"Pfft!"
Just as the two were about to clash—
A shadow darted past.
"Argh!"
[Boom!]
In that instant, Obito felt like he was transported back to his school days.
That kick… it was exactly how he remembered it. Raw and brutal.
"Guy?!"
Even Kakashi was stunned.
The atmosphere had been so tense, pushed to its absolute peak. Both were ready to die, their determination unwavering.
And then Guy's kick ruined everything.
Not only did it send Obito flying, it also brought back that old, familiar fear—
The terror of being dominated by Guy.
"Kakashi!"
Guy gave a big thumbs-up.
"Nice teamwork! Just as I thought—when we join forces, we're unbeatable!"
"Next time, same strategy. You draw his attention, I go in for the attack."
[Ding!]
His teeth sparkled.
"No, wait, I think you misunderstood something...!"
Kakashi's lips were trembling.
Obito lay on the ground, dazed.
Clenching his teeth, gritting through the pain, he forced himself back up and glared at Kakashi and Guy.
Kakashi lowered his head, ashamed.
It was a battlefield. From the very beginning, it had been two versus one.
And yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd done something terribly dishonorable.
Guy, meanwhile, gave Obito a big thumbs-up.
"You bastard…"
This wasn't just a provocation—this was like throwing his pride to the ground, spitting on it, and stomping on it for good measure.
Who the hell does that?!
Are you even human?!
"Very well then, Kakashi," Obito growled, his voice icy. "Since you've made your choice, don't blame me for what comes next."
[Crack!]
A White Zetsu clone appeared, its hand morphing into tree-like branches that stabbed into Obito's body.
The branches writhed, as if channeling something deep into him.
"Mmph!"
Obito grunted, then—his aura exploded, rising rapidly.
In mere moments, it had stabilized.
He had recovered!
Despite the grueling battle so far, Obito had burned through a tremendous amount of chakra.
But just like that—he was back on his feet, brimming with strength.
The cost?
That White Zetsu had become a shriveled corpse.
"Wh-what just happened?!"
Even Guy couldn't help but cry out.
Obito didn't answer. He simply said coldly: "Let's begin round two."
[Buzz!]
Kamui.
[Swish!]
The space around them distorted. Dozens of kunai and shuriken materialized midair and flew toward Kakashi and Guy.
They barely had time to block.
But then—
[BOOM!!]
Explosions rocked the battlefield.
Kakashi gave a wry smile.
Great.
Now even the Hokage-style explosive tactics are part of Obito's arsenal.
"Come on," Obito growled.
"Let's keep going."
A fresh wave of kunai flew toward them.
[BOOM!!]
Kakashi and Guy were blasted backward, forced to retreat.
Obito, roaring, charged again.
You think you can humiliate me?
I'll bury you both.
Filthy bastards…
...
Meanwhile—
Orochimaru and Jiraiya kept pulling each other's hair.
Orochimaru was getting frustrated.
He'd assumed he could take Jiraiya out quickly, then head off to assist the masked man.
But in one careless moment, Jiraiya almost had him.
It made him realize—if he hadn't been lucky enough to obtain and master Sage Mode from the White Snake Sage before this fight—
He would've lost.
How?!
How did it come to this?!
This guy is obviously a loser!
Even after acknowledging Jiraiya's growth, Orochimaru had never imagined he would reach such a level.
He had actually surpassed Orochimaru—if only briefly.
"Orochimaru!!!"
Jiraiya roared and smashed into Orochimaru.
"Jiraiya, you really are the most annoying person alive."
Orochimaru's eyes burned with disgust, and his attacks turned even more vicious.
"I should've killed you long ago!"
Just as the next clash was about to begin, a figure flashed onto the scene—
[BAM!]
Orochimaru took a massive hit to the face.
In that moment, he felt like he was flying—
As if someone had smashed his face with a hammer bigger than he was.
Stars. So many shiny stars…
[BOOM!!!]
[Crackle! Sizzle!]
He crashed to the ground, skidding a long way across it.
His body twitched uncontrollably.
Jiraiya blinked, then lit up with joy.
"Tsunade! You're here!"
