The Three Sannin Reunite

Jiraiya burst into the Hokage Office with hot spring water still dripping from his hair—literally. He had just returned from a hot spring town near the Land of Grass border, where he had been "gathering material." His wallet had been stolen, but the scroll the thief had "accidentally" dropped instantly wiped every romantic thought from his mind.

"Tsunade!" He shoved open the office door, not even bothering to knock.

Tsunade was nursing a headache over a pile of documents while Shizune stood beside her, urging her to rest. Both women looked up at the sound.

"Jiraiya?" Tsunade frowned. "Didn't you say you were gathering material for a week? It's only been three days—"

"Look at this." Jiraiya slapped the soaking-wet scroll onto her desk, his expression more serious than ever before.

Tsunade unrolled it. There was only one line of writing, cold and twisted. She recognized it at a glance—Orochimaru's handwriting.

"If you want to know Akatsuki's true objective, bring the Strength of a Hundred training method to Border Marker Thirty-Seven on the Land of Grass border for an exchange. —Orochimaru"

The office fell deathly silent.

Shizune sucked in a breath, while Tonton squirmed uneasily in her arms. Tsunade stared at the words, her fingers tightening unconsciously until wrinkles formed along the edge of the paper.

"Border Marker Thirty-Seven..." she murmured. "That was Neji's agreed-upon intelligence drop point."

"How did Orochimaru know?" Jiraiya asked.

"He probably knows far more than we imagined." Tsunade released the scroll, letting it slowly flatten across the desk. "The question is, why does he want the Strength of a Hundred? He has no use for that kind of chakra storage technique."

Jiraiya was silent for a moment before voicing the possibility neither of them wanted to face. "Neji Hyuga."

That name was like a block of ice tossed into the already heavy air.

"Neji defected four months ago," Shizune said quietly. "Orochimaru has been training him all this time. If it's to speed up his growth..."

"The Strength of a Hundred can indeed do that." Tsunade rose and walked to the window, gazing out at Konoha in the dead of night. "The Yin Seal stores chakra. Once released, it massively increases the user's chakra reserves and can support huge numbers of Shadow Clones training simultaneously. The efficiency would increase by more than tenfold."

"So this was Neji's demand," Jiraiya concluded. "That kid is desperately trying to grow stronger—strong enough to... break free of the Caged Bird."

"By betraying the village?" Suppressed fury edged Tsunade's voice.

"By the only means he thinks will work." Jiraiya sighed. "Tsunade, I saw that kid's eyes during the Chunin Ninja Exams. Those weren't the eyes of someone who would submit easily. If Konoha couldn't give him freedom, he would seek it anywhere that could."

Tsunade did not argue. She remembered Neji standing in her office four months ago, calmly laying out his undercover plan. Something had burned in those Byakugan eyes that she had not understood then. Now, she did—it was the determination to stake everything on a single throw.

"Akatsuki intelligence..." She turned toward the scroll on the desk. "Will Orochimaru really give us anything genuine?"

"If he wants the Strength of a Hundred, he has to offer a bargaining chip with enough weight." Jiraiya said. "And while Orochimaru is insane, he disdains petty tricks in a deal like this. It would be beneath him."

Shizune hesitated before speaking. "But Lady Hokage, the Strength of a Hundred is your personal forbidden technique. Even I was unable to master it. To just hand it over to missing-nin Orochimaru and Neji Hyuga..."

"I know." Tsunade cut her off, her voice weary. "But Akatsuki is too great a threat. Jiraiya has investigated them for years and only scratched the surface. If Orochimaru truly has core intelligence... Konoha would not lose out on this deal."

Jiraiya frowned. "You're going personally?"

"What else?" Tsunade met his gaze directly. "Let you face Orochimaru alone? What if he has laid a trap?"

"I can—"

"I am the Hokage." Tsunade's tone allowed no argument. "And besides, I want to know... what Neji Hyuga has become."

The argument lasted until deep into the night.

Jiraiya insisted on going alone, believing it was far too unwise for the Hokage to put herself in danger. Tsunade refused to yield, for simple reasons. First, she had developed the technique and had the right to decide how it was traded. Second, Orochimaru was dangerous enough that she needed to assess him personally. Third... she wanted to see with her own eyes which side the boy who had once sworn before her to inherit the Will of Fire now stood on.

In the end, they compromised. Tsunade would go, but she had to bring guards. Kakashi was urgently recalled, while three elite ANBU squads were deployed to stand by along the border—not to attack, but to secure a retreat route.

