The Fuma Three

"This... the wind was too strong just now, and it made me suddenly forget. Wait, let me think it through."

With a thump, Gamachu landed under Jiraiya's direction in a clearing surrounded by trees on all sides.

"Boy, are you trying to trick this sage? And who started the rumor that I like that old... old woman Tsunade? You'd better explain yourself! Hmph, hmph, hmph..."

Jiraiya glared at Isho, hoping to read something on his face. But he was disappointed. Isho still looked lost in thought, utterly unmoved.

"Don't get so worked up, Senior. Lady Tsunade has kept looking like a woman in her twenties, and she's got such a fair complexion and an amazing figure. It's only natural that lots of male ninja admire her."

"And then?"

"Lady Tsunade definitely has no interest in ordinary male ninja, but what if some handsome smooth-talker came along and deceived her? What would you do then?

"So you should make plans now, Senior. Maybe Lady Tsunade has some feelings for you, too."

Was I really so obvious? This kid Isho saw right through me. Still, he does have a point.

Jiraiya suddenly fell silent, unsure what to do. You could say the seeds of his love had been planted when he and Tsunade became Third Hokage's students.

As time passed, even seeing Tsunade find a lover hadn't made those seeds wither. Instead, they'd grown more and more vigorous.

Who would've thought Jiraiya had the desire but not the guts? Even if he doesn't die later, the wall between them will probably only get thicker. He needs a little outside help to break through it.

"Ahem, Senior, I have a plan."

"Oh? Let's hear it."

"Sooner or later, powerful enemies will attack Konoha, and Lady Tsunade's hemophobia still hasn't been cured. When that happens, I'll protect you from the shadows. You just need to stand in front of Lady Tsunade and fight off the enemies.

"Then take a serious wound by accident. Lady Tsunade will definitely come look after you. All you need to do is lie in her arms, gaze at her, and gently caress her cheek. Say a few things about how you're not going to make it, and you'll practically be there.

"After all, Lady Tsunade is soft-hearted."

The more Jiraiya listened, the brighter his smile grew. He even wore the sly grin of a man whose scheme had just succeeded.

After laughing for a while, Jiraiya asked with some suspicion,

"This plan has a good chance of working, but I can't stay in Konoha all the time, and I might not be there at the right moment to save her. Besides, if something like that really happens, I might be on another battlefield, fighting off the enemy."

"There's another way. You could fake your death and secretly watch how heartbroken Lady Tsunade is when she hears the news. Then you can appear and confess your feelings to her.

"People often only learn to treasure what they have after they've lost it. Don't you want to see how many people care about you and grieve for you after you die?"

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Isho, you've got a mind like mine when I was young—just as clever, practically unmatched. Hohahaha..."

Jiraiya, who had no idea that he would really die at Nagato's hands in the future, paced back and forth in delight, seemingly considering when to put the plan into action.

"Senior, don't rush. Wait until the Akatsuki reveal their true strength. You can fake your death at their hands and pass your final intel to Konoha then. You only get one chance, so think it over carefully."

Hearing Isho's heartfelt advice, Jiraiya nodded calmly. They really couldn't rush this. He'd have to take it step by step.

"Big Brother Isho, what did you and the Pervy Sage go off to do? Why does he keep grinning to himself whenever he comes back? Did you talk him into something?"

"Naruto! You brat, I ought to put you through your paces!"

Even though Naruto had leaned close to Isho's ear and whispered, Jiraiya still heard every word.

After scolding Naruto for a while, Jiraiya turned to Sasame, whose expression had been downcast the whole way.

"Sasame, the culprit behind all this is still alive and well. Don't you want revenge?"

"I do! I want to kill him more than anything! But... I might not even be able to deal with the men Orochimaru sends after us, let alone him. He's so powerful that he terrifies me..."

"Don't worry. Hanki has already told me everything he knows. You can use our help to defeat Orochimaru and find your older brother."

Not all the members of the Fuma Clan were fools. Some had seen through Orochimaru's evil schemes and refused to cooperate, so they were driven out of the village. Now, under Fuma Hanzaki's leadership, they survived in the red-light district by using women to lure and rob lustful men.

In a lush green forest, in a quiet corner, there stood a building with a passage leading underground.

