Worried Sick Over Sasuke

After reaching an agreement with Orochimaru and removing the Improved Earth Curse Mark, Neji temporarily stayed in a hidden cave on the border of the Land of Rivers, devoting himself fully to researching the Flying Thunder God Technique.

The scroll containing the foundational principles Orochimaru had given him was exceptionally profound, involving multiple dimensions such as spatial perception, coordinate anchoring, instantaneous chakra output, and form transformation. Neji discovered that it shared certain common principles with the spatial ninjutsu he had already grasped—such as the reverse derivation of the Summoning Technique he had learned from Orochimaru, as well as some barrier principles Orochimaru had previously taught him—but its complexity was on an entirely different level.

"The core of Flying Thunder God lies in 'marks' and 'perception'..." Neji sat cross-legged in the cave, a scroll spread out before him as his fingers traced shapes through the air. "You need to leave a special Flying Thunder God Formula on an object as a coordinate, then use extraordinarily powerful spatial perception to lock onto it. In an instant, you synchronize your chakra with the spatial frequency at the coordinate and complete the teleportation."

He tried carving the simplest Flying Thunder God Formula into a rock before him—a set of three nested spiral patterns with the character for "shinobi" at the center. It required extremely precise chakra control. Every stroke had to be infused with chakra at a specific frequency, or the formula would fail to activate.

On his first attempt, the lines were crooked and the chakra was injected unevenly. The formula dimmed and vanished the instant it was completed.

On his second attempt, the pattern was correct, but there was a slight deviation in the chakra frequency. The formula could remain in place, but it could not respond to his summons.

The third attempt...

The fourth attempt...

Neji immersed himself in exploring spatial ninjutsu and completely lost track of time. As a transmigrator, he understood the strategic value that the Flying Thunder God Technique would hold in future battles. Whether in pursuit, retreat, surprise attacks, or rescue, this nearly bug-like spatial movement ability could offer tremendous advantages. More importantly, Flying Thunder God was a perfect match for his Byakugan. Its immense range of vision and X-ray sight would allow him to lock onto coordinates across the battlefield in advance, achieving true all-field mobility.

Five days later.

Neji finally succeeded in carving a stable Flying Thunder God Formula into the rock. When he poured chakra into it and attempted his first short-range teleportation—

"Buzz..."

Space warped slightly. His figure vanished from where he stood and appeared at the formula's coordinate point three meters away in an instant!

"Success!" Excitement flashed in Neji's eyes. Though it was only three meters, and though the chakra consumption was astounding—nearly ten times that of the Body Flicker Technique over the same distance—this was undeniably a spatial jump, not an illusion created by high-speed movement.

Just as he prepared for a second attempt, a specially made communication talisman in his robes suddenly heated up. It was the emergency channel for contacting Kabuto Yakushi.

Neji's heart sank. At this point in time, if Kabuto Yakushi had taken the initiative to contact him, it could only mean one thing...

He activated the talisman, and a scroll written by Kabuto Yakushi was delivered into his hands by a small messenger snake.

"Neji, Lord Orochimaru... failed. Something went wrong during the process of taking Sasuke's body. Sasuke retaliated, and my lord... disappeared. Meet me at Outpost 307 immediately."

Though he had expected it, seeing the news with his own eyes still brought a complicated surge of emotions to Neji's heart. Orochimaru—the dangerous, insane, brilliant man who had given him power while also trying to control him—had exited the stage just like that. According to their contract, it was now time for Neji to begin preparing for Orochimaru's resurrection.

Neji put away the scroll, used the Body Flicker Technique to leave the cave, and raced north.

Northern Sound Village outpost, a concealed underground facility.

When Neji arrived, he saw utter devastation. Some experimental equipment was still running, while others had already been damaged. Most of the test subjects inside the cultivation tanks were dead, and the air was filled with the strange mingled smell of preservatives and blood.

