[Your transformation, initiated by the Cursed Seal, had reached its culmination. To your own surprise, mastering Sage Mode came with an unnerving ease.]
[You completed your training long before Kabuto emerged from his own meditations. Though your Sage Mode felt incomplete, the power coursing through you was more than sufficient to end his life.]
[But the White Snake Sage intervened, forbidding you from striking him down within the sacred confines of The Ryūchi Cave.]
[Frustrated but powerless to defy her, you resolved to bide your time. You would deal with Kabuto the moment he stepped outside.]
[When he finally emerged, you saw the form his Sage Mode had taken.]
[It was powerful, undeniably so, but it was also… different. Horns sprouted from his brow, serpentine scales patterned his skin, and dark pigmentation framed his eyes. Yet, your instincts screamed that his mastery was flawed, an imperfect facsimile of true power.]
[When you confronted him, he merely offered that infuriating, placid smile. Unwilling to face you directly, he performed a series of hand seals, and four coffins erupted from the earth.]
Seeing the coffins, Yuta's brow furrowed in confusion.
'At this point in the timeline, Kabuto shouldn't have had the time or resources to acquire any high-profile specimens. The souls of the previous Hokage were also inaccessible. So, whose bodies had he stolen?'
[The coffin lids slid open with a grim finality, revealing the resurrected forms of the Third Raikage, the Second Tsuchikage Mū, and the Second Mizukage, Hōzuki Gengetsu.]
'He stole their bodies this early?' Yuta thought, a sense of disbelief washing over him. 'I have to fight these three? Is he serious?'
[As one of Orochimaru's most trusted, you were familiar with the Edo Tensei. But you hadn't anticipated that Kabuto had perfected it to such a degree. The three Kage before you would be able to wield at least eighty percent of their strength.]
[Their coordinated assault was a formidable barrier. Though your Sage Mode allowed you to hold your own against them, you were ultimately thwarted, forced to watch as a smug Kabuto slipped away into the shadows.]
[He vanished completely after that, eluding all your efforts to track him. You felt adrift, your purpose extinguished. What were you supposed to do now?]
[The outbreak of the Fourth Great Ninja War provided the answer. The sight of the massive Edo Tensei army made you realize this was your final chance to corner him.]
[Guided by the White Snake Sage, you finally located his hiding place.]
[You found Kabuto in a state of feverish excitement. He proudly proclaimed that he had completed his transformation, that he had "ascended into a dragon." To you, he seemed nothing more than a pathetic imitator, desperately trying to forge an identity through stolen power.]
[You knew he had to be stopped.]
[The battle that ensued in the dark cave was brutal. The "imperfect" Sage Mode he wielded proved far more troublesome than you had anticipated, its power eclipsing your own.]
[Just as the fight reached its peak, two unexpected figures arrived: Uchiha Sasuke, the very one who had slain your master, and his brother, the reanimated Uchiha Itachi.]
[Sasuke's attention was fixed on his brother, but a flicker of shock crossed his features when he saw you alive and fighting.]
[With their help, the tide of battle turned. Weary and cornered, Kabuto finally fell victim to Itachi's ultimate genjutsu: Izanami.]
[As the Edo Tensei was dispelled across the world, you moved in for the kill, only for Itachi to stay your hand.]
[He explained that to break free from Izanami, Kabuto had to truly confront and accept himself. If he could achieve that self-awareness and repent, then his death was unnecessary.]
[Once again, you were cast into confusion, your goal snatched away at the last moment. What was your purpose now?]
[It was Sasuke who provided a new direction. He proposed that you help him revive Orochimaru, who would then use the Edo Tensei to summon the previous Hokage.]
[You agreed without a second thought. You didn't care about Sasuke's motives or the Hokage; you cared only about the chance to see Lord Orochimaru breathe again.]
Watching the scenes unfold in his mind, Yuta's mouth twitched in a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
'So, in this simulation, I've been reduced to a support character?' he mused. 'I thought Matsu Takame would be the one to take down Kabuto, but in the end, it was Itachi's Izanami that did the trick… Did I just provide moral support?'
He was initially disappointed by Matsu's seemingly passive role, but upon reflection, it wasn't all bad. If he could continue in this supportive capacity, survive the Fourth Great Ninja War, and see the simulation through to its conclusion, the final rating and rewards could still be substantial.
Of course, that was contingent on not being vaporized by the Ten-Tails, as had happened in a previous run.
[With your assistance, Orochimaru was successfully revived. The moment he saw you, alive and transformed, a rare flicker of genuine surprise crossed his features. He offered you a calm, almost paternal word of congratulations.]
[In that moment, you realized that Orochimaru himself had changed.]
[Sasuke laid out his plan, and Orochimaru, instead of refusing, led your group to the ruins of Uzushiogakure. There, in the Shinigami Mask Hall, he retrieved a Shinigami mask and performed the ritual to reanimate the four previous Hokage.]
[Together, you all headed for the battlefield.]
[Seeing Orochimaru commit to Sasuke's cause, you pledged your own strength without hesitation, fighting to end the war.]
[On that chaotic battlefield, you witnessed the cataclysmic power of the Ten-Tails and, in turn, demonstrated your own hard-won growth and power to Orochimaru.]
[Kabuto eventually awoke from Izanami, a changed man, and joined the allied forces. You noted that his Sage Mode had undergone another subtle, yet significant, shift.]
[But there was no time for contemplation. You fought on, battling and healing alongside Orochimaru until the very end.]
[The Fourth Great Ninja War was won, and peace was restored to the shinobi world. In its aftermath, you and Orochimaru were officially pardoned and granted permission to return to Konoha.]
[Your choice was never in doubt. You followed Orochimaru home.]
[But your story was not yet over.]
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