"Mm."
Uchiha Yu responded concisely. As he spoke, the orange-red Susanoo covering his body suddenly gripped the Totsuka Blade and swept it across the nearby forest.
Boom—!
The blazing long sword easily cut through the trees, and the intense flames ignited the destroyed wood.
"Ahhh—!"
A shrill, anguished scream echoed through the woods before abruptly cutting off.
Tsunade, Shizune, and Orochimaru all turned toward the part of the forest devastated by the orange-red Susanoo, their expressions darkening.
Several corpses lay on the ground. They wore Konoha forehead protectors and flak jackets—standard gear for Konoha shinobi.
Being familiar with Konoha's forces, Tsunade and Orochimaru immediately recognized the dead as members of Konoha's border intelligence unit.
"Let's deal with this later," Orochimaru said, his golden, slit-pupil eyes lined with purple shadow scanning the forest warily.
Yu nodded slightly. He glanced at Shizune and Tsunade, then said coolly, "Come with me."
He didn't want Konoha to know Tsunade's whereabouts yet.
With that, the orange-red Susanoo dissipated, and the surrounding temperature began to drop.
Yu controlled Tsunade with genjutsu, leapt forward in the direction of the Uchiha group, with Orochimaru following. Shizune, although not under control, clutched the little pig and came along as well.
"Sigh…"
Shizune frowned tightly. Even if Yu let her go now, she couldn't bear to leave Tsunade to suffer alone.
Orochimaru glanced at the controlled Tsunade, then looked at Yu, a playful smile curling at his lips.
He was already starting to anticipate what kind of genius might be born from a Senju-Uchiha union.
The appearance of the intelligence unit ninjas meant Konoha's northwest border forces were likely on their way to the Valley of Judgment.
Scanning the forest on either side, Yu fell into deep thought. At this point, he truly had the power to destroy any Konoha border unit.
But there was no need to act personally—why do the work only to let others reap the benefits?
What had happened inside Konoha was already too big to keep secret for long. Paper can't wrap fire.
There were plenty in the ninja world who wanted to destroy Konoha and divide up the Land of Fire.
While other villages were focused on the rogue Uchiha group, they were also watching Konoha like hawks.
About ten minutes after Yu's group left the area, another Konoha intelligence squad cautiously approached the zone where the last of the flames still flickered.
"Watch your step. There might be traps."
"Clear!"
"No traps!"
These Konoha ninjas emerged from the forest and began analyzing the traces of the battle.
When they discovered their comrades sliced clean in half—
"..."
Everyone froze in grief for a few seconds before quickly composing themselves and transmitting a signal to the rear.
A few minutes later—
Whoosh—Whoosh—Whoosh—
Shadows darted through the Mountain forest—about two thousand in total.
Though not a large army, they were all elite Konoha border shinobi.
Compared to the previous cannon fodder troops, these ninja were fully equipped, mentally sharp, and clearly in a different league.
The commander was a jonin from the Sarutobi clan, flanked by shinobi from the Shimura and Inuzuka clans.
These three were the officers leading this border unit. After seeing the bodies of the slain intelligence squad and the scorched forest, they observed a moment of silence. Then, each with a heavy heart, they led their forces toward the outside of Xu Mountain.
As they passed through the warped woods—
They stood atop a slope, scanning the ruined Valley of Judgment entrance, and all three felt a chill run down their spines.
Corpses were everywhere.
Bodies from different villages and factions lay sprawled or slumped among the mud and rocks.
Their faces were ghostly pale, without external wounds—as if they'd died of complete chakra exhaustion.
The battlefield was utterly tragic, yet there wasn't a single trace of blood. The scene was bizarre beyond belief.
"Uchiha really are nothing but trouble," the Sarutobi jonin spat through gritted teeth, sparking a wave of hatred for the Uchiha among the troops.
The three officers exchanged solemn looks, then led the shinobi forces carefully forward to the valley entrance.
No traps were triggered along the way. Finally, they gave the order to fortify the collapsed entrance, sealing off the thick mist creeping outward.
---
The sky gradually darkened.
Nightfall approached.
Yu, accompanied by Tsunade, Shizune, and Orochimaru, navigated through the mist, using the landmarks they'd memorized earlier, and returned to the open area they had previously reached.
When the Uchiha group saw two of the Legendary Sannin, their eyes went wide like copper bells.
"Lord Orochimaru!"
Kimimaro, seeing Orochimaru safe and sound, showed rare joy on his usually expressionless face and quickly rushed to his side.
"I'm fine, Kimimaro. This time it's thanks to Yu-kun. Otherwise, we might not have seen each other again for a long time," Orochimaru said calmly, smiling at Kimimaro as though speaking to a beloved child.
Kimimaro's eyes trembled with emotion. He walked up to Yu and bowed respectfully.
"Thank you for saving Lord Orochimaru!"
