"Who are you?!" Tsunade's voice was thick with fury.
"Are you looking for death? How dare you disrespect Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto added, adjusting his glasses as a cold glint flashed through them.
At this critical juncture, Kanon had no desire for words. Her only intent was to exact vengeance for the Curse Mark placed upon Sasuke. Her left hand brushed against the hilt of the sword at her waist as she spoke to Tsunade and Shizune with chilling indifference:
"Dogs of Konoha... get lost."
Tsunade and Shizune's brows furrowed in unison.
"Presumptuous! What did you just say, you brat?!" Tsunade roared. With a speed so explosive that even Kabuto couldn't track it, she lunged forward, her fist hurtling toward Kanon's face.
BOOM!
The impact was deafening. Blood sprayed from Kanon's forearm as she bore the brunt of Tsunade's Monster Strength head-on.
Yet, her face remained an emotionless mask. Not a single grunt of pain escaped her lips, leaving Tsunade utterly stunned. Behind the fox mask, Kanon's expression was as tranquil as a stagnant pond.
By now, she had become intimately acquainted with this level of agony. Physical pain had ceased to register as her soul had already gone numb.
Kanon had deliberately abstained from using the Flower Realm; she wanted to test if her body alone could withstand such a blow. The green glow emanating from her skin revealed the truth.
"The Eight Inner Gates?! You've mastered the Eight Gates?" Orochimaru marveled. To think a mere child possessed such a technique!
But Tsunade was not an opponent to be underestimated. She spun, delivering a follow-up kick aimed directly at Kanon's midsection. At that moment, she froze; through the slits of the mask, she saw those unmistakable three-tomoe eyes.
"You're... an Uchiha?! Impossible, the Uchiha were all—" Suddenly, a realization struck Tsunade, but before she could act, Kanon's hand had already clamped firmly around her throat.
THUD!
Kanon's body phased through the air as she slammed Tsunade into the ground. The sheer force caused blood to spill from the corner of the Sannin's mouth.
"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune charged forward, desperate to intervene.
"Shizune! Stay back!"
Tsunade's warning came too late. Kanon's other hand moved in a blur. Blood instantly geysered from Shizune's chest, splattering across the porcelain fox mask.
With a single strike, Shizune was incapacitated. She collapsed to the ground, her voice trembling in a shrill cry. Seeing the dying Shizune and the blood on Kanon's mask, Tsunade's hemophobia, her crippling fear of blood, was triggered instantly. She fell into a state of total paralysis.
"Move."
Kanon kicked the trembling Shizune out of her path. She held no personal grudge against these two; they simply happened to be ninja of Konoha.
"The legendary 'Slug Princess' is nothing more than this," Kanon said coldly, glancing at the traumatized Tsunade. She then turned her gaze toward Kabuto and Orochimaru.
"Who are you?! We don't even know—"
Kabuto's words died in his throat as he locked eyes with the three-tomoe Sharingan behind the mask.
"You're... Kanon Uchiha!!!" Kabuto turned pale. There was only one Uchiha female left in the world, and she was an eleven-year-old girl.
Orochimaru, however, began to tremble with excitement. "I originally had my sights set on Sasuke, but since you've delivered yourself to me, you will do nicely!" he laughed maniacally.
"As I thought. You're the one who placed that Curse Mark on my brother."
Behind the mask, Kanon's expression grew frantic with suppressed rage. Orochimaru struck first; his tongue extended with incredible speed, the Kusanagi Sword protruding from it, aimed straight for Kanon.
She raised her sword slightly. Clang! Her blade shattered instantly upon contact with the legendary sword. The Kusanagi pierced clean through Kanon's left arm, yet no blood flowed, a phenomenon that left Orochimaru momentarily baffled.
"What is this?!"
That split second of hesitation was his undoing. A sharp Chidori chirped as Kanon sliced clean through his tongue, sending the Kusanagi Sword clattering to the ground.
"This sword seems decent enough." Kanon picked up the Kusanagi, weighing it in her hand.
"Kanon Uchiha, how dare you!!" Orochimaru's eyes turned bloodshot. He shook with a fury so intense it bordered on madness. If he weren't currently unable to mold signs for jutsu, he would have shown this girl the true power of the Eight-Headed Giant Serpent!
But Kanon didn't wait for him to recover. The Kusanagi Sword in her hand was instantly engulfed in flames as she swung it toward Orochimaru's head.
The speed was so blinding that Kabuto could only watch in despair. Orochimaru was sent flying by the strike, tumbling across the dirt.
"The great Orochimaru, who seeks to destroy Konoha, is nothing but this," Kanon's icy voice echoed across the clearing.
"Orochimaru-sama, we must go!" Kabuto rushed to his master's side to support him. Orochimaru was no fool; this girl was unnervingly powerful, and his current body was in no condition for a prolonged battle.
"Tsunade, consider my offer. Give me your answer in seven days!"
But in the next instant, his pupils contracted. Even Kabuto's eyes widened to their limits.
They witnessed something beyond comprehension.
Behind the fox mask, Kanon's pupils shifted into the shape of roses. The genjutsu of the Mangekyō Sharingan instantly enveloped Orochimaru.
"Sink into the depths of my genjutsu..." Kanon whispered.
In a heartbeat, Orochimaru felt as though he were being sliced, flayed, and hacked by countless razor-sharp cherry blossoms for years on end.
As Orochimaru collapsed into unconsciousness, Kabuto narrowly escaped the same fate by shielding his eyes just in time. His reflexes were sharp; realizing the genjutsu had been unleashed, he threw Orochimaru over his shoulder and fled with every ounce of speed he possessed.
Kanon watched them disappear into the distance. She moved to give chase but was suddenly overcome by a wave of dizziness. She stumbled to one knee as blood began to drip from beneath her mask—the price for overusing the Mangekyō.
However, thanks to Konin's unique chakra, her visual prowess began to recover rapidly. Within two seconds, she was standing once more.
She turned back to Tsunade, who remained kneeling on the ground, her eyes trembling.
"Someone like you is fit to be called a Sannin? It seems there really is no hope for Konoha."
With those words, Kanon tossed a bottle of styptic medicine toward her and walked away with total detachment.
Only after she had gone did Tsunade regain her senses. Panting heavily, she began to treat the fading Shizune.
"She... she is the genius girl left behind by the Uchiha clan?"
"How did she become like this...?" Tsunade was shell-shocked.
From what she had heard, Kanon was a genius, yes, but also a bright, spirited, and gentle girl. Every report described her as kind and easy to get along with. But the Kanon Uchiha she met today… masked, lethal, and radiating a murderous intent fueled by hatred for Konoha, overturned everything Tsunade knew.
Furthermore, the girl had physically blocked her Monster Strength and endured such agony without making a sound!
"Truly a genius of the Uchiha..."
"Just what kind of pain did she have to endure to become so indifferent to her own suffering?"
"And why... why does she hate Konoha so much?"
Tsunade murmured to herself, her mind racing. But there was one more thing she cared about even more: Orochimaru's offer. The promise to revive her brother and her lover...
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