Honestly, Sarutobi Hiruzen was reluctant to cross blades with his own student.
Even now, he subconsciously wondered whether there might be some way to deal with Orochimaru more leniently.
But…
using fellow villagers as human test subjects was simply far too serious a matter.
If he brushed it aside lightly, then the Will of Fire that Konoha had preached for so many years would become nothing more than a joke.
Once the truth spread, even his own prestige as the Third Hokage would likely suffer.
In fact, rumors had already begun circulating throughout the village recently.
Most of them were directed at Danzō.
Danzō had never been particularly popular in Konoha. Aside from the Uchiha, who had suffered the most under him, many other clans had also been disadvantaged by his actions at one point or another.
So when people learned that he had been removed from office, most ninja's first reaction was to celebrate.
However, there were also some who believed that the root of everything lay with Sarutobi Hiruzen.
If he had not constantly indulged Danzō, then Danzō would never have been able to commit so many outrageous acts.
Moreover, as battle reports from the southeastern front gradually returned to the village, some of the sharper and more perceptive people had already begun to vaguely guess part of the truth.
After a long silence,
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed, as though trying to exhale all the heaviness lodged in his chest.
"Very well."
"Send word to the southwestern front.
"Summon Orochimaru back to the village to report to me, in my personal name.
"The border affairs will temporarily be handed over to Nara Shikaku."
After a pause, Hiruzen added,
"Also, inform Tsunade that I want her at the Hokage's office tomorrow morning.
"Tell her there are still several details concerning the memorial ceremony for those who died on the southeastern front that have yet to be finalized, and I need her to participate in the discussion."
"Yes."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke nodded and left to carry out the orders.
Afterward, Sarutobi Hiruzen rose from his chair and slowly walked to the window.
Looking out at the quiet night, his expression became complicated and difficult to read.
He had once believed that he understood the comrades and students who had accompanied Konoha through countless storms.
But now it seemed that the undercurrents hidden beneath Konoha's great tree were far more violent and cold than he had imagined.
Perhaps…
the time had come to make a decision.
If Orochimaru could no longer be entrusted with great responsibility, then Konoha's next Hokage could only be chosen from Namikaze Minato and Tsunade.
Originally, Tsunade would not even have been considered.
After all, she suffered from hemophobia, and after everything that happened during the Second Ninja World War, she had become disillusioned and stopped involving herself in village affairs long ago.
But during the past year, with the appearance of a certain white-haired brat, Tsunade seemed to have regained some of her old spirit.
Recently, she had even stepped forward on her own initiative to deal with Danzō's matter.
Therefore, Hiruzen intended to persuade her again.
Even if Tsunade truly had no interest in becoming Hokage, she could at least step forward and play a greater role, bringing some vitality back to Konoha…
…
That night.
Southeastern Land of Fire, Shakuka Town Stronghold.
Yuu, who had just finished washing up, sat cross-legged on his bed with his eyes closed in meditation.
Suddenly,
his body trembled slightly.
His eyelids fluttered several times before slowly opening.
In an instant, an enormous torrent of information poured into his mind like floodwaters breaking through a dam—
everything his shadow clone had experienced over the past several days.
What it had seen inside Root's base.
The noisy casino.
Tsunade's private lessons.
Every event flowed through Yuu's mind like scenes from a movie.
"Phew…"
"I see."
Yuu spent several minutes digesting the memories brought back after the shadow clone dispersed.
Then he let out a long breath, understanding appearing on his face.
It seemed things had progressed relatively smoothly.
Danzō had been placed under house arrest.
Root had been taken over by ANBU.
Although it was not the ideal outcome, it was acceptable.
After all, Yuu had originally expected Sarutobi Hiruzen's indecisive personality to result in an even more conservative response.
Apparently, at this point in time, the old man had not yet become completely muddle-headed.
Furthermore…
Tsunade had brought him two pleasant surprises.
The first was her suggestion that Mikami Tajima and his wife move into the Senju clan compound.
That significantly improved their safety and removed one of Yuu's greatest worries.
Even if Danzō and the remnants of Root wanted revenge afterward, they would probably have no choice but to target Yuu himself.
The second surprise was the Yin Seal that Tsunade had taught him on the final day.
Yuu had coveted this technique for a long time.
He had not expected to obtain it now.
At this moment,
the galgame system seemed to sense something.
With a soft ding, a line of pale golden text appeared at the edge of Yuu's vision.
