As the dust cleared, Kazuma lay gasping and motionless on the ground. He'd been pinned by countless green chakra arrows, each one impaling his limbs into the earth as blood bubbled from his mouth. Cradled atop his torso was a red-haired woman who had clearly taken the brunt of the attack, sparing him from certain death.
Unfortunately, the other two samurai hadn't been so fortunate—they'd been incinerated by Fire Release, reduced to ashes.
"I—I surrender," Fūka choked out.
"Still alive?" Madara and the others exchanged surprised glances. Though Edo Tensei bodies are weakened to about 10% of their former power, this kind of damage would still kill most elite shinobi.
What puzzled them was the woman standing unscathed—she appeared completely unharmed, as if the attack had never touched her.
When Tobirama arrived late on the scene, his eyes sparkled at the sight of her crimson hair. He seemed ready to snatch her up and bring her to the lab for dissection.
"Wood Style: Binding!" Hashirama dispelled the wooden golem and bound both Kazuma and the woman with vine-like tendrils. He yanked them forward to examine them closely.
"Are you an Uzumaki?" Hashirama asked, furrowing his brow.
Only the Uzumaki possess such overwhelming vitality—and vivid red hair.
"It's unlikely she's Uzumaki," Itachi Uchiha approached, carrying a small child. The child's skin was entirely broken, as if he had been roasted by fire, covered in burns and blisters, with faint wisps of Nine-Tails chakra still clinging to him.
"Sora?" The injured Kazuma mustered a whisper, his eyes lighting with recognition. He attempted to reach out toward the child, but Hashirama's wooden binding only tightened.
"This child?" Madara and Hashirama frowned at Itachi.
"It aligns with intel," Itachi explained. "Sora is Kazuma's son. When the Nine-Tails attacked Konoha, its chakra spilled out wildly. Kazuma—secretly spying within Konoha on behalf of the daimyō—collected the leftover chakra."
"Back in the Land of Fire, he sealed that chakra within Sora, raising him as a pseudo jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails."
"Itachi continued, "The Five Elements Seal on the boy is also attributed to Danzo, who taught it to Kazuma for that purpose."
Suddenly it made sense—they crossed the barrier undetected because Danzo—traitor—had let them in.
"Dammit!"
"If you don't remove the weeds, they'll only grow back stronger. Danzo still alive is poison for Konoha."
"That rat can teleport at will, vanish without a trace, and pays back in full for every slight. We must find and eliminate him—before his next strike!" Tobirama growled.
"Absolutely!" everyone agreed through clenched teeth. Danzo's live presence was too dangerous.
Konoha was vast now—and Danzo was alone. As the proverb says: the shoeless fear no rain—or so they say. But you only walk away when you have fewer enemies ahead.
If Danzo struck often enough—assassination attempts, surprise attacks—even the strongest nerves would snap.
Soon, Konoha would crumble under his continuous harassment.
"Right," Hashirama turned to Itachi. "Who is this woman?"
Itachi had the story of Kazuma and Sora—he likely knew her identity too.
"That's Fūka," Itachi said. "According to intel, she's a Hair Demon."
"Hair Demon?" Everyone frowned.
"In the ninja world, there's no shortage of strange beings. Hair Demons, also known as Hair Maidens, Demon Maidens, or Thousand-Spirit Maidens, are mentioned in Hyakki Yagyō folklore.
There was once a woman who killed countless young maidens to bathe in their blood and preserve her youth. Even after death, she continued to harm others. Her body turned into hair—because she only cared about her appearance, not her flesh."
Itachi's voice remained steady. "She can use five chakra natures, but she needs to transform her body, which essentially means she has five lives. Her body is made of mud, and her weakness is her hair.
"Tobirama's eyes lit up. "Five lives?"
"At least that many," Itachi nodded.
To prove it, he formed a Rasengan in his hand and hurled it at Fūka.
BOOM!
The sphere tore a massive hole through her torso—then, moments later, her body was restored as if nothing had happened.
"See?" Itachi said.
Only he could be mad enough to test her that way.
Fūka stood silent.
[Ding! Congratulations to host for killing Fūka once! You've gained the skill: Mysterious Empty Mouth!]
Itachi Uchiha: "..."
Mysterious Empty Hands, I understand, but what in the world is Mysterious Empty Mouth?
[Mysterious Empty Mouth, also known as Uchiha Maniacal Laughter, originates from Yu Yu Hakusho: Makyo Toitsusen, a game technique: Energy Steal. Hahaha, laugh loudly and steal others' energy for your own use!]
[Kim Kwang-soo (Korean comedian): Hahahahaha!]
Itachi Uchiha: "..."
This skill is toxic, truly! Do you think I'd use it? How embarrassing!
"Hahahaha!" Itachi Uchiha let out a loud laugh.
At that moment, Sora trembled—and the Nine-Tails chakra sealed within his body instantly vanished.
[Ding! Congratulations to host for acquiring Nine-Tails chakra! Given previous elimination of the Yin Kurama, reward: Nine-Tails Heavenly Fox Mode!]
[Nine-Tails Heavenly Fox, Sui Sui White Fox, Pang Pang Nine Tails, where love goes, power is born.]
[From ancient times, the love between humans and demons, a thousand-year entanglement tied by a single thread. O bitter suffering giant tree, do you hear? If I have also fallen in love with him, I swear with every memory of our acquaintance and all my demonic power, let us meet again in the next life!]ur memories and all my yokai power—
we shall meet again in another life!"
Itachi Uchiha: "?"
Why is it suddenly talking about "Fox Spirit Matchmaker" again?
Fuka: "?"
You blasted me with a Rasengan then burst into maniacal laughter. What do you mean by that? Is this person crazy?
Fuka's body trembled, and she instinctively curled up in fear. Does he have some special fetish? I heard some people in the ninja world are hair fetishists, doing unspeakable, forbidden things with hair in the dead of night.
"Itachi, what are you laughing at?" Everyone was bewildered.
"I thought of something amusing," Itachi Uchiha replied.
"By the way, she isn't an Uzumaki clan member. To be precise, she isn't human; she's a demon. Her red hair is stained with blood, so her blood-colored hair is her true body," Itachi Uchiha said to Tobirama Senju. "If the Second Hokage is interested, you can research her. She has a ninjutsu called: Execution by Kiss!"
"As long as she kisses an opponent, she slowly absorbs their chakra for her own use. Similarly, once the caster's chakra is drained by her, the afflicted individual also dies."
Uchiha Maniacal Laughter seems to be an improved version of that? Just without the embarrassing need to forcibly kiss someone.
"You... how did you know?" Fuka's expression turned to one of extreme shock. This person not only knew her identity and origin, but he even understood her techniques! It was terrifying!
"Want to know? I won't tell you," Itachi Uchiha said, then handed Sora to Tobirama Senju and left.
He needed to go back and look after the still-shaken Izumi, and also ask his physical clone what exactly happened at the Daimyo's mansion, how the entire plan went awry.
In his plan, the Twelve Guardian Ninja should have all died, and Asuma shouldn't have suffered so tragically.
But now, it seemed the plan had clearly deviated. Asuma had been tortured to the point of a mental breakdown, looking as if he had been violently interrogated for information. Even if he could be healed, his life would be ruined.