Bang!
With a heavy boom from the earth, a giant snake suddenly burst up from the ground.
The enormous serpent opened its jaws, and Orochimaru leapt out from its mouth.
He looked completely unharmed.
But his chakra had already fallen to an alarmingly low level.
He took several harsh breaths, then pushed himself upright and prepared to leave at once.
Even though he had collapsed the underground laboratory, he firmly believed that someone with power on that level would never be trapped by such a thing.
His objective in doing it had been very simple—
to escape that heavily sealed underground facility.
Inside that laboratory, no matter how violently they fought, Konoha's regular shinobi would never notice.
Only by drawing the battle out into the open could the sensory unit and ANBU detect it.
Only then would support arrive.
Orochimaru was a rational man.
At least, for now, he still was.
He knew he was outmatched, so he had no intention of insisting on a one-on-one fight.
And beyond that, he had an even deeper purpose—
to use Konoha'sstrength to capture that mysterious man.
Only then would Orochimaru be able to study the secrets hidden within him.
Boom!
Yet before Orochimaru could get far, the ground suddenly began to quake violently once more.
Then a suffocating wave of chakra crashed down on him.
"Alert! Alert!"
Inside the sensing division within the Hokage Tower, one of the sensor-nin abruptly shouted at the top of his lungs.
"We've detected the Nine-Tails' chakra inside Konoha! Repeating—we've detected the Nine-Tails' chakra inside Konoha!"
It was not just him.
Every sensor-nin in the room had sensed it.
They had felt this power not long ago.
The memory of it was carved into them.
None of them had expected to feel it again so soon.
As that overwhelming chakra pressed down on them, they moved immediately.
Before long, one of them had already rushed off to report directly to Hiruzen.
"What? The Nine-Tails?"
Inside the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen was completely stunned when he heard the report.
Hadn't the Nine-Tails already been sealed?
And Kushina and Minato were both on Mount Myōboku.
There was no way they could return to attack Konoha.
Could it be… Nine-Tails chakra?
If it was merely Nine-Tails chakra, he could at least understand that.
After all, there were plenty of people who had researched Nine-Tails chakra before.
Even Hikaru had some in his possession.
But what was happening now clearly did not look like a simple case of someone holding a little Nine-Tails chakra.
"Notify ANBU. Tell Senju Hikaru to move immediately."
Hiruzen stood up and quickly reached for his battle armor.
"And gather the village defense shinobi. Move out at once."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
The messenger shouted his reply and hurried out the door.
At that moment, Konoha had already descended into chaos.
But Hikaru had already arrived calmly in front of Orochimaru.
He had completely seen through Orochimaru's plan.
To his credit, the man's reaction really had been fast.
Or rather—
he had likely prepared his escape route from the very beginning.
Hikaru had long since sensed the giant snake Orochimaru had summoned and hidden away.
Since it had never moved, he had not bothered with it.
Besides, that underground laboratory had never been sturdy enough to withstand the clash of theirstrength.
Orochimaru using one jutsu to bring it down was not surprising at all.
But Hikaru felt that this was actually fine.
There was no point continuing that fight any longer.
This was as good a chance as any to end things.
"You're interesting, Orochimaru," Hikaru said flatly as he walked up to him, golden chakra still shining brilliantly around his body.
"You deliberately collapsed the underground lab to lure me outside.
"If I used the Nine-Tails' chakra out here, Konoha would find me. If I didn't, you'd gain time to escape.
"And because I'm using the Nine-Tails' chakra, Konoha just so happens to have been attacked by another Nine-Tails not long ago."
He paused, then gave a soft, almost amused laugh.
"You really did bite me, little ant. Interesting. Very interesting."
"You're undeniably powerful," Orochimaru replied, enduring the pressure of Hikaru's aura while still maintaining his composure. He ran his tongue over his lips before continuing, "But I don't believe you can stand against an entire village."
Hikaru nearly laughed inside.
Saying that he himself feared himself, straight to Orochimaru's face, was admittedly a bit shameless—
but it was also rather entertaining.
Still, fun was fun.
He needed to finish this quickly.
