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[— Manga Scene —]
Inside the Chunin Exam stands, Naruto had barely regained consciousness when part of the wall suddenly shattered.
Gai burst through the rubble at tremendous speed, carrying a Sand shinobi with him before smashing him into the opposite wall.
"Fast…"
Gai raised his head with a smile.
"I'm not just fast…"
…
Moments later, Kakashi turned toward Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru.
"Alright, here's your mission. Head out through there, chase after Sasuke, catch up with him, and stop him."
Naruto's eyes widened.
"Sasuke? Did something happen to him?!"
"I'll explain on the way."
Annoyance appeared on Shikamaru's face.
"Damn it… Why me?"
But there was no time to argue.
With Pakkun accompanying them, the three set off after Sasuke.
…
Above them, Gai looked toward Kakashi.
"Do you think just the three of them will be enough?"
"Pakkun is with them. They'll be alright for now… as long as they don't push themselves too hard."
…
Meanwhile, on another rooftop, Hiruzen landed, his robes fluttering in the wind before settling around him.
On the opposite side…
Orochimaru appeared.
He slowly raised a hand toward his chest.
"Heh heh heh… How I've longed to fight you again…"
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed.
Orochimaru's smile widened.
"You anticipated your last moments, didn't you…?"
[— End Scene —]
"Hohoho! Did you see that?!"
Maito Dai raised his fist excitedly, a strange brilliance shining in his eyes.
"That is the power of youth!"
Beside him, the young Maito Gai stared at the page with eyes that nearly popped out of their sockets.
"Dad… I'm… really fast!"
"Not just fast! You're incredible, my son!"
"Dad!"
"Gai!"
"Dad!!"
"GAI!!"
The two began crying as they raised their thumbs toward each other, while several nearby Konoha shinobi silently stared at them.
"…Weirdos."
But Sakumo wasn't laughing. His eyes remained fixed on the scene.
The man who had smashed through the wall wasn't merely an older version of the child sitting before him. His speed, his movements, and the ease with which he had taken down a Sand shinobi were enough to reveal quite a bit about his level.
"You became strong."
Gai stopped crying for a moment.
"Really?"
Sakumo smiled.
"Very strong."
This time, Gai started crying even harder.
"DAAAD!! Sakumo-san said I'm going to become strong!!"
"I always knew it, my son!!"
Young Kakashi covered his face with one hand.
Why did he have to sit beside these two?
…
But the next page immediately changed his expression.
Chasing Sasuke.
Sakura.
Naruto.
Shikamaru.
And Pakkun.
"Hmm…"
Kakashi narrowed his eyes, but this time he didn't immediately ask his father. Instead, he began thinking for himself.
Sasuke had gone after Gaara, the invasion had begun, and a large number of enemy shinobi had infiltrated the village. Yet his future self hadn't gone after Sasuke personally.
Instead, he sent three genin.
"Strange."
He finally spoke.
Sakumo smiled.
"What's strange?"
"He knows the situation is dangerous, and Sasuke went out alone… yet he only sent Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru."
Sakumo looked at him.
"And what did you understand from that?"
Kakashi remained silent for a moment before looking at Pakkun on the page.
"That he can't leave the village."
Sakumo's smile widened slightly.
"Good."
Kakashi looked back at the manga.
Sasuke and Gaara were outside, but Konoha itself was in the middle of an invasion. The jonin couldn't simply abandon their positions and run after a single genin.
So his future self sent whoever he could.
'But why Shikamaru?'
That part, he still didn't understand.
…
"Why Shikamaru?"
Shikaku Nara read through the mission Kakashi had given the three, then narrowed his eyes slightly.
Beside him, his father Hikitsu smiled.
"Looks like your son's counterpart found himself dragged into another troublesome situation."
"That's not what I mean."
Shikaku pointed toward the page.
"Kakashi chose him out of everyone there."
"And that means?"
Shikaku looked at Shikamaru's image.
"Either the boy simply happened to be nearby… or Kakashi needed someone who could think."
Hikitsu raised an eyebrow.
"And you favor the second possibility."
"Of course."
A faint smile appeared on Shikaku's face.
"He's a Nara, after all."
His father laughed.
"There comes the arrogance."
"It's a fact."
…
Minato, meanwhile, was more interested in the direction of the mission itself.
"Sasuke is chasing Gaara… and now Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru are chasing Sasuke."
His eyes moved across the sequence of events before he pointed toward the image of Konoha.
"The manga is splitting the battlefield. The invasion will continue inside the village, while these three will move outside."
Kushina blinked before looking at Naruto.
"So our son is going to fight outside the village?"
"Most likely."
A smile appeared on her face.
"Good."
Minato looked at her strangely.
"Good?"
"Better than sleeping in a chair while the village is being invaded."
"…That's a very strange way of looking at it."
…
But the voices inside the Art Store gradually faded as everyone reached the final pages.
Naruto and Sasuke disappeared from the scene.
So did Gai and Kakashi.
Only two men remained.
Hiruzen.
And Orochimaru.
This time, there was no fake Kazekage and no kunai pressed against anyone's throat.
The two stood directly across from one another.
Master and student.
…
Hiruzen's eyes remained fixed on the page.
"How I've longed to fight you again…"
He didn't know why those words felt heavier than the previous threats. Perhaps because they finally made everything real.
Orochimaru hadn't come merely to lead an invasion, nor had he come simply to watch Konoha burn.
He wanted this confrontation.
With him.
'So this is part of your purpose as well…'
Since the beginning of the invasion, Hiruzen had been trying to understand his place within Orochimaru's plan.
Was he the target?
An obstacle?
Or merely one piece of something much larger?
Whatever the true reason behind the invasion was, one thing had now become clear.
Orochimaru wanted to face his teacher.
…
"Oh?"
Orochimaru smiled inside the store. He read his counterpart's words once more before slowly raising his eyes toward Hiruzen.
He said nothing, but his smile alone was enough to make Jiraiya frown.
"Don't look at him like that."
Orochimaru turned toward him.
"Like what?"
"Like you're thinking about trying it yourself."
"Jiraiya."
"What?"
"You're annoying."
A vein appeared on Jiraiya's forehead.
"You bastard…"
But Tsunade wasn't looking at either of them.
Her eyes were fixed on the final sentence.
You anticipated your last moments, didn't you…?
All traces of amusement disappeared from her face as she raised her eyes toward Hiruzen, then toward Orochimaru.
For the first time since the invasion began, the manga was no longer talking about some distant possibility. It was no longer merely saying that Orochimaru wanted to kill the Hokage.
The confrontation had truly begun.
"Sensei…"
The word escaped her lips without intention.
Jiraiya heard it, but said nothing.
…
Hiruzen himself remained outwardly calm.
He looked at his counterpart on the page, the old man standing before his former student with no guards, no council, and no army separating them.
Then his eyes moved toward the real Orochimaru inside the Art Store.
The contrast between the two images was strange.
His student was near him now.
His enemy stood before him in the future.
Hiruzen closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again.
"You anticipated my last moments, huh…"
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"You're still far too confident in yourself, Orochimaru."
His voice reached the other side of the store.
Orochimaru raised his eyes, his familiar smile appearing on his face.
"Perhaps he had a reason to be, Sensei."
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 253: The Beginning of a Battle of Life and Death! (The End of the Volume)
Chapter 254: The Student or the Threat?
Chapter 255: Orochimaru's File!
Chapter 256: The Man Who Does Not Fear the Future!
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