Chapter 216: My Path — No Regrets Unto Death
It was midday. Sakura sat alone in the Hokage's office, an enormous scroll unrolled and scattered across the room in disarray. A casual glance revealed several extraordinarily secretive S-rank forbidden techniques among the pages.
She sprawled across the sofa, flipping through jutsu after jutsu that had once shaken the shinobi world.
Flying Thunder God. The Four Crimson Sun Formation. Impure World Reincarnation. Corpse Demon Sealing Technique...
"This whole book of sealing techniques feels kind of useless..."
Sakura couldn't find a single technique that suited her particular skillset.
If she had to pick one, Flying Thunder God might barely pair with her existing abilities.
But even that had issues...
Using it required pre-inscribed coordinates followed by a spatial jump. The jump itself was instantaneous, sure — but the caster still needed reaction time to activate it.
Which meant the caster's reaction speed effectively determined how fast the technique could be deployed.
Sakura had already surpassed the limits of the human body. For her, Flying Thunder God wasn't exactly a lifesaver — more like an unnecessary accessory.
Her own body's raw speed could already keep pace with Minato Namikaze using Flying Thunder God.
"That technique's worth studying."
As Sakura stared blankly at the Flying Thunder God scroll, Tobirama's voice cut in from behind the sofa without warning.
"Where did you even come from?"
"You're trying to scare me to death."
Sakura shot him a flat look.
"And also — just because it's your technique doesn't mean I have to learn it."
Unfazed by her sniping, Tobirama had long since gotten used to Pinky's personality. He leaned back against the sofa, arms crossed, and spoke at his usual leisurely pace.
"I don't know exactly what you're in a hurry about, but Flying Thunder God has enormous growth potential. Used well, it could become critically decisive."
Something clicked in Sakura's mind at his words.
"Enormous growth potential?"
"You mean this thing's only half-finished?"
Tobirama nodded.
"In my original design, using Flying Thunder God for spatial teleportation was only the baseline function."
"My original vision was to use it to open a doorway directly at the enemy — reach through and stab them without ever closing the distance."
"And beyond that — with sufficiently refined mastery, the door could open wide enough to transport thousands of troops across vast distances for tactical strikes."
"But the technique stumped me from the start. Without a pre-set coordinate, there's no way to predict where you'll actually end up."
"Beyond that, I envisioned attack methods derived from the Flying Thunder God framework — opening a portal at the enemy's neck, letting gravity do the rest as their head detaches from their body, achieving an instant kill..."
Sakura's confusion deepened the more she listened. This was...
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's Yomotsu Hirasaka?
Open a portal beside yourself and the opponent, then throw a punch through it...
Kaguya would like her royalties, thank you.
"Why do I suddenly feel like EVERY technique of yours is unfinished?"
Sakura cut in abruptly, interrupting Tobirama's monologue.
"Er..."
Tobirama's words stalled.
"Not just this Flying Thunder God — Impure World Reincarnation is also half-finished. Don't tell me the mutual-detonation explosive tags were unfinished too."
Sakura looked at him with genuine bewilderment.
"That one wasn't—"
Tobirama's hand instinctively drifted to his mouth, and he coughed lightly.
Sakura took notice.
Three years of coexistence, and she knew this scheming old Senju ghost's tells intimately.
He's lying.
The explosive tags were absolutely half-finished too.
Watching him squirm, Sakura gave a soft chuckle and, in a rare display of mercy, decided not to press the matter further — for the Second Hokage's dignity's sake.
"Fine, it's not, whatever you say. Was there something you needed?"
Tobirama's embarrassment faded, replaced by a more serious expression as he remembered his actual purpose.
"Sakura — the Three-Tails has revived. In the Land of Water."
Sakura's expression didn't change. She'd expected this. She spoke evenly.
"How long ago?"
"Ten days."
Tobirama answered.
Pinky's eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of displeasure crossing her face.
"Seems like this Fifth Mizukage has some plans of his own."
The Fifth Mizukage was Utakata, the Six-Tails jinchūriki, whose Bubble Ninjutsu was fairly formidable. In the original series, he'd even been capable of a partial Tailed Beast transformation — and though not a Perfect Jinchūriki, it had taken Pain himself to capture him, during which Utakata had actually managed to defeat one of Pain's bodies. Not that it mattered much, given the Preta Path's ability to absorb chakra.