Kabuto Yakushi stood before the central experimental table with his back to the entrance. He wore his signature gray kimono, and his eyes behind his glasses were fixed on the scattered documents and scrolls across the table. Yet his gaze was vacant, as if it had lost focus.

"Senior Kabuto," Neji called softly.

Kabuto slowly turned around. His face was pale, and his eyes were unfocused. The expression he always wore—calm, rational, as though everything were under his control—had vanished, replaced by profound confusion and... emptiness.

"Neji, you're here." Kabuto's voice was quiet. He picked up a black scroll from the experimental table and handed it to Neji. "This is the complete Flying Thunder God Technique. It includes the original training method of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, as well as Lord Orochimaru's research notes and improvement concepts for spatial ninjutsu over the years."

Neji accepted the scroll and could feel its heavy weight in his hands. He looked at Kabuto. "What are you planning to do next?"

"Planning?" Kabuto repeated the word blankly, his lips pulling into a smile uglier than crying. "I... don't know. From being taken from the orphanage by Lord Orochimaru, to becoming his assistant, to managing the daily affairs of the Sound Village... my life always had a clear direction. But now..."

He looked around the room. "My lord is gone. The Sound Village had always been a kingdom belonging to him alone. Once he disappeared, that kingdom collapsed. Those test subjects, those experiments, those ambitions... suddenly, they all lost their meaning."

Looking at Kabuto, Neji understood. This was Kabuto's "identity crisis" after Orochimaru's death in the original story. Having lost the person he had served and the purpose of his life, he was like a ship that had lost its rudder, drifting aimlessly at sea. At this stage, no one could persuade him. He had to find a new "meaning" on his own, even if that meaning would eventually lead him down an extreme path.

"Senior Kabuto," Neji said after carefully choosing his words, "Lord Orochimaru pursued the truths of this world and immortality. Although he has temporarily disappeared, the knowledge, the research, and even... the 'backups' he left behind are still here. Perhaps you can inherit his will and continue exploring those unresolved mysteries."

"Inherit his will..." Kabuto murmured. His eyes remained vacant. "Perhaps. But I need... time to think."

He turned and walked deeper into the outpost, his footsteps unsteady. "Neji, leave. I've already given you the Flying Thunder God Technique, and I know the terms of the contract. If one day you truly find a way to revive my lord, I will appear. But for now... let me be alone."

Neji watched Kabuto vanish into the shadows, knowing that he would not listen to any advice right now. In the original story, Kabuto would eventually embark on a path of collecting corpses, studying Impure World Reincarnation, and even merging Orochimaru's cells into himself—but that required an opportunity and time.

"You need to find your true self, Senior Kabuto," Neji said softly, but Kabuto had already gone too far to hear him. The words dissolved in the empty outpost.

Neji put away the Flying Thunder God scroll, gave the soon-to-be-abandoned outpost one final look, and turned to leave.

Outside, the sunlight was blinding. Neji narrowed his eyes as calculations rapidly ran through his mind.

Orochimaru was dead, and Sasuke had successfully retaliated. According to the original plot, Sasuke would next form Team Taka and begin his journey to find Itachi Uchiha for revenge. As for Akatsuki, they had indeed been unnaturally quiet lately. Logically, after Pain acquired the Seven-Tails, he should have immediately planned the capture of the remaining tailed beasts, yet there had been no movement until now. Combined with the occasional fragments of information Zetsu had revealed, it seemed Obito, or Tobi, and Nagato, or Pain, had developed disagreements over the specific implementation of the Eye of the Moon Plan.

Since Akatsuki was temporarily inactive and Sasuke was about to begin his road of revenge... then I'll help speed things along for him. A sharp gleam flashed through Neji's eyes. If Sasuke found Itachi early and the brothers' confrontation was triggered ahead of time, perhaps it would disrupt Obito and Nagato's rhythm and create an opportunity for himself.

He put on his mask, changed into Akatsuki's black cloak patterned with red clouds, assumed the identity of "Sake," and raced toward the locations where Jugo, Suigetsu, and Karin were believed to be hiding.

