REVIEWS AND POWERSTONES PLSSS!!!!!Chapter 91: As Long as Konoha Doesn't Disband, This Isn't Over
These subtle details could only be understood by Orochimaru, a kindred spirit nearby. Orochimaru couldn't help but lick his lips again, his assessment of Yasushi rising considerably once more.
"Truly a dangerous fellow..."
After the recitation finished, Orochimaru stepped forward with a chuckle, sealing Tsunade's corpse into a scroll.
"Hehe... another premium experimental material!"
"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune and the others were immediately stunned, unable to help but scream in shock, like mourning relatives.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Uchiha Yashiro and his two companions struck again, killing two ANBU members.
"Alright, stop!"
Yasushi waved his hand with a smile, preventing the three clansmen from silencing witnesses. Successfully intercepting and killing Tsunade left Yasushi in an excellent mood.
He waved at Shizune as if shooing away a fly.
"Well then, Miss Shizune, you may return to Konoha and report."
"Tell those people in Konoha that I, Uchiha Yasushi, did this—and such incidents will continue to happen frequently."
"As long as Konoha doesn't disband, this isn't over!"
"I won't necessarily only kill powerful shinobi like Tsunade. Chunin, genin, whatever—I'll kill them all just the same!"
"As long as Konoha shinobi are executing missions outside the village and I happen to run into them, whether they can survive depends entirely on my mood!"
"Anyway, as long as I see Konoha having a hard time, I'm very happy."
"You..." Shizune trembled with rage, but she wasn't a fool. She knew she was absolutely no match for Uchiha Yasushi and didn't rush forward to her death.
She stared furiously at Yasushi for a while, deeply engraving his appearance in her heart. Then she shifted her gaze from Yasushi to Orochimaru beside him.
"Lord Orochimaru, you're also one of the Legendary Sannin. Please, for the sake of your past friendship with Lady Tsunade, return Lady Tsunade's body to me so I can bring her back to the village for burial."
Orochimaru hesitated briefly but ultimately shook his head.
"Shizune, I understand your feelings."
"But Tsunade is the last member of the Senju clan remaining in this world. Her body is invaluable—a rare treasure indeed. I truly cannot part with it."
"What?" Shizune couldn't comprehend what she was hearing. "You mean to say, Lord Orochimaru, that you actually intend to use your former comrade as an experimental subject for research?"
"Shizune, you're clearly not a researcher. You completely fail to understand that in a researcher's eyes, everything is experimental material."
"When people are alive—talking, laughing, flesh and blood—naturally they can be comrades. But once dead, they're merely a pile of rotting meat."
"Whether you respect or despise the deceased, the dead themselves cannot feel it. Those who feel these things are the living people around the deceased."
"Whether noble daimyo or village Kage, once dead, that's the end—nothing remains!"
"Therefore, only being alive has value!"
"Only the art of immortality is humanity's eternal pursuit!"
"What?" Shizune looked as though her entire worldview had been reshaped. She was completely shaken.
Orochimaru was too lazy to continue wasting words with such deadwood and simply turned to leave.
"Alright, Yasushi, you've achieved your objective. Let's hurry and continue our journey to complete the mission in the Land of Water!"
"My experiments have reached a critical juncture—I can't waste too much time outside!"
"Ah, you're right. I don't want to waste time outside either!" Yasushi waved cheerfully at Shizune. "Well then, Miss Shizune, let's part ways here!"
"Until we meet again by fate."
"Though I suppose you probably won't want to see me again."
"Make sure to convey my message to the people of Konoha!"
"Tell Konoha's leadership that we Uchiha could establish Konoha, so naturally we can also destroy it!"
"Konoha without the Uchiha has absolutely no reason to exist—they might as well just disband!"
"The various clans can divide up the assets and transfer to other shinobi villages. As long as they leave Konoha, naturally they won't be on my revenge list anymore."
"Damn it!" Shizune watched their departing figures, fists clenched so tightly that her nails dug deep into her palms. Blood flowed freely, yet she felt nothing—her heart filled only with pain and hatred.
---
Konoha, the new Hokage building, temporary Hokage office.
Not far outside the window loomed the massive meteor towering into the clouds.
With the shinobi world's construction capabilities, even such a massive meteor should have been cleared away long ago. But the other Four Nations' harassment had tied up most shinobi, leaving no time or energy for rebuilding Konoha.
This Hokage building had been specially constructed and put into use specifically to build the villagers' confidence.
Beneath the meteor, among numerous hastily constructed buildings, medical ninja moved in and out, busily treating the wounded.
Some were lucky survivors from the previous Battle of Konoha. Others were newly wounded from recent frontline battles.
Jiraiya, having just returned, stood before the window with a grave expression, gazing at the devastated village while listening to the Third Hokage recount previous events.
"Nagato?" Suddenly hearing a familiar name, Jiraiya couldn't help but cry out in shock, his entire complexion changing.
"How is that possible?"
"How could they..."
"Hmm?" The Third stared strangely at Jiraiya, his gaze full of scrutiny. "Jiraiya, you know this Rain Country leader named Nagato?"
Jiraiya hesitated briefly, then recounted his history with Nagato and the others. Finally, he sighed:
"The Akatsuki organization back then was a very pure group. Everyone wholeheartedly wanted to work toward shinobi world peace."
"Nagato, Yahiko, Konan—they were all very kind children. How could they now..."
"Foolish!" The Third trembled with fury, his pipe waving back and forth before Jiraiya. "Something as important as the Rinnegan—how could you secretly conceal it?"
"If you'd brought them back to the village then, under the influence of the Will of Fire, how could they have ultimately gone astray?"
"How could the village have suffered such calamity?"
"Hmph!" Facing the Third's accusations, Jiraiya showed not the slightest submission. He directly and bluntly retorted:
"Their entire families were killed by Konoha shinobi. Bring them back—how would you handle those shinobi who wantonly killed innocents?"
"You couldn't possibly execute those shinobi for the sake of a few innocent children, could you?"
"Or were you planning to throw them into Root and have Danzo brainwash them into killing tools?"
"Sakumo died. Minato died. Now even the entire Uchiha clan—such a major clan—has been exterminated. And you still want me to bring children into the village?"
With Jiraiya's words, the Third's face darkened. He couldn't utter a single word.
If he'd known early on how powerful Nagato and the others would become, the Third might actually have enforced justice impartially.
But for just a few children—even children possessing the Rinnegan bloodline limit—they weren't worth special treatment.
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