"Didn't Mei Terumi make contact with him before?"
Ever since the war three years ago — when Sakura alone had crushed the Hidden Mist, but Yagura's own intelligence and Mei's covert diplomacy had turned Kirigakure into one of Konoha's secret allies —
Apparently, "allies" wasn't a term to be trusted.
Both Iwa and Kiri feared Konoha's overwhelming strength.
"That's only natural. With a formidable rival nearby, anyone would take precautions."
Tobirama found nothing surprising in this.
After all, he himself had died at a treaty-signing ceremony with an "ally."
"Should we have Mei confront the Mizukage about it?"
Watching Sakura sit up, Tobirama spoke quietly.
"No need. It's just the Three-Tails. Right now, your resurrection is more important."
Sakura dismissed Tobirama's suggestion.
Setting aside whether the Akatsuki would move immediately on a revived Three-Tails — sending Mei alone carried its own risks. If she ran into trouble along the way, or crossed paths with an Akatsuki duo directly, that would be a genuine headache.
Right now, Tobirama's resurrection and Kakashi's eye transplant took priority.
And besides — even with the Nine-Tails, Two-Tails, and Seven-Tails all safely secured in Konoha, what could the Akatsuki possibly accomplish even if they gathered the One, Three, Four, Five, Six, and Eight-Tails together?
The jinchūriki of the One, Six, and Eight-Tails were all sitting Kage of their respective villages. Taking them meant declaring war on an entire hidden village.
Currently, aside from Pain and Konan, Sakura couldn't think of anyone in the Akatsuki roster capable of pulling that off.
Oh, and for the record — the Hidden Sand didn't count among the Five Great Villages anymore, as far as she was concerned.
Too pathetic.
"How's Inoichi's progress with Dragon Life Reincarnation?"
Sakura spun the pencil in her hand.
"Should be very soon."
Tobirama answered gravely.
He hadn't expected his own resurrection to matter more to Sakura than the Three-Tails.
"Good. Pass word down — have Intelligence keep a closer eye on movements in the Land of Rain."
Sakura had never once gone easy on the Akatsuki.
The fact that Sasori and Kakuzu had escaped previously still bothered her.
"Understood. Anything else?"
Tobirama noted the instruction.
"That An Lushan I brought back — have someone follow up on him. It's been two whole months, and he hasn't sent me a single planning proposal."
"If he keeps slacking off, give him a taste of consequences."
Thinking of the now-plump Mukade, Sakura was distinctly irritated.
Two full months, and not even a decent proposal to show for it.
Keep slacking off and I'll send him to pick cotton.
"Er, alright."
Tobirama blinked, mildly exasperated, but agreed all the same.
In truth, drafting an expansion plan for Konoha wasn't an easy task — Sakura was being a little unfair to the man here.
Preserving the Hokage Monument, accommodating the Daimyo's palace, all the shinobi clan territories, the civilian residential districts...
Every single one of these was a genuine logistical headache.
But such was the nature of leadership: one sentence from the top, and the staff run themselves ragged trying to comply.
The Land of Rain
The central steel tower, Hidden Rain
"Everyone."
A cold, calm, detached voice sounded from the raised seat.
Every face in the room turned toward the man seated above them, expressions varying wildly.
Pain.
Leader of the Akatsuki. Bearer of the Sage of Six Paths' Rinnegan. A man who called himself a god.
And yet — despite how arrogant such a claim might seem — not a single person here disputed it.
Every core member of the Akatsuki was a rogue ninja. Keeping them all in line required genuine strength.
And as it happened, Pain had genuine strength.
More than enough of it.
"For years, we have lain dormant in the shadows, gathering our power."
The old, flickering ceiling light struggled to cast its dim yellow glow over the room. The man called Pain stood bathed in that dim, sallow light.
"We were once scattered across the world, each of us pursuing our own separate dreams — and yet, sharing the same conviction, we converged here."
"This is fate's own choosing. This is the god's own guidance."
"And it is also my own guidance."