First stop: a Curse Mark testing ground in a northern country, where Jugo was imprisoned.

It was a special prison built inside a mountain. Its walls and cell doors were all forged from a special metal that isolated chakra. In a specially reinforced cell three times stronger than the others at the deepest part of the prison, Jugo was held captive.

When Neji arrived, he happened to catch Jugo during one of his "episodes."

"Roooooar—!!!"

A terrifying roar came from the cell, making the entire mountain tremble slightly. Through the observation window, Neji saw that the burly orange-haired youth inside had partially transformed into a beast. His skin had turned dark red, his arms had swollen, and his nails had become sharp as claws. He slammed into the special metal walls with abandon. Every impact dented the walls, though they quickly returned to their original shape due to the material's memory properties.

The Sound Village guards nearby—former Sound Village guards, now—had long since hidden far away. They only dared to observe from the monitoring room.

"He's having another episode... This one's worse than the last."

"Lord Orochimaru is gone. No one can suppress him now. What do we do?"

"What can we do? Wait for him to exhaust himself and calm down naturally. That cell is specially made, anyway. He can't break it."

Neji silently infiltrated the monitoring room and knocked out the guards. Then he walked to the cell and formed hand seals. "Sealing Technique: Four Symbols Lock."

Four talismans flew from his palms and attached themselves to the four corners of the cell. The talismans glowed, forming a barrier that suppressed Jugo's berserk chakra. Jugo's beastly traits began to recede. Gasping heavily, he dropped to his knees as his awareness gradually returned.

"Who... are you?" Jugo raised his head and looked toward the man in the black cloak with red clouds outside the cell. His voice was gentle, completely unlike the violent roar from moments ago.

"Akatsuki. 'Sake,'" Neji said calmly. "I'm here to give you a choice. You can stay locked up here, wait for your next loss of control, and eventually be dealt with as a monster. Or you can come with me and meet someone."

Jugo's eyes were confused. "Meet who?"

"Sasuke Uchiha," Neji said. "Orochimaru's final vessel, and also... the one who killed Orochimaru."

Jugo's body trembled. Orochimaru was dead? The man who had given him a place to stay was dead?

"Sasuke... I've heard of him," Jugo said quietly. "Lord Orochimaru valued him greatly. He said Sasuke had special eyes. So Sasuke... was a 'vessel' too, like Kimimaro?"

"He was," Neji said. "But now he's free. And he needs companions. The Natural Energy and Curse Mark inside you can be useful to him."

Jugo remained silent for a long time. He looked at the cold cell around him, then at his arms, covered in scars from his frequent loss of control. At last, he nodded. "I'll go with you. But... if I lose control again and hurt someone..."

"I'll place a restriction on you," Neji said. "It won't affect you normally. But if you completely lose control and endanger your companions, the restriction will force you unconscious. Do you agree?"

Jugo gave a bitter smile. "Do I have any room to choose?"

Neji opened the cell door, walked before Jugo, and pressed a finger to his forehead. A complex sealing formula entered Jugo's body. This was a "three-layer safeguard" Neji had developed by combining Orochimaru's Curse Mark knowledge, the Hyuga Clan's sealing techniques, and his own understanding of chakra control. The first layer would not activate normally. The second would automatically calm the Natural Energy whenever Jugo's emotions fluctuated intensely. The third would activate only upon total loss of control, forcibly rendering him unconscious.

Once the restriction was complete, Jugo felt as if the power within him that could erupt at any time had been bound by invisible shackles. He could still sense it, but it was no longer so difficult to control.

"Thank you," Jugo said sincerely.

"Don't thank me yet." Neji turned away. "Next, we need to find two more people."

Second stop: an underground water source in the Land of Water, Suigetsu's hiding place.