"The exchange is set for seven days from now." Jiraiya finished reading the follow-up secret letter from Orochimaru. "It happens to be the night of the full moon. The location... is still Border Marker Thirty-Seven."

Tsunade nodded, pulled out a blank scroll, and began writing. She wrote quickly, infusing every character with chakra. The ink faintly glowed on the paper—an anti-forgery measure.

The complete training method for the Strength of a Hundred included the Yin Seal's seven hundred and twenty formula nodes, thirty-six chakra compression techniques, the safe threshold for releasing the seal, and... a simplified version she had privately improved for those with insufficient chakra control. She did not hold back, but neither did she give more than necessary—she gave them a version they could master, not the best or fastest version.

"Tsunade..." Jiraiya watched her write, wanting to say something but holding back.

"I know." Tsunade did not look up. "I'm helping a missing-nin become stronger. But Jiraiya, if Akatsuki really is collecting tailed beasts, if their true goal really is to create the Ten-Tails... then Konoha needs intelligence more than it needs one additional enemy."

She stopped writing, sealed the scroll, and looked up with the Hokage's sharpness restored in her eyes. "Besides, Orochimaru obtaining the Strength of a Hundred and Neji accelerating his growth may not necessarily be bad for us."

"What do you mean?"

"If they truly become strong enough to take part in Akatsuki's plans, then they could become an unpredictable variable." Tsunade said. "And variables are always easier to control than a predetermined outcome."

Jiraiya looked at her deeply. In that moment, he saw one of the Three Sannin who had dominated the battlefield, not the Hokage who normally drank and gambled.

"Then it's settled," he said.

At the same time, deep beneath the Sound Village Base.

Neji sat cross-legged in a six-square-meter stone chamber. The dark red ribbon around his forehead was faintly warm—the Reverse Scale of Garaga had been sewn into its inner lining, continuously radiating warmth. After a month of adjustment, the pain of Sage Arts remodeling his body had greatly lessened, replaced by a strange... sense of completeness.

He could clearly perceive Natural Energy flowing through the air like invisible streams, ready to be drawn upon anywhere and anytime. The Sage Art Chakra stored within him had reached a stable level, roughly triple his original total chakra reserves. Moreover, the "quality" of this chakra was completely different—heavier, denser, as if one drop could match ten drops of ordinary chakra.

Most importantly, he could now control the visible traits of Sage Mode.

Normally, he was simply Neji Hyuga. Aside from the somewhat conspicuous ribbon around his forehead, he looked no different from four months ago. His Byakugan were white, his skin was normal, and he had neither horns nor snake pupils. But with a thought, when he mobilized his Sage Art Chakra...

The ribbon around his forehead would flutter without wind, two jade-white horns would break through the skin on either side of his hairline, pale golden rings would emerge around his Byakugan, and serpentine vertical pupils would flicker deep within his eyes. In that state, his perception, strength, and speed would surge dramatically, but it would also continuously consume his reserves of Natural Energy.

"Your control is pretty good." Garaga's consciousness came through the Reverse Scale, as though he were speaking directly in Neji's mind. "Ryūchi Cave Sage Arts differ from the other sacred lands—we pursue 'restraint.' Power is hidden within the body and only erupts when needed. Unlike those toads from Mount Myoboku, whose faces get covered in Toad Oil the instant they activate Sage Mode, as if they are terrified no one will notice."

Neji opened his eyes. "The White Snake Sage once said that nature's essence is predation, but the most skillful predators often look the most harmless."

"That old woman always talks in riddles." Garaga snorted. "Still, she's right. The way you look now... is good. You seem harmless in ordinary times, but once a fight starts, you can scare half the life out of your opponent."

Neji did not respond. He rose and walked to the small table beside the wall. Spread across it was the second-stage experimental plan Orochimaru had just delivered regarding Lightning Release conversion. The complex data, diagrams, and medicine formulas were dizzying, but the core idea was simple: use Sage Art Chakra as a medium to forcibly "carve out" a Lightning Release channel in a chakra system with no elemental affinity.

It was theoretically possible, but the risks were enormous. If it went out of control, Lightning Release chakra could burn through his chakra pathways directly.

That was why he needed the Strength of a Hundred. He needed massive chakra reserves to support numerous Shadow Clones performing simultaneous safe-threshold tests, using exhaustive trial and error to find the most reliable conversion path.

"Three more days," Neji murmured.

