Kushina, kneeling and clutching her belly in the depths of her mindscape, suddenly felt the searing pain from the Nine Tails' chakra vanish. Confused, she instinctively turned her head to look at the massive form of the Nine-Tails on the other side of the seal.
As her eyes met the enormous, menacing red eyes of the beast, now devoid of its usual fury, Kushina's face filled with astonishment. Just as she was trying to comprehend this unexpected calm, the scene around her blurred. In the next instant, she found herself back in her kitchen.
"Kushina, are you okay? Thank goodness!" Minato exclaimed, rushing towards her. He had noticed the ominous red glow of the Nine Tails' chakra had faded away from around her, and his relief was palpable.
Still reeling from the sudden shift, Kushina began to speak. "That was..." Her voice trailed off, eyes wide with shock. She then noticed Tatsuya, standing calmly nearby. His expression remained unchanged, serene, and composed.
It was then she recognized his eyes – the same eyes she had seen in the sealed space, the ones that had brought an unexpected sense of peace. Now, facing him in her kitchen, Kushina understood the depth of Tatsuya's power and control.
...
...
"It's a pity, Minato; I already have plans during that period, but I'll have Tsunade and my foolish brother keep an eye on things for you." After dinner, Tatsuya gave Namikaze Minato a response before leaving with the Qianggen trio.
Although Tatsuya couldn't personally handle the situation for some reason, he reassured Minato by mentioning that Konoha's White Fang and Princess Tsunade, along with himself, would be involved. With three Kage-level players, even the Nine Tails should be suppressed.
"Minato, Nine Tails was suppressed by Tatsuya-san in my inner space just now," Kushina said, pulling on Minato's sleeve once they were alone in the house. She recounted the scenes she had witnessed in the Sealed Space to him.
"He was able to enter a jinchruki's mindscape?" Minato shivered in shock. Apart from the secret sealing techniques of the Uzumaki clan and the Sharingan, there was no other known way to enter the space where a Jinchūriki communicates with their tailed beast. Just using aura to deter the Nine-Tails, the strongest of the nine-tailed beasts, was incredible enough.
"Have you reached the same level as the first Hokage, Master Tatsuya?" Minato thought with lingering fear.
...
...
Although it was already summer, the night breeze still carried a hint of coolness.
At the Konoha Cemetery, a terrifying scene was unfolding. The graves of Shimura Danzō, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura were situated side by side in a corner. Shimura Danzō's grave had been dug out, revealing the coffin slab buried in the mud. Several snakes, each as thick as an adult's arm, coiled around and tore the lid of the coffin apart, slowly extracting the mummified corpse.
"I didn't expect that the invincible Lord Danzo and the two advisors would meet such an end. Shouldn't it be thanks to you, Tatsuya-kun?" Orochimaru, who was controlling the serpents, stood by the grave with a sinister smile.
"The scene at that time must have been very interesting. It's a pity I couldn't witness it myself." Orochimaru, stepping on the grave of Utatane Koharu, looked curious as he asked, "I'm a little curious; are you Orochimaru now? Or... Sarutobi Orochimaru?"
"Hehe, don't worry, I'm still me. Even if I occupy someone else's body, I remain myself," Orochimaru responded with a cold laugh.
"At your current age, you don't need to rush to change your body. Is it just to make your teacher regret giving you up?" Tatsuya squinted his eyes and asked again.
Orochimaru, who was not yet forty years old, was in his prime as a ninja. Each time he used the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique to replace his body, it damaged his soul, requiring significant time to repair. If the soul of the host body resisted, the risk would be even greater.
"Hehe, thanks to the curse marks I developed, Asuma-kun's body and I have become very harmonious. So why not take the opportunity to replace it with a younger one?" Orochimaru squeezed his hand and laughed again. "Of course, meeting Sarutobi with this new appearance is quite thrilling."
Orochimaru stored Danzo's body in a storage scroll and controlled the snakes to refill the soil. He then asked Tatsuya, "Tatsuya-kun, you chose the day Kushina was giving birth, right? Very interesting timing."
"On that day, to prevent Nine Tails from breaking through the seal, all available ninjas will be sent to guard. The Sarutobi clan's defenses will be extremely thin. Isn't that a very suitable day for you?" Tatsuya propped his cheek with one hand, a knowing smile on his face.
Tatsuya had previously informed Minato that he was gonna be busy soon. Orochimaru was preparing to make a definitive break with his beloved teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Indeed," Tatsuya continued, "it's the perfect distraction. Everyone's focus will be on the Nine Tails, giving you the chance to move unnoticed."
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with anticipation. "Precisely. That day marks the beginning of a new chapter and the end of the old regime. And I intend to seize it with both hands."
"But even so, facing Sarutobi and Shimura alone is still risky for me. I hope Tatsuya-kun will assist me," Orochimaru admitted. He understood why Tatsuya had given him this opportunity: to use Orochimaru's hands to destroy the Shimura and Sarutobi clans.
Tatsuya didn't care what Orochimaru wanted to achieve, but he knew that if Orochimaru wanted his help, there would be a price to pay.
"Of course, I will witness this battle between you and your Sensei with my own eyes," Tatsuya replied with a smile.
To be honest, Sarutobi Hiruzen no longer had the power to make Tatsuya take him seriously. He was just an old man waiting to die. However, the debts Hiruzen owed were too great to ignore.
Besides, Orochimaru was the type to settle scores. He would undoubtedly seek revenge for the grievances he had harbored all these years.
"After all, you still need to repay the grudges from the past," Tatsuya continued, his smile never faltering. "And I'll make sure you get your chance."
...
...
However, even Tatsuya could not predict everything in advance. For example, this time, after Obito fell asleep again, the elderly Madara and White Zetsu secretly communicated about Obito's Blacken project.
"Master Madara, the day when the Jinchūriki of the Nine Tails is about to give birth in a few months is a great opportunity," White Zetsu said to the elderly Madara with a smirk.
Madara, feeling his vitality reaching its limit despite the Gedo Statue's Chakra supply, realized he couldn't hold on much longer. Though White Zetsu's plan was risky, it was their best option.
"Fine, go ahead and do it," Madara agreed, his voice carrying the weight of his years and the urgency of their plan.
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