Suigetsu proved harder to find than expected. The guy was clever and slippery. The instant he learned of Orochimaru's death, he had slipped away and hidden within the Land of Water's complex underground river network. But Neji had the Byakugan. He could see through the earth and search for chakra signatures, ultimately locating him in an underground lake.

"Splash—"

The moment Neji reached the lake's edge, a water blade burst from its surface and shot straight toward him. Neji sidestepped it, and the blade struck the rock wall behind him, carving a deep groove into it.

"Well, well, looks like I've been found." A frivolous voice rang out from the center of the lake. A white-haired youth with spiky hair and a mouth full of sharp teeth slowly rose from the water. He carried a replica of the iconic Kubikiribōchō over his shoulder. "Someone from Akatsuki? What do you want with me? Let me say this first: I'm not following Orochimaru anymore, and I don't want to join any organization either. Too much trouble."

Suigetsu, a descendant of the Hozuki Clan, could liquefy his body. He had a carefree personality, but he instinctively feared and took interest in the strong.

Neji looked at him. "I'm not here to invite you into Akatsuki. I'm here to point you toward a path—go find Sasuke Uchiha."

"Sasuke?" Suigetsu's eyes lit up. "That brat who killed Orochimaru? Interesting. But why should I go find him?"

"Because he's forming a team and looking for people," Neji said. "And you're one of the candidates on his list. More importantly... Sasuke is about to seek revenge against Itachi Uchiha. That means battles. It means meeting all kinds of powerful opponents. Don't you want to fight the strong? Don't you want to see whether that sword of yours can cut off the head of a Sharingan user?"

Suigetsu's grin widened, exposing even more sharp teeth. "Sounds good. But why should I listen to you?"

"Because I've already placed a restriction in your water supply," Neji said evenly. "Whenever you liquefy your body and absorb water, the restriction will take effect in minute amounts. If you don't go find Sasuke, or if you refuse to cooperate after finding him... the restriction will gradually solidify your body. Eventually, you'll become a true 'water ghoul,' forever unable to liquefy."

Suigetsu's expression changed instantly. He tried liquefying an arm and immediately sensed a faint, nearly imperceptible resistance. The effect was small now, but if it accumulated over time...

"You bastard..." Suigetsu gritted his teeth. "When did you...?"

"When you attacked just now and your water blade brushed past me," Neji said. "My chakra mixed into the blade and entered your body when you reabsorbed the water. Now choose. Go find Sasuke and help him, and I can regularly give you antidotes to ease the restriction. Or stay here and slowly turn to stone."

Suigetsu stared at Neji for a long while before finally waving a hand in defeat. "Fine, fine, you win. I'll go find Sasuke, okay? But let's be clear—I'm only cooperating temporarily. If that kid isn't interesting, I'm leaving whenever I want."

"Fine." Neji nodded. "The restriction will release automatically after one year. Until then, do your best to 'assist' Sasuke."

Third stop: a medical facility in the Land of Grass, Karin's temporary hiding place.

Karin was the easiest of the three to find—she had not hidden at all. She was working at a small clinic near the border of the Land of Grass. When Neji found her, she was using her special physique—allowing others to bite her in order to restore their chakra and injuries—to treat an injured wandering shinobi.

"Easy, easy! Are you a dog? Why are you biting so hard?!" Karin screamed.

"If you want treatment, bite more gently! If you don't, get lost!" Karin irritably pushed the wandering shinobi's head away. "Next!"

Neji walked into the clinic. The other patients and medical staff saw his Akatsuki attire and fled in terror. Karin looked up, saw the black cloak with red clouds, and her pupils contracted. Yet she did not run. Instead, she rose to her feet warily.

"Akatsuki... What do you want with me? A minor person like me shouldn't be worth all this effort from you people, right?"

Karin, a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan, possessed immense vitality and sensory abilities. In truth, she longed to be needed and valued, but she was extremely wary of strangers.

"Sasuke Uchiha is forming a team," Neji said directly. "He needs a sensory-type shinobi and medical support. You're the most suitable choice."

