Yes, Yes, Yes, You're Right

Eiji briefly recounted the entire situation to his companions.

Tsunade once again voiced the question from the depths of her soul: "You killed Orochimaru?"

"No, to be precise, I only drove Orochimaru back."

Eiji pointed at the scattered snake skins on the ground. "He seems to have mastered some kind of strange Substitution Technique. It's hard to kill him completely."

"Mm, let's talk while we walk."

Having caused such a commotion, the group naturally couldn't return to the town to rest.

So they walked for a while, reaching a secluded forest.

Tenzo used the Three Rooms and One Hall Technique to create a small house for them to rest in.

The few of them gathered around a small wooden table, discussing their next steps.

"Orochimaru came for Eiji today."

Tsunade propped her chin on one hand.

"Years ago, Orochimaru once lamented the fragility of life. He said he had to research a method for Eternal Life, which is why he conducted those strange experiments."

"The reason he sought Eiji out might be that he needs him as experimental material."

"I just didn't expect that an eleven-year-old brat would beat him into such a state."

Saying this, Tsunade gave Eiji another deep look.

From the water stains on the ground, Eiji had used a large-scale Water Release.

Who taught him that?

Looking through Uchiha history, no ninja had ever possessed such an ability.

If you broadened the scope a bit, Second Grandfather Tobirama could do it.

After all, he was known as the ninja who signed a contract with the sea.

Could it be that Second Grandfather taught Eiji's elder, and that elder passed it on to Eiji?

Plus, Eiji had obtained Second Grandfather's blade...

An Uchiha, yet using Senju Tobirama's jutsu.

Tsunade felt the world had probably gone mad.

Meanwhile, Eiji felt a chill under Tsunade's gaze. What are you looking at? I don't have any money left to lose to you!

"Ahem, Lord Tsunade, I won this time."

"Mm-hmm, you won."

[Tsunade, Tsunade, you really are just like your brother—a Fat Sheep]

[Quest Reward: You have obtained the Forbidden Jutsu: Impure World Reincarnation]

As agreed, Tsunade was supposed to give Eiji a gift.

Eiji thought about getting his silver back, but instead heard a devastating piece of news.

"I lost it all. Three thousand seven hundred ryo left."

"Ah! Lord Tsunade, how could you do this!"

Eiji was about to lose his mind. Wuwuwu, my money!

Seeing Eiji on the verge of rolling on the ground, Tsunade's Byakugan nearly rolled to the back of her head.

She really couldn't connect this kid with the one who had just cut down Orochimaru's ninja.

Tsunade's head was about to explode from the noise. "I'll write you an IOU, alright?"

Eiji shook his head frantically. Tsunade's IOUs were no different from scrap paper.

"I heard Lord Tsunade has dozens of vacant houses. Since you don't live in them, give me one."

"Heh, you little brat, you really know what's good."

Tsunade finally gave in to Eiji. "Pick one when you get back to Konoha. Tell the Old Man I agreed, and he'll handle the paperwork."

"Great! I'm getting a new house!"

"Alright, let's get down to business."

Kakashi took out a map and spread it on the table.

"Now that Orochimaru has escaped, our lead is cut off. What do we do next?"

"Senior Kakashi, Lord Jiraiya once said that Orochimaru has set up laboratories all over the Shinobi World."

"We need to take advantage of Orochimaru's weakness and destroy these facilities as quickly as possible."

Kakashi thought for a moment. "Then let's do that. I'll find a way to contact Lord Jiraiya again."

With the plan set, no one said much more.

Kakashi once again asked about Tsunade's intentions. "Lord Tsunade, would you like to return to Konoha with us?"

Tsunade refused without a second thought. "What happens to Konoha has nothing to do with me. Tomorrow you go back to Konoha; Shizune and I will keep wandering the ninja world."

Kakashi heard this and didn't feel he could say much more.

He knew Tsunade had endured too many blows over the years, which had turned her into the person she was today.

No words were spoken that night.

Morning came.

The Konoha team bid farewell to Tsunade. "Goodbye, Lord Tsunade."

Tsunade waved her hand impatiently. "Hurry up and go. Don't hold me back from gambling."

Then she patted Eiji on the head again. "Kid, make sure you earn plenty of money, and next time we meet, hand it all over to me at once."

Kakashi and Tenzo both turned away, only to find Eiji was already red-hot in the literal sense.

"Aaaaaah! I'll fight you to the death!"

Kakashi and Tenzo used every ounce of their strength just to drag Eiji away.

Inside a cave, the Masked Man received news that Orochimaru had been driven back.

This left him somewhat incredulous.

Even though Orochimaru was just a tiny ant in his eyes, who would have thought he'd lose so thoroughly?

"As expected of the brat who easily defeated Itachi. He didn't disappoint me."

Zetsu chimed in with a jab from the side. "Of course. The first time he met you, he even wounded you."

The Masked Man immediately raised his voice. "What wound! I was just testing him a little. If I'd gotten serious, both him and that waste Kakashi would be dead!"

"Yes, yes..."

"Bastard! How dare you brush me off like that!"

Zetsu didn't want to keep arguing with the brainless Masked Man over this. He still had plenty of things to take care of.

A few days later, the Konoha team rendezvoused with Jiraiya in the Land of Grass.

They circled around for a long time before finally finding an abandoned laboratory.

As soon as they entered, they were hit by a thick smell of blood, mixed with a faint trace of smoke.

Jiraiya picked up an experiment report and glanced at the records on it.

"Orochimaru stayed here for a long time. He only stopped recording about half a month ago. Looks like he burned some things before he left."

"There should be plenty of useful materials. Everyone search around, but stay careful."

The four of them split up and began a thorough sweep of the laboratory.

Eiji kicked open an iron door and entered a small room.

Several shelves stood upright inside, packed densely with books.

There was no dust on the book covers, suggesting Orochimaru read them often.

The books covered all sorts of subjects—medicine, science, theology, and so on.

Eiji picked up a yellowed volume and glanced at it, finding it filled with obscure, hard-to-understand content.

The only thing he could actually make out was Orochimaru's shelf labels.

A flash of insight struck Eiji. He went to check the shelves further back.

Sure enough, he found a wooden box there, neatly stacked with small notebooks.

These were Orochimaru's latest experiment results, along with some experience and insights.

"All evidence of Orochimaru's crimes. I have to take this back to Konoha!"

He hugged the box and started to leave, but tripped over a cylindrical object on the floor.

"What's this?"

Eiji picked it up and saw it was an ancient-looking scroll.

And its contents turned out to be Orochimaru's understanding of the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu.

[Ninja World Scientist Activated!]

[Many years ago, Lord Tobirama developed the forbidden jutsu: Impure World Reincarnation]

[However, version 1.0 of this technique had many drawbacks, such as being unable to fully unleash the deceased's power]

[Unexpectedly, years later, a certain junior managed to improve this jutsu]

[You have mastered the Forbidden Jutsu: Impure World Reincarnation Enhanced Version]