So he looked at Orochimaru indifferently and said in a quiet voice:
"Your analysis isn't bad.
"But just because I'm wary of him does not mean I'm wary of you."
Inside, Hikaru could not help but feel amused.
Orochimaru had clearly concluded that Hikaru's side feared Senju Hikaru because of Wood Release.
From his perspective, that made perfect sense.
After all, tailed beasts were naturally suppressed by Wood Release.
But unfortunately for him—
the Senju Hikaru he believed Hikaru feared was standing right in front of him.
"I've memorized your chakra," Hikaru continued, his tone calm and cold.
"And I know what you've been doing.
"Hand over what I want, and I can guarantee this:
"As long as you don't provoke us in the future, we won't trouble you."
Then his eyes hardened.
"But if you refuse…"
"I'll make sure you die."
Orochimaru smiled faintly.
This man really was arrogant to the extreme.
But he also had the strength to justify it.
And Orochimaru believed every word of that threat.
His research into Wood Release could never withstand scrutiny.
Especially once the discovery of Hashirama Senju's remains came to light—
his ending would be obvious.
Defection.
There would be no path left to him except leaving Konoha.
On that point, Orochimaru had no illusions.
Even his teacher would never protect him from something like this.
And once he lost Konoha's shelter, a monster like this—someone with such frightening sensory ability—would be able to track him down sooner or later.
That would make his future research impossible.
That said, Orochimaru was not particularly averse to leaving Konoha.
Konoha had indeed given him protection.
But at the same time, it had also limited what he truly wanted to pursue.
What he desired was the study of the unknown—
bloodlines, forbidden techniques, life itself.
And those were precisely the things Konoha would never allow him to openly touch.
That was why he had chosen to work with Danzō in the shadows.
And that was why he had hidden himself underground.
Even without this incident, he might have left Konoha one day anyway.
Now, however, with this problem before him—
and with the possibility of being hunted in the future by this terrifying man—
he truly had no choice but to make a decision.
"You want the research reports?" Orochimaru asked, licking his lips. Then he gave a calm nod. "Very well. What else?"
"Simple."
Hikaru answered without hesitation.
"For safety's sake, I also want your experiment roster.
"And a portion of Hashirama Senju's flesh."
Then he stared at Orochimaru coldly.
"And don't even think about bargaining.
"You are not in a position to negotiate with me."
…
"What a haul."
Appearing in another part of the village with a large pile of documents and chunks of Hashirama's remains in hand, Hikaru could not help but smile.
He had left right in front of Orochimaru.
If you were going to act, then you had to act thoroughly.
So he had made a show of performing a summoning technique.
Of course, he had not actually summoned anything.
A cloud of smoke had appeared—
and under its cover, he had simply used Flying Thunder God to leave, creating the illusion of a reverse summoning.
As for whether Orochimaru believed it or not, Hikaru did not particularly care.
If necessary, the next time he met Orochimaru, he could simply let a denser trace of natural chakra leak out and reinforce the deception.
During their earlier clash, he had completely blanketed himself in Nine-Tails chakra.
There had been no risk of exposing his true identity.
But now that he had returned to being Senju Hikaru again, it was better to let the Nine-Tails chakra remain hidden.
Even if it could not be concealed entirely, at the very least he could avoid making it too obvious.
Fortunately, little Nine-Tails had already given him a satisfying answer.
"As I continue absorbing and familiarizing myself with those chakra reserves, I'm already beginning to control my currentstrength better.
"I can't fully stabilize everything yet, but concealing my chakra signature isn't a problem anymore.
"And I've noticed something else too.
"The chakra you absorbed contains terrifying natural power.
"It feels similar to your Sage Mode.
"That probably explains why you could seal it inside yourself without suffering much backlash."
Natural chakra?
Hikaru's mouth twitched slightly at that.
He truly had never carefully examined the Dragon Vein's chakra.
To him, Dragon Vein chakra had been more like fuel—or sometimes a bluffing tool.
He had never treated it the way little Nine-Tails did, repeatedly absorbing and studying it.
But if what little Nine-Tails said was true—
if Dragon Vein chakra really contained natural energy—
then perhaps Hikaru could make use of it while in Sage Mode.