"With the Three-Tails now reborn, the vessel of our dream sets sail."
"We shall bring the shinobi world to heel. We shall crush every injustice."
"And when our ultimate dream is finally realized, the world..."
"...shall rest within the palm of my hand!"
"THE WORLD!"
"SHALL SUBMIT TO US!"
"THE WORLD!"
"SHALL KNEEL BEFORE THE GOD!"
"THE WORLD!"
"SHALL TREMBLE BEFORE US!"
"EVERYONE!"
"LET US SHOW THE WORLD OUR TRUE POWER!"
The words echoed through the darkness — calm, measured, yet burning with fanatic intensity, as though the most devoted believer alive were unveiling his own deity before all creation.
At the tower's highest point, the red-haired, gaunt man's words carried that same measured yet feverish conviction — a devotion he would pursue to his final breath.
He would ascend to that supreme throne — the throne of heaven, vacant for a thousand years.
As the red-haired man's fervent declaration echoed, the voice from below, with the rippled eyes, continued.
"THE WORLD!"
"SHALL SEE A THOUSAND YEARS OF ENDLESS WAR FINALLY END, BECAUSE OF US!"
"PEACE!"
"SHALL DESCEND UPON THIS TURBULENT SHINOBI WORLD, BECAUSE OF US!"
"THE SHINOBI!"
"SHALL LAY DOWN THEIR BLADES, BECAUSE OF US!"
"EVERYONE!!"
Every gaze in the room fixed on the towering man beneath the light — and among them, unmistakable fanaticism burned in more than one pair of eyes.
The man raised his hand suddenly, palm open —
As though gathering this thousand-year war-torn world into his very grasp.
For the first time, something like compassion surfaced in those rippled eyes — as though he were seeing, all at once, the countless souls displaced and scattered by a millennium of ceaseless conflict.
They fought to survive amid the flames of war. They clung to life with everything they had. They treasured every fleeting second of peace.
Yet war always came again — shattering, destroying, obliterating whatever brief tranquility the innocent had managed to carve out for themselves.
Even a god, however wrathful his countenance, held compassion and love for the mortal world within his heart.
Now was the time — to bring the entire shinobi world to heel beneath the power of a god.
To restore a world of clarity and order. To restore peace to all lands. To restore the simple warmth of ordinary human life.
"My path..."
"I shall walk it — even unto death, without regret!"
As the man's final words fell, everyone present sank into a silence like death itself.
"Heh..."
"Now THAT is..."
Deidara stared up at the man on the platform, an expression of pure infatuation crossing his face.
"That is ART."
For the first time, this rebellious young man felt something genuinely stir within him.
Not because of power. Because of will. He found himself moved — by a person, not a technique.
Sasori glanced silently at the young man beside him and said nothing.
Right now, if Pain ordered Deidara to charge Konoha single-handedly, he would abandon all reason and rush in without hesitation.
Black Zetsu watched the figure on the platform as well, an expression of grave weight in his eyes.
Across his thousand years of existence, someone like Pain — no, someone like Nagato — was exceedingly rare.
Black Zetsu prided himself on his judgment of character, and Nagato's unshakeable conviction guaranteed that no external force could ever sway him.
Black Zetsu could not fathom how anyone might defeat a Nagato who possessed this level of will.
Pain was merely Nagato's puppet, walking the world in his stead...
Fortunately, Nagato's actual body had already suffered catastrophic damage, his legs rendered useless.
Nagato must never obtain Hashirama's cells.
Nagato must never be able to stand again.
If he ever did — everything would be finished.
The Six Paths' collective abilities, concentrated in a single body — that was simply unanswerable.
Uchiha Obito sat quietly in a shadowed corner, watching the man in silence.
This is Pain. This is Nagato.
He'd manipulated the man into this path through countless schemes — and in the process, Nagato's dear friend Yahiko had died for it.
Nagato had lost his legs during that same operation. Looking back now, it had turned out to be a fortuitous accident after all.
Press on, keep moving forward, Nagato.
Everything you're doing will ultimately serve someone else's purpose.
But don't worry.
When the day of the Infinite Tsukuyomi finally comes, that beautiful dream world will have a place for you too.