They left Sasame behind to wait while the four of them had Jiraiya summon Gamakichi to scout ahead.

After carefully checking their surroundings, they made their way safely through the darkness, along a circular staircase lit only by quietly burning white candles, and reached a three-way intersection.

"Given the situation, Senior Jiraiya and I will go alone as one team, while Naruto and Sakura go together."

The others nodded in agreement, finding Isho's arrangement reasonable.

Jiraiya seemed to catch a scent and chose the right passage. Isho took the middle one, while the other two went left with Gamakichi.

A few minutes later, after navigating all kinds of dangerous mechanisms and struggling through, Isho was the first to emerge unscathed into an even darker room.

White candles still burned quietly on round pillars, their weak light barely illuminating the passage between them.

"With this hushed atmosphere, it feels as if a pair of emotionless, icy eyes is watching from the darkness, sizing up—or admiring—its prey.

"How interesting. This is so like Orochimaru. Why doesn't he come out and meet his prey?"

Isho smiled faintly and called into the darkness ahead, where his eyes could barely make anything out.

"Uchiha Isho, Lord Orochimaru was right. You'd be the first outsider to arrive here, and you're an extremely dangerous one at that. I didn't expect you to be so young."

With Orochimaru's face but a gentle, youthful voice that felt utterly unfamiliar to Isho, Orochimaru slowly stepped out of the shadows.

"Lord Orochimaru asked me to tell you that you've surely witnessed the terror and strength of the Akatsuki. Itachi and Kisame are only the tip of the iceberg of this secret organization.

"So, since we share the goal of capturing or killing Itachi, you can name your conditions, and we can negotiate a mutually beneficial arrangement."

Hearing Orochimaru's offer of cooperation once again, Isho remained unmoved and replied with a question.

"You're Fuma Arashi, aren't you? Sasame is worried about you. I just don't know whether there's any hope of saving you after you've spent so long serving Orochimaru."

Fuma Arashi, still wearing Orochimaru's face, fell silent for a moment. Then he gave a slightly unsettling smile, reminiscent of Orochimaru's.

"I'm still waiting for your answer."

"Looks like there's no saving you. Orochimaru even made you his disposable messenger and gave me a free target to eliminate. That's pretty infuriating. He's treating me like a broom!"

Hearing Isho's refusal and mockery, Fuma Arashi had no time to react before Isho vanished from in front of him.

When he appeared again, a glowing blue sphere had formed in his left hand, while dazzling lightning crackled in his right, making a chirping sound.

Isho raced forward, stepping on the pillars in midair to accelerate. His expression was cold, and he went straight for his strongest moves.

The attack came too fast. Fuma Arashi knew he couldn't dodge in time, so a paper knife suddenly emerged from the skin of his right hand, and he hurriedly raised it to block.

Amid the clash that rang through the underground chamber, the Rasengan in Isho's left hand sent Fuma Arashi flying back several meters after only a few seconds of resistance. Giving his enemy no time to catch his breath, Isho sped up again, the lightning in his right hand growing ever brighter!

"Chidori!"

"Don't!"

Sasame, who had appeared with Naruto behind him, cried out in a trembling voice. Sakura, who had arrived second just as Isho launched his attack, looked puzzled.

With Isho only a meter away from piercing his enemy's heart, Fuma Arashi's body—which had been changing ever since Isho attacked—suddenly sprouted the heads of Jigumo and Kagerō. They stretched and transformed into arm-like appendages, closing in on Isho from both sides.

Seeing this, Isho had no choice but to change his target. He nimbly leaped sideways to dodge the attack, which smashed a crater into the ground, while thrusting his right hand forward with all his strength. The two arms, each as thick as a barrel, were severed!

Fuma Arashi grimaced in pain, his whole body trembling. Before he could react, a Kubikiribōchō over two meters long came to a halt just a few centimeters from his neck.

At the brink of life and death, Fuma Arashi caught sight of Sasame running toward him, and his muddled mind briefly cleared. He was certain that if he made the slightest move, Isho would cut off the last head without hesitation.

"Big Brother Arashi, how did you end up like this?"

"Sasame, kill me. Uchiha... kill me!"

