Almost at the same time, the reanimated form of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, also sensed the danger and was about to launch an attack when an unexpected turn of events interrupted his rhythm.
All around him, countless thick trees suddenly grew, entwining like living creatures and binding him tightly.
"This is… Wood Release?!" Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi both cried out in shock, their eyes filled with astonishment and disbelief.
Seizing this perfect opportunity without any hesitation, Roy unfurled the sealing scroll again and sealed away the Second Hokage's reanimated form as well, his movements fluid.
The rapid succession of these events caught everyone present off guard, plunging the battlefield into a brief silence.
"You all keep fighting, don't mind me."
There was a hint of mockery in Roy's voice, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
He waved a hand lightly and turned away, instantly vanishing from the sight of the stunned Orochimaru and the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Having successfully acquired the reanimated forms of the First and Second Hokage, he no longer had any reason to linger here.
"What an unpredictable fellow."
After a brief moment of stupefaction, a dangerous smile tugged at the corner of Orochimaru's mouth.
Though he had lost two powerful reanimated bodies, he knew his hand held far more trump cards than that, and he had plenty of ways to deal with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Elsewhere, Roy had leaped into the air and looked down at the Village Hidden in the Leaves, which was now in utter chaos.
He mentally tallied the gains from this operation, a satisfied gleam shining in his eyes.
"Mm, everything's going smoothly. Next…"
His gaze passed over countless rooftops and landed on Shukaku, which was rampaging through the village.
The tailed beast's massive body was tearing through the village, the destruction it caused shocking to behold.
Just then, a giant toad descended from the sky—Jiraiya had arrived in time to join the battle.
The fight between Jiraiya and Shukaku erupted instantly, the two exchanging blows repeatedly, the light of various ninjutsu interweaving.
"Dammit, the old man's in a critical situation, and Orochimaru is actually playing for keeps."
Anxiety gnawed at him, but he could only focus on dealing with Shukaku for now to protect the village from further devastation.
"Fire Release: Flame Bomb!"
With a low roar, Jiraiya quickly molded his chakra, condensing it into a searing hot oil.
Then, opening his mouth wide, he expelled a cloud of oil mist. In the next instant, with a subtle movement of his fingers, he activated a Fire Release technique, igniting the mist into a raging inferno that crashed violently into Shukaku's massive body, sending flames roaring skyward and waves of heat billowing outward.
As one of the legendary Sannin, Jiraiya's formidable strength was on full display in that moment.
With his power, he gradually began to suppress the tailed beast's frenzied assault.
However, to completely defeat and seal Shukaku would clearly require a long and arduous battle.
Just as Jiraiya was focusing all his attention, searching for an opening, the situation on the battlefield took a sudden and dramatic turn.
A figure appeared silently on the scene—it was Roy.
Before anyone could react, the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi cleaved through the air at an unbelievable speed, carrying an irresistible force, and struck with pinpoint accuracy at Shukaku's thick tail.
A deafening "boom" echoed, and a large portion of Shukaku's tail was severed cleanly by this earth-shattering blow. Shukaku let out a piercing, earth-shaking roar that made the entire battlefield tremble.
With a smirk, Roy quickly vanished, taking the severed tail segment with him.
Seizing the opportunity created by Shukaku's momentary disorientation, Jiraiya acted decisively. His hands formed hand seals rapidly, and he firmly suppressed Shukaku's massive body beneath the ground.
But when Jiraiya tried to locate the mysterious warrior who had lent a hand, Roy had already swiftly disappeared.
"A mysterious warrior… who could he be?"
Jiraiya stared in the direction Roy had vanished, his brow deeply furrowed. But with no time to dwell on it, he hurried to support the Third Hokage.
…
Rain began to shroud the skies above the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
It fell harder and harder. Now, the entire village was steeped in grief and panic. Not long before, the Third Hokage had died in battle, dealing a heavy blow to the village.
For Sasuke Uchiha, however, the Third Hokage's survival didn't matter much. He was only concerned about one thing: in that final match, had he won or not?
If a prodigy of the Uchiha clan couldn't even pass the Chunin Exams and ended up remaining a genin for years, that would be far too embarrassing.
Meanwhile, in a hidden corner outside the village, Roy had carefully set up a secret room, which now served as his laboratory.
Inside the room, the Sharingan he had taken from Danzo were neatly arranged in specialized containers, glowing with an eerie light.
"Well, this operation has indeed been quite fruitful." Roy gazed at these precious eyes, calculating silently in his mind.
"Since I can already use Wood Release, considering my constitution, I should be able to try implanting Sharingan now."
"After all, in the original story, the powers of the Senju and Uchiha clans have always been complementary, and combining them often unleashes unimaginable strength."
However, he suspected that even for a member of the Uchiha clan obtaining Senju cells, it didn't guarantee that they could easily awaken the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, let alone the Rinnegan.
Such a transformation depended more on individual talent, will, and opportunity.
Simple cell transplantation, without enough underlying potential, would ultimately be futile.
"Kotoamatsukami, while incredibly powerful, has harsh usage conditions and significant limitations." Roy shook his head. He felt a certain resistance to relying on the power of borrowed eyes.
After all, power that truly belonged to oneself was the most reliable.
Thinking of this, an idea suddenly struck Roy. "System, if I sacrifice these Sharingan to you, can you help me awaken a Sharingan of my own?"
The system was silent for a moment, and then a crisp chime sounded in his mind: [Ding, you may sacrifice the Sharingan and Mangekyō Sharingan in your possession to activate the awakening of the host's own Sharingan once.]
Hearing this response, Roy couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.
"But the system is quite greedy, helping awaken just the basic Sharingan in exchange for sacrificing Mangekyō Sharingan."
Having to sacrifice Sharingan, and even Mangekyō, would make it hard for anyone else to say whether this was a gain or a loss.
But Roy was confident. He made his decision without hesitation.
[I choose to sacrifice.]
With Roy's command, a mysterious light suddenly surged within the secret room, enveloping Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan along with the six other Sharingan.
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