Isobu

The appointed time had not yet arrived, but more than twenty people had already gathered at the meeting place.

Aside from the three jōnin leading them,

the rest were all chunin, and the only genin was Uchiha Yatsuhashi.

Moreover, more or less all of them had close ties to Orochimaru.

Even Mitaraishi Anko, Orochimaru's direct disciple, was among them.

Seeing them, Uchiha Yatsuhashi's heart sank.

His guess had been right.

This wasn't an ordinary mission. It was a "cleanup" disguised with care.

That night, he had thought he'd given Uchiha Shisui the perfect answer when Uchiha Fugaku tried to recruit him.

Unless there was something wrong with the report he'd given the Hokage,

this shouldn't have happened!

Could it be...

Uchiha Yatsuhashi's heart gave a sudden jolt.

He'd considered every possibility, only to realize he'd missed something crucial.

Those comfortable years had made Uchiha Yatsuhashi underestimate just how dark this world was.

Perhaps darkness was simply the very nature of this world...

Murata Masasuke, the team leader, gave the group a quick head count.

Then he announced, "Time's up. Get ready to move out.

Anyone who hasn't gathered by the appointed time will be treated as a rogue ninja."

At that, Uchiha Yatsuhashi's gaze turned cold.

"This trip is probably going to end badly..."

Led by the three jōnin, they left the village and headed east.

They traveled during the day and rested at night.

Since Uchiha Yatsuhashi was weak, he could keep up with the group at first.

But as time went on, he was constantly stuck at the back.

Fortunately, Uchiha Yatsuhashi had often worked with Orochimaru, so he and Mitaraishi Anko knew each other fairly well.

Anko also took special care of him along the way, keeping him from falling behind.

Through Anko, he learned that all three jōnin were from Root.

As the disciple of one of the legendary Sannin, Mitaraishi Anko naturally had a bright future ahead of her.

She was treated far better in the village than an ordinary chunin.

Especially at this crucial time, when the village was choosing the Fourth Hokage.

With Danzo backing him, Orochimaru's chances of being chosen were considerable.

And if Orochimaru took the seat of Fourth Hokage,

she would become one of the Fourth Hokage's trusted aides, making it easy for her to join the village leadership someday.

But everything changed overnight.

The former Hokage candidate had defected and become an S-rank rogue ninja.

Mitaraishi Anko couldn't accept it.

Even if Orochimaru had lost the election, he was still one of the village's respected Sannin,

a man of extraordinary standing.

And yet, this had happened...

Orochimaru had defected, leaving her the disciple of a rogue ninja. Now she'd been assigned a dangerous mission.

Mitaraishi Anko was in unbearable pain.

She couldn't accept that the teacher she respected had betrayed the village.

To her, it was nothing less than a collapse of faith.

Yet deep down, even Anko felt a sorrow she didn't want to acknowledge.

As one of Orochimaru's disciples, she had inherited his ninjutsu.

That inheritance had also implicitly meant inheriting his influence and connections.

But Orochimaru had defected alone, leaving her feeling abandoned.

Worse, before defecting, Orochimaru had sealed her memories...

All of this left Mitaraishi Anko in terrible shape.

It also left her at the back of the group, keeping company with Uchiha Yatsuhashi.

Of the three jōnin leading the team, Murata Masasuke was always at the rear.

He watched Uchiha Yatsuhashi fall behind several times, and it gave him ideas.

If Uchiha Yatsuhashi fell far enough behind,

Murata could openly execute him on the grounds that he'd abandoned the mission.

After all, a special genin like Uchiha Yatsuhashi was dispensable on this mission.

The sooner Murata dealt with them, the sooner he could return to Root and report in.

Unfortunately, Mitaraishi Anko kept ruining his plans.

"What an annoying woman..."

Murata Masasuke stared at the two figures supporting each other, his eyes flashing with cold light.

It wasn't until a month and a half later that the team finally reached Thousand Port City on the eastern coast of the Land of Fire.

It was a bustling port city, crowded with merchant ships and thronged with people.