And anything that could strengthen him was something he would never ignore.
Before, ignorance had been one thing.
Now that he knew, doing nothing would be an insult to himself as a reincarnated man.
The thought immediately brought him back to another issue:
his Sage Mode was still only at the intermediate level.
He still had not found the seed for advanced Sage chakra.
That was not good news.
He truly had very few leads.
In fact, after fighting Jiraiya the other day, he had specifically gone searching for some clue—
and had returned empty-handed.
Still, now was not the time to dwell on that.
Especially not when he already had so many things on his plate.
And with the gains he had just made, he had plenty to be satisfied about for now.
Orochimaru, to his credit, had shown excellent judgment.
The phrase a wise man submits to circumstances fit him perfectly.
No wonder that man had gone on to kill the Fourth Kazekage, invade Konoha, and later provide the core "technology" that shaped the Fourth Shinobi War—
yet still ended up walking away almost unscathed.
He had not tried to haggle.
He had simply handed over everything Hikaru wanted.
As a result, Hikaru now possessed a large quantity of what he had come for:
Hashirama Senju's flesh,
the experiment roster,
and the research process and result reports.
Strictly speaking, Hikaru only needed the roster and the flesh.
But a performance had to be complete.
Even if the reports themselves were useless to Hikaru, taking them would still help reinforce a certain image in Orochimaru's mind—
that the mysterious attacker had truly wanted those things.
And if that were the case, then none of it could be traced back to Senju Hikaru.
"After all," Hikaru mused inwardly, "I'm a Konoha shinobi.
"How could I possibly attack another Konoha shinobi?"
He quickly reverted his black hair back to silver.
Then he sealed away the clothes, mask, and cloak he had used earlier into a scroll—
and burned the entire thing to ash.
Once everything was cleaned up and he had changed into a fresh set of clothes, Hikaru immediately used Flying Thunder God again and returned to the forest where the battle had started.
Before, he had been an unidentified enemy who attacked Konoha.
Now, he was Konoha's ANBU commander, Senju Hikaru.
Moving quickly toward the original battlefield, Hikaru soon sensed that Orochimaru was still there.
He did not know whether Orochimaru genuinely believed Hikaru would not attack him again—
or whether he still felt his own strength was enough to stall Hikaru's Nine-Tails state.
Either way, Hikaru could not be bothered to care.
He lightly stirred the sage chakra within himself, letting just enough of its special natural presence leak out without actually entering Sage Mode.
Once that was done, he hurried toward Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru-sama, why are you here? Are you all right?"
Hikaru appeared beside him like a ghost, a gentle smile on his face, looking every bit as bright and approachable as ever.
"What happened here? Why did I sense the Nine-Tails' chakra earlier?"
"It's commander Hikaru. Our first proper meeting, and I haven't even had the chance to congratulate you on becoming ANBU commander yet."
The moment Orochimaru sensed the chakra appearing behind him, he immediately became alert.
But once he felt that distinctive natural aura mixed into it, he had a good idea who it was.
Turning around, Orochimaru looked at Hikaru and answered in his usual hoarse voice:
"It was the Nine-Tails.
"Or more accurately—
someone using the Nine-Tails' power attacked me."
"Oh?"
Hikaru raised a brow and deliberately put on a look of surprise.
"The Nine-Tails' power?"
Then he gave a soft sigh.
"It seems the number of ambitious men in this world is greater than I thought.
"Not long ago, the Third Hokage and I even recovered some Nine-Tails chakra from the Daimyō ourselves."
At those words, Orochimaru almost wanted to laugh.
If it had merely been a little Nine-Tails chakra, how could he have ended up in such a miserable state?
How could his life have been pushed to the brink until he had no choice but to hand over what Hikaru demanded?
But this matter truly was difficult to explain.
There being more than one Nine-Tails—
the implications of that were enormous.
Tailed beasts were strategic-level weapons.
And when that same level of power was concentrated into a single individual, its battlefield value became almost incomprehensible.
If not for some uniquely troublesome opponents, such people could challenge the Five Great Shinobi Villages head-on.
