Everything was fine until Yugao suddenly shouted like that. Now the people from Konoha would surely start speculating again. It was so unreasonable!
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a surge of discontent in his heart.
Jiraiya's mood turned uneasy.
Has that legendary figure finally returned?
Not far away, Danzo Shimura had arrived and was observing the figures on the battlefield.
He wore a look of disdain. "Just her? There's no way she could do anything to Hiruzen."
His mood soured further as his gaze flicked back toward where Jiraiya stood. Danzo curled his lips—his irritation deepened.
With Jiraiya around, even if something were to happen to Hiruzen, the people would never turn to him.
Jiraiya… again? How had he come back this time?
Hiruzen gave an investigative stare.
Yugao Uzuki cast a somewhat indifferent glance at him before shifting her focus toward the three Anbu blocking her path.
In five years, she had transformed from a trembling Anbu rookie into the captain of a four-member Anbu squad.
These three were her colleagues, her subordinates, her comrades-in-arms.
"Today it's spirit possession, tomorrow it'll be demonic reincarnation. One day, they'll find an excuse for anyone. Killing someone or framing them—it really is that simple," she said calmly.
Hiruzen's expression changed slightly. He issued orders to the hesitant trio of Anbu: "Capture her."
Even if Jiraiya was originally at fault, once Yugao started stirring unrest among the people, the blame fell entirely on her.
Chakra instantly replenished, surging through her body. This chakra felt particularly unique—she sensed immense power flooding every part of her, allowing techniques previously unusable to now flow naturally.
[Hazy Moon]
Yugao swung her long blade, creating afterimages slicing through the air, forming a circle made entirely of sword shadows behind her.
Dreamlike, illusory, almost indistinguishable between reality and illusion.
All real—or all fake?
The Anbu couldn't tell. They had no idea which attacks carried true danger and which were mere feints.
Caught off guard, overwhelmed, in just a breath's time, wounds already marked their bodies.
"Pfsshh…"
Blood bloomed like crimson petals, scattering across the ground. The three Anbu knelt on one knee, leaning heavily on their weapons, clearly out of the fight.
Their faces showed a mix of shock, disbelief, and reluctant respect.
Captain Yugao must have intentionally missed their vital spots...
After dealing with them, Yugao charged straight toward Hiruzen and Jiraiya.
A skilled ninja can form four to six hand seals in a single second—but she didn't need them at all.
Her physical reactions synchronized perfectly with her speed. Wherever her eyes moved, so too did her blade strike.
Hiruzen and Jiraiya had no chance—and there was no opportunity—to perform any seals either. They could only defend themselves passively.
Having fought against Yugao so many times before, Hiruzen now understood even more deeply just how valuable non-hand-seal techniques could be.
Coincidentally, Jiraiya was exactly familiar with such ninjutsu.
[Rasengan]
A spiraling blue sphere spun rapidly in Jiraiya's palm, slamming head-on against the sharp edge of Yugao's longsword.
"Snap..."
Cracks rapidly spread across the long blade, expanding outward without end.
Then, the sword shattered with a loud crack.
"So, she's not that easy to deal with after all..."
Holding half of a broken tanto, Yugao Uzuki temporarily abandoned her plan to keep fighting against Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya.
She kept charging forward.
Danzo Shimura helplessly watched as she headed straight toward him.
Should he stop her or not?
He hesitated briefly.
"Shing~"
Suddenly, one Root ninja felt a sudden lightness at his back.
The long sword normally carried on his back had been pulled out by Yugao and was now in her hand.
Before he could react, the Root ninja saw a flash of cold light. He suddenly felt sweetness in his throat as blood surged out uncontrollably, and with only gurgling sounds—"goh-goh-goh"—he died on the spot.
Alone, wielding a long sword, Yugao broke out of Konoha before anyone could react and vanished from sight.
Jiraiya wanted to chase her but was stopped by Hiruzen Sarutobi. His voice carried suppressed rage: "Jiraiya, stay! You better explain everything clearly!"
Looking at the corpses lying near Danzo's side, his expression gradually darkened.
With just several swift slashes—swish, swish, swish—four people had already died on his side.
Not a single Anbu was injured—she targeted only Root members. Was this deliberate?
He had merely come out to observe the chaos, yet suffered such heavy losses!
Danzo's face turned black.
"Spread this word: It was the Third Hokage... no, it was Jiraiya who forced Yugao Uzuki into betrayal!"
"Yes."
Hmph. This loss couldn't be borne by him alone. Danzo bitterly thought.
Without delay, he left with his subordinates, heading back to the Root base.
The wind howled relentlessly as Yugao reached the forest outside Konoha Village.
"Where should I go now?"
Feeling bitter inside while pondering this,
Her chakra suddenly vanished entirely. She could no longer support herself; her consciousness blurred, and her body uncontrollably started falling downward.
Suddenly, a pair of hands emerged from the ground below and caught her.
Back where Hiruzen Sarutobi remained.
Jiraiya was thinking about how to clearly express what had happened.
"Yugao Uzuki has major issues. The techniques she used just now were far beyond her current capabilities..."
Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could respond, one of the three Anbu members impulsively spoke up: "Captain Yugao has been developing new sword techniques. Even if she broke through under pressure, it's nothing too strange!"
His tone was hard to contain excitement.
A chill flickered in Hiruzen's eyes.
Judging from this person's words, he obviously held deep feelings for Yugao Uzuki.
After what happened today, Yugao would inevitably become an enemy of Konoha.
This man could no longer remain beside him.
"You few step aside," he coldly ordered the trio of Anbu.
Supporting each other, the Anbu members left.
Then, Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to the Hokage office to talk with Jiraiya.
Naruto, hiding nearby, was also brought over by Jiraiya.
Half an hour passed.
"Old man, you understand now, right? The woman named Kaguya otsutsuki will resurrect through someone else's body. Yugao Uzuki might become her vessel..."
"As time passes, in the future, she might just become Kaguya otsutsuki!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and massaged his temples repeatedly. This was giving him a splitting headache.
Had Jiraiya spent too much time among frogs and lost his mind?
What kind of mythological tale was this?
Something about a thousand years ago, and a thousand years from now...
How could our future descendants possibly be connected to those from a thousand years ago?
"This story of yours..."
"This isn't a story! It's history of the Ninja World!" Jiraiya interrupted.
Naruto stood quietly to one side, listening to their conversation.
Hiruzen took a deep breath and nodded. "Fine then. According to what you said, how can we tell who has a connection with Kaguya otsutsuki?"
"The Nine-Tails can sense the difference between them and ordinary people."
"The Nine-Tails?" Hiruzen suddenly laughed. "It's just a Tailed Beast. Why should we trust it'll cooperate? What if it deliberately sabotages everything?"
Within Naruto, the Nine-Tails scoffed disdainfully.
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