Chapter 238: Fourth Hokage, Is It You Who Has Returned?
Liu burst from the treeline, his clothes torn and his left leg dragging uselessly behind him, yet a manic, breathless laughter tore from his throat.
"The Rinnegan... right here in Konoha!" he cackled, spit flying from his lips. "The legendary eyes of the Sage, right in front of me! What does a pathetic Sharingan matter now? Hiruko-sama will reward me beyond measure!"
Blinded by greed, he assumed a mere child could never harness such godly ocular prowess. He lunged forward, throwing all caution to the wind. Stelle's brow furrowed. She wasn't reacting to the incoming attack, but rather to the name that had just slipped from the Jonin's mouth.
Hiruko? The one who defected was Hiruko?
Last she checked, that man was happily holed up in the agricultural lab crossbreeding seeds and vegetables. He lived a comfortable, pampered life. Every time he successfully cultivated a new cabbage variety, he would practically sprint over to show off to her, beaming like a proud father. He was in his element there, surrounded by sycophantic colleagues and funded by Danzo, who treated him like a literal god of wealth. Why on earth would a botanist suddenly go rogue?
Pushing the absurdity aside, Stelle focused her chakra. She extended a single, open palm toward the charging Jonin.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
Before Liu could even cross the halfway mark, an invisible, crushing gravitational vortex snagged him mid-air. The irresistible suction yanked him forward, only to violently whip him sideways. He slammed into the earth with the force of a falling meteor. The impact cratered the forest floor, sending a shockwave of dirt and splintered roots into the air. Liu coughed up a thick spray of blood, his limbs twitching as he struggled—and failed—to push himself up from the shattered ground.
Stelle immediately clapped a hand over her left eye, her small frame swaying.
The Rinnegan's chakra drain was monstrous. A single, basic combo technique had nearly hollowed out her reserves. If she wanted to fight further, she would have to uncap her Chakra Seal.
No, she decided, gritting her teeth. I need to power-level my teammates when we get back. Kakashi and Obito had to become walking natural disasters so her own 'A-Mu' persona could fade into the background. Being the strongest of the new generation was far too much of a headache. And seriously, what the hell was Hiruzen doing all day? Staring at his crystal ball? He hadn't noticed a massive internal security breach right under his nose. One-star review. I am definitely leaving the Third Hokage a negative review.
"A-Mu... your eye..."
Kakashi breathed out, his visible eye locked onto the rippling purple rings glowing beneath her fingers. The puzzle pieces violently snapped into place. The sudden lockdown in Konoha that day. Her prolonged disappearance. The constant, suffocating presence of hidden guards trailing her every move. The Academy Principal's unnatural deference, and the way the Third Hokage's gaze always lingered on their team with heavy, unspoken weight.
It all traced back to this. The legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths. Those two Anbu operatives hadn't just happened to be nearby; they were her elite shadow guard.
Obito's reaction was entirely different. Pure, unadulterated panic washed over his face. "A-Mu, hide it! Hide your eye right now!"
He remembered the Hokage's grim warnings. If those eyes were exposed to the world, she would become a target for every missing-nin and hidden village on the continent. Without the strength to defend herself, she would be hunted down and killed.
Ignoring the agonizing protests of his battered ribs, Obito forced himself up from the dirt. Before Stelle could even blink, he grabbed her shoulders and shoved her face directly into his chest, desperately shielding her eye from the world. He glared wildly at the surrounding trees, terrified that another enemy might be lurking in the foliage.
His chest, hardened by years of relentless taijutsu training, felt like a solid plank of wood. Stelle's nose smashed against it. She inhaled sharply, a muffled hiss escaping her lips.
"I'm fine," she grumbles into his jacket. "While they've lost their ability to move, let's just retreat."
"Your eyes cannot be exposed," Kakashi stated, his voice dropping to a frigid, clinical deadpan. His mind had already calculated the optimal solution. "We retreat after I silence them."
He drew the White Fang's Tanto, the chakra-conductive blade gleaming with lethal intent as he stalked toward the three downed shinobi.
"Don't." Stelle reached out, her fingers snagging the hem of his shirt.
Was he insane? The two Chunin might be half-dead, but the Jonin was a coiled viper. She knew for a fact that the second Kakashi stepped within striking distance, the elite shinobi would snap his neck before he could even swing his sword. An Elite Jonin didn't die that easily.
Before Kakashi could argue, a suffocating, monstrous chakra signature crashed over the clearing. It moved with terrifying speed, arriving in an instant.
Who is it this time? Stelle groaned internally. Are these enemies nesting dolls? She forcefully shoved herself out of Obito's protective grip and turned to face the newcomer. Her breath hitched.
