"This woman really took the scenic route only to end up choosing the hardest path anyway. Why put herself through all this?"
Akira shook his head. He felt like he had laid everything out for her already. He had even hinted that he knew forbidden jutsus like Impure World Reincarnation himself. If she wanted to see the dead that badly, he could just drag them back out for a short conversation. Simple.
Instead, the whole thing had been like winking at a blind man. Tsunade had not taken a single word of it to heart, and Akira had completely lost faith in his pitiful level of talk-no-jutsu.
What Akira did not know was that Tsunade had refused for more than one reason. Yes, she had held to her bottom line, but more than that, she was afraid of Akira touching a forbidden jutsu that toyed with souls, afraid he would end up walking Orochimaru's path and carry that stain for the rest of his life.
With Tsunade's fiercely protective nature, there was no way she would let a gifted young talent like Akira be tainted because of her.
Just as Akira was sighing to himself about how lonely enlightenment could be, the door slammed open with a violent bang, and Shizune rushed in like her life depended on it, only to freeze when the first thing she saw was Akira calmly sipping tea like some retired nobleman.
For a second, her whole brain seemed to lock up. Wasn't something about this scene deeply wrong?
Thankfully, she knew Tsunade and Akira had been spending a lot of time together lately, so after a brief pause, she snapped back to herself and asked anxiously, "Akira! Where is Tsunade-hime? Is she in here?"
Akira took one unhurried sip of tea, set down the cup, and replied in a tone calm enough to suggest he was commenting on the weather. "At this point, she's probably already catching up with Orochimaru."
The moment those words landed, Jiraiya, who had come in behind Shizune, went pale. It looked like his white hair might stand on end.
"What did you say? She really went to find that bastard Orochimaru?"
Jiraiya crossed the room in three steps and stopped in front of Akira, his eyes full of disbelief.
Akira nodded and rose to straighten his clothes. "Yep. Last night after I drank with her, she slipped something into my drink. I only woke up a little while ago. My head's still foggy."
The second he heard the words slipped something into my drink, Jiraiya slapped his thigh so hard it echoed through the room, his face a mix of realization and outrage.
"So that's it! She drugged me too! Damn it, don't tell me she really means to sell out Konoha just to bring those two back!"
"No. Akira, we have to stop her. And in the state she's in, she could easily end up dead at Orochimaru's hands!"
Jiraiya knew Orochimaru too well. At this point, he would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. Teacher, teammate, village, none of it mattered to him anymore. If he could kill the Third, killing Tsunade would not cost him a second thought.
Compared to Jiraiya, Akira seemed almost absurdly composed.
He said lazily, "Maybe letting her go smash herself against the wall once isn't the worst thing. If she's truly determined to heal Orochimaru, what difference does it make whether we get there early or late? You can stop a person's body, not their heart."
"This is her own demon to deal with. Orochimaru is holding the souls of the people she cared about most. Even if we stop her this time, what about the next?"
The words were cold, but they had a certain logic to them. Jiraiya's brow tightened, and for a moment he had no answer.
But he was far more worried about Tsunade's safety. Orochimaru was a snake in every sense of the word, and there was no telling what sort of trap he had prepared for her.
"No matter what she chooses, even if I have to drag her back by force, I'm bringing her home. Right now the priority is saving her. Orochimaru is absolutely planning something."
Akira shrugged and didn't disagree. He knew the story well enough. Orochimaru had indeed gone there ready to kill.
So Akira followed the frantic Jiraiya and Shizune, and the group rushed toward the back hills.
All the way there, Akira stayed at the rear of the group, utterly unhurried. He was, after all, the one carrying the script in his pocket.
As they ran, Jiraiya finally could not help turning back to ask, "What exactly did you say to her last night? How did it have absolutely no effect?"
Akira spread his hands helplessly and gave him the rough version of the conversation. Jiraiya could only laugh bitterly.
"You really are hopeless. Everything you said touched the deepest scars she has. That's not persuasion, that's pouring salt straight into the wound. Of course she wasn't going to listen."
