There was no banter. No interrogation.
Itachi raised his blade and stabbed straight into Orochimaru's body—
once,
again,
and again—
mechanical, precise, relentless.
"Gah—!!"
Agony—magnified countless times—instantly flooded every corner of Orochimaru's perception.
This wasn't merely physical pain.
It was torture inflicted directly upon the mind.
Itachi's eyes remained cold, as if he were simply completing an inconsequential task.
His hand never slowed, pouring all the turbulence he couldn't voice—
irritation, confusion, doubt toward fate, and anguish over his own choices—
into the unfortunate "sandbag" before him.
Within the Tsukuyomi world, time stretched into infinity.
For Orochimaru, it was nothing short of falling into the deepest hell.
For Itachi, this cruel execution became a twisted form of self-regulation, stabilizing a mind on the brink of collapse.
Only when the suffocating pressure in his chest eased slightly did Itachi stop. He looked at Orochimaru—consciousness nearly shattered—and dismissed Tsukuyomi with the same indifference one might show when discarding trash.
—
Back in the real world, Orochimaru's body jerked violently. He staggered backward several steps, face deathly pale, gasping for air.
When he looked at Itachi Uchiha again, his eyes were filled with a fear he had never known before—pure, instinctive dread.
And Itachi simply stood there, unmoving, as though nothing had happened.
Only his Mangekyō Sharingan seemed deeper than before.
Colder.
Thud!
A dull impact, followed by a yelp.
Naruto Uzumaki clutched his head as a fresh bump instantly swelled, collapsing onto the floor with stars spinning before his eyes.
Behind the desk, the Fifth Hokage Tsunade withdrew her fist, chest heaving in anger.
"Who gave you permission to call me granny, huh?! You ill-mannered brat!"
"Say one more word and I'll beat you to death!"
Originally, Tsunade had only asked Jiraiya to bring the kid in—there was serious business to discuss.
Instead, the blond idiot burst in yelling "Granny! Granny!" at full volume, stomping all over what little patience she had left.
Already in a foul mood, Tsunade wasn't exactly known for restraint.
Naruto staggered back to his feet, still clutching his aching head. He pointed at Tsunade, then at Jiraiya—who was desperately trying to shrink his presence—and shouted indignantly:
"That hurt! You old gra—ugh!"
Seeing Tsunade's fist rise again, Naruto swallowed the rest of the sentence on the spot.
Then he turned to Jiraiya, eyes full of grievance.
"What did I say wrong?! You and Pervy Sage are about the same age, right?! You're both over fifty—old lad—"
"Shut up, you little brat!"
Before Naruto could finish his suicidal declaration, Jiraiya exploded. He slapped the back of Naruto's head, cutting him off mid-sentence.
Did this kid have a death wish?!
"And it's Sage, not Pervy Sage!" Jiraiya snapped.
"Try giving me stupid nicknames again—I dare you!"
Naruto stumbled forward, but instead of backing down, he looked even more disdainful.
"Hmph! Like I didn't catch you sneaking around the women's bath last time, peep—"
"WAAAAH!!!"
Jiraiya's soul nearly left his body.
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he lunged forward and clamped both hands over Naruto's mouth, forcibly stuffing every word that would've ended his social life right back down his throat.
You do not say that in front of Tsunade!
Forcing a smile that looked worse than crying, Jiraiya turned to Tsunade.
"Hah… haha… kids say the darndest things! Just nonsense! Don't listen to him, Tsunade!"
Tsunade folded her arms and watched the absurd scene in front of her—
one person struggling and muffled with "mmph mmph,"
the other panicking and desperately covering mouths—
Veins throbbed visibly on her forehead.
Her blood pressure was skyrocketing.
Naruto, this little bastard…
Jiraiya, this idiot…
Putting these two in the same room was the single greatest pollution threat to her Hokage office.
"Enough!"
Tsunade's roar thundered through the room, finally halting the farce.
"Both of you—shut up and stand straight!"
The oppressive aura of the Hokage flooded the office.
Naruto and Jiraiya shuddered in unison. They immediately separated, standing ramrod straight like two elementary students caught misbehaving—though they still shot each other defiant glares.
Tsunade took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to throw both of them out the window.
Stay calm. I'm the Hokage. I need composure—
To hell with that.
Trying to be dignified around these two idiots was pure self-torture.
Thud! Thud!
Two crisp impacts.
Peace at last.
Naruto and Jiraiya clutched their freshly baked, steaming head bumps, squatting on the floor with pained grimaces—finally and completely subdued.
Tsunade flicked her wrist and looked down at the two now-silent fools—especially Naruto's expression of suppressed outrage—and felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
Heh.
So what if you're the strongest in the shinobi world ten years from now?
One of you becomes a world-ending calamity.
The other can wrestle that calamity head-on.
Sasuke or Naruto—
in front of her, both still had to behave and accept some good old-fashioned iron-fist education.
That subtle sense of superiority—I don't care how powerful you become later, I can still beat you up now—finally eased some of the frustration Tsunade had built up from days of nonstop administration.
She cleared her throat, wiping the amusement from her face as her expression turned serious. Her gaze settled on Naruto.
"Naruto Uzumaki. I didn't call you here to mess around. I have something important to discuss with you."
Beside her, Jiraiya rubbed his head as he stood up. His usual levity faded as well, and he nodded solemnly at Naruto.
Several days had passed since the purge of Danzō Shimura and Root. Under the Fifth Hokage's iron-handed rule, Konoha's internal order had begun to stabilize along a new path.
And something Tsunade had long discussed with Jiraiya—something crucial to Naruto himself—was finally ready to be addressed.
To clear Naruto Uzumaki's name.
To restore his identity as the son of the Fourth Hokage.
Jiraiya supported this without reservation.
No one understood better than he did how important it was for Naruto to shed the stigma of "the Nine-Tails" and receive the recognition he deserved—as a hero's child.
Naruto looked at the suddenly serious Granny Hokage and Pervy—no, Sage—and straightened unconsciously.
A flicker of confusion—and a hint of nervousness—passed through his blue eyes.
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