A reward, for how hard you fought to gather the Tailed Beasts for me.
"Everyone!"
Pain's voice continued from the platform.
"At this moment — according to our plan—"
"I declare."
"The world's darkness begins to fade — starting NOW!"
"A beautiful tomorrow awaits us all!"
"The light of dawn will spill across the entire shinobi world!"
"AT THIS MOMENT—"
"LET US ACT!"
"EVERYONE!"
"First, secure the Three-Tails. Ambush the Hidden Sand. Then claim the One-Tail!"
Konoha
The central tower in the Forest of Death
Setting foot here again stirred no small emotion in Sakura.
The last time she'd stood in this place was... the last time she'd stood in this place.
It was in the Forest of Death that she'd first faced the greatest adversary of her early career — Orochimaru.
Now, returning here once more — the ANBU squad captain who'd once been discharged by the old man had since ascended to the seat of Hokage.
"What are you thinking about?"
Tobirama, beside her, watched her drift into thought.
"Heh. Just some old memories. Wonder how that guy's doing these days."
Sakura smiled with mild indifference.
Back then, it hadn't just been the fight against Orochimaru — afterward, that man had sold her intelligence to the Hidden Cloud.
She hadn't forgotten that debt. Not for a moment.
Even if killing Orochimaru wasn't realistic, Sakura wouldn't mind giving him a very unpleasant reminder someday.
"Forget it — I'll deal with him when I see him again. Right now, there's something more important."
Sakura waved a hand and looked at the scene before her.
A man in white prison garb stood trembling with fear.
A month ago, this man had murdered an entire family of six — sparing not even the newborn infant.
He was the candidate Tobirama had specifically selected in advance.
Trading this man's life for his own resurrection weighed on Tobirama's conscience not in the slightest.
"Inoichi-senpai, Kakashi — I'll leave this to you."
Sakura looked at the two men beside her.
Yamanaka Inoichi nodded gravely. Success or failure hinged entirely on this moment.
He would not fail.
Kakashi, meanwhile, silently activated his fading Mangekyō Sharingan.
Tobirama walked toward the bound man carrying a metal case, ignoring the prisoner's desperate pleas and curses. He opened the case, withdrew a vial filled with luminous green liquid, drew it into a syringe, and injected it into the man's body without hesitation.
This was the exact dose he'd calculated in advance.
The vitality these Hashirama cells provided would be precisely enough for his own complete resurrection.
As for whether the man's body could withstand it?
That detail didn't matter. The man was going to die regardless.
All that was required was performing Dragon Life Reincarnation before the Hashirama cells inside him went berserk.
As the seconds ticked by, an overwhelming surge of vitality erupted from the man's body.
"Now."
Sakura gave the signal.
"Mind Transfer Technique!"
Inoichi, already prepared, activated the Yamanaka clan's secret jutsu instantly. Kakashi's dimming Sharingan flared, recording this exact moment in time.
Now inhabiting the man's body, Inoichi felt the ferocious vitality coursing through it. Without a moment's hesitation, he began performing Dragon Life Reincarnation on the towering frame he now controlled.
Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Boar...
Twelve hand seals formed in rapid succession, faster than lightning.
"Dragon Life Reincarnation!"
The body under Inoichi's control erupted in a warm, brilliant white radiance!
Sakura watched everything unfold. As a master of Yang Release, she could feel it — the surging life energy now being injected into the man's body, merging with his own inherent vitality, all of it soaring skyward and converging into one point.
Hm?
Her ears twitched slightly. She thought she heard...
"ROOOAAR!"
A dragon's roar thundered through the central tower!
The countless traces of life energy coalesced into a vivid, lifelike serpentine dragon, its eyes gleaming with something unmistakably like human consciousness.
This—
This life energy has self-awareness!
And the one controlling it is Inoichi!
The dragon coiled once through the air, then shot directly toward Tobirama!
As the dragon entered his body, Tobirama's form began, before Sakura's eyes, to shatter apart, piece by piece — and then—
Rebirth!
Tobirama's entire body bathed in blinding white light.
The light poured out through every gap in the central tower, spilling into the world outside.
Tobirama felt his body reconstituting, piece by piece, and something like wonder flickered through his eyes.
