One after another, highly condensed chakra fists slammed into Rokuro's Susanoo—so hard that visible cracks actually began to spread across its surface!
"What incredible chakra control," Rokuro muttered in admiration. "So-called monstrous strength was never about raw physical power to begin with. It's a form of taijutsu that uses chakra with extreme efficiency, compressing it and releasing it in a focused burst. In that sense, it's somewhat similar to the Hyūga clan's Gentle Fist—except Gentle Fist focuses on point-based penetration, while monstrous strength relies on centralized detonation. Different paths, same peak."
"But to control Kage-level chakra to this extent… Tsunade really has grown a terrifying amount."
In the blink of an eye, Rokuro's Susanoo was struck by hundreds of punches. Even ignoring their sheer destructive force, the speed alone had already reached the level of sonic punches.
"As expected—the truly terrifying thing was never Senju Hashirama's Wood Release," Rokuro thought. "Wood Release was merely icing on the cake. Even without it, Hashirama would still have been the strongest being below the Six Paths."
The barrage of attacks only managed to crack the outer shell of the Susanoo. Enraged, Tsunade leapt high into the air and drove a brutal kick straight at Rokuro's position.
The Susanoo raised the Yata Mirror, blocking Tsunade's full-powered kick head-on.
Crack!
The massive mirror fractured across its surface—so badly that it could no longer even reflect damage.
The Susanoo lifted its great blade high and swung down in fury.
Tsunade gathered highly condensed chakra in both fists, attempting to block the strike head-on.
Boom!
The earth split apart. With a single slash, the Susanoo carved a canyon several kilometers long straight through the land!
Tsunade was blasted deep into the ravine, her entire body buried beneath shattered rock.
"It looks similar to the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack," Rokuro said calmly, "but the power gap is far too great. The real Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack can shatter a complete Susanoo."
Rokuro dismissed his Susanoo and spread his hands. Ten chakra chains shot out, piercing deep into the canyon floor before yanking upward.
Amid cracking stone, Tsunade was hauled out, tightly bound.
The sealing power of Adamantine Sealing Chains activated, suppressing the ocean-like chakra raging inside her body. With her chakra restrained, even her upgraded monstrous strength became unusable.
Rokuro stepped forward and calmly put on the sunglasses of Kotoamatsukami.
"If you'd had a few months—or even half a year—to fully adapt to your new body, you might've been able to fight me to a draw," he said lightly. "But right now, you've only just fused with Hashirama's cells. I, on the other hand, have possessed the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan for nearly four years. What exactly are you using to fight me?"
As Kotoamatsukami took effect, Tsunade's negative impressions of Rokuro were forcibly rewritten. In moments, her resistance collapsed completely.
Watching her drop to one knee in submission, Rokuro confirmed something he had long suspected.
"So merely fusing Hashirama's cells only grants a Sage Body at most. To truly reproduce Senju Hashirama's power, one must possess Asura's chakra as well."
Rokuro recalled that in the original timeline, Hashirama was virtually immune to genjutsu. A man capable of suppressing Uchiha Madara couldn't possibly lack top-tier mental resistance.
Kotoamatsukami couldn't be used on Six Paths–level beings—and even below that tier, there were exceptions.
Hashirama Senju was almost certainly one of them.
The fact that Tsunade, despite possessing a Sage Body, still fell to Kotoamatsukami meant she had not fully inherited Hashirama's power.
"In other words," Rokuro concluded, "transplanting Hashirama's cells alone is still not enough to awaken the Rinnegan."
"Tsunade—what procedures are required to transplant Hashirama's cells?"
Tsunade rose to her feet and explained everything she knew about cell transplantation, holding nothing back.
Rokuro, being an insider himself, might have struggled to develop the method alone—but with Tsunade's explanation, he grasped it quickly.
"So every recipient needs a gene sequence tailored specifically to their own body," he mused. "Strict, meticulous… no wonder cross-clan transplantation is so difficult. Still, the Uchiha and Senju originate from the same source. My difficulty level should be far lower than Jiraiya's or Kakashi's."
After successfully subduing Tsunade, Rokuro brought her and Shizune out of the Mountains and Rivers Map, returning to Tsunade's secret base to begin preparations for his own Hashirama cell transplant.
Three years in the making—finally subduing Tsunade marked another step toward Six Paths–level power and the Rinnegan. Rokuro was in excellent spirits. After returning, he skipped training entirely and instead cooked a grand feast, planning to indulge himself.
Right at mealtime, Naruto and the other two showed up.
"You three didn't time this on purpose, did you?" Rokuro laughed. "Sit down and eat."
After three years as master and students, Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji had grown extremely close to Rokuro. Even Sasuke no longer spoke obsessively about revenge.
Of course, given his tendency toward patricide-in-training, Sasuke would probably still take a shot at Rokuro if given the chance.
The difference was—Rokuro wasn't Orochimaru. He wouldn't give him that chance.
