After briefly restoring order within the group, Kakashi looked at Hanare, seriously asking:
"I remember you once said you wouldn't serve your village anymore. Yet, here you are."
"So, Hanare, are you now working for Gensou?"
The moment Kakashi uttered "Gensou," the atmosphere, previously light and buzzing with curiosity, instantly turned tense.
Yamato, Sakura, Kiba, and the others grew serious, their gazes at Hanare now filled with apprehension.
While Kakashi's past connection with Hanare had stirred their interest, hearing she was now allied with Gensou was even more shocking.
Hanare slowly turned to Kakashi, not denying it.
"As a member of Jōmae Village, I, of course, follow Lord Gensou," she replied.
Noticing the brief flash of regret in Kakashi's eyes, she added with a smirk:
"I've told your former student this before: don't trust what pretty women say. Kakashi, last time you made the mistake of trusting my words."
"I won't make that mistake again," Kakashi replied coldly.
"Now, I'll ask, and you'll answer."
"Why are you here?"
As he spoke, Kakashi pressed the kunai even more firmly against Hanare's neck.
If she made any suspicious moves, he wouldn't hesitate to act, his loyalty to the village unwavering.
Feeling the kunai's chilling touch on her throat, Hanare remained calm.
"Torture and threats of death won't work on me, and you know it. But I'll answer your question—on one condition."
"How did you find me?"
Aware of Hanare's resilience against interrogation, Kakashi pondered briefly before nodding at Shino.
Shino stepped forward, extending his right hand.
A tiny insect emerged from Hanare's clothing and landed on Shino's finger.
He adjusted his glasses, casting a knowing look at Hanare.
"The Aburame Clan's parasitic insects… It must have been after the clan head left," Hanare murmured, realizing.
If Gensou had been present, these tracking insects wouldn't have gone unnoticed.
It seemed this group was unaware of everything.
In that case, there was no need to keep up any pretense.
"Now, will you answer my question?" Kakashi demanded.
"Of course. I came here to…"
With a sly smile, Hanare met Kakashi's gaze.
And then—
Her body suddenly exploded.
Boom!
A massive explosion resounded.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura, face pale, moved to rush forward, ignoring the blast's aftereffects.
A hand held her back.
"I'm fine."
Kakashi emerged from behind, revealing that the one holding the kunai to Hanare was only a shadow clone.
Thanks to his caution, he'd avoided a grim fate.
'She fooled me again. And this time, she really tried to kill me,' Kakashi mused, then coolly commanded:
"That was just a clone. Hanare is still out there. Stay alert and watch the surroundings."
At his words, the Konoha shinobi quickly heightened their vigilance.
Soon—
"There!"
With her Byakugan active, Hinata pointed to the right of the blast's smoke cloud.
Without hesitation, Kiba and Akamaru lunged forward.
"Fang Over Fang!"
Two spiraling tornadoes hurtled toward the area Hinata had indicated, crashing with a loud rumble.
As more dust rose, Hanare emerged, glancing briefly at the Konoha shinobi before sprinting in the opposite direction.
"Stop right there!"
Prepared for her escape, Sakura suddenly appeared in Hanare's path, tightening her gloves as she clenched her fist and charged.
Hanare locked eyes with Sakura, subtly forming a hand seal.
The next second…
Just as Sakura threw her punch, Hanare, already aware of her moves, sped up, grabbing Sakura's wrist and flinging her aside effortlessly.
"Sakura! Avoid eye contact with Hanare—she can read your memories!" Kakashi warned.
"Understood!"
Yamato responded, aiming his right hand at Hanare.
"Wood Release: Great Tree Technique!"
Wooden stakes shot from Yamato's arm, extending rapidly to ensnare Hanare.
Glancing back, Hanare noticed the wood pursuing her even as she changed directions.
And that wasn't all.
Shino's insects and Sai's ink beasts closed in from all directions, blocking every escape route.
Seeing this, Hanare halted, forming a rapid sequence of hand seals.
She wasn't an elite like an Uchiha or an Akatsuki member, but Gensou's training had honed her abilities to rival a jōnin from any major village.
Yet, knowing her mission was to monitor the Three-Tails, she had no intention of engaging the Konoha shinobi in prolonged combat.
As she completed the final seal, she unleashed her jutsu.
Facing the oncoming wood, parasitic insects, and ink creatures…
Hanare placed her fingers to her lips, expelling a thick, scalding ash that spread in all directions.
"Fire Release: Hiding in Ash and Dust Technique!"
"Not this again!"
Several Konoha shinobi recognized this technique from the battle at Mount Katsuragi.
But recognition did little to help; as the ash ignited and scorching waves spread outward, the Konoha team had no choice but to pull back.
By the time the ash settled, Hanare had vanished.
Kakashi issued orders, "Keep tracking!"
With Team 8 present, locating Hanare was only a matter of time.
As a member of Jōmae Village, she undoubtedly held critical intelligence about its inner workings.
In particular, Konoha and the other Great Shinobi Villages needed to discover Jōmae Village's location.
Even if they only recovered Hanare's body, it would be worthwhile.
For Kakashi, the village always came first.
Woof, woof!
Kiba, ready to pick up Hanare's trail with Akamaru, suddenly sensed something was wrong.
He looked at Akamaru, who shared his puzzled expression.
"Hanare used some method to mask her scent," Kiba reported to Kakashi, frowning.
Shino examined the parasitic insects circling in confusion on his hand and said calmly, "She sprayed a bug-repellent agent before fleeing. I'll need half an hour to breed insects immune to it."