Three days later, on the night of the full moon, at Border Marker Thirty-Seven. If Tsunade agreed to the deal, then once he obtained the Strength of a Hundred, his training progress could accelerate by more than tenfold. If she refused... he would have to find another way.

"Nervous?" Garaga asked.

"A little." Neji answered honestly. "This is the most crucial link in my plan. If I get stuck here, every plan afterward will be delayed."

"Then pray that your former Hokage is rational enough." Garaga's consciousness withdrew, and the Reverse Scale's temperature returned to normal.

Neji sat back down on the bed and began his daily routine—not chakra training, but mental training. He closed his eyes and simulated every step of Lightning Release conversion in his mind, deducing three hundred and seventy-four possible accidents and preparing corresponding solutions.

It was a habit he had developed as an overworked office drone in his previous life: prepare for the worst and do everything possible.

Land of Grass border.

The full moon hung high overhead, casting silver light over the barren hills and making Border Marker Thirty-Seven resemble a pale gravestone. The night wind swept through the dead grass with a mournful wail.

Orochimaru and Neji stood on the eastern side of the marker, their white and black clothing stark beneath the moonlight. Neji wore the black uniform of the Sound Village, the dark red ribbon around his forehead fluttering slightly in the wind. His expression was calm as deep water.

"They're here," Orochimaru suddenly said.

Neji's Byakugan had already detected three chakra signatures—two out front and one concealed behind them. Tsunade, Jiraiya, and... Kakashi. Farther away, three ANBU squads had spread out in a fan formation, sealing off every potential ambush point.

"They came well prepared." Orochimaru smiled. "It seems your former Hokage values this exchange highly."

As he spoke, three figures appeared on the western side of the marker.

Tsunade walked in front, her Hokage cloak like a burning white flame beneath the moonlight. Her face was expressionless, but her green eyes were fixed on Neji as if she intended to see through him completely. Jiraiya followed at her left, unusually without the forehead protector bearing the character for "oil." Beneath his white hair, his eyes were sharp as an eagle's. Kakashi brought up the rear, his forehead protector pushed to the top of his head. His scarlet Sharingan turned slowly in the moonlight, his gaze moving between Neji and Orochimaru.

The two sides stopped twenty meters apart. The air was so heavy it seemed possible to wring water from it.

"Orochimaru." Tsunade spoke first, her voice cold as ice. "Who do you want the Strength of a Hundred for?"

"For him." Orochimaru shifted aside, revealing Neji behind him.

Four pairs of eyes focused on him instantly.

Tsunade's pupils contracted slightly. Four months apart, and Neji had grown taller, his shoulders broader and his figure more upright. But the greatest change was his bearing. The proud Hyuga genius who had once still been easy to read now stood there like a deep well, with no telling how powerful the undercurrents were beneath the still surface.

And that dark red ribbon... with Tsunade's eyesight, she could tell it was no ordinary cloth. A faint chakra fluctuation came from it, but what concerned her more was the aura of some far older energy vaguely emanating from beneath it.

"Neji Hyuga." She spoke his name, her voice filled with complicated emotions. "Why do you want the Strength of a Hundred?"

"To train." Neji's answer was brief and direct.

"To train in what?"

"To become strong enough." Neji raised his head. Moonlight fell across his face, and there was not a ripple in those white eyes. "Strong enough to survive. Strong enough to be free."

The words pierced Tsunade's heart like a needle. She remembered the boy standing in her office four months earlier, saying something similar. But back then, he had also spoken of "inheriting the Will of Fire." Now, all that remained were "survive" and "freedom."

"To pursue freedom by betraying the village?" Kakashi suddenly spoke, his Sharingan locked onto Neji. "Do you know what happens to missing-nin?"

"I do." Neji turned to Kakashi, their gazes colliding in the air. "That's why I have to become stronger—strong enough that no one can decide my 'fate.'"

The tension snapped taut.

Jiraiya stepped forward and positioned himself in front of Tsunade. "Enough nonsense. Orochimaru, where's the intelligence?"

Orochimaru took a scroll from his sleeve and weighed it in his hand. "Where is the Strength of a Hundred?"

Gritting her teeth, Tsunade took out a scroll as well. Chakra threads guided the two scrolls through the air as they traded hands. Orochimaru did not even glance at his before passing it directly to Neji. Tsunade, meanwhile, quickly unfurled the intelligence scroll and read it under the moonlight.

