engulfing the battlefield. While not as massive as Madara's infamous jutsu, the sheer scale combined with Susano'o's skeletal armor was awe-inspiring.
In an era where colossal humanoid avatars weren't yet widespread, the greatest powers in the shinobi world—besides the Kage and Tailed Beasts—were few.
Among them, one force stood unrivaled:
Susano'o.
The roaring blaze, paired with Susano'o's sweeping strikes, burned through chakra reserves rapidly. Fugaku's eyes throbbed with pain, his vision already blurring—but his face was filled with exhilaration.
Kumo shinobi were either blasted away by Susano'o or consumed by flames. Lightning-laced shuriken and gale-force jutsu were meaningless before him.
"Damn it! Damn it!!"
A Jōnin, drenched in blood, wiped his face and roared, "Where's the Water Release unit?! Get them over here now! And the Earth Release team, restrain him with me!"
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Together, Kumo's forces unleashed coordinated jutsu to suppress Fugaku and block the incoming flames.
But after just a few breaths, the searing firestorm from Great Fire Annihilation flared even larger. The newly formed earth walls crumbled under the overwhelming chakra, and a tide of fire devoured the Kumo forces sheltering behind them.
Screams of agony echoed across the battlefield.
More Uchiha arrived, launching wave after wave of Fire Release techniques, transforming the entire plain into a raging inferno—a blazing furnace that burned everything in its path.
The enemy's fragile resistance made even the Konoha shinobi question whether this was truly one of the Five Great Nations, or just some backwater shinobi village.
"Clan Head, the main Kumo forces have completely retreated!"
Inabi appeared beside Fugaku, reporting quickly: "They abandoned their supplies and left a small group behind to cover their escape. The rest fled without looking back!"
"Are you certain it's a full retreat?"
Fugaku turned, Mangekyō Sharingan glowing in his eyes. The blood-red gaze made even Inabi falter slightly.
"Yes. We used genjutsu to interrogate them. The order came from the Fourth Raikage. They're afraid of the Mangekyō Sharingan. That's why they're retreating—they don't dare fight anymore!"
"Clan Head! You led us to repel Kumo's invasion. You brought us this victory!"
"They ran out of fear… fear of the Mangekyō…"
"Hahahahahahahaha!!!"
Hearing Inabi's words, Fugaku paused—then burst into laughter, the signature wild laughter of the Uchiha.
Moments later, his eyes fell upon a burning Kumo flag, half-charred in the flames. Activating the third stage of his Susano'o, he shattered the flag with a single punch.
Then, he pulled out a Konoha banner, raised it high, and projected his voice with chakra across the battlefield:
"Kumo has fled!! This battle is a great victory for Konoha! Long live Konoha!"
Thousands of shinobi stared at the towering Susano'o, at the fluttering Konoha flag raised in its hands.
They stood frozen for only a second—then erupted into thunderous cheers.
"We won! We really won!"
"Hahaha, Konoha won! We did it!"
"Long live Konoha!"
"Long live the Uchiha! Long live Clan Head Fugaku!"
"Uchiha banzai! Konoha banzai!"
The setting sun bled across the horizon, painting the battlefield in red.
The deafening roars of celebration echoed through the plains—and into Fugaku's ears.
As he listened, Fugaku finally dispersed his fully activated Susano'o, his heart swelling with satisfaction.
"We completely crushed them!"
In the distance, Danzō heard the cheers.
His already sour expression darkened further—his face now blacker than a scorched pot. His fists clenched. His lone exposed eye locked onto Fugaku, flashing with something between envy and hatred.
After a long silence, he let out a cold sigh.
There was no question now.
After this war, nothing would stop the Uchiha clan's rise within the village. And Fugaku Uchiha, as clan head and war hero, would ascend completely.
"It's over…"