The Konoha ninja gathered at a base outside the city.

There, Murata Masasuke and the other two took out the mission scrolls.

At last, they revealed the details of the mission.

"We have intelligence suggesting that Isobu, the Three-Tails, may revive within the Land of Water..."

Murata Masasuke unfolded a map of the Land of Water. A vast lake had been circled in red.

"Our mission is to search for and mark the site where Isobu will revive.

We'll split into three teams, each led by a jōnin.

We'll infiltrate the Land of Water along different routes and meet up here."

Murata Masasuke tapped a remote lakeshore on the map.

"This is one of Konoha's secret bases. Once we arrive, we'll search the surrounding area based on the situation."

As Uchiha Yatsuhashi listened, he quietly assessed the danger of the mission.

Although Tailed Beasts were made of chakra, when their Jinchūriki died,

the beasts also disappeared for a time.

Because of the Rin Nohara Incident, Isobu was indeed in the process of gathering itself together and reviving.

As a Tailed Beast with an affinity for Water Release, it could only slowly take shape again in a body of water somewhere in the Land of Water.

During that time, the danger really wasn't very great.

The Five Great Nations often sent spies to infiltrate one another and gather intelligence.

That was why Konoha had sent their group to secretly enter the Land of Water and investigate.

But something about it still felt wrong to Uchiha Yatsuhashi.

Although the more than twenty people there included three jōnin,

they were still too weak for a team meant to infiltrate another country and gather intelligence.

Normally, the fewer people on a mission like this, the better.

But now the arrow was already on the string; there was no turning back.

He could only deal with whatever came, as it came.

Perhaps by coincidence, both Uchiha Yatsuhashi and Mitaraishi Anko were assigned to Murata Masasuke's team.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi had considered running away along the way.

But Murata Masasuke's undisguised killing intent had made him give up on the idea.

He was sure that even if he didn't run,

Murata might attack him as soon as he fell behind.

Based on his memories of his previous life,

whether Uchiha Yatsuhashi had changed when Orochimaru defected or not,

the outcome had stayed the same.

And Uchiha Yatsuhashi clearly remembered that Mitaraishi Anko, Orochimaru's disciple,

had survived to the very end.

Since that was the case, although Uchiha Yatsuhashi couldn't guarantee he'd survive the mission,

sticking close to Mitaraishi Anko was definitely the right choice.

While the team rested,

Uchiha Yatsuhashi leaned against the cold stone wall and took out the scroll he kept close to his chest: the Eight Inner Gates.

Throughout the month-long journey, whenever they briefly rested late at night,

he had repeatedly studied the principles behind the forbidden technique.

Fortunately, the difficult parts had all been carefully annotated.

Some of the more complicated steps had even been simplified and refined.

That had taken a considerable burden off Uchiha Yatsuhashi.

He guessed the notes had come from Might Duy, the eternal genin.

Back then, Uchiha Yatsuhashi had wanted to change Might Duy's fate.

Unfortunately, the Anbu ninja sent to provide support had arrived too late.

The Eight Inner Gates required the body's massive stores of chakra to break through eight vital "gates."

Each gate opened made the user's strength and speed skyrocket beyond their previous limits.

But Uchiha Yatsuhashi's chakra was far too weak, and his talent was poor as well.

Chakra could be cultivated, but a ninja's talent determined both their chakra reserves and how quickly they could train.

So far, Uchiha Yatsuhashi was only confident he could open the first gate, the Gate of Opening.

And even if his body could endure it, he didn't have enough chakra to force open the second gate, the Gate of Life.

At that thought, his mind drifted to the First Hokage Cell Serum in his sealing scroll.

The terrifying vitality and chakra within Hashirama Cells—if he could make them his own...

Just then, Orochimaru's final warning to him that night suddenly rang in Uchiha Yatsuhashi's mind.

He immediately crushed the dangerous thought.

Without specialized equipment to dilute it and a safe procedure, coming into contact with that stuff would be tantamount to suicide.

If he made it home safely, he'd have to find a chance to dilute those Hashirama Cells...