[Ding! Giftable item detected—Advanced Limited Skin Fragment: Binding Seal Formula — Yin Seal! Gift it?]
Hmm…
The fact that the Yin Seal was a skin for the Binding Seal Formula did not surprise Yuu.
After all, both techniques originated from the Uzumaki clan and could be considered branches of the same lineage.
However…
so ninjutsu learned through a shadow clone could also be recognized by the galgame system?
Wouldn't that mean the idea he had previously considered—sending shadow clones elsewhere to study swordsmanship and help the original body increase the progress of "The World's Greatest Swordsmanship"—was actually viable?
If so…
then there was a lot he could do with that.
Yuu decided that once he had the chance, he would create a shadow clone, give it enough supplies, and send it to the Land of Iron as a test.
The stronghold still had his main body, Uchiha Fugaku, Shisui, and the others stationed here.
Under ordinary circumstances, they could handle anything that happened.
Even if an emergency arose, he could simply dispel the shadow clone and retrieve the information immediately.
As for the Yin Seal itself…
there was no need to rush.
This was not a technique one could master overnight.
Even if Yuu copied it down and gifted it to the Binding Seal Formula as a skin, bypassing the time required to understand its complex and exquisite formulas, gathering chakra into the Yin Seal was still a slow process.
There was no way to see immediate results.
In the original story, Haruno Sakura spent three years accumulating enough chakra before she could use the two divine techniques known as Creation Rebirth: Strength of a Hundred Technique and Betsuten Sakura during the Fourth Ninja World War, allowing her to stand shoulder to shoulder with Six Paths Naruto and Sasuke.
And now,
even with the system assisting him, Yuu estimated that it would still take at least three to five months before the Yin Seal showed meaningful results.
But the current situation…
probably would not give him that much time.
Kirigakure certainly was not going to simply give up.
And Uchiha Madara was unlikely to sit back and watch Team Minato return to Konoha covered in military achievements.
Before the war ended, Madara would definitely find a way to cause trouble and force Obito into a desperate situation, laying the groundwork for his proxy plan.
Perhaps a new offensive was already being prepared at this very moment.
Whether it was to deal with the coming war, the future threat of Uchiha Madara, or certain people inside Konoha itself, Yuu needed to raise his combat power quickly within a relatively short period.
Therefore…
his priorities remained swordsmanship and Transparent Escape.
In addition, he needed to find an opportunity to test Three Dragons Turning Destruction and determine exactly how powerful it was.
Could it possibly damage someone at the super-Kage level?
For that, Yuu planned to ride Black Wing out over the ocean and find an uninhabited island where he could practice.
That would avoid Black Zetsu and White Zetsu discovering him and exposing his trump card prematurely.
Practicing in Shikkotsu Forest was another option, but slugs were probably rather vulnerable to fire.
If he accidentally burned the Great Slug Sage into serious trouble, Yuu certainly could not afford to take responsibility for that.
"Time is tight. There's a lot to do…"
Yuu raised his head and looked at the moonlight outside the window.
He sighed.
A trace of confusion briefly appeared in his eyes, but it quickly vanished, replaced once again by calm sharpness.
The pressure certainly existed.
But…
he was used to it.
Ever since the day he transmigrated into this world, Yuu had constantly been racing against time.
For a long period, he had even lived as an ordinary person without any cheat ability at all, once genuinely suspecting that he might die during the Third Ninja World War.
Now, with the galgame system by his side, he had already reached the peak among ninja of his generation.
He could even trade blows with veterans from the older generation.
There was no need to become overly anxious.
"One step at a time."
"First, while the memories are fresh, I'll familiarize myself with the Yin Seal and organize the important points onto a scroll.
"Then I'll continue farming progress with those other techniques…"
After muttering softly to himself, Yuu closed his eyes again.
Following the method Tsunade had taught his shadow clone in Konoha, he began guiding chakra toward the center of his forehead, attempting to open a "reservoir" capable of storing chakra.
Fine, cool streams of chakra flowed slowly upward through specific chakra pathways like tiny rivulets.
The process was unfamiliar and sluggish, far less smooth and effortless than when he used ordinary ninjutsu.
But Yuu was patient.
…
It was also nighttime.
Six hundred li north of Shakuka Town, at a coastal harbor somewhere in the Land of Hot Water.
The moon was dark and the wind was high.
