Danzo Shimura…
Hiashi's words sank in, and realization dawned on the group. They exchanged glances, then fell silent.
One of their own was dead.
Yet, few felt sorrow.
Even Hiruzen, far from grieving, felt a flicker of satisfaction. He'd wanted Danzo to cool off, to deal with the Root's defiance of his orders. This gave him time.
"Alas, Danzo…" Hiruzen sighed theatrically, stepping forward to claim Danzo's badge. "I'll keep his badge safe. After this battle, we'll revive him."
No one objected.
They barely knew Danzo, and it wasn't a true death.
Even Shen Mo, watching from above, let out a soft tsk.
Truly pathetic.
Danzo's plan had been clever—use *Izanagi* to fake death and survive the onslaught. But the skill had a cooldown, and without a class change, his strength hadn't grown. Against *Storm Descent*'s indiscriminate wrath, he lasted mere minutes before being torn apart in a roar of defiance.
With that settled, Hiruzen looked up at Rasa and Orochimaru, floating midair.
Gripping his giant brush, he scrawled in the sky, chanting, "I ride the wind to return."
Golden script morphed into a breeze, lifting him to face Rasa and Orochimaru in a triangular standoff.
"Orochimaru…" Hiruzen's gaze was heavy with complexity. "I never thought you'd…"
He'd heard Tsunade nearly killed Orochimaru, assuming he wasn't a *can* opener. Was this after that?
"Long time no see, Sensei," Orochimaru said, sizing up Hiruzen. "You look younger. A pity—I expected a frail old man."
"Orochimaru," Hiruzen said, eyes narrowing as a thought struck. "Are you still chasing that delusional goal?"
"Delusional? Sensei, watch your words in front of *him*." Orochimaru raised a hand, bowing elegantly to Shen Mo above. "My wish for immortality—I've gained it from him. Now, I pursue something greater."
"You've… achieved it?" Hiruzen's pupils shrank.
He glanced warily at Shen Mo. If anyone could grant such a thing, it was him.
Rasa, too, looked up.
Facing the gazes of Konoha's forces and beyond, Shen Mo merely smiled. With a wave, a grand, opulent chair materialized behind him. He sat leisurely, patting the spot beside him for Ikaros to join.
His calm voice echoed in every ear: "You each have your desires. I offer only the chance to achieve them. How far you go, and at what cost, depends on your effort… and what you're willing to pay."
His words, though brief, carried weight.
A sharp mind could grasp the crux.
Itachi Uchiha did. The Hokage, Kazekage, Orochimaru, even Sasuke—they'd gained unique powers from this man above, at a price, to fulfill their wishes.
The price?
Itachi recalled Sasuke's hunt for gold, Gato's wealth.
The answer was clear: gold, money, or something exchangeable for it.
But why?
Itachi looked at Shen Mo, the universal question surfacing. For someone so powerful, why this method? He could take anything faster, easier.
With doubt and dread, Itachi kept watching.
"Damn it!" Naruto thrashed against the serpent binding him, to no avail.
His shout drew Hiruzen's attention.
"Naruto!" Tsunade and Jiraiya cried, faces tight with worry.
Even if death here allowed revival, they knew the agony it brought.
"You've summoned the stage, yet you'd use a hostage?" Hiruzen's expression darkened. "You know death here offers easy revival."
His words stunned Konoha's forces, Kisame, and Itachi.
Easy revival?
They'd thought the stage protected the world.
But death here could be undone?
Was this to make them fight without restraint?
"You'd need to win first," Orochimaru said, pulling Naruto before him. His slender fingers grazed Naruto's face, a chilling cold spreading from the touch.
Naruto shivered, feeling like he was pressed against arctic ice, his body's warmth draining.
Below, Tsunade and others clenched their fists. Even Haku, from the stands, drew his longbow taut.
But they hesitated.
Orochimaru's powers were unknown.
"Don't get cocky, Orochimaru," Rasa said, frowning. "I don't know how many *cans* you've opened, but Konoha's strong. My Blue Rare skill only killed Danzo."
He loathed Orochimaru's creepy demeanor.
But to turn the tide, he needed him.
"I know," Orochimaru said, eyeing the group below, his smile bone-chilling. "Tsunade, Jiraiya—old friends. Without some fun first, that irritating old man won't go down easily."
"You mean…" Rasa glanced at Naruto, catching on.
"What are you planning?" Hiruzen's gut twisted with dread.
"Didn't I say?" Orochimaru's face lit with glee. "I'm giving you some fun."
From his hand emerged a bubbling black mass of malevolent energy. He slammed it into Naruto's stomach.