The tracking unit was momentarily stalled.
Fortunately, Hinata's Byakugan was still functioning.
Kakashi instructed Shino to remain behind, resolve the insect issue, and catch up later, while he led the others, following Hinata's Byakugan, to continue the pursuit of Hanare.
Compared to the Three-Tails…
Jōmae Village's Hanare was of even greater significance to Konoha—and the entire shinobi world!
(End of Chapter)
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Hissss…
The sound of snakes hissing and slithering filled the narrow, damp underground cave, creating a mental image of countless serpents winding their way toward the center of the cavern.
In the heart of this underground lair, Orochimaru and Kabuto were hiding inside the belly of a large snake. Orochimaru, once so familiar with snakes, now found himself cornered by them.
"It seems there's no escape," Orochimaru muttered with a cold smirk.
No matter where he hid, the snakes with Rinnegan eyes pursued him relentlessly, driven by their innate knowledge of his every tactic.
Even as he eliminated them, Gensou's ability to convert new serpents to his side brought forth fresh waves of Rinnegan-eyed snakes, along with other animals joining the hunt.
Orochimaru had done all he could to delay them, but ultimately, he was forced into this nameless cave.
Though he had initially chosen to flee, Orochimaru was never one to lack the resolve to fight when pushed to his limits.
Drenched and weary, he slithered out from the snake's belly.
Looking around, he found himself surrounded by dozens of pairs of Rinnegan eyes, each fixed intently upon him in the dark, humid space.
"It's a surprise that Pain was killed by Gensou," Orochimaru's raspy voice echoed.
In his time with the Akatsuki, he had coveted Pain's Rinnegan but was unable to act due to Pain's overwhelming strength. Instead, he had set his sights on Uchiha Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan—only to meet disastrous results.
Now, seeing those coveted eyes again, this time wielded by Gensou, who was even more formidable, Orochimaru couldn't help but feel bitter.
He wondered if resurrecting Gensou using Edo Tensei had been part of Gensou's plan all along. How else could he explain how Gensou had so swiftly broken free and completed his own resurrection?
If that were true, then Gensou was far more terrifying than he had imagined.
A slight twitch crossed Orochimaru's eyelid as he looked at one of the nearby snakes with Rinnegan eyes. He sneered and called out:
"Lord Gensou, after all, I'm the one who released you from the underworld. If you're going to kill me, I think I at least deserve a reason."
Orochimaru genuinely wanted to know Gensou's motive for hunting him down. They hadn't crossed paths since the events in Tanzaku Town, and their only connection was Sasuke, through whom Orochimaru had suffered rather than gained.
From his perspective, they should have no real quarrel.
He stared at the snake's Rinnegan eyes, awaiting a response.
But what he received was nothing more than a gaping, foul-smelling maw.
Gensou's message was clear:
"My reasons for killing you are none of your concern."
"Fine!"
A frosty glint flashed across Orochimaru's face as he tore the attacking snake in two.
Accustomed to treating others as disposable, he never expected to one day be viewed with equal disregard, denied even the courtesy of conversation.
"Just a pitiful creature who was defeated by Hashirama! You might have crawled back to life, but the one who killed you isn't here anymore—did you really think you're invincible now?"
With a clap of his hands, Orochimaru summoned a coffin from beneath the ground just as the Rinnegan-controlled snakes closed in.
"Welcome to your inevitable fate," he declared with a cold smile.
With a heavy thud, the coffin lid fell open, and a commanding voice echoed from within:
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Massive trees sprang up from the ground, even more powerful than during the Chunin Exams, rapidly transforming the damp cave into a sea of green.
The summoned snakes attempted to resist but were quickly ensnared by the overwhelming force of vines and branches, which only grew stronger.
In moments, the Wood Release forest pierced through the cave's ceiling, extending through layers of soil and reaching the surface.
"You again, young man."
With the clinking sound of armor, Hashirama stepped out of the coffin, casting a frown at Orochimaru.
Once again, he'd been summoned to the living world. By his count, this was the third… no, there had been more, though he couldn't recall them clearly.
He sighed, blaming his brother Tobirama for developing Edo Tensei, which had left both the living and the dead restless.
"Greetings again, First Hokage!" Orochimaru smiled, hands forming seals as he maintained control.
This time, due to using a high-quality sacrifice enhanced with Hashirama's own cells, his reanimation was far stronger than in the Chunin Exams, forcing Orochimaru to stay on guard to prevent the First Hokage from taking control.
"Just as I expected—he's terrifyingly strong!"
Having experienced Gensou's defiance during his reanimation, Orochimaru should have been more cautious, especially with someone of Hashirama's caliber. But given the current situation, he had no choice.
To combat a monster like Gensou, he needed another monster like Hashirama.
Should Hashirama break free of his control… that was a risk he would have to take.
"First Hokage, an old friend is waiting for you up there."
Seeing Hashirama look at him thoughtfully, Orochimaru urgently pointed upward.
"An old friend?"
Hashirama immediately thought of someone and was about to speak when a commanding voice suddenly echoed from above:
"Shinra Tensei!"
Instantly!
An unstoppable repulsive force obliterated the Wood Release forest that had extended to the surface and continued downwards.
Soil, rocks, the cave, the forest—everything in its path was pushed back with immense force.
Orochimaru turned to Hashirama, shrugged, and said:
"He's here."
The next moment, with a loud crash, Orochimaru gave up all attempts at resistance and was sent flying back, his body twisted and battered.
(End of Chapter)
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