He felt his heart beat once more!
That powerful, forceful pulse. The blood flowing through his veins. The rhythmic contraction of his lungs. Every one of these sensations told him, again, for the first time in years —
He was alive!
At the same moment, a surge of chakra erupted from his body!
He!
The Second Hokage!
The fastest shinobi in the entire history of the shinobi world!
Tobirama Senju was truly, genuinely alive once more!
Sakura's attention, however, wasn't on Tobirama.
It was on Inoichi's body.
His consciousness hadn't returned to himself after Tobirama's resurrection was complete. He remained where he was, still holding the pose of the Mind Transfer Technique, head hanging slightly.
Dead?
Sakura watched him with grave concern.
Just as she'd suspected. A forbidden resurrection technique of this magnitude couldn't possibly have such a convenient loophole.
Reviving a person required not just massive vitality — it required a soul as payment.
Because performing the jutsu required chakra, and chakra was the fusion of physical strength and spiritual strength.
Physical strength had come from the death-row inmate. Which meant spiritual strength would have to come from Inoichi, who was controlling him.
"Kakashi."
At that moment, the three-tomoe Sharingan in Kakashi's eye slowly rotated one final time, then dissolved into an empty, hollow whiteness.
Izanagi!
In the instant before this eye went permanently blind, it gave its final power to resurrect a Hokage.
Sixteen years ago, a Hokage had died because of Kamui.
Sixteen years later, a Hokage was resurrected because of Kamui.
It all felt strangely, inevitably fated.
Kakashi looked at Inoichi's lowered head, something bittersweet stirring in his chest.
Before everyone's eyes, that bowed head slowly rose again.
Under Izanagi's reality-defying power, Inoichi — who had performed Dragon Life Reincarnation — returned from the brink of death.
Tobirama let out a breath of relief.
Even knowing what Izanagi could accomplish, if Inoichi had actually died to bring him back, he genuinely didn't know how he could have faced Inoichi's family.
"Lord Tobirama, you truly are..."
The first thing Inoichi did upon reviving wasn't check on himself — he looked at Tobirama with barely contained emotion.
"Yes. All of this because of you."
"This old man owes you a debt."
Tobirama helped Inoichi up from the ground, his expression solemn.
"This... this was simply my duty!"
"Even without Izanagi, trading my life for Lord Tobirama's would have been the only honorable choice!"
Inoichi spoke firmly.
Kakashi, meanwhile, watched everything unfold in silence.
Kamui had, at this moment, finally burned out completely. He'd need to see Tsunade soon about the eye transplant.
But just as Kakashi turned to leave, Sakura, Tobirama, and Inoichi all simultaneously turned to look at him.
Chakra.
An overwhelming surge of chakra erupted from Kakashi's body!
Vivid blue chakra flames materialized, becoming almost tangible around him!
The chakra that the Sharingan had suppressed for over a decade erupted like a geyser in this single instant!
The longer it had been contained, the more explosive its release now!
Tobirama stared at Kakashi in amazement.
A prodigy!
Tobirama recalled Kakashi's file, which he'd reviewed in detail.
Graduated the Academy at five. Chūnin at seven. Jōnin at twelve, having independently created an S-rank jutsu in the process!
He'd never imagined that losing the Sharingan would unleash this much suppressed chakra all at once.
Sakura, meanwhile, had already anticipated exactly this.
In the original series, decades later — during the era of Boruto, when Kakashi was in his forties or fifties, no longer possessing the Sharingan — he'd calmly encased the entirety of Konoha in an Earth Release barrier without so much as breaking a sweat.
Of course Kakashi wasn't short on chakra.
He'd never lacked chakra to begin with.
It was the Sharingan that had been relentlessly suppressing him this entire time.
Kakashi's raw chakra reserves undoubtedly ranked among the highest in the entire shinobi world.
"Looks like before we get you a new eye, we should stabilize your chakra output first."
Sakura looked at Kakashi, a smile curving her lips.
Come on, Kakashi.
Let me see just how far you can go — with no shortage of chakra, wielding the White Fang's swordsmanship and the Five Elemental Releases.
Please. Do NOT disappoint me.
☆☆☆
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