Bei Yuan Feng kept mentioning different eras. What did that even mean? How could one era and the next be so different?
Kakashi's confusion kept piling up, and none of it made sense.
But the thing he couldn't ignore at all… was the Konoha Crush Plan.
[I have to admit, early-story Orochimaru really had this terrifying final-boss pressure. Even someone as strong as Hatake Kakashi, an elite jonin, couldn't drag him into mutual destruction.
Personally, I think it's the author's inconsistency. Early Naruto was about ninja. Later on we got aliens. And those don't even count as human, much less ninja.
Still, early Orochimaru's pressure was something else. Tsk, tsk…]
Mutual destruction? Me?
Kakashi thought about it. As Konoha's Number One Technician, he should at least be able to force a draw with Orochimaru… probably.
But what did "aliens" mean?
Just then, an icon appeared on the diary page. It looked like a video. The thumbnail showed a masked Anbu agent with silver hair and a short blade strapped to his back.
Kakashi froze.
That was unmistakably him. His old Anbu gear, exactly as he used to dress.
He tapped the thumbnail on instinct.
The image began to move, and for a moment he simply watched. Films existed in this world, so the concept wasn't strange. But what appeared on the screen made his pupils contract.
Another figure entered the frame. Orochimaru.
He had only fought Orochimaru once, but that was enough to teach him just how high the sky really was.
He had been a prodigy, a child genius who'd become jonin before most people even graduated. Yet in front of Orochimaru, all that brilliance meant nothing. He'd been helpless.
On screen, a younger Kakashi charged with Raikiri, only for Orochimaru to dodge effortlessly and slice through Kakashi's mask as if it were paper.
And that had been Orochimaru while wounded. Even injured, his killing intent had crushed Kakashi to the point he couldn't move an inch.
Orochimaru walked past him slowly, casually, while Kakashi stood frozen in terror. By the time he managed to break free of the pressure, Orochimaru was long gone.
Kakashi watched the footage with a tightened jaw. That memory had been buried deep, but seeing it like this was unsettling. That incident should have been seen by no one but the two of them. How could anyone have filmed it?
His thoughts barely formed before the scene changed. A dark temple hall appeared. Kakashi knelt behind Sasuke, forming hand signs.
"Evil Sealing Method."
Sasuke screamed as the cursed seal was suppressed.
Kakashi exhaled slowly. "Next time the cursed seal activates, this seal should hold it back. But Sasuke, this sealing technique depends on your willpower. If you doubt yourself even a little, the cursed seal will flare up again."
Sasuke collapsed, unconscious. Kakashi sighed. "This isn't like you. Getting worn out to this extent…"
A soft, amused laugh echoed through the room.
Orochimaru approached, wearing a jonin uniform from another village.
"You've learned sealing techniques. You've grown quite a lot, Kakashi."
On screen, Kakashi's body tensed rigidly. Every hair stood on end.
"Long time no see… Kakashi," Orochimaru said.
Off screen, Kakashi immediately noticed the forehead protector. Otogakure.
A small village, newly established. It wasn't powerful. The world had many such minor villages, overshadowed by the five major ones.
But now it clicked. Otogakure was Orochimaru's village.
The timeline lined up perfectly. Orochimaru wouldn't serve under anyone. A Legendary Sannin wouldn't play subordinate in a small village.
The scene shifted again.
Kakashi stepped between Orochimaru and Sasuke, voice sharp. "Stay away from Sasuke!"
Lightning exploded in his hand as he activated Raikiri.
"You may be one of the Legendary Sannin, but with my strength now, I can at least take you down with me."
Orochimaru chuckled lightly, amused rather than threatened. "No matter how wicked the power, one with the desire for it will always seek it out. He has that potential. He is an avenger."
"You understand that much, but Sasuke…" Kakashi glared at him.
"One day he'll come to me on his own." Orochimaru turned away, smiling. "And you said you'd kill me? Go on then. If you can."
The very instant Orochimaru finished speaking, the Kakashi in the video trembled violently, breathing hard.
Mutual destruction… I really was being stupid.
The video ended.
Outside the frame, Kakashi was drenched in cold sweat.
"What kind of cursed footage is this…? Even through the screen I could feel his pressure."
It felt like he'd just survived a deadly battle.
That was the nature of power in the shinobi world. A jonin could paralyze genin with killing intent alone. The aura sharpened through countless kills wasn't something that grew in safety.
But even his strength had limits. He was still only jonin level, while Orochimaru was a man who stood shoulder to shoulder with the Kage.
A Legendary Sannin.
To Orochimaru, the title was a mark of shame, a reminder of defeat. But to the rest of the world, the Legendary Sannin were mythical warriors, the kind only a handful in history could match.