Chapter 21: To Silence Orochimaru?
As the blade light dissipated, it was as if nothing had happened.
Pakura's body remained intact, but the fireballs surrounding her gradually extinguished.
It was as if her life had been extinguished along with them.
This legendary female shinobi, who was supposed to gain fame during the Third Great Ninja War and die later in that conflict, had quietly passed away without a sound.
...
"Was it a strike aimed at consciousness? So, Kagami, is your technique a form of Yin Release?" Minato asked, walking over.
Most shinobi only knew of five chakra elements, but thanks to Jiraiya's teachings, Minato was aware that there were seven types of chakra. In addition to the usual wind, fire, water, earth, and lightning, there were Yin and Yang as well.
His girlfriend, Kushina, was one of the leading figures in Yang Release, known for her massive chakra reserves and extraordinary physical constitution.
Yin Release, on the other hand, was best represented by the Uchiha.
Kagami nodded and sat down to begin recovering chakra.
With his current chakra reserves, such a technique could only be used two or three times at most.
"You developed this technique to deal with me, didn't you?" Sukuna's cold voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
Though he had learned the technique from Sukuna, its effect was similar to Unlimited Void, and the intention behind it was too obvious.
Kagami didn't deny it and replied indifferently, "The Sharingan's specialty is copying. If it seems similar, then it is."
He was, of course, on guard against Sukuna.
The seal was strong, and there was no sign of Sukuna breaking free.
But Kagami had to consider: What if Sukuna escapes?
Ordinary ninja techniques wouldn't work on him; only techniques that could directly attack the soul would be effective.
Not only Sukuna but most shinobi feared soul-based attacks. Otherwise, the Soul Conversion Jutsu wouldn't be regarded as the number one assassination technique.
...
"Pakura of Sunagakure's Scorch Release... I've heard of her," Kakashi remarked, impressed.
"Not bad, Kagami," Kakashi continued.
Kakashi, I preferred the way you were before—wild and unruly...
Minato chuckled and clapped both of them on the shoulders. "Excellent debut on the battlefield. Both of you did well."
"I thought you'd say capturing her alive would be more valuable," Kagami responded, brushing Minato's hand off with indifference.
Minato shook his head. "I wouldn't ask you to capture enemies alive; that would increase unnecessary risks."
"Listen up!"
His tone became serious, and his expression hardened.
"On the battlefield, ensuring your own safety is the most important thing. Understood?"
"Understood!" Kakashi said, his energy returning.
After a short rest and recovering some chakra with Sukuna's cursed energy, Kagami felt ready to move on.
The technique he had just used was a form of Yin Release. It required more mental energy, but supplementing chakra with pure mental force sped up the recovery.
The Nine-Tails was an excellent "battery" for him—being a balance of both Yin and Yang, with both physical and mental energy healing rapidly.
Kagami had collected a bit of the Nine-Tails' chakra when Kushina went berserk last time. Although it wasn't much, it was still enough to provide a small amount of chakra—about ten cards, if compared to Kakashi's chakra capacity.
Normally, Kagami would reserve this chakra for studying Yin-Yang Release, unwilling to waste it on basic ninja techniques.
---
Fire Country Border Command Center.
Orochimaru stared at the group that had returned after half a day, initially thinking they were here to ask for intel on their mission objectives.
However...
Dozens of complete Sunagakure shinobi corpses lay across the command center.
A ninja from the Yamanaka clan began inspecting the bodies. "The brains are intact. We should be able to extract some intelligence."
One of the Nara clan members, his pineapple-shaped hair standing on end, knelt by Pakura's body. "This... is Pakura of Sunagakure, a bloodline user!"
"Why doesn't she have any wounds?"
...
"It's genjutsu."
Orochimaru's cold gaze turned toward Kagami, a twisted smile spreading across his face.
"Let me guess... Kagami, you're the one who killed her?"
No wounds... just using genjutsu to kill a bloodline-empowered Jonin?
You're stronger than I thought...
Upon hearing this, the Yamanaka ninja looked up from the corpse.
"Uchiha... Kagami, was it?"
"Did your genjutsu destroy her brain?"
"It should have burned it; you can check yourself." Kagami shrugged, not fully aware of the technique's effects, as it was the first time he had used it on a human.
He wasn't particularly concerned with the information in Pakura's brain. If he wanted to know something, he could simply use his Sharingan to hypnotize her—much easier.
The Yamanaka clan's techniques were nothing more than a side note to the myriad abilities of the Sharingan.
After they took the bodies away, the command center was back to its usual state, with only four people present.
Minato bowed at ninety degrees. "Orochimaru, my apologies! Please forgive Kagami's rudeness!"
Orochimaru's gaze was chilling, his voice betraying no emotion. "This is no simple disrespect, Kagami... Attacking the frontline commander... You do realize your actions might warrant interrogation by the Anbu?"
Kagami remained unfazed.
"Let's not forget, you were the one who looked at me with such ill intent."
"Being controlled by an eight-year-old with genjutsu—Orochimaru, do you still have any face left to talk about it?"
...
"I'll only report to the Hokage; he'll be considerate of my position."
Orochimaru leaned forward, his presence predatory, like a snake preparing to strike. "Some of the old ones are very wary of the Uchiha clan."
"If they knew the extent of your power, how would they sleep at night?"
"Are you threatening me?"
"Maybe. What will you do, Kagami?"
Kagami leaned in close to Orochimaru, their cold eyes locked.
"If you want to play, play it bigger."
"Because of your actions, I've been forced to leave Konoha, and at least several hundred Uchiha will follow me."
Orochimaru sneered. "Kagami, don't you know? Even the strongest Uchiha in history left the village without taking anyone with him."
"That's because, at the time, the clan didn't know how much they were being held back."
...
After a brief silence, Orochimaru suddenly laughed. "It really isn't fair, is it? A clan so powerful, yet denied their rightful position."
"Kagami, if I become Hokage, how about I train you to be the next one?"
Hokage...
It could be said that every Konoha shinobi's dream was to become Hokage.
However, only a few could persist all the way to the end.
If anyone else said this, it would be nothing more than empty promises, but coming from Orochimaru, it held weight.
With the Third Hokage aging, and with Fugaku's defection, neither Jiraiya nor Tsunade were interested in the position, Orochimaru was the de facto next Hokage candidate.
Only Kagami knew that Minato would eventually overtake him.
"Let's talk once you actually become Hokage," Kagami said bluntly, giving no face to the sneaky snake.
The Uchiha clan's natural rudeness aside, Kagami knew that Orochimaru didn't care about others' opinions.
Hearing this, Minato awkwardly scratched his head.
"Ha ha, I still have a long way to go."
"But, I will definitely become Hokage!"
He said this while secretly lowering his hand that had been forming seals earlier.
Earlier, in the tense standoff, he had been prepared to help Kagami silence Orochimaru.
It couldn't be helped...
Konoha couldn't bear the consequences of the Uchiha clan defecting. Minato realized that if Kagami and Orochimaru had a falling out, the damage to the village would be immeasurable.
Fortunately, Orochimaru was only joking. Otherwise, for the stability of the village, Minato might have had to kill Orochimaru.
For the village...
This was the lesson from the Third Hokage!
Orochimaru had no idea that his death omen had been fluctuating wildly. He hadn't intended to report anything yet.
Right now, what he truly wanted to see was how much power Kagami could demonstrate on this battlefield.
In just half a day, he had already gotten his first surprise.
Scorch Release... there would be more to deal with tonight.
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