Pfft! Uchiha Itachi clutched his chest, dragging his exhausted body along a narrow forest path, his steps heavy with fatigue. He was never a
Pfft!
Uchiha Itachi clutched his chest, dragging his exhausted body along a narrow forest path, his steps heavy with fatigue.
He was never a ninja with a vast chakra reserve. After consecutive battles against Uchiha Hikari, Uchiha Sasuke, Might Guy, Haruno Sakura, and Terumi Mei, he was starting to feel the strain. Even in the fight against Sakura, where he only provided minimal support to the Scorpion of the Red Sand, the cumulative toll of these battles was overwhelming. He felt that if he didn't find a place to rest soon, he might actually collapse and die right there.
To escape Terumi Mei, he had been forced to use Amaterasu once more, further depleting his already dwindling chakra and nearly exhausted Sharingan power. The situation was dire.
A gush of blood spurted from his mouth, and Itachi's vision began to blur.
For a moment, he couldn't tell if his eyesight was deteriorating again or if he was on the verge of passing out.
In his hazy state, he vaguely noticed a pair of feet appearing before him.
"Well, what do we have here?"
"Didn't expect to stumble upon someone like you while out gathering materials."
Before his consciousness faded, Itachi faintly glimpsed the character for "oil" on the stranger's forehead protector.
Jiraiya?
Why?
Why, of all people?
Did none of these people sleep at night?
How was it that he kept running headfirst into every notable figure?
Meanwhile, in the Uchiha clan compound, Sasuke, who was poring over a scroll on Lightning Release taijutsu, suddenly looked up, as if sensing something.
The Destiny Reversal ended already?
It hadn't even been twelve hours.
That was way too short…
He needed to find a way to extend the duration of the Destiny Reversal next time and hit Itachi with something truly devastating…
Konohagakure's Death Row Prison
"Lady Sakura, this is the person you requested."
Sakura watched as a prison guard escorted a prisoner before her, forcing him to kneel on the ground, and spoke respectfully.
Looking at the blue-haired man with his head bowed, Sakura raised an eyebrow.
Mizuki.
This guy was still alive, huh…
Didn't he have some connection to Orochimaru at some point?
Sakura didn't care much about that. He was just another pawn discarded by Orochimaru.
"S-Sakura, are you here to save me?" Mizuki looked at his former student, his voice tinged with hope despite knowing it was unlikely.
"You're dismissed. Inform the Hokage later that I'm taking this man with me," Sakura said, waving her hand at the guard.
"Yes, ma'am."
As the guard retreated, Sakura turned her attention to Mizuki, who was bound head to toe, lying on the ground and looking up at her.
"Teacher Mizuki, it's been a while," she said.
"S-Sakura, you're here to save me, right?" Mizuki's voice trembled, devoid of the arrogance he once displayed when manipulating Naruto. Now, he was nothing but a humble, pleading figure.
"Of course," Sakura said, crouching down in front of him, her eyes curving into crescent moons with a smile.
"Not only will I get you out, Teacher Mizuki, but I'll also make you the Hokage of Konohagakure."
Her words were so absurd that Mizuki's ecstatic expression froze in place.
Become the Hokage?
"S-Sakura… I suddenly think staying in prison isn't so bad," Mizuki said, a trace of unease creeping into his heart, urging him to backpedal.
"Come on, don't say that. Do you know how much effort I put into coming here?" Sakura replied, her tone light but firm. "I even had to fight a rogue ninja from the Sand Village just to meet you, Teacher Mizuki."
"It's quite rude to let someone's efforts go to waste, you know."
Her words left Mizuki utterly confused. Trapped in the death row prison, he had no idea what was happening in the outside world.
"Come on, let's go."
Sakura stood up, smiling brightly as she grabbed the ropes binding Mizuki and began dragging him toward the exit of the prison.
Mizuki, being pulled along the ground, grew increasingly anxious. He started struggling violently, but with his chakra sealed and his body restrained, he was like a fish on a cutting board, completely at her mercy.
"Sakura, Sakura, what are you planning to do?"
"Sakura, I know I was wrong. Please let me go!"
"Sakura, I'm begging you!"
"I have a fiancée waiting for me at home…"
"Sakura…"
"Let me go!"
"You wretched girl!"
"I don't want to die! Let me go!"
"I'm your teacher! You filthy wretch!"
"You bastard! Wretch! Harlot!"
At first, Mizuki pleaded earnestly for Sakura to release him, but as she dragged him out of the prison and deeper into the forest, his unease turned to panic, and he began hurling insults.
Sakura glanced at Mizuki. His strength was mediocre, and his insults were equally unimpressive.
Trying to break her with words? He'd need to practice for another eight hundred years.
Still, his constant cursing was getting annoying.
Sakura picked up a small pebble, and just as Mizuki opened his mouth to continue his tirade, she flicked it, knocking him out cold.
"I said I'd make you Hokage, and I'll make you Hokage."
"Do what you say—that's Naruto's ninja way."
Looking at the unconscious Mizuki, his eyes rolled back, Sakura nodded in satisfaction.
Becoming a sacrifice for Tobirama Senju was also a form of becoming Hokage. The two weren't mutually exclusive.
Borrowing Naruto's ninja way for a bit? With her and Naruto's relationship, he definitely wouldn't mind.
Seeing that the location was remote enough—unlikely to be noticed by anyone—Sakura tossed Mizuki aside like a dead dog and pulled out the Reanimation Jutsu scroll given to her by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The Reanimation Jutsu in this scroll wasn't Orochimaru's enhanced version but a relic from Tobirama Senju's era.
Still, Sakura didn't need Tobirama's combat prowess. His brilliant mind was more than enough.
As for combat strength, Sakura could handle that herself.
After skimming through the scroll, Sakura was ready to perform the Reanimation Jutsu.
With her learning ability, applying the technique was no challenge at all.
Even the hand seals were quite similar to those of the Summoning Technique.
She took a small piece of finger bone from her pocket and placed it on the unconscious Mizuki. Then, she began forming the hand seals.
This finger bone, provided by Hiruzen Sarutobi, belonged to Tobirama Senju himself.
Such a distinctive "holy relic" practically guaranteed a successful summoning, ensuring Tobirama Senju would be pulled from the Pure Land.
As for where this finger bone came from…
Ahem. Sakura had tactfully avoided asking.
Hiruzen, equally tactful, hadn't offered any explanation.
"Summoning Technique: Reanimation Jutsu!"
With the final hand seal, Sakura slammed her palm onto the ground. Twisted black patterns spread out from Mizuki, radiating across the earth!
Countless paper fragments materialized out of thin air, swirling toward Mizuki. As the Reanimation Jutsu took effect, he seemed to regain consciousness, his eyes widening in terror as he stared at the paper fragments clinging to his body. A blood-curdling scream tore from his throat.
As time ticked by, Mizuki's entire body was enveloped in the paper fragments. His agonized screams morphed into an eerie, otherworldly wail!
Finally, the dust settled.
The figure before Sakura was no longer Mizuki.
In his place stood a tall, imposing man clad in deep blue armor, his expression cold and resolute!
The Second Hokage of Konohagakure, Tobirama Senju, had arrived!
And in that moment, Mizuki had successfully become a Hokage!
The silvery moonlight bathed the figure of this Hokage, accentuating his stern and noble demeanor.
Slowly, he opened his eyes, revealing a pair of crimson irises.