Karin froze, then her face suddenly turned red. "S-Sasuke? Sasuke Uchiha? He wants me?"

"Yes." Watching her instantly shift from vigilance to infatuation, Neji was speechless inside, though his expression remained calm. "But he's unstable right now and consumed by revenge. He needs someone to watch over him, treat him, and sense enemies. Can you do that?"

"I can! Of course I can!" Karin nearly jumped up, but then she eyed Neji suspiciously again. "But how do you know Sasuke needs me? What's your relationship with him?"

"I have no relationship with him," Neji said. "But I owe Orochimaru a favor, and Sasuke... was Orochimaru's final 'work.' I want him to survive and complete his revenge. That's why I'm helping him form a reliable team."

The explanation was half true and half false, but Karin accepted it—or rather, she was willing to accept any reason that would allow her to get close to Sasuke.

"Fine, I'll go!" Karin agreed without hesitation. "But I have one condition—you can't hurt Sasuke!"

"I won't hurt him," Neji said. "On the contrary, I'll help all of you from the shadows. But I also need to place a restriction within you—not to control you, but to ensure that you won't betray Sasuke at a crucial moment. Do you agree?"

Karin hesitated for one second, but the thought of staying by Sasuke's side made her nod firmly. "I agree! As long as it's for Sasuke, I'm willing to do anything!"

Neji lightly touched Karin's forehead with a finger and placed a restriction similar to Jugo's, though this one focused more on perception and communication. Through it, he could faintly sense Karin's condition and send brief messages when necessary.

"The restriction is complete," Neji said. "Now go to the northern Curse Mark testing ground and find Jugo. Then meet up with Suigetsu and search for Sasuke together. Tell him they are gifts Orochimaru left behind. He'll understand."

Karin excitedly began packing, but then suddenly remembered something and turned back. "Um... who exactly are you? Why are you helping Sasuke?"

Neji turned and left. His voice drifted back to her. "Someone... who hopes the Shinobi World can change."

Konoha, Hokage Office.

Tsunade had been working for sixteen consecutive hours. Ever since returning from the failed Five Kage Summit, she had poured all her energy into strengthening the village's defenses: reinforcing barriers, adjusting patrol systems, reorganizing shinobi units, checking material reserves... She wanted to numb herself with work so she would not think about Asuma's death, Fū's capture, or the disgusting suspicion and accusations at the Five Kage Summit.

But in the dead of night, those scenes still flooded into her mind.

Asuma lying in a pool of blood.

The Raikage's overbearing face.

The Tsuchikage's sarcastic smile.

The Mizukage's gentle yet barbed words.

And... Orochimaru.

Yes, Orochimaru. Her former companion, later a traitor, the man who had committed countless acts that harmed Konoha. This afternoon, ANBU had delivered definite news of Orochimaru's death—he had been devoured in Sasuke Uchiha's backlash, leaving not even a corpse behind.

Tsunade had thought she would feel satisfaction, even relief. But when she truly heard the news, what rose within her was instead a complicated sorrow that even she could not understand.

Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and herself... Konoha's legendary Three Sannin, the final lingering glow of that golden age, had now completely scattered. Jiraiya was at Mount Myoboku teaching Naruto Sage Arts, while she sat in this cold Hokage Office, and Orochimaru had become nothingness.

"Lady Tsunade, you should rest." Shizune held Tonton as she looked at Tsunade with concern. "You haven't slept in two days."

"I can't sleep." Tsunade rubbed her temples. "The moment I close my eyes, I see Asuma... and Kurenai. I need to visit her tomorrow. She's about to give birth, and now she's lost her husband..."

Her voice caught for a moment, but she quickly forced it down. "And then there's the matter of the Seven-Tails. Was there really an internal traitor in Konoha who leaked the escort route? We must investigate this thoroughly. If there truly is a traitor..."

Before she could finish, the office's encrypted communication array suddenly lit up. It was the highest security level, a channel known to only a very few people.

