"Master Bunpuku, returning to this place—does it bring back any memories?" Chiyo asked with a sly smile.
"Amitabha, indeed it does. So many feelings…" Bunpuku pressed his palms together, nostalgia flickering in his eyes.
He remembered countless silent nights, alone beneath the starlit gloom. He'd forced his exhausted body to keep going, his heart clinging to Buddha, guarding Shukaku's seal through sheer willpower. So many times he'd been on the verge of collapse, ready to give up.
It would have been easy to just fall asleep and never wake up.
But if he died, so be it—but what about the beast sealed within him? If that monster escaped, it would be a disaster for the world.
Those years of bitter endurance were nearly unbearable.
Buddha, I worshipped you day and night, chanted sutras at dawn and dusk—why did you never show mercy to your disciple?
Just as he was about to burn out completely, a blue-haired youth had swept into the Abyss like a fresh breeze.
"Monk, want to sleep? I'll help you!"
…Maybe he really was a messenger sent by Buddha.
…
"Master Bunpuku? Master Bunpuku?" Chiyo waved a hand in front of his face.
Bunpuku snapped out of his reverie, apologizing with a sheepish smile.
"How should we arrange things here?" Chiyo prompted.
Bunpuku glanced around. The Abyss had changed a lot since his last visit, but the overall structure was still familiar.
"Hm? Elder Chiyo, why aren't there any prisoners here?" he asked.
"Well, the village didn't have anywhere else suitable, so we sent the criminals out for labor reform," Chiyo replied breezily.
She wasn't entirely lying—making space for Bunpuku's sealing formation had taken serious effort. The autumn executions had been moved up, the worst offenders were dealt with one by one, and the rest had been sent off by Zhenshan Bao to plant trees deep in the desert. No one worried about escapes—running meant certain death.
Now the vast Abyss prison was completely empty.
"Where do you think is best?" Chiyo asked.
"Let's use the Black Prison. It's sealed off and spacious," Bunpuku said.
"Bring the ritual implements inside," Chiyo ordered.
A squad of Intelligence Division ninja carried the relics and the treasure umbrella toward the Black Prison.
"You two, go with them. Place the Six Paths tools inside. After forty-nine days, you'll get them back unharmed," Bunpuku said, bowing to Utakata and Zabuza.
The two exchanged glances, nodded, and joined the group.
"Hold it! Everyone stop right there!" Chiyo's sharp voice rang out, halting the procession.
Everyone froze, glancing around in confusion.
"What is it?" Bunpuku asked.
Chiyo's gaze was like a blade as she scanned the group. "Didn't you notice? There's one extra person."
Bunpuku's face paled. He quickly counted—twelve relics, one treasure umbrella, two Six Paths tools. That should be fifteen people.
But there were sixteen.
"Show yourself!" Chiyo's eyes flashed dangerously. In a blur, her hand shot out like lightning toward one of the Intelligence ninja.
That ninja immediately dove into the ground, evading her grasp.
In the next instant, a figure appeared behind Zabuza, ripping off the seal from the Crimson Gourd and yanking out the stopper in a single, fluid motion.
With a muffled "pop," a surge of chakra burst from the gourd, swirling and taking on human form.
"Senju Hashirama!" Chiyo's face went cold as she whipped out a scroll.
The "ninja" from before slowly removed his mask—revealing another Senju Hashirama.
"A clone?! How is that possible?" Chiyo was stunned. It had been nearly a month since the battle with the reanimated Hashirama. No clone or shadow clone should last that long.
But what Chiyo didn't know was that this was Hashirama's unique secret art—Wood Release: Seed Technique. In a brief moment, he could compress a portion of his Wood Release chakra into a "seed." That seed could grow into a wood clone overnight, and this clone lasted far longer and was far stronger than any ordinary wood clone—a "super soldier" among clones.
Remember that "seed" Hashirama dropped before Jinghang sealed him? That was this technique. The wood clone had formed overnight, hidden underground, waiting for the perfect moment to rescue his true self and Tobirama. When Utakata and Zabuza departed for Sunagakure, the clone had followed their trail, infiltrated the village, and waited for its chance. It had planned to act in the Black Prison, but Chiyo had seen through the ruse.
"White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu's Ten Puppets!" Chiyo unrolled her scroll in a flash, unleashing her strongest puppet technique.
She'd read the battle reports from the Third Battle of Kannabi Bridge—she knew this Hashirama wasn't at full strength, but he was still terrifyingly powerful. With Sunagakure's current manpower, even all of them together might not be enough.
The two Hashiramas pressed their palms together, and the wood clone began to shrink, merging back into the main body.
Hashirama's eyes snapped open—dark, dust-streaked, and cold. He smiled thinly. "So, this is Sunagakure. Hmph. You've gone to a lot of trouble to send me off, haven't you?"
The Sand shinobi tensed, weapons raised. Master Bunpuku gripped the treasure umbrella, one hand secretly forming seals.
"Senju Hashirama! You're already dead. You should stay in the Pure Land—why come back to the world of the living and aid evil?" Chiyo snapped.
Hashirama just snorted, his gaze sweeping the crowd before locking onto the Amber Purifying Pot on Utakata's back.
Chiyo followed his gaze and instantly understood. "Quick! Protect the Amber Purifying Pot!"
One Hashirama was already a nightmare—if Tobirama joined him, the brothers could wipe Sunagakure off the map.
Sure enough, Hashirama lunged straight at Utakata. The ANBU rushed to intercept, but against Hashirama, they were nothing—each one fell with a single blow.
Chiyo gritted her teeth and sent her ten puppets to entangle Hashirama, managing to slow his advance for the moment.
At that instant, Master Bunpuku suddenly flung open the treasure umbrella. A shockwave of golden light erupted outward.
He stood tall, radiating an aura of a living arhat, his fingers poised like a lotus blossom, his entire body aglow with golden light.
"Heavenly Dance Treasure Wheel! Begone, evil—retreat!"
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