"Brother Rokuro," Naruto said through a mouthful of roasted lamb leg, "the three of us discussed it—we want to graduate early!"
Rokuro wasn't surprised at all.
"That's fine. With your current strength, staying in the Academy would be unfair to others—and a waste of time. Become genin first, get used to the role. As for what comes next…"
"Brother Rokuro, can you take us on S-rank missions?" Naruto's eyes shone. "Defeat evil forces and save the Land of Fire from crisis!"
Sasuke muttered "idiot" under his breath. Neji maintained his polite demeanor, though he also felt Naruto was being wildly optimistic.
Rokuro thought for a moment.
"You know… such a mission might actually exist."
"Really?!" Naruto shouted. "At last—Uzumaki Naruto will step onto the stage of history as a savior! Hahahaha!"
Unlike Naruto, Sasuke and Neji immediately turned serious.
Rokuro took a sip of soup.
"You've all heard of the Akatsuki, right?"
Neji nodded.
"Yes. I've heard their leader possesses the Rinnegan—the legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths. Stronger than both the Byakugan and the Sharingan."
Sasuke remained silent, but among the three, he cared the most about Akatsuki—because his older brother, Itachi, was undercover within the organization.
Though Itachi's mission was a top-secret matter in Konoha, Sasuke knew as family.
In his mind, being able to take Rokuro as his master was the result of Itachi trading his undercover mission for that opportunity.
"That's right," Rokuro said. "The Rinnegan's wielder is named Nagato. Three years ago, he sent the Six Paths of Pain to destroy Konoha. Another leader is the Uchiha traitor—Uchiha Obito. The organization is extremely dangerous."
"They also have an evil plan: to collect all nine tailed beasts and rule the ninja world through their power."
"In previous wars, I personally killed the Two-Tails, Five-Tails, and Eight-Tails. By now, those three beasts should have revived somewhere in the world. Which means Akatsuki's plan is likely starting again."
"You three are my disciples. Someday, you may very well face Akatsuki yourselves—so prepare mentally."
Naruto burned with fighting spirit. Neji quietly calculated his odds against Akatsuki members. Sasuke clenched his fists—likely imagining crushing Akatsuki with his own power and rescuing his brother.
The very next day, the three applied for early graduation.
Each of them defeated a chūnin and officially became genin at the age of nine.
Though younger than in the original timeline, their strength was far greater. Sasuke alone already possessed the three-tomoe Sharingan.
Even so, in regular sparring, he could only fight Neji to a draw—and against four-tailed Naruto, he had never won once.
It had to be said: great masters produce great disciples. Had things followed the original path, these three prodigies would have wasted years—only turning the tables later thanks to the Sage of Six Paths' intervention.
No wonder Madara once dismissed them as mere grains of sand before that "Six Paths cheat" came into play.
Because Hashirama cell transplantation required extensive preparation, Rokuro personally served as their squad leader during this period—handling D-rank missions like finding lost dogs and catching runaway cats.
Occasionally, there'd be a bell-grabbing exercise—no real difference from before graduation.
And during this time
Akatsuki began to move.
"Nagato—the Two-Tails has revived," Obito said, delivering intelligence from Black Zetsu. "It's in a valley in the Land of Lightning. The Five-Tails and Eight-Tails should follow soon. We can act."
Although Nagato had no knowledge of the Eye of the Moon Plan, he firmly believed in the doctrine of nuclear deterrence. As such, the capture of the Tailed Beasts had always been one of his core objectives.
When Nagato learned that the Tailed Beasts had finally begun to revive, he immediately summoned all members of the Akatsuki. Just as in the original timeline, he assigned them to operate in pairs and set out to capture the beasts.
However, since the so-called "Immortal Duo" had already been eliminated—directly or indirectly—by Uchiha Rokuro, the Two-Tails they were meant to capture was instead handled personally by Nagato and Konan.
As for the others, Uchiha Itachi and Kisame were reassigned the task of capturing the Three-Tails and Four-Tails.
These two were no easy targets. Capturing them would require deep infiltration into Iwagakure and Kirigakure, a level of difficulty comparable to seizing the One-Tails' Jinchūriki in the original story.
Deidara had only succeeded in capturing the One-Tails because Sunagakure had previously taken part in the Konoha Crush, during which the Fourth Kazekage was killed by Orochimaru and the village suffered heavy losses. Under normal circumstances, success would have been far from guaranteed.
"Other than those few wild Tailed Beasts, the rest require confronting entire hidden villages head-on," Konan said, her expression heavy with concern. "That won't be easy."
Obito chuckled darkly.
"Thanks to the Uchiha Clan's aggressive expansion over the past few years, Iwagakure's strength has been cut in half. As for Kirigakure—it's still powerful, but I know that village inside and out. That alone significantly reduces the difficulty. The real headache is still the Nine-Tails."
"The Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, Uzumaki Naruto, may only be nine years old," Obito continued, "but according to my information, he became Uchiha Rokuro's disciple three years ago. His growth has been terrifying. By now, he should already be at elite jōnin level."
