Will of Fire

"Shizune!"

Tsunade saw Shizune trapped and immediately moved to rescue her.

However, Yakushi Kabuto blocked her path, his hands gathering chakra scalpels to keep her at bay.

Now, it all depended on Tsunade's choice.

The violent trembling of her hands betrayed the struggle within her heart.

She spoke in a faint voice, "If I agree... you must guarantee that you will not attack the village."

Feng Yao stepped forward; to him, Konoha no longer held anything of value, and he had no reason to attack it.

"Very well, as long as you agree to my conditions."

Seeing this, Dan Katō understood that Feng Yao was using him to force Tsunade into submission. He stepped forward and gently placed a hand on Tsunade's shoulder.

"Tsunade, being able to see you one more time is enough for me. You must have suffered a lot while I was gone. I'm sorry, but I cannot let you make a deal with them for my sake!"

As he spoke, Dan Katō formed hand seals, utilizing his signature technique: the Spirit Transformation Technique.

This technique allowed him to transform into a living spirit, capable of traversing any distance to kill enemies, control their bodies, or enter their mental worlds.

Dan Katō's Spirit Transformation Technique was miraculous, capable of being used briefly even as the Impure World Reincarnation was ending.

Feng Yao tried to use the Summoning Contract to control Dan Katō, only to find his methods ineffective.

In his spirit form, Dan Katō charged toward his opponent, his resolute voice echoing across the sky.

"I, too, have inherited the First Hokage's Will of Fire! As a man who aims to be Hokage, I will not allow you to use my life to threaten my beloved! Or to harm the village!"

Orochimaru moved to intervene, but Shizune also took action. Though she had been restrained, how could a kunoichi with strength rivaling an elite jonin be subdued so easily?

She gathered Poisonous Dissection Scalpels in her hands, capable of synthesizing specific toxins within her body to inject into others.

Dan Katō's Spirit Transformation Technique had provided her an opening, and she seized the chance to inject the toxin into the black python binding her.

"Ah--!"

Orochimaru pulled his right hand back in pain; it was already turning a dark, bruised purple.

However, as a user of snakes, Orochimaru possessed a deep knowledge of poisons. Shizune's toxin was not enough to kill him, but it was sufficient to force him to drop the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands.

"Well done, Shizune!"

Using the time bought for him, Dan Katō flew before Feng Yao. He prepared to enter Feng Yao's body, but he struck nothing but air.

Feng Yao had used Intangibility to dodge, though he was quite irritated by the moment. He quickly calmed himself, however.

Perhaps this was a case of one oversight in a hundred plans. By threatening Tsunade, he had inadvertently ignited her Will of Fire, causing her to forcibly break free from the restraints of the Impure World Reincarnation and use the Spirit Transformation Technique to fight him briefly.

But it did not matter; the opponent's chakra could not last long, and it would all be over soon.

Seeing his attack fail, Dan Katō's spirit immediately changed direction and charged toward Kabuto.

"Kabuto, watch out for that spirit! He can enter your mental world and control your body."

Feng Yao immediately warned Kabuto.

Kabuto naturally prepared to move away, but at that moment, a second event occurred that was outside of Feng Yao's expectations.

A tongue shot out from the ground and wrapped around Kabuto, pinning him in place. The move was so sudden that Kabuto could not react in time.

Dan Katō's spirit surged directly into Kabuto's body.

"Lord Orochimaru... Lord Feng Yao, I cannot control my body..."

Kabuto's voice trembled slightly. The Spirit Transformation Technique was similar to the secret arts of the Yamanaka Clan, but it did not strip the victim of their consciousness; instead, it seized control of their physical form.

Orochimaru and Feng Yao looked at the toad tongue that had shifted the tide of battle and immediately recognized the newcomer.

"Jiraiya! Why are you here!" Feng Yao gritted his teeth.

In the original story, the reason Jiraiya sought out Tsunade was because the Third Hokage had died, and he needed to find a new leader.

According to Feng Yao's logic, since the Third Hokage was still alive and Danzo was dead, the Third should have continued his tenure, and Jiraiya would have no reason to bother seeking out Tsunade.

But Feng Yao had miscalculated.

The Third was already old, and the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire could not appoint the same person as village leader three times in a row.

Furthermore, during the time Feng Yao spent tracking down Dan Katō's body, Jiraiya had already met with Tsunade yesterday; Feng Yao had arrived later.

Tsunade had simply refused to take the position of Hokage, leading to the same wager being made with Naruto.

Today, Jiraiya had been preparing to talk to Tsunade again when Feng Yao found her, so Jiraiya had quietly followed behind to discover the intruder's objective.

And during Dan Katō's spirit attack, he had intervened to successfully restrain Kabuto.

This was a failure of intelligence on Feng Yao's part. He had not sent anyone to scout the Land of Fire, nor had he investigated who Tsunade had encountered beforehand; his own power had made him arrogant.

Jiraiya emerged from the earth, a large toad summon beneath him.

"Little brat Feng Yao, you and I really are fated to meet. I never expected you to come looking for Tsunade. This time, I won't let you off easily. Hand over the ninjutsu and forbidden scrolls recorded by the past generations of Konoha!"

Jiraiya fixed a sharp gaze upon Feng Yao, as if he would strike without hesitation the moment the other dared to refuse.

Feng Yao first walked over to Orochimaru's side. "How is it, Orochimaru? Has the poison been suppressed?"

"Rest assured, Yao-kun. This bit of poison won't take my life."

Orochimaru responded gloomily. The color of his arm had faded significantly compared to moments ago, showing that this poison was not enough to pose a threat to him.

Feng Yao nodded, then spoke with a calm expression.

"This time, it was a failure in my intelligence gathering. I was still too careless, but it doesn't matter; I will rectify my mistake."

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru seemed to know what Feng Yao intended to do. "Do you plan to use those things to kill them? I'm afraid that will be somewhat difficult."

"It doesn't matter. After all, they aren't perfect, and our current goal is merely to take Tsunade away."

Feng Yao was noncommittal, but Shizune, standing opposite them, let out a cold snort.

"Stop bluffing! We have Lord Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade, two of the Sannin, plus my uncle and me—two elite jonin. Four against two, we have the advantage."

Nawaki was directly ignored; in truth, his strength was indeed only that of a genin.

Feng Yao did not rush to refute her, but instead formed hand seals once more.

"Summoning Technique: Impure World Reincarnation."

He and Orochimaru had attempted this summoning many times on the battlefield, and naturally, they possessed the corpses of quite a few powerful individuals.

Thud—!

This time, the ground trembled incessantly as a full eight coffins were summoned forth.

Jiraiya and the others wore grim expressions. Dealing with Feng Yao and Orochimaru was already troublesome enough, and now there were so many Impure World Reincarnation summons to contend with.