Akira did not bother arguing. He had never truly expected to talk that mule-headed woman around anyway.
Before long, the group began to feel the violent tremors ahead, the kind that only came from high-level ninja clashing at full force.
For the first time, Shizune's tense face showed a flash of relief. "They're fighting! That means Tsunade-hime turned Orochimaru down!"
As long as Tsunade had not betrayed Konoha, there was still a way to salvage this, and a huge weight lifted from Shizune's heart.
Jiraiya also let out a breath, but his feet moved even faster, because if the shockwaves were that strong, then the fight was intense, which meant Tsunade was in real danger.
Shizune clutched Tonton and let the little pig, with its sharp nose, guide them ahead.
Soon the four of them burst out of the forest and entered an open clearing in the hills.
And what they saw there made every heart in the group stop for an instant.
Tsunade was kneeling on the ground, trembling all over. Blood was splashed across her face. Her eyes were vacant, lifeless. In front of her stood Kabuto Yakushi with a mocking smile and a kunai in hand.
Orochimaru stood off to one side like a man watching a play, a cruel smile on his face.
Seeing Tsunade, who usually seemed untouchable, reduced to a helpless, frightened girl in an instant sent Jiraiya into a fury. His white hair lifted as if stirred by a storm.
"Orochimaru! You animal! You really dared do this to her!"
Shizune screamed and rushed toward Tsunade without hesitation. Naruto, face full of fury, charged after her, yelling at the top of his lungs.
Only Akira stopped.
He remained where he was, brow slightly furrowed, gaze fixed tightly on that trembling figure.
At this point, Tsunade had clearly fallen completely into the nightmare of her hemophobia. The outside world no longer existed for her. All she could see were the repeated deaths of Nawaki and Dan.
Akira had always been curious how severe her blood phobia really was.
Now he had his answer.
Even battle-hardened veterans who crawled their way out of mountains of corpses usually only shook or vomited when trauma hit them. But Tsunade? A little blood and she turned into prey waiting to die.
With nerves like that, was she really supposed to be Hokage?
And then, as if she had sensed something familiar, Tsunade slowly lifted her head. Her unfocused eyes swept over the field, then stopped when they landed on Akira.
The moment their gazes met, Tsunade clutched at the dirt as though she had found the last rope hanging over a cliff.
Then, as though something from the night before had suddenly crossed her mind, she lowered her head again in shame, and her body shook even harder.
That flicker of expression left Akira utterly baffled. At a time like this, she still had room in her head for that?
Kabuto, meanwhile, clearly had no intention of giving Jiraiya and the others a chance to save her. He reversed the grip on his kunai and stepped toward Tsunade, killing intent plain in his eyes.
And Tsunade did not react at all, as though she had completely abandoned the idea of resisting.
Akira's mouth twitched. Inwardly he could only complain, How exactly did this woman survive in the shinobi world this long? Did she just roll natural twenties every time she ran into danger?
Sure, she had Shizune around as a bodyguard, but Shizune was only about elite chunin level. Against real monsters, that wasn't nearly enough.
Complaining was one thing.
Actually standing there and letting the future Fifth Hokage die such a humiliating death was another.
If Tsunade died here, then who was supposed to go back and clean up Konoha's mess?
Akira, spending the rest of his life buried in paperwork as Hokage?
Absolutely not.
Only if Tsunade survived and went back to take the hit could Akira continue his carefree life.
In that instant, a faint red light flashed in Akira's eyes, and the pattern of his Mangekyo Sharingan formed. Of course, concealed under sealing techniques, all anyone else saw was that his gaze turned suddenly sharp.
"Blink."
It was really just a variant space-time jutsu, but Akira thought the original name sounded unbearably awkward, so he had given it something simpler.
In the next moment, a faint crack of displaced air sounded, and Akira vanished from where he stood, reappearing directly in front of Tsunade.
Jiraiya, Shizune, and Naruto, who had all been rushing toward the scene, slammed to a stop so hard their eyes nearly popped out.