Waves crashed against the reefs with dull roars.
Under the cover of night, a medium-sized fleet bearing no identifying marks silently entered the harbor.
The moment the gangplanks were lowered, shadowy figures leapt down like ghosts and rapidly assembled along the shore.
There appeared to be two or three hundred of them.
Every one wore practical combat clothing, and none had any ninja village forehead protector.
Yet their movements were disciplined and orderly.
Clearly, these were well-trained elites that only a major ninja village could produce.
Two people stood at their head.
One was short and looked almost like a child, despite being unusually old for his appearance…
Mm.
He really was unusually old.
This person was Yagura Karatachi, the Fourth Mizukage from the original timeline.
Judging by appearance alone, he looked barely in his teens.
In reality, however, he was already over twenty and belonged to roughly the same generation as Namikaze Minato.
Although he had not yet become Mizukage or a jinchūriki, he was already one of Kirigakure's few elite jōnin.
If the Mizukage had not personally named him, Yagura probably would not have appeared here.
As for the man beside him,
he was a tall, heavily built man with dark skin.
A massive sword wrapped tightly in bandages, almost as thick as a barrel, was strapped across his back.
His face was rough and fierce, and his eyes carried a vicious light.
At the moment, he impatiently rolled his neck, producing several cracking sounds.
Jinin Akebino.
One of the current Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Wielder of the Blunt Sword: Kabutowari.
"Tch. Lord Mizukage is really going to ridiculous lengths just to deal with one Konoha brat.
"We've detoured nearly a thousand li just to avoid the stronghold he personally commands.
"This is the first time I've ever seen something like that."
Jinin Akebino spoke in a rough voice.
"Heh."
Yagura replied coldly.
"If you believe Lord Mizukage's decision is wrong, then go persuade him to withdraw the order instead of complaining here.
"Behavior like this from the weak accomplishes nothing except souring everyone else's mood."
"…I was just complaining casually. Why are you taking it so seriously?"
Jinin was momentarily speechless, but he did not dare continue.
There was nothing he could do.
In the ninja world, weakness was the original sin.
Jinin's strength ranked near the bottom among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
He could not compare with Fuguki Suikazan or Raiga Kurosuki.
Nor could he compare with Yagura.
If Yagura had not specialized in Water Release and shown no interest in pursuing swordsmanship, he probably could have competed for a seat among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen himself.
Therefore, among this group, Yagura was the one with the higher status.
Faced with his words, Jinin could only nod in agreement and keep quiet.
At this moment,
Yagura ignored him and turned toward the Kirigakure elites who had silently assembled behind them.
His expression remained blank.
"Proceed according to the original plan.
"Break into smaller groups and infiltrate the Land of Fire through indirect routes.
"Avoid Konoha's major checkpoints and patrol routes along the way, then regroup at the designated coordinates."
"Remember.
"Until the main force is completely in position, and until Jinin and I arrive, avoid all contact with Konoha.
"Unauthorized action is absolutely forbidden.
"Anyone who disobeys…"
"will be killed without mercy."
"…Yes!"
Hundreds of Kirigakure elites responded in low voices.
Then the force rapidly divided into several groups.
Each squad consisted of roughly ten to twenty ninja.
Like streams of water melting into the darkness, they scattered in different directions and quickly disappeared into the vast forests.
Soon, only Yagura, Jinin, and a dozen or so guards remained on the beach.
"We should move as well."
Yagura lifted his chin.
"Kushimaru Kuriarare and Jinpachi Munashi should already be on their way.
"If our side moves too slowly and delays the operation, Lord Mizukage will blame us.
"That would be troublesome."
"Mm."
Remembering the terror of the Bloody Mist, Jinin no longer dared complain.
He obediently adjusted the Blunt Sword on his back and set off with the dozen guards.
While traveling,
Yagura paused briefly at one point and looked toward the direction of Shakuka Town.
Deep within his emerald-green eyes, an almost imperceptible trace of curiosity appeared.
"'White Reaper'… Mikami Yuu, huh?
"That really is a memorable name."
Someone capable of defeating three members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, making Lord Mizukage so wary that he had dispatched the remaining four Ninja Swordsmen together with an elite jōnin like Yagura himself—
and was even considering using the trump card of a tailed beast…
What kind of person was he?
Yagura was extremely curious.
He wanted to see whether his prized Water Mirror Technique could reproduce an opponent exactly identical to Mikami Yuu…