The content of the scroll changed her expression at once:

"Akatsuki's leader, Pain, possesses the legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths—the Rinnegan. He is known to possess at least four bodies or more, while his true body remains unknown. Akatsuki's objective: collect all nine tailed beasts and combine them into the ancient demonic beast, the Ten-Tails, creating absolute deterrence and using it to end wars between the great nations—at least on the surface. Key figure: the one codenamed 'Tobi,' an Uchiha Clan member possessing the Mangekyō Sharingan, with strength no less than Itachi Uchiha's. He is suspected to be one of Akatsuki's true manipulators."

Every sentence contained a staggering amount of information. The Rinnegan, four bodies, the Ten-Tails, Uchiha Tobi... if it was true, this intelligence was indeed worth the Strength of a Hundred.

"How do you prove this is real?" Tsunade raised her head and stared at Orochimaru.

"Amegakure now calls itself the 'Land of Gods,' and its leader Pain never shows his true face. You can verify that yourselves." Orochimaru smiled. "As for the Ten-Tails... ask the Two-Tails Jinchuriki of the Cloud Village, or the One-Tail Jinchuriki of the Sand Village, whether they have recently been attacked by unidentified powerful enemies."

Tsunade and Jiraiya exchanged a glance. Yugito Nii of the Cloud Village and Gaara of the Sand Village had indeed recently reported encounters with mysterious enemies, though the incidents had been suppressed.

"Uchiha Tobi..." Kakashi murmured. "Obito..."

"Don't jump to conclusions." Orochimaru interrupted him. "I only said he was an Uchiha Clan member. I never said who he was. Besides... Itachi Uchiha's position within Akatsuki is likely more complicated than you imagine."

That statement silenced all three of them.

"The transaction is complete." Orochimaru turned away. "Then, farewell—"

"Wait." Tsunade suddenly spoke, her voice hard and cold. "Neji Hyuga is an S-Rank Missing-Nin of Konoha. Since we have encountered him, there is no reason to let him go."

The instant she finished speaking, Kakashi formed hand seals. Lightning Blade screamed in his hand!

Jiraiya formed hand seals at the same time. "Summoning Technique!"

White smoke exploded as Gamabunta's massive form descended with a thunderous crash. His single eye locked onto Orochimaru. "You damn snake again!"

Tsunade slammed a hand against the ground. "Summoning Technique!"

A division of Katsuyu emerged, her soft body shielding the group from the front.

Orochimaru smiled, cold and delighted. "I knew this would happen."

He formed hand seals. "Summoning Technique: Manda!"

The purple giant snake burst from the smoke, vertical pupils cold and tongue hissing.

The three sides' summoned beasts faced off, their presences like collapsing mountains and roaring seas!

But then Neji moved.

He did not form any seals. He merely raised a hand and pressed it against the dark red ribbon around his forehead. On the inside of the ribbon, Garaga's Reverse Scale suddenly blazed hot!

"Garaga," he called softly.

The void tore apart—not with the white smoke of a Summoning Technique, but with a more direct and violent rupture of space. A colossal crimson shadow slithered from the rift, its single eye gleaming gold beneath the moonlight, crimson scales like burning flames.

Garaga, the one-eyed red snake of Ryūchi Cave.

His appearance made both Gamabunta and Manda shudder. Gamabunta nearly dropped his pipe. "Garaga?! You actually answered a human's summons?!"

"Occasionally." Garaga's voice rasped like grinding sand. "And this kid... is different."

But what truly changed everyone's expression was Neji's next transformation.

The dark red ribbon around his forehead fluttered without wind. Then, two jade-white horns broke through the skin on either side of his hairline and slowly grew out, glowing with gentle luster beneath the moonlight. Pale golden rings appeared around his Byakugan, while serpentine vertical pupils clearly emerged deep within his eyes. The chakra around him abruptly became heavy and dense, carrying an ancient, dangerous aura.

Sage Mode, fully activated!

"That is..." Jiraiya's pupils shrank sharply. "Ryūchi Cave Sage Arts?! And with such a high level of completion?!"

Tsunade's expression changed completely. Four months—from defecting to mastering complete Sage Mode. What did that even mean? When she had trained in Sage Arts at Shikkotsu Forest, it had taken her a full three years just to barely get started!

Kakashi's Sharingan spun madly as he tried to analyze Neji's chakra composition, but all he saw was a chaotic yet ordered sea of energy—Natural Energy, physical energy, and spiritual energy perfectly fused together, with terrifying density and quality. In terms of chakra "quality" alone, Neji was now no weaker than any of the Three Sannin present!

"Do you still want to fight?" Orochimaru asked with a smile, his voice full of mockery.