"Hmph!"
Tsunade stood with her hands on her hips, exuding power, looking down at Orochimaru like a queen.
"Orochimaru, enough already. Just how long were you planning to keep this nonsense going?"
"Cough, cough…"
Orochimaru struggled to rise, and when he finally did, he looked at Tsunade and gave a twisted grin.
"Princess Tsunade… your punches are still as brutal as ever."
"Cut the crap!" Tsunade snapped. "Surrender now. We can still plead your case to the Hokage."
Orochimaru's grin widened. "Sorry. Not gonna happen."
"Then we'll beat you until it does." A violent gleam flashed in Tsunade's eyes. She shouted, "Jiraiya, go!"
"You got it!"
With a loud yell, Jiraiya charged forward like a madman.
Orochimaru: "…"
Jiraiya, you're still the same as ever.
No.
You've evolved since then.
No wonder you can't catch Tsunade's heart.
What woman prefers a loyal mutt over a dazzling, dashing young man?
Sure, they might need the dog, but that doesn't mean they want the dog to be all over them!
The battle erupted again.
What drove Orochimaru up the wall—what made him feel like he was going insane—was that with Tsunade around, Jiraiya fought like he was on a sugar high, screaming and charging with reckless abandon.
The sheer force behind it made even Orochimaru have to back off.
And that made him feel utterly stifled.
If Jiraiya had been truly that strong all along…
Or if he were using some secret technique…
Orochimaru wouldn't have minded.
But this?
This mutt got hyped up just because of Tsunade!
A woman who doesn't even like him!
Fuming with rage, Orochimaru gripped the Kusanagi Blade and launched a vicious flurry of slashes at Jiraiya.
Jiraiya was forced to hop and dodge like a frog on fire.
"You spineless mutt!"
"I'll beat the loser out of you!"
"Tsunade shows up and you go nuts? You want me to make you excited?"
"Would you bark 'thank you' if she slapped you across the face?!"
Orochimaru's curses made Tsunade's expression turn grim.
Tsunade inhaled sharply, gathered her chakra, and slammed her fist forward.
Just like that, the dog-tired Jiraiya was saved from being torn apart.
Still shaken, he staggered up to Tsunade and muttered, "What the hell's wrong with that guy?"
Tsunade rolled her eyes at him.
Why is Orochimaru mad?
You really don't know?
Sometimes, the way Jiraiya humbles himself in front of her… it stings a little.
Still, she was just as curious about Orochimaru's rage.
Was it really because Jiraiya was acting so spineless in front of her?
Or… was there something else going on?
Orochimaru roared, "Jiraiya! Can't you act like a man for once? Stand up straight in front of Tsunade!"
Jiraiya scratched his head awkwardly. "Orochimaru, are you coming back to Konoha?"
"Come back my ass! Seeing you like this makes me lose all hope in Konoha! What would I go back for, huh? To be disgusted by you?"
He spat the words with venom.
Back then, the Third Hokage didn't think much of Jiraiya.
Later, he began to see potential.
By the end… he was seriously considering passing the title of Hokage to him.
Otherwise, how the hell did Minato become Hokage?
Let's be real—Jiraiya passed up the spot for Minato.
Every time Orochimaru thought about it, a bitter ache settled in his chest.
Damn it.
Konoha was never fair to him.
He gave everything to that village.
Orochimaru had worked like a donkey for Konoha, just look at his history of completed missions: 1,468 official missions in total, including 491 A rank and 108 S rank. This does not consider that when he entered Root the missions he carried out stopped being counted.
What did he get in return?
And about the forbidden jutsu… hell, if they had really treated him with genuine trust, would he have gone down that path?
Other villages needed people and corpses for experimentation too.
The only reason he targeted Konoha's own people—
Was revenge.
They looked at him with suspicion?
Fine. He'd put his blade right to their throats.
Jiraiya curled his lip. "You're not coming back anyway, so why do you even care about what I do? You don't get me, just like I don't get you. You think you really understand what I'm thinking?"
Orochimaru paused.
He looked at Jiraiya—and for the first time, really looked.
