The sky was heavy with dark clouds. No one knew what had suddenly happened. It was as if even the heavens could feel Tsunade's grief. Rain came pouring down as she looked at her lover in her arms, his body long since gone cold, her pupils trembling uncontrollably.
"Tsunade..." Jiraiya came up behind her and tried to put his arms around her, but his hand stopped halfway, suspended in midair.
Tsunade raised her head, tears running down her cheeks.
She stared at Jiraiya in a daze.
Orochimaru glanced at Dan Katō's corpse, then raised a hand and watched the rain trickle between his fingers. He murmured, "You see? Life is such a fragile thing... How pitiful..."
At that moment, Dan Katō's death weighed more heavily on the Sannin, and each of them carried a different seed in their hearts. Perhaps it was a hatred of war, perhaps a lament for life, or perhaps a longing for peace.
The three stood there, lost in thought. They simply stared up at the sky without saying a word, letting tears or rain soak their armor.
After a long while,
Tsunade buried Dan Katō there.
"I'm all right now. Let's hurry back. I wonder how the White Fang is doing." Tsunade rubbed her reddened eyes and took a deep breath.
Strangely enough, the Sannin and Hatake Sakumo, the White Fang of the Leaf, had all gone to the front lines to face Chiyo. But the instant Chiyo saw Hatake Sakumo, the White Fang of the Leaf, fury surged within her, and her furious gaze locked onto him. At that moment, she had eyes only for Hatake Sakumo. The Sannin had no idea what had happened or why Chiyo was acting this way, but since the White Fang could hold her off for the time being, they seized the chance to rescue Dan Katō's squad. That was the fundamental reason they had come here.
"How's that kid doing now?" Orochimaru asked in his hoarse voice.
Tsunade looked toward the temporary makeshift operating room, where there seemed to be no movement. She slowly replied, "The Third Kazekage's Iron Sand can not only absorb chakra, it also carries a special toxin. There's too much toxin built up in that kid's body; he'll need some time to recover. He probably won't be able to move for a week, and... I'm afraid he'll be unconscious..."
Tsunade had barely finished speaking when
Uchiha Chiba stuck a hand out of the makeshift operating room. He sighed. "I feel like my body's been hollowed out (literally)..."
Tsunade: ?
"Thank goodness, Chiba. I'm glad you're all right. From now on, stay with Orochimaru at headquarters. We'll handle the missions on the battlefield," Jiraiya said with a long sigh of relief. After all, he'd been one of the people who supported Tsunade's suggestion that Chiba join Dan Katō's squad for the mission. Dan was dead. If Jiraiya's first disciple died too, he'd regret it for the rest of his life.
Seeing that Chiba was only a little weak and seemed otherwise unharmed, Orochimaru let out a long breath of relief. "You may have Kage Level chakra, but you're still a child. Combat experience has to be built up gradually. There's no rush. Once we're back in Konoha, I'll have the White Fang teach you how to use a short blade. Until then, just stay by my side."
Orochimaru had barely finished speaking when
suddenly,
he noticed that Chiba's right eye had turned completely white.
"Izanagi," Orochimaru said abruptly again.
In an instant, all three of them looked at Chiba's right eye.
Chiba: This is bad. I should've transplanted my own eye back in earlier. There's no way I can explain why I have two pairs of Three Tomoe Sharingan now!
"It's nothing. If the technique exists, it's meant to be used. It's no big deal." Uchiha Chiba looked at the three of them with his nearly blind left eye.
Izanagi
At the moment it was activated, the technique recorded the user's state with the Sharingan. For the duration of the technique—which varied from person to person and generally depended on the eye's strength—any damage the user suffered, even death, could be physically reversed, restoring them to the state recorded by the Sharingan. (However, the chakra the user had already spent could not be restored, and the eye used to activate the technique was not included.)
The price was that the eye used for Izanagi permanently lost its sight, which was why the technique was classified as forbidden.
Incidentally, Izanami countered Izanagi, but it was forbidden as well.
Meanwhile,
on the front lines between Konoha and Sunagakure,
The setting sun cast its glow over the desert outside Sunagakure. The standoff between Hatake Sakumo and the puppeteer Chiyo was like a taut string about to snap. Wind whirled the fine sand between them, as if ushering in the start of this thrilling battle.
Hatake Sakumo gripped the White Fang Blade. Even in the dim light, its edge gleamed with a chilling brilliance. His gaze was calm and keen, like a hawk in the desert, fixed on Chiyo. Chiyo stood behind a row of puppets that sent a shiver down one's spine. Her withered fingers twitched faintly, and the strings controlling her puppets glimmered in the sunlight.
The battle erupted in an instant.
"Hundred City Puppets!"
Chiyo gave a sharp cry, and her puppets lunged at Sakumo like phantoms. Some wielded blades, while others sprayed poisonous mist. Sakumo moved swiftly, the White Fang Blade dancing in his hand in a streak of silver. He easily parried their attacks and looked for openings to counter. He was incredibly fast, each swing of his blade kicking up sand. The puppets' blades clashed against the White Fang Blade, sending sparks flying.
"Hatake Sakumo! I'll kill you! You'll join my son and daughter-in-law in their graves!!!!!!" Chiyo pulled a scroll from behind her. The next instant, the white smoke cleared.
A massive Puppet could be glimpsed beneath Chiyo's feet.
Seeing her attacks thwarted, Chiyo rapidly formed Hand Seals, and the formation of her puppets abruptly shifted. A giant Puppet burst out of the ground, its fist as big as a cooking pot crashing toward Sakumo with a howl of wind. Sakumo didn't panic. He tapped the ground with his toes and leaped lightly into the air like a flying swallow, twisting midair to evade the mighty blow. At the same time, his blade flashed, sending a fierce slash toward the puppets.
Chiyo manipulated her strings, making her puppets scatter at once. But the slash still severed the limbs of several puppets, and broken parts littered the ground. Chiyo furrowed her brow and thought bitterly that Hatake Sakumo, who had killed her son and daughter-in-law, truly lived up to his fearsome reputation.
She took a deep breath and decided to use one of her signature moves. She pulled a special Puppet scroll from her robes and infused it with chakra. The Puppet's eyes glowed an eerie red.
"Chikamatsu Ten Puppets: Blade!"
This Puppet moved with incredible agility, closing in on Sakumo in an instant and engaging him in close combat. A powerful force and bizarre attack angles came at Sakumo all at once, leaving him struggling to keep up for a moment. But he quickly regained his composure, adjusted his breathing, and focused on the fight. The White Fang Blade repeatedly collided with the Puppet's arms, making a shrill metallic scraping sound.
In the fierce exchange, Sakumo spotted an opening and shouted as he thrust the White Fang Blade with all his strength, driving it straight toward the special Puppet's core. Chiyo's expression changed, and she frantically tugged at the strings to make the Puppet dodge, but she was a moment too late. With a "thunk," the White Fang Blade pierced the Puppet, which immediately stopped moving.
Chiyo's heart ached. These puppets had been with her for many years, and seeing them damaged filled her with rage. But what enraged her even more was the death of her child.
She sent her remaining puppets charging at Sakumo without regard for their own safety, seemingly ready to die with him. Sakumo stood with his blade lowered, his gaze resolute as he prepared to face this final attack...
Suddenly!
Before you continue