"F-fast! That definitely wasn't Body Flicker! No Body Flicker is that fast!"
Ordinary Body Flicker was, at best, an explosive burst of leg speed. Skilled shinobi could still track the movement.
But what Akira had just done looked like a literal jump through space. No afterimage. No visible path. Just gone, then there.
Jiraiya, with all his experience, saw the truth right away. That was a technique touching the domain of space-time.
His mind instantly started racing. Did this kid secretly leave a Flying Raijin marker on Tsunade already? When? This brat really hides his cards well.
Standing in front of Tsunade, Akira looked at the startled Kabuto and curled his lips into a teasing smile. "Well, glasses. We meet again. Looks like you still haven't learned."
When Orochimaru saw Akira appear like that, the amused expression on his face froze instantly. His brows drew together.
"So it's you... I didn't expect you to involve yourself in this too."
Their encounter in the Forest of Death had been brief, but the strange power Akira had shown there had stayed vividly in Orochimaru's mind. It had been the first time he had truly smelled danger on that boy.
Tsunade slowly raised her head and stared at the figure standing in front of her.
His back was not especially broad, but it was straight and unshakably firm.
Her voice trembled, and there was even a faint note of tears in it. "Y-you... why did you come? Leave... hurry... you can't beat him..."
In Tsunade's mind, Orochimaru was an invincible monster. Akira might be a genius, yes, but he was still only thirteen. How could a boy possibly stand against a seasoned Kage-level monster like Orochimaru?
Akira ignored the defeat in her voice entirely and simply turned to glare coldly at the two men ahead.
Orochimaru and Kabuto reacted instantly. Using the tiny opening, both of them sprang backward like startled cats, retreating dozens of yards at once to create a safe distance.
Without taking his eyes off Akira, Orochimaru warned Kabuto in a low voice, "Be careful. The brat can use Flying Raijin. Don't let him mark you. And stay away from his kunai. Be wary of that strange Lightning Style."
Last time, Orochimaru had paid the price for lacking proper information. He had thought Akira was bronze and then discovered, too late, that he was facing a king. That terrifying Lightning Style had left an unforgettable impression. This time, he was on full alert.
Akira turned and looked down at Tsunade, who was still collapsed on the ground, and said in a tone halfway between mockery and disappointment, "Tsunade-hime, that's quite a look you've got going. A little blood and you're reduced to this? Is this really the level of one of the Legendary Sannin?"
Tsunade might as well not have heard him. She stayed trapped in terror, trembling too hard even to argue back.
Watching her like that, Akira sighed helplessly. "Fine. The knot has to be untied by the one who tied it. Looks like this dirty little job really does have to be left to Naruto."
He glanced back at Naruto, who was charging toward them like an enraged bull.
In the original story, Naruto had practically gambled with his life to smash through Tsunade's mental block with a Rasengan.
Akira was pretty sure that if he staged some dramatic self-sacrifice of his own, he could probably do the same.
But the cost was too high.
Actually getting hurt over something like that would be ridiculous.
So he shouted to Naruto, "Naruto! Tsunade-hime is your responsibility! This is your big moment, so don't blow it! I'm going to deal with the snake freak!"
Naruto had no idea what Akira meant by big moment, but if Akira was trusting him with something this important, then he was obviously going to take it seriously. He slapped his chest hard and nodded furiously.
Right now his head was full of one thing only: proving to Granny Tsunade that he was more than just a loudmouth brat.
Akira then turned to the breathless Shizune and said, "Shizune, you stay too. Look after her and don't let her go wandering off."
Shizune nodded gratefully. Looking at Akira's back, her heart was still full of shock. After seeing that impossible speed, it was obvious that he was the only one here really qualified to face Orochimaru.
By then Jiraiya had stumbled up beside Akira, face pale, body still weak, and gave a bitter smile. "Akira... my chakra's a complete mess right now. I can't gather it properly at all. Looks like you're going to have to hold the line for a while."