Those eyes… were dead serious.
Orochimaru suddenly fell silent.
Was Jiraiya really an idiot?
Could someone with that much power truly be a fool?
No.
He chose to be this way.
Maybe a lot of people thought Jiraiya was dumb.
Even Orochimaru did, at times.
From his perspective, he found Jiraiya utterly infuriating — like iron that refuses to be forged.
But did they really understand what Jiraiya was thinking?
Just like the Third Hokage back then — he couldn't understand Orochimaru's mindset either. That misunderstanding only widened the rift between them.
The Night of the Nine-Tails… was Orochimaru truly uninvolved?
If Hiruzen had shown even a little goodwill toward Orochimaru, the outcome might have been completely different.
"Heh... You're a fool," Orochimaru suddenly chuckled, staring at Jiraiya as he murmured, "Of course, so am I."
Jiraiya grinned. "Hey, you said it, not me!"
Orochimaru's expression turned serious. "Jiraiya, go ahead and attack. Don't hold back. We've come too far — there's no turning back now."
Jiraiya paused for a moment and let out a sigh. "You know very well… if you surrendered, Hokage-sama would—"
"I refuse."
Orochimaru's voice was calm, almost serene.
He was a man of immense pride.
He respected Uchiha Funan — even admired him.
But he also knew they lacked true understanding between them.
Both had their own convictions.
Even if they were to force a temporary alliance now, they'd eventually clash. Better to go their separate ways from the start.
Jiraiya sighed again, but his face gradually grew calm. "If that's your choice…"
Tsunade began gathering chakra, her voice quiet. "Orochimaru, if you die… I'll be sad."
Orochimaru let out a low chuckle. "I might not be the one dying, you know."
[BOOM!!!]
The legendary Sannin clashed — one final, desperate battle!
...
[BANG!]
On the main battlefield, Hashirama stood on one side.
Uchiha stood on the other.
On Hashirama's side, someone was continuously launching Tailed Beast Bomb-level attacks — in waves, one after another.
Meanwhile, Madara was commanding the Ten-Tails to swat them away, again and again.
After such a prolonged fight, the Ten-Tails was already covered in wounds.
Madara, however, didn't seem to care at all.
"Hashirama, where's that brat?"
"No idea," Hashirama replied casually. "Maybe he's getting ready for something. When he does make his move, he's bound to give you a serious headache. But don't think you can go wild just yet. I'm still here. Sure, I can't beat you right now… but I can stall you. That much won't be a problem."
All he needed was to buy time for Funan to arrive.
Besides, he wasn't fighting alone.
Hashirama glanced around.
So many powerful shinobi stood beside him — even he couldn't ignore them.
Konoha was overflowing with talent.
He couldn't help but smile.
Even multiple villages had joined forces!
This was the Konoha he had dreamed of.
Now, the only remaining problem… was Uchiha Madara.
And he was determined to pin him down — no matter what.
"I know he's got a plan," Madara said after a moment of silence. "Of course, so do I. And I think… it's about time I start executing mine."
"Oh?"
Hashirama's expression grew serious, eyes narrowing warily at Madara.
Madara glanced at the battered Ten-Tails and gave a faint smile. "If I don't start now, it'll be too late. You guys are practically killing the Ten-Tails already."
[BOOM!]
Just then, the Three-Tails fired off another Tailed Beast Bomb.
The Ten-Tails smacked it aside — and gained yet another injury.
[Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!]
Madara's hands began weaving seals rapidly. With a cold tone, he said, "Honestly, Uchiha Funan is the most shameless guy I've ever met. Who the hell comes up with tactics like this? What goes on in that brain of his?"
Watching those endless Tailed Beast Bombs being fired at him, Madara was grinding his teeth in fury.
Hashirama coughed awkwardly. "Come on, you and I are from the Warring States era. You know the rule: if it wins the battle, the method doesn't matter."
"You've got a point," Madara muttered, raising an eyebrow. "Hashirama, let me see how you plan to stop this next move — without that Uchiha brat helping you."
[BANG!]
He slammed his palm onto the Ten-Tails.
At that moment, its power surged explosively.
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