Tsunade looked around.

Gamabunta could gain no advantage against Manda and Garaga. Katsuyu excelled in healing and defense, but lacked offensive power. Jiraiya needed time to prepare Sage Mode, while Orochimaru and Neji were clearly ready to fight at any moment. Most importantly, Neji's Sage Mode gave her a genuine sense of danger—the quality and density of that chakra had already touched the threshold of Kage Level.

And this was the border. If they truly fought, it would become a diplomatic incident.

"Retreat." Tsunade finally gave the order, her voice full of unwillingness but even more reason.

Jiraiya gave Neji a deep look, his expression incomparably complicated. He released his Summoning Technique, and Gamabunta vanished in a cloud of white smoke.

Kakashi dispelled his Lightning Blade. For one final second, his Sharingan lingered on the horns on Neji's forehead and the Caged Bird Seal—two forms of restraint, two kinds of power, coexisting strangely within the same boy. Then he turned away and pulled his forehead protector back down.

Katsuyu gently wrapped around Tsunade and slowly sank into the ground.

The three from Konoha swiftly withdrew, disappearing into the moonlit wilderness.

Only after their chakra signatures had completely vanished from his Byakugan vision did Neji slowly exit Sage Mode. His horns receded, the golden rings faded, and his snake pupils returned to ordinary Byakugan. Aside from some damage to the ribbon around his forehead, exposing the intact Caged Bird Seal underneath, he had once again become an ordinary-looking Hyuga boy.

Garaga lowered his head and glanced at him. "That display just now had decent presence. But... your former Hokage won't be sleeping tonight."

With that, he turned into crimson light and vanished into the air.

Manda gave a derisive snort. "Orochimaru, don't call me for this kind of troublesome business next time." Then he too disappeared with a bang.

Only two people and the silent border marker remained on the wasteland.

Orochimaru turned toward Neji, strange light flickering in his golden pupils. "Sage Mode... the moment you activated it, even I felt pressure. Four months, from nothing to mastering Sage Arts. Neji Hyuga, you are more valuable than I imagined."

Neji put away the Strength of a Hundred scroll and said calmly, "It was merely a transaction. I become stronger, and you gain a better research specimen and a potential 'vessel.' Each of us gets what we need."

"Then next," Orochimaru looked toward Konoha, his smile deepening, "Tsunade should immediately verify whether the intelligence is true. Once it is confirmed, the conflict between Konoha and Akatsuki will enter a new stage. And what we need to do during this time... is help you complete your full elemental conversion."

"How long?"

"With the Strength of a Hundred supporting you, the Lightning Release conversion should be completed within two months." Orochimaru turned and walked toward the Sound Village Base. "Then water, fire, earth, and wind. If all goes well... within two years, you will possess a complete chakra system for all five elements."

Neji followed him. Moonlight stretched their shadows long across the barren borderland.

Two years. In the original story, Pain attacked Konoha three years later. He still had time.

On the road back to Konoha, Tsunade remained silent the entire way.

"Tsunade..." Jiraiya tried to speak.

"He has mastered Sage Arts." Tsunade interrupted him, her voice quiet. "Ryūchi Cave Sage Mode, with an extremely high completion rate. And he can control its visible traits—it cannot be seen normally, only appearing when needed. That means his mastery of Sage Arts has reached an extraordinarily refined level."

Kakashi added, "And he also has Orochimaru's Earth Curse Mark, but there was no sign of him using it just now. Either Sage Arts have suppressed the Curse Mark, or... he did not think he needed it."

"Or he is saving it for an even greater trump card," Jiraiya said. "That kid... has completely taken another path."

Tsunade clenched the intelligence scroll in her hand. Moonlight shone on her face, revealing a complicated expression—anger, regret, vigilance, and a trace of... admiration she was unwilling to admit even to herself.

For freedom, he had betrayed the village, joined Orochimaru, cultivated forbidden techniques, and perhaps paid an unimaginable price. That resolve and madness reminded her of her younger self—when she developed the Strength of a Hundred to overcome her hemophobia, had she not also wandered along the edge of life and death?

"Return to Konoha," she finally said. "Verify the intelligence and redeploy. As for Neji Hyuga..."

She paused, her voice regaining the calm befitting a Hokage:

"The next time we meet on the battlefield, he will be an enemy."

Her Hokage cloak fluttered in the night wind as moonlight cast the three of their shadows toward the road home.

And in the deeper darkness, Akatsuki's plan continued advancing steadily.

Neji's path had only just begun.