That was enough to shatter the balance of the world itself.
"commander Hikaru," Orochimaru said after a moment, shaking his head lightly, "it would be best not to underestimate this matter."
He ran his tongue over his lips again, then turned and began to walk away.
As he did, he spoke in that low, rasping voice:
"The world is far too large.
"And we ourselves are far too small.
"That gap creates ignorance.
"And ignorance traps us in darkness."
Then he gave Hikaru a sideways glance.
"But perhaps you're less vulnerable to that than most.
"After all—
you possess a power that inspires fear."
With those cryptic words, Orochimaru left, limping slightly as he disappeared into the distance.
Hikaru watched him go.
Only after Orochimaru had fully vanished did a small smile spread across Hikaru's lips.
…
Not long after Orochimaru left, Hiruzen arrived with the village defense shinobi.
ANBU also gathered around the area soon after.
But the moment Hiruzen took in the scene, his expression changed sharply.
He immediately ordered everyone else to form a perimeter and forbade them from approaching any closer.
Then he stepped inside alone.
Before long, he reached the center of the battlefield where Hikaru and Orochimaru had clashed.
The collapsed underground laboratory…
the lingering chakra traces…
all of it made something tighten in his chest.
And when he saw a lone figure standing there, quietly observing the area—
his heartbeat jumped even harder.
"Hikaru, you're already here?" Hiruzen walked up to him, suppressing his emotions as best he could. "Where is Orochimaru? Why don't I see him?"
"He left, Hokage-sama."
Hikaru turned with an easy laugh, then let out a soft sigh.
"Though I have to say, this place was quite the surprise.
"I never expected it to be an experimental facility.
"I suppose Yamato was created in a place like this, wasn't he?"
"Yamato?"
Hiruzen frowned.
He had no idea what Hikaru meant.
"Who is Yamato? Your words are confusing me, Hikaru."
"My apologies, Hokage-sama. That was my mistake."
Hikaru shrugged with a smile, then answered in a meaningful tone:
"Yamato is the name I gave that child who can use Wood Release."
Then, after a brief pause, he added gently:
"By the way, Hokage-sama, this place is dangerous.
"It would be better if you returned to the village.
"My ANBU can take over from here."
The instant Hiruzen heard that, he understood exactly what Hikaru meant.
And his eyes sharpened with suspicion at once.
Return?
What a joke.
If he actually left and let ANBU handle this place alone, they would turn it upside down and drag out all the evidence they were never supposed to see.
And what exactly had Orochimaru been doing?
Why had that man fled without explaining anything?
At the moment, no one knew anything clearly at all.
Hiruzen's mood darkened further, though he still kept his composure.
Taking a deep breath, he said seriously:
"That won't be necessary, Hikaru.
"I believe I can handle this myself."
"Is that so?"
Hikaru arched a brow, smiling warmly as he looked at Hiruzen.
"Hokage-sama, are you certain you don't need my help?
"This is Konoha's matter, after all.
"As ANBU, I'm duty-bound to assist."
"Hikaru."
Hiruzen's face turned grave.
"Since you understand this is Konoha, then you should also remember that I am the Hokage.
"Do not overstep yourself.
"You have not become Hokage yet."
"Is that so?"
Hikaru nodded lightly.
"I understand."
Then his smile deepened just a little.
"But Hokage-sama had better be careful."
His voice remained light, but every word landed with weight.
"Make sure I don't catch anyone here besides Yamato.
"Or anything else."
With that, Hikaru did not even glance at Hiruzen's increasingly dark face again.
He simply turned and left without hesitation.
He had already said enough.
There was no need to push further.
Not yet.
It was not that his strength was lacking.
It was simply that his foundation within Konoha was still not sufficient.
Yes, raw force could solve many problems.
But the trouble that followed would be immense.
And Hikaru, a man who in his previous life had received a broad education—including political theory that other nations would never openly teach, the so-called "dragon-slaying arts"—understood that better than most.
Still, as he walked away, one thought crossed his mind:
"I still have time.
"I can play with you slowly."
But Hikaru did not return home.
Instead, he planned to leave the village once again.