"And that's not even the worst part," he added. "The real problem is that he's almost always by Rokuro's side. If we want to touch Naruto, we'll first have to defeat Rokuro. And that man… I can't beat him. That's something only you can handle, Nagato."
Obito deliberately played the role of the weaker party. Nagato naturally heard the subtext—but didn't care.
"We'll capture the One-Tails through Eight-Tails first," Nagato said calmly. "Once only the Nine-Tails remains, we'll launch a full-scale war, annihilate Konoha, and kill Uchiha Rokuro in one decisive strike."
With that, Nagato turned to Obito.
"Madara… for now, I'll still call you Madara. At this point, isn't it time to reveal your trump card to us?"
Ever since his mask had been split open by Rokuro, Obito no longer bothered wearing it. His half-light, half-dark face curved into a faint smile.
"My trump card is an army of one hundred thousand White Zetsu. Every single one possesses chūnin-level combat ability. Even if the Five Great Nations form a united shinobi alliance, we can overwhelm them through sheer numbers. With them supporting the Akatsuki's top-tier combatants, destroying Konoha and seizing the Nine-Tails will be effortless."
Konan's expression instantly grew grave upon hearing that number.
Nagato—controlling Pain—showed no visible reaction at all. Even his tone remained unchanged.
"Very well. If you possess such a card, then this war is worth fighting. Proceed according to plan."
Once Nagato's orders were issued, the Akatsuki members moved immediately.
After learning of the operation, Uchiha Itachi attempted to relay the intelligence back to Konoha—but the message was intercepted by Rokuro.
"So the Akatsuki are finally making their move?" Rokuro mused. "Looks like some of the Tailed Beasts have already revived. Perfect timing. My Hashirama Cell transplantation is nearly complete as well. I'll use the Akatsuki as a test run."
Still within the Landscape of Mountains and Rivers, Uchiha Rokuro, under the watchful gaze of Uchiha Izumi, underwent the Hashirama Cell transplantation—performed personally by Tsunade and Shizune.
Although Tsunade and Shizune had already been affected by Kotoamatsukami, making their loyalty beyond doubt, Izumi remained uneasy.
"How long until Rokuro wakes up?" she asked. "There won't be any rejection reaction, will there?"
"Relax," Tsunade replied confidently. "At most three days. As for rejection—based on the current data, Rokuro's cell compatibility with my grandfather exceeds my expectations. At this level, it's almost on par with my own. Could it be that Rokuro carries Senju blood as well?"
Rokuro had once explained the shared origins of the Uchiha and Senju to Izumi, so she wasn't shocked by the implication. Hearing that he would awaken in three days, she finally let out a long breath.
"If we still have three days to wait," she said, turning to Tsunade and Shizune, "then you two shouldn't sit idle either. Begin my pre-operative preparations as well."
Tsunade, now deeply intrigued by the potential of Uchiha bloodlines, did not refuse and began collecting Izumi's cells.
Almost at the same time that Rokuro and Izumi were drawing closer to the Six Paths Sage's lineage, another man in whom Rokuro had placed great expectations stood atop a hillside, gazing into the distance.
Orochimaru.
As chakra gathered in his eyes, his serpentine pupils suddenly flooded with blood, turning crimson. First came the three-tomoe Sharingan—then the five-pointed pinwheel. Both Mangekyō Sharingan glowed with ominous light.
The pinwheels spun violently.
Dark-purple chakra erupted, enveloping Orochimaru's entire body. A hundred-meter-tall Perfect Susanoo burst forth from the earth.
A colossal blade—dozens of meters long—was drawn and swung toward a distant mountain.
BOOOOM!
Amid a world-shattering roar, a mountain over a thousand meters tall was cleaved clean in two. The terrifying force whipped up a storm that obliterated everything within a ten-kilometer radius. Trees, rocks—everything was blown away. When the dust settled, even the terrain itself had been reshaped.
"Congratulations, Lord Orochimaru," Yakushi Kabuto exclaimed, standing near Susanoo's heel. "You've finally obtained power that stands unrivaled in this world."
The Susanoo dissipated.
The reborn Orochimaru landed lightly on the ground, his heart filled with unprecedented satisfaction—and burning fanaticism.
"No," he said slowly. "This still isn't power that rules the world. To achieve true greatness, we must realize our hypothesis—the fusion of Uchiha and Senju power, and awaken the Rinnegan of the Six Paths Sage."
Kabuto nodded.
"Please rest assured, Lord Orochimaru. We've already obtained leads on Uchiha Madara's corpse. Once we find it, our hypothesis will become reality. When that happens, whether it's Uchiha Rokuro or the Six Paths Pain, both will fall at your feet."
END OF CHAPTER
(Some chapters in patreon are double chapters)
5 IN 1 - BE A MEMBER, GET 5 ONGOING STORIES!!
Forbidden Java Jutsu - MrBehringer's Secret
👉 patreon.com/MrBehringer