"Mm," Yu replied indifferently, then turned to the rest of the Uchiha. "Everyone rested enough? Move out!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Uchiha rose one by one—but most of their gazes drifted toward Tsunade and Shizune.
Even if they didn't know how Yu had rescued Orochimaru, it was obvious:
Tsunade-hime was the one truly worth watching now.
Each and every Uchiha wore an expression of shock, inwardly exclaiming how unbelievable it all was. In the ninja world, aside from Uchiha Yu, who else could manage to kill one of the Legendary Sannin and then recruit the other two to his side?
Even though the Uchihas noticed the recruitment method was... unusual—since Tsunade had a fierce expression on her face, clearly wanting to speak but only able to maintain a savage glare.
Soon, the Uchihas realized something else: Orochimaru was now wearing the traditional Uchiha clan attire, with the red-and-white clan crest clearly visible on his back.
"What's going on... Did Orochimaru also... join the Uchiha?" Izumi gasped.
The Uchihas were shocked once again.
Orochimaru, however, didn't mind the strange looks.
"Tsunade... sama?"
Nonoyu's eyes widened as she stared in disbelief, eyeing the full-figured and unmistakably real Tsunade. She instinctively used the honorific.
Back when she was still a Konoha ninja, Nonoyu—like many others—would habitually address the Sannin with "-sama."
Firstly, the Sannin were widely respected in Konoha. Secondly, their strength had been instrumental during wartime, earning the admiration of all shinobi.
Tsunade, in particular, had gained Nonoyu's deep respect for repeatedly proposing institutional reforms for medical-nin in the village.
Tsunade glanced back at Nonoyu with surprise as well, her heart filled with conflicting emotions.
'Does this mean... Tsunade... and Orochimaru will be my colleagues from now on?'
A storm surged in Nonoyu's mind.
She was stunned.
Only when Minami, carrying the petrified Tamao on his back, reminded her did Nonoyu snap out of it and follow the group while still carrying the unconscious Mikoto.
Thinking back to Uchiha Yu's previous bold declaration of rebuilding the Uchiha clan, Nonoyu glanced around at the current members of their group.
At the front—
Uchiha Yu was flanked by Orochimaru and Tsunade.
Two of the Sannin, and Uchiha Yu, who wielded divine power—this team configuration was already comparable to the top-tier leadership of any ninja village.
"I'm probably not dreaming..."
Nonoyu's expression was dazed, caught between anxiety and hope, as she held the softly scented, limp Mikoto in her arms and leapt forward.
Ironically, becoming a rogue ninja now made her feel more hopeful about the future—compared to her past life in Root under that old bastard Danzo, where she could see the bleak end of her life from the very start. It was like heaven and earth.
The team moved swiftly, ignoring the thick mist.
The water vapor hung heavily.
The air was damp.
Orochimaru deliberately drew closer to Uchiha Yu. Without hesitation, he summoned a small white snake from his sleeve, extracted a test tube from its mouth, and handed it to Yu with a sigh:
"Shinno—the one who taught me the Rebirth Technique—is currently missing. But if you want to find him, I'll help you search for him everywhere."
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Yu's gaze dimmed slightly. He nodded and took the test tube.
He confirmed that the liquid was suspending a Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and then poured it directly into his right palm.
"I've already examined it. It's a regular Three-Tomoe Sharingan. If Kakashi keeps it, it'll only drain his chakra reserves," Orochimaru explained truthfully, then curiously watched Uchiha Yu.
"You'll know its use soon," Yu replied.
He then activated his Yasakani Mangekyō, and just like he did with Itachi's Mangekyō, began absorbing the power and jutsu of this Kamui eye.
Clang—
Red light flared. In Uchiha Yu's left eye, the Kamui Mangekyō pattern appeared briefly, then faded—signaling that he had completely inherited the Kamui ability.
Orochimaru fell into deep thought upon witnessing this.
Then, Uchiha Yu placed the now colorless Kamui sharingan into the test tube and stored it away.
The team advanced for another ten minutes or so.
Suddenly, they sensed movement in the mist ahead—footsteps in the distance, dense and numerous, echoing down the straight valley path.
Uchiha Yu immediately ordered the group to halt.
The Uchihas tensed, their expressions wary.
Moments later—
From the thick fog emerged a group clad in brown armor and red short-sleeved tunics, each wearing a headband of Iwagakure. The men were burly and rugged.
They moved in formation—large in number and well-organized—blocking the main path through the valley.
Both sides stood their ground.
The Uchihas scrutinized the Iwa ninja with cold gazes—another battle, right after a brutal one?
Orochimaru and Tsunade, on the other hand, seemed interested, both glancing toward Uchiha Yu.
"No need to panic," Yu said calmly as he recognized the approaching force as Iwa ninjas.
Suddenly—
The Iwa troops parted to either side, revealing a small elderly man floating above the ground, slowly drifting through the center of the road toward Uchiha Yu.
°°°
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