Tsunade's expression sharpened as she swiftly activated the formation. A stream of encrypted information entered and condensed into words across the desk—it was intelligence from Neji Hyuga.

Shizune tactfully stepped aside and stood guard.

Tsunade rapidly read the secret report. Her expression shifted from vigilance to surprise, then to complexity, before finally becoming a long sigh.

The report read:

"Lady Hokage:

1. Regarding the ambush on the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki Fū's escort mission: investigation confirms that this was not caused by an internal Konoha intelligence leak. Akatsuki's Zetsu tracked Fū through her two Hidden Waterfall Village guards, Shibuki and Demon Wolf, and identified the target. The two guards wore no disguises and bore obvious identifying marks.

2. Orochimaru's death has been confirmed. He died due to Sasuke Uchiha's backlash. Sasuke has left the Sound Village, and his whereabouts are unknown. However, intelligence analysis indicates that his next objective should be finding Itachi Uchiha for revenge.

3. Akatsuki activity has recently decreased abnormally. There are suspected disagreements among its upper ranks over the implementation of the 'Eye of the Moon Plan.' This is a strategic window of opportunity.

4. I will continue undercover and seek opportunities to gather further intelligence.

—Respectfully submitted by Neji Hyuga"

After reading it, Tsunade leaned back in her chair. She covered part of the information before handing it to Shizune.

It wasn't an inside traitor... It had simply been carelessness, a lack of attention toward the personnel of an allied shinobi village. The conclusion allowed Tsunade to breathe easier. At least Konoha remained united inside and had not been infiltrated. Yet at the same time, it filled her with deep self-reproach. If she had considered things more thoroughly, if she had insisted that the Hidden Waterfall Village guards disguise themselves too, perhaps Fū would not have been captured, and Asuma would not have...

"Lady Tsunade," Shizune said softly, "this isn't your fault. No one could have imagined Akatsuki would track them from that angle..."

"But I am the Hokage." Tsunade interrupted her, her voice weary. "The Hokage's responsibility is to consider what no one else considers and prevent every possible danger. I... failed in my duty."

She opened her eyes again and looked at the second item in the report. Orochimaru was dead... killed by Sasuke. That child had truly embarked upon the irreversible road of revenge. Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha—where would the destinies of these brothers lead them?

And Neji... that child was walking on thin ice in a place like Akatsuki, yet he was still passing on crucial intelligence. The pressure he bore in his desire for freedom was greater than that of the other shinobi of his generation—perhaps even greater than her own as Hokage.

"Shizune," Tsunade said as she slowly rose to her feet, "send out the order. List the Seven-Tails mission as an A-rank cautionary case and require every Jonin to study it. Also... intensify the search for Sasuke Uchiha, but do not initiate conflict. That child... has already suffered enough."

"Yes." Shizune nodded. After hesitating briefly, she asked, "Then what about the news of Lord Orochimaru's death...?"

"Process it as the death of a rogue shinobi. No memorial, but..." Tsunade walked to the window and looked at the village lights. "Have the archives mark his name separately from the rogue shinobi list. After all... he was once a shinobi of Konoha, once my... companion."

The final word was spoken so softly that it was nearly inaudible.

Shizune silently recorded the order and left the office.

Tsunade stood alone by the window as moonlight spilled over her face. The female Hokage, famous for her boldness and strength, was now filled with exhaustion, grief, and complicated emotions. The shinobi world was this cruel. Yesterday's companion could become today's enemy; those who fought side by side yesterday could be separated by life and death today.

But she could not collapse. Konoha needed her. Naruto needed her. The shinobi still fighting needed her.

"Jiraiya... Orochimaru..." she murmured, "the era of the three of us has truly ended."

Outside the window, Konoha's lights flickered in the darkness, as though telling of the village's unbroken inheritance and resilience.

And in the darkness far away, a new storm was brewing. Sasuke's "Taka" was about to spread its wings, and Akatsuki's final operation was about to begin.