No wasted words, no interrogation.
Itachi raised his blade and, aimed at Orochimaru's body, stabbed—mechanically, precisely, again and again.
'Gyah—!!'
Agony, magnified countless times, instantly devoured every shred of Orochimaru's senses.
It wasn't merely physical pain; it was torture inflicted directly upon the mind.
Itachi's eyes remained icy, as though he were simply finishing a trivial chore.
Without pause he poured every unspeakable negative emotion—restlessness, bewilderment, doubt of fate, the anguish of his own choices—into the hapless punching-bag before him.
Within the Tsukuyomi dimension, time stretched into infinity.
For Orochimaru, this was the deepest hell imaginable.
For Itachi, this cruel dismemberment became a twisted way to steady a psyche on the verge of collapse.
Only when the suffocating knot in his chest loosened did Itachi stop. Looking down at the barely conscious Orochimaru, he coldly dismissed the Tsukuyomi as one might discard trash.
In the real world Orochimaru's body convulsed; he staggered back several steps, face paper-white, gasping for air, his gaze at Uchiha Itachi filled with an unprecedented terror.
Uchiha Itachi still stood quietly in place, as if nothing had happened—save that the Mangekyo Sharingan in his eyes seemed deeper, colder.
Thud!
A dull impact and a cry of pain.
Uzumaki Naruto clutched the goose-egg lump that had blossomed on his head, grimacing on the floor while stars danced before his eyes.
Behind the desk, Fifth Hokage Tsunade lowered her fist, chest heaving—clearly furious.
'Who gave you permission to call me "Granny"? You rude little brat!'
'Keep babbling and I'll beat you senseless!'
She had merely asked Jiraiya to fetch the boy for official business.
The moment the blond stepped in, those blue eyes had widened and his trademark roar of 'Granny! Granny!' had tap-danced all over her last nerve.
Already on edge, Tsunade was hardly the type to endure that.
Clutching his throbbing skull, Naruto scrambled up, pointed at Tsunade, then at a sheepish Jiraiya, and yelled:
'That hurts, you old—uh!'
One glimpse of Tsunade's cocked fist and he swallowed the rest.
He turned to Jiraiya, protesting, 'What'd I say wrong?! You're about the same age, aren't you? Both fifty-something geezers—how…'
'Shut it, you little punk!'
Before he could finish, Jiraiya exploded, smacking the back of Naruto's head.
Was the brat suicidal?
'And it's SAGE, got it? Not "Pervy Sage"! Keep making up names and see what happens!'
Rubbing his head, Naruto shot Jiraiya a look of pure disdain. 'Hmph! Last time I totally caught you peeking outside the women's bath…'
'Gyaaahhh!!!'
Jiraiya, mortified, pounced like a scalded cat and clamped a hand over Naruto's mouth, stifling every word that could socially annihilate him.
You don't say that in front of Tsunade! Forcing a grin more hideous than tears, he stammered, 'H-ha… kids say the darnedest things! Don't listen to him, Tsunade!'
Arms folded, Tsunade watched the farce—one kid flailing and squealing, the other desperately muzzling—veins throbbing at her temples.
Her blood pressure was skyrocketing.
Having these two idiots share her office air was the gravest insult to the Hokage Office atmosphere.
'Enough!' she barked like thunder, halting the circus.
'Shut up and stand straight!'
The Hokage's crushing aura flooded the room.
Both Naruto and Jiraiya jumped to attention like scolded pupils, eyes still shooting daggers.
Tsunade inhaled, resisting the urge to hurl both out the window.
Be calm, she told herself—Hokage poise… the hell with that!
Talking reason with these morons was self-torture.
Thud! Thud!
Two crisp impacts.
Silence at last.
Uzumaki Naruto and Jiraiya squatted on the floor, identical steaming lumps on their heads, finally docile.
Tsunade flexed her wrist, savoring their meek—especially Naruto's—glares of protest.
Hmph, so what if in ten years he might be the strongest in the Ninja World?
One a world destroyer, the other a savior who could trade blows with him—
Sasuke or Naruto, both had to behave and taste her iron fist.
That 'I don't care how awesome you'll be, I can still clobber you now' superiority dissolved her paperwork irritation.
Clearing her throat, she dropped the teasing and turned grave.
'Uzumaki Naruto, I didn't summon you for games. We have serious business.'
Beside her, Jiraiya also rose, rubbing his head, his usual levity gone as he solemnly nodded—this was no joke.
Days had passed since Shimura Danzo and Root were dealt with; Konoha's order was steadying under the new Hokage's iron rule.
And the important matter she and Jiraiya had discussed—clearing Naruto's name and restoring him as the Fourth Hokage's son—was now on the agenda.
Jiraiya was all for it.
He knew better than anyone how vital it was for Naruto to shed the 'demon fox' stigma and be hailed a hero's son.
Seeing Tsunade and the Pervy Sage turn so grave, Naruto straightened unconsciously, blue eyes flickering with puzzlement and a hint of unease.