The man standing before them was undeniably Hiruko, but the cowardly, inferior botanist of her memories was gone. This adult version radiated a bone-chilling, chaotic aura. His chakra felt unnatural—a grotesque amalgamation of different signatures stitched together. He exuded a classic, unapologetic villainous malice from head to toe, looking exactly like the obsessive antagonist from the original timeline.
Despite his crushed body, Liu's eyes lit up with feverish zeal.
"Hiruko-sama! I found it! The Rinnegan!" he wheezed, spitting blood. "It's in that brat's skull! As long as you devour the Rinnegan, you'll be one step closer to achieving your goal. Forgive my incompetence... I took a Rinnegan jutsu head-on... I'm sorry, Hiruko-sama, you need to take action personally..."
His incoherent babbling reeked of absolute fanaticism.
A flicker of genuine shock breached Hiruko's cold demeanor. In his mind, the Fourth Hokage perished precisely because he had exhausted himself battling a mysterious Rinnegan wielder before rushing to the front lines. He snapped his head toward Stelle, his terrifying gaze locking onto the rippling purple rings.
But as his eyes adjusted, he saw the face attached to that eye.
Hiruko froze. The chaotic swirling of his chakra stuttered to a halt. For years, he had buried himself in forbidden research, ignoring the village gossip about a little girl who bore an uncanny resemblance to the late Fourth Hokage. To him, the Fourth was an irreplaceable god; no child could ever compare.
But seeing her face now, bathed in the dappled forest light... the resemblance was absolute. It shattered his composure.
"Fourth... Hokage..."
In the next second, the sinister gloom in his eyes evaporated, replaced by a blinding, religious fervor. He stepped toward her. He completely forgot he was an elite shinobi capable of the Body Flicker technique; instead, he simply jogged forward, clumsy and eager. It was a haunting mirror of his youth, when he would run across the lab to proudly present his latest agricultural breakthrough to the Fourth Hokage. He stopped a few feet away, entirely defenseless, trembling with excitement.
Kakashi and Obito instinctively raised their weapons, but Hiruko didn't even spare them a glance. With a casual, almost dismissive wave of his hand, a surge of oppressive chakra forced the two boys to their knees, easily neutralizing them. His entire universe had narrowed down to the girl in front of him.
Tears welled up in his pale eyes, spilling over his lashes.
"Hokage-sama... you've returned," he choked out, his voice cracking. "I knew it. I knew you wouldn't die. You were so powerful... how could you have died on the battlefield..."
He reached out a trembling, pale hand, desperate to touch her cheek to prove this wasn't a genjutsu. Stelle took a sharp step back. Hiruko's hand dropped, afraid to offend her.
"Hokage-sama, is it your reincarnation that has returned? You've returned with the Rinnegan. I... I am Hiruko."
Stelle stared at him, her mind spinning faster than a shuriken. Why the hell did the Deputy Director of Agricultural Research defect?! And based on Liu's raving about offering a one-tomoe Sharingan and then the Rinnegan, Hiruko had definitely perfected the Kimera no Jutsu.
Did Orochimaru troll him too hard? Did that all-rounder snake bastard push his inferiority complex so far that he abandoned his cabbages to become a combat-type ninja?
High above the distant tree canopy, a sharp whistle pierced the air, followed by a brilliant explosion of red sparks. An Anbu emergency distress flare.
"Tch. Lingering like flies," Hiruko sneered. He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes flashing with a murderous, icy glint. But the moment he turned back to Stelle, the villainous malice vanished, retracted completely.
"Hokage-sama, come with me," he pleaded, his voice dropping to a raspy, fanatical whisper. "Konoha is not suitable for you. It will only become a burden to your grand ideals."
He took a half-step closer, his obsession unquestionable. "Please stay by my side. I will follow in your footsteps just like before to fulfill your ideals. I will protect you. I am now... very powerful."
Stelle blinked. She weighed her options for exactly three seconds.
"Fine. I'll go with you," she said flatly. "But you must let Kakashi and Obito go."
Hiruko's smile faltered. A deep, troubled frown creased his forehead. The blinding fanaticism in his eyes dissipated by a fraction. This voice... this tone. The Fourth Hokage he worshipped was an absolute authority. How could the Fourth Hokage say such weak, compromising words?
A sliver of cold rationality bled back into his mind, though he maintained his patient, devoted posture.
"Rest assured, Hokage-sama. Even Orochimaru wouldn't think much of a mere one-tomoe Sharingan. Why would I care about it? It was just a subordinate acting on his own."
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