"Enter the Dream."
As Izumi Uchiha whispered those words, Orochimaru's vision darkened. He plunged into an endless nightmare where he repeatedly witnessed his body rotting and aging—dying slowly in infinite despair, his dream of immortality shattering over and over again.
Thump.
Orochimaru collapsed onto the ground, his face pale and his spirit nearly broken. It was as if he had aged twenty years overnight.
"Lord Orochimaru!"
Kimimaro was horrified. Ignoring his own injuries, he charged at Izumi Uchiha once more.
He didn't know what Izumi had done to Orochimaru, but stopping her dojutsu might just be enough to save their leader.
For this, Kimimaro was ready to stake his very life.
While charging forward, he reached behind his back and forcefully extracted his own spine, transforming it into a vine-like structure.
Whoosh!
A bony tendril shot from his right palm like lightning. It coiled tightly around Izumi's body like a giant serpent, pinning her completely.
Then, his other arm morphed into a spiraling, razor-sharp bone spear. With a single powerful leap, he charged straight for Izumi.
[Dance of the Iron Chain Flowers].
This ultimate technique of the Dead Bone Pulse was divided into two stages—the line and the flower. First, he pulled out his spine to bind the enemy, immobilizing them, then used his hardest bones as weapons for attack.
"What a tenacious fellow."
Izumi murmured softly. Seeing how Kimimaro kept spitting blood yet still charged forward with unwavering determination, she couldn't help but feel moved by his bravery.
But that didn't mean she would soften or show mercy.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
Suddenly, tangible chakra erupted from Izumi's body, quickly shaping itself into the skeletal outline of a towering figure around her—a clear sign of Susanoo beginning to form.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The bone vines wrapped around her twanged apart under the pressure of her chakra, tearing free and losing all grip.
Next, Izumi generated a several-meter-high shield from her chakra, which crashed heavily against Kimimaro's Ultimate Spear.
"What is this?!"
Kimimaro felt horror rising within him. He could clearly see a massive red skeleton emerging around Izumi now—one wielding a shield that blocked his attack.
[It was the initial stage of Susanoo.]
Quickly realizing this, Kimimaro saw how his bone spear became stuck upon contact with the chakra shield, as if sinking into quicksand, unable to move forward even half an inch.
Swish!
At that moment, the skeletal giant raised its other massive hand and slapped toward Kimimaro. Blood flew from his mouth as he soared backward through the air once more.
After defeating Kimimaro, Izumi didn't stop. She aimed to capitalize on her momentum and eliminate this monster, Orochimaru, right here and now.
So—
Whoosh!
Controlled by her chakra, the Murakumo Sword slashed across the sky directly at Orochimaru's heart.
At this moment, he remained trapped inside Izumi's Genjutsu, utterly powerless to resist. It seemed certain—he would be pierced through the heart, dying on the spot.
Then something strange happened.
To Izumi's shock, an invisible and unknown force blocked her flying swords technique, causing the Murakumo Sword to stop abruptly just ten centimeters away from Orochimaru's heart.
Even more surprisingly, under the influence of that mysterious force, the Murakumo Sword suddenly reversed direction and flew back toward its master Izumi at an even faster speed.
What's going on? Is this some kind of last-resort defense from Orochimaru?
Caught off guard, Izumi instinctively activated Susanoo's giant hand to catch the returning sword midair.
Unexpectedly, under the influence of that unknown force, the sword possessed incredible power. It shot clean through Susanoo's massive hand and kept flying toward Izumi's original body.
Finally realizing the severity of the situation, Izumi's expression completely changed. She no longer paid any attention to Orochimaru and quickly activated all the ocular power within her Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan to counter the incoming sword attack.
Not far away...
Orochimaru, who had barely escaped from Izumi's genjutsu, was soaked in sweat and swayed unsteadily as if he would collapse at any moment.
"Lord Orochimaru!"
Kabuto Yakushi and Kimimaro, both seriously injured themselves, rushed forward and supported him from either side just before he fell.
"We need to leave here first."
After casting a fearful glance at Izumi, Orochimaru gave orders to the two beside him.
The trio fled hastily, disappearing quickly into the vast desert.
Puchi!
Shortly after their departure, Izumi's Susanoo was completely pierced. The Murakumo Sword, unstoppable and relentless, shot directly toward her heart.
At that crucial moment,
A slender hand reached out from the side, blocking in front of Izumi's chest, five fingers tightly gripping the blade of the Murakumo Sword.
The tip of the Sword of Kusanagi—the sharpest blade in the world—could not leave the slightest mark on the skin of that hand, as if it had become a plastic toy sword at this moment.
"Teacher..."
Turning her head in pleasant surprise, Izumi indeed saw Heiyan's familiar face.
With a slight shake of his hand, Heiyan dispersed the force wrapped around the sword, then returned it to Izumi's grasp.
"Teacher, what exactly happened back there?" Izumi asked uneasily.
"In the river of time, what has already happened cannot be changed. Orochimaru will soon have a tremendous impact on the world of shinobi. If you killed him here, future history would change, leading to the collapse of the world's original order. Therefore, your attempt to forcefully eliminate him earlier triggered the backlash of the world's power."
Heiyan smiled slightly and patiently explained everything to Izumi.
"So that's how it is."
Upon hearing this, Izumi nodded in understanding.
She finally understood what Heiyan meant when he called himself a "tourist" drifting along the river of time.
A tourist merely observes history, never interfering with it.
Unless one is someone as insignificant as herself—someone whose life or death wouldn't affect the future of the shinobi world at all—that's exactly why Heiyan saved her without hesitation.
"Let's go. It's time for us to head to Konoha."
The Chunin Exams will begin soon, and I'm sure there will be quite a spectacle. When we arrive at Konoha, I also have a new task for you.
"Follow me," Heiyan instructed Izumi, then strode eastward first.
He had secretly watched the entire battle between Izumi and Orochimaru's trio. Satisfied with her performance, he now trusted her more and intended to assign her more tasks.
"Sensei, wait for me," Izumi hurriedly called out while running to catch up.
Only the damaged rocks and ground remained at the battlefield, along with the corpses of Kazekage Rasa and several Anbu ninja of Sunagakure.
As they walked,
"Sensei, you're not planning to send me to participate in the Chunin Exams for intelligence gathering purposes, are you?" Izumi curiously speculated while walking alongside Heiyan.
Heiyan sensed Izumi's thoughts.
It was the Year 61 in Konoha. Izumi should have been eighteen by now. However, since she had time-traveled directly from Year 56, her physical appearance remained thirteen — about the same age as the Konoha Twelve.
If Izumi pretended to be a Genin from a minor Hidden Village, infiltrating the Chunin Exams would pose no problem.
But Heiyan didn't have that plan.
"Your abilities already surpass those of your peers by far. Sending you there would only guarantee a foregone conclusion — it wouldn't challenge you or help you grow. However..." Heiyan explained to Izumi before shifting his tone, "I saw in the river of time that Itachi would return to Konoha five years from now."
"That person?"
"You mean... Itachi Uchiha, sensei?"
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