Seeing the legendary Sannin in such a sorry state, Akira couldn't resist teasing him. "Tsunade-hime really did a number on you. That was a serious dose. Good thing she showed me at least a sliver of mercy, or all of us would be dead right now, turned into snake fertilizer."
Jiraiya's old face reddened, but all he could do was nod helplessly. He knew exactly how dangerous this situation was. Orochimaru was still in top form. His hands were ruined, yes, but the man's ninjutsu knowledge and combat instincts were still there.
Akira's smile faded, and his eyes sharpened.
Last time, his win had absolutely involved a little luck. Orochimaru had been careless and underestimated him, and the lack of intel had let Akira steal the victory.
This time, against an Orochimaru who was fully on guard, would be the real test.
Orochimaru looked at Akira with the kind of caution one predator reserved for another of equal rank.
"Akira-kun, it seems your strength has improved again since the last time we met. But the same trick won't work on me twice."
Akira rolled his wrist once and smiled with perfect calm. "Orochimaru, last time I sent you running. This time won't end any differently."
Standing beside him, Kabuto was already sweating. He had enough self-awareness to know he didn't belong in this level of conversation. If they really started fighting, he probably couldn't even survive one clean move from Akira.
Orochimaru knew Kabuto's limits too. He gave a quiet order. "Go hold off the woman called Shizune. Look for a chance to take Tsunade. The second you succeed, withdraw. Don't drag it out."
Kabuto adjusted his glasses and nodded, but instead of charging immediately, he wiped a smear of blood from the nearby tree trunk onto his hand.
"Before that, just to be safe, I think I'd better call in a little backup."
Since Orochimaru could no longer weave hand seals properly, the summoning would have to be done through Kabuto.
Seeing that, Jiraiya clenched his teeth, bit his finger, and prepared to force his way through the drug still suppressing him so he could summon Gamabunta.
Akira took one look at Jiraiya's shaking hands and slapped a palm to his forehead. "Jiraiya-sama, please don't force it. With the amount of chakra you can control right now, summoning a tadpole would already be pushing it."
Before the words had fully left his mouth, Kabuto's fingers were already flying through seals so fast they blurred together.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Jiraiya bellowed too. "Summoning Jutsu!"
Poof! Poof!
Two bursts of smoke exploded almost at the same time.
When the smoke cleared, a massive giant snake now coiled beneath Orochimaru and Kabuto, its head raised high, tongue flicking, every bit as imposing as expected.
And in front of Jiraiya...
A tiny toad the size of a human palm stared up at him with round little eyes.
The clearing fell silent for several seconds.
Jiraiya stared at the tiny creature in front of him, his mouth twitching so hard it was almost painful. He clearly wanted to bury himself underground.
Behind him, Naruto gaped. "Pervy Sage... this is what you call your strongest summon? You've got to be kidding me."
Even Shizune had the expression of someone who had seen this coming all along.
The little toad, to its credit, was polite enough. It raised one tiny hand and gave Jiraiya a cheerful greeting. "Yo!"
Akira let out a long, exhausted sigh. "I knew better than to expect anything from you two when it really mattered."
Naruto, seeing his chance to show off, sucked in a deep breath, formed hand seals, and shouted, "Summoning Jutsu!"
Poof!
Another cloud of smoke burst outward.
Everyone looked over in hope.
A small yellow toad sat on Naruto's head, gave a lazy yawn, and blinked sleepily.
Gamakichi had entered the battlefield.
Akira covered his face in pain. This teacher and student pair were a comedy act. This wasn't a battlefield anymore. It was a stage routine.
At that moment, Jiraiya and Naruto both turned to look at Akira, and their eyes very clearly spelled out one thing.
Help.
They still remembered exactly how terrifying Akira's giant snake summon had been.
Akira rolled his eyes and waved a hand dismissively. "No need to bring in a war machine to kill a few rotten snakes. I don't need help for this."
By then, Kabuto had already sent the giant snake charging toward them like a derailed train.
Its enormous body thundered across the ground, blotting out half the sky and radiating a crushing sense of pressure.
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