The results of this battle had been excellent.
But those very results had also made him realize something—
thestrength available to him under his "Konoha shinobi" identity still needed further improvement.
The combat power he displayed in Nine-Tails chakra mode was frightening.
Even without Flying Thunder God, it allowed him to dominate Orochimaru outright.
By comparison, the combat strength he could display openly as "a Konoha shinobi" was just a little lacking.
Yes, he had Flying Thunder God.
Yes, he had Wood Release.
Yes, he had Lizardmaru as support.
But Hikaru was perfectly clear on one thing:
the true reason he could fight at such a level was Sage Mode.
His intermediate Sage Mode was, in chakra quality, superior even to the Nine-Tails.
That much was beyond doubt.
After all, even Six Paths-level existences could ignore ordinary chakra—
but they could still be harmed by senjutsu chakra.
Yet in terms of sheer quantity, there was simply no comparison.
And against ordinary shinobi, whether the chakra was senjutsu chakra or not made little difference.
Under those circumstances, the explosive force and raw volume of Nine-Tails chakra mode far surpassed Sage Mode.
Which meant that improving his Sage Mode had become an urgent task.
Especially since Sage Mode was also the key that enhanced his other abilities.
He needed a stronger Sage Mode.
"If I find an advanced Sage chakra seed," Hikaru thought as he moved, "and use Dragon Vein chakra—already rich with natural power—to cultivate it…
"the result should be even better."
At that thought, he quickly created a shadow clone.
The clone nodded at him, then headed off toward ANBU headquarters.
As for Hikaru's real body, he quietly put on another mask.
Then he used Flying Thunder God—
and vanished from the spot.
…
By evening, Uchiha Saya finally returned to the clan district.
She still looked somewhat dazed.
What she had seen and learned today had shaken her deeply.
If yesterday had felt like a dream—
learning that her old classmate had become the ANBU commander—
then today had been true shock.
She now understood why that same classmate had managed to climb so high.
It had never been strength alone.
It had also required a terrifyingly clear mind, incredibly bold ideas, and ruthless methods.
He had become ANBU commander by personally killing the former commander on the night of the Nine-Tails attack—
and then ascending with the Fourth Hokage's support.
But before that, he had already proven his own strength.
And at the same time, he had helped the Hokage seal the Nine-Tails.
In other words—
the former commander's refusal to mobilize ANBU had gotten him killed,
and Hikaru's performance during the Nine-Tails incident had earned him enormous prestige.
Only with that prestige, that visible strength, and the support behind him, had he reached his current position.
And in order to fully control ANBU—and strengthen it—he had done many things.
Many things that had made even Saya's scalp go numb.
This was nothing like the Hikaru she remembered—
the boy who had always worn an easy smile.
Still, while she was walking home in a daze, a familiar voice called out.
"Saya? Are you all right?"
It was Uchiha Makoto.
"Hm?"
Saya came back to herself, then shook her head lightly.
"I'm fine.
"I'm just…"
"Fine is good enough."
Makoto cut her off and let out a breath of relief.
"This afternoon, Nine-Tails chakra was detected in Konoha again.
"And since you were at ANBU…"
He clearly had been worried.
"Don't worry, Grandpa."
Saya forced a small smile.
"I'm not involved in that kind of mission.
"I'm safe."
The moment she said that, Makoto froze.
Then, after a brief pause, his face lit up with sudden excitement.
Not involved in field missions—
which meant she had not been placed in a front-line combat squad.
That, in turn, meant her safety really was secured.
Still, ANBU had many kinds of support roles:
interrogation, intelligence classification, administration…
Makoto became intensely curious about where exactly his granddaughter had been placed.
And if—
if it was within the administrative side…
"Your future assignment…" Makoto asked carefully, his voice suddenly much more cautious. "Can you tell me a little? Of course, if it's restricted under confidentiality rules, then it's perfectly fine not to say."
"I asked that already," Saya said, knowing very well what her grandfather wanted. "Some things can be revealed. Some things can't."
That answer had come directly from Hikaru's side.
And she had already learned what not too much truly meant.