Before Isho could reply, the ceiling suddenly collapsed with a roar. When the dust cleared, they saw Jiraiya standing atop Gamahiro.

Even with a blade that could cut off a hair at the neck, Fuma Arashi instinctively stepped in front of Sasame. The Kubikiribōchō had vanished from Isho's hand. Looking at Fuma Arashi, whose mind had mostly cleared, Isho said,

"Looks like your brain hasn't completely turned to pig's brain. I just don't know whether there's any hope of treating your body."

"I'm already a puppet. I can't survive if I leave here. After you took out the three members of my clan, Kabuto Yakushi retrieved their bodies and left with Orochimaru."

"What about Sasuke?! Did you see where he went?"

Sakura was extremely anxious that they hadn't found Sasuke, even though she knew Orochimaru wasn't likely to take over his body anytime soon.

"Sasuke must have left with Orochimaru and the others. Orochimaru plans to use him as a vessel for his reincarnation in three years. My mission was to deliver a message to Uchiha Isho and buy you some time."

Rumble!

As they talked, the area around the hole Jiraiya had violently smashed open began to collapse. With no time to ask for more information, Isho and the others quickly leaped onto Gamahiro's head.

Fuma Arashi gently entrusted the grieving Sasame to Sakura's care, then stayed behind alone in the underground chamber until the earth above caved in completely, burying everything below.

A few days later, at the mission assignment office.

"Damn it! Kid, can't you be a little more proactive? I didn't appoint you a Jonin just so you could show off. You should be taking high-ranking missions regularly instead of making me send Anbu to summon you every time!"

Who says I want to be a Jonin? Why be a wage slave when I have money? Isho grumbled to himself, but put on a humble, attentive expression.

His mind had already wandered far away. He just wanted Tsunade to finish talking as soon as possible. He always let her words go in one ear and out the other, without feeling the least bit guilty.

Seeing that Isho still hadn't shaken off his lazy air, Tsunade forcibly reined in the temper that had grown worse since she became Hokage. Through clenched teeth, she explained how all the escaped prisoners had broken out, then concluded,

"Only Mizuki and the two brothers, Fujin and Raijin, haven't been recaptured and returned to the maximum-security prison. Your next mission is to capture them and get information about Orochimaru from Mizuki."

"Okay."

Although Isho was one of the laziest people she'd ever met, he did at least complete every mission she gave him beautifully. Tsunade stopped pressuring him and turned with a friendly smile toward Kakashi.

"We're not done. Here, this is your next S-rank mission."

She really knew how to boss people around. Kakashi reluctantly accepted the S-rank mission details, then suddenly glanced at Isho, no longer able to hide his reluctance.

"Isho, hold out your hand."

Guessing that Kakashi wanted to help, Isho held out his right hand. Sure enough, Kakashi summoned Pakkun, one of the Eight Ninja Dogs, to help Isho locate his targets.

"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei. You all take your time. I'm off to do my mission."

Only after sensing that Isho had gone far away did Tsunade voice the question on her mind.

"Kakashi, you're one of the few people who possess the Mangekyō Sharingan. I've also heard about the conditions for awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan and Isho's past. What made him awaken his?"

That was one of Kakashi's greatest mysteries, too. He shook his head before replying,

"I haven't asked Isho about it, because awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan must involve unbearable pain. I'm curious about what kind of hidden suffering he went through that pushed his Sharingan to evolve.

"Besides, he's so lazy, and he's always interested in good food and fun places. It's hard to imagine that this is all a disguise."

Could it be because of his awakened special physique? Tsunade suddenly recalled the secret Third Hokage had quietly told her after stepping down.

Isho didn't care what the Konoha High Command thought about his publicly known awakening of the Mangekyō Sharingan. Right now, all he cared about was the system missions, which hadn't increased since he'd arrived in this world. They were the only work he was willing to do.

After all, he knew perfectly well what mattered most: a big reward or a small gain.

"Who?!"

Naruto turned around warily to stare behind him and saw Isho walking over at an unhurried pace.

"What? So it was this little guy. Thanks for your hard work, Tonton. I'll take over from here. You can head back to the village."

Pakkun spoke. The little pig, Tonton, who was about the same size as him, nodded to show that she understood.