"So?" Makoto's hands trembled slightly as he tried to keep himself calm.
"I'll be working in the administrative office," Saya said at last.
Then she added apologetically,
"Sorry, Grandpa. I can't say anything more specific.
"That's the rule."
"Hahahahahaha!"
Makoto burst into loud laughter, happier than Saya had seen him in a very long time.
To him, that answer alone was enough.
Rules were rules.
If she could not say more, then she would not say more.
He did not mind in the slightest.
Saya had entered the administrative side—
something the Uchiha had not touched in decades.
How could he not be thrilled?
Even if it was only within ANBU.
Even if her rank there was still low.
It was enough.
This was the first crack in the chains binding the clan.
Watching her grandfather's joy, Saya could not help but smile.
If he knew what she would really be studying and doing, he would probably be even happier.
Though after that joy, the pressure would become even greater.
And Saya felt that pressure too.
The position she was stepping into would expose her to the true core secrets of ANBU.
If anything went wrong, she would not be the only one punished.
Her clan might also earn the hostility of ANBU—or even the whole village.
Even so, she had already made up her mind.
She would do it properly.
She would not lose this chance.
…
"So I really did come to the right place."
Standing in the forest beneath the Valley of the End, Hikaru looked up at the towering stone statues of Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara and smiled.
He had passed by this place many times before, but had never stopped to search it thoroughly.
At the beginning, he had lacked Flying Thunder God.
And once he had obtained Flying Thunder God, he had simply been too busy.
Besides, before the Nine-Tails incident, he had needed to conserve his strength.
He had not dared explore here—
because he feared that if he found a seed, he would not be able to resist his own sense of lucky optimism and would immediately try planting it.
Human opportunism was dangerous.
Even a battle-hardened shinobi like Hikaru was not immune to that temptation.
But today was different.
Now he had enough preparation.
And enough time.
So he had finally come.
As for the results—
they were satisfying, though only just.
Far too much time had passed, so what he could recover here was inevitably limited.
"But limited doesn't mean worthless."
His eyes shifted to the system panel now hanging before him.
Name: Senju Hikaru
Gender: Male
Birthday: Konoha Year 34, March 24
Level: Quasi-Kage (system evaluation without using any abilities) (massive chakra reserves) (partially sealed Dragon Vein chakra)
Bloodline Development: Intermediate (Senju secret arts, beginner Yang Release secret arts)
Jinchūriki: Nine-Tails (Intermediate; can grow by devouring large amounts of special chakra; plant advanced Nine-Tails fruit to continue growth) (still digesting excess chakra and continuing to develop)
Seeds: Advanced Fire-Attribute Chakra Seed (unplanted), Advanced Wind-Attribute Chakra Seed (unplanted), Advanced Sage Chakra Seed (unplanted)
Fruits: None
Mission: Become the true final boss of the ninja world (unique) (progress: 22%)
Hikaru stared at the panel for a long moment, then slowly smiled.
He truly had no choice but to feel pleased.
Of the five basic nature transformations, he had now obtained every advanced chakra seed except Lightning Release.
Perhaps Konoha simply lacked strong Lightning users.
Or perhaps the person who would one day truly master Lightning had not yet fully matured.
Even the day after the Nine-Tails disaster, when he had gone to the battlefield ruins to search, he still had not found such a seed.
Still, that did not matter too much.
If all else failed, he could simply obtain Lightning Release from Kumogakure in the future.
He had no doubt that opportunity would come eventually.
As for Yin and Yang Release, his gains were still disappointing.
Perhaps, after all, his path forward still required acquiring fragmented remnants of Indra's or Asura's power.
Only after gathering all of those chakra types would the truly difficult road begin:
the fusion of those chakras into something approaching a bloodline culmination—
a pseudo-bloodline-snare state.
Hikaru's path had always been clear.
He intended to retrace the powers of the Ōtsutsuki,
while also gathering the power of the tailed beasts,
and combining it all with a bloodline-snare foundation.
With his current advantages, he firmly believed he could reach that point.
"But before all that…"
Hikaru's gaze settled once more on the last and most important gain from this trip.
"First I'll take Sage power to the next level."
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