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Three days later, when Tsunade returned to Shikkotsu Forest, her state of mind was completely different.
She was no longer the Hokage bogged down by worldly duties. She was a shinobi striving to become a Celestial Shinobi.
"Great Slug Sage, please accept my respects!"
Tsunade knelt respectfully before the venerable Katsuyu.
Katsuyu was gentle and amiable, usually addressing her contractors as 'Lady' or 'Lord,' but today was different. Tsunade was here to receive direct teaching from the Great Sage. The master-disciple hierarchy had to be established.
Katsuyu nodded. "I accept your bow, and I shall impart to you the Silent Sage Arts."
Tsunade froze.
Silent Sage Arts… She was no stranger to the term. Twenty years ago, she had attempted Sage training. And failed.
As the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki, Tsunade's potential was more than sufficient. The problem was her innate, fiery temperament. It was fundamentally incompatible with the serene state of mind required for the Silent Sage Arts.
Old habits die hard.
Back then, Katsuyu had tactfully informed her that Sage Arts were likely beyond her reach in this lifetime. So, Tsunade gave up on Sage Mode and focused all her efforts on mastering the Hundred Healings Jutsu.
"You… you said I could never master the Silent Sage Arts."
"Under normal circumstances, you cannot," Katsuyu agreed. "But… there is a method now. Though it may involve some… hardship."
Hardship?
Tsunade laughed, a bold, brash sound. "Lady Katsuyu, who do you take me for? To grow stronger, I will endure any hardship!"
Katsuyu inclined her massive head. "With that resolve, I am reassured. Orochimaru, you may explain."
From behind the great seat, Orochimaru walked forward, a faint smile on his lips.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "You have a method for me to master the Silent Sage Arts?"
"Indeed~!"
Hiss… hiss hiss… From Orochimaru's sleeve, a small white snake emerged. Its eye was a glaring Mangekyō Sharingan.
"What is…?"
"The eye of Uchiha Kagami. It holds the dōjutsu, Amateru-no-Mikoto."
"Kagami… Lord Second's disciple. An Uchiha elder. You even got his eyes? What kind of ability is this Amateru-no-Mikoto?"
Orochimaru explained, "This ocular power is a source of light. It can even counteract the blindness that comes with the Mangekyō. Kagami's eyes are, in the truest sense, a Mangekyō that does not go blind."
Tsunade murmured, "I see… But that doesn't seem related to mastering the Silent Sage Arts."
Orochimaru's smile widened. "Does it seem that way? That is only because you know nothing of the Uchiha's forbidden techniques…"
"Forbidden techniques?" Tsunade's voice hitched. "You mean… Izanagi? I've heard Lord Hiruzen mention it. The forbidden art Danzō has been coveting."
"Izanagi is indeed an Uchiha kinjutsu. It grants the user a form of near-immortality, the art said to change fate," Orochimaru conceded. "But, unknown to most, the Uchiha possess another great forbidden art. The only technique that can counter Izanagi. The art said to decide fate—Izanami."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Iza… nami?"
"Yes." Orochimaru's voice dropped, taking on a ritualistic tone. "Like Izanagi, it costs the light of an eye. It weaves a 'Cycle of Illusion.' Unless the target fulfills the caster's predetermined condition, they are trapped in that loop… forever."
Understanding dawned on Tsunade's face. "You intend… to use Izanami to forcibly adjust my inner state until it meets the conditions for Sage training?"
Her fist clenched. Her voice grew low. "I have just one question. After this… will I still be me?"
Orochimaru's smile turned approving. "An excellent question. I can tell you responsibly: anything that can be forcibly shaped by this technique already exists within you. If you do not possess it, you cannot be shaped."
"So, Izanami has two outcomes. First: the aspect of your heart that matches the caster's expectation is successfully manifested through countless cycles. Second: you lack that aspect entirely. The shaping fails. You exhaust your mind and spirit within the cycle… and die."
Tsunade's clenched fist slowly relaxed. Her gaze hardened with resolve. "Fine… I accept Izanami."
Swish…
"Very well." The small snake retreated into Orochimaru's sleeve.
"Isn't it a dōjutsu? Can't you just activate it through eye contact?"
"Izanami is not activated by a gaze. It is woven through… physical sensation. Tactile contact."
"Tactile… contact."
"Attack me, Tsunade."
"Are you serious, Orochimaru?"
"Absolutely~."
"THEN HAVE AT YOU!"
Tsunade shot into the air, her legendary, earth-shattering kick crashing down.
Orochimaru's lips curved. Two colossal white serpents erupted from his sides, crossing to intercept the devastating force.
—Great Snake Rebound!
DUANG!
The next instant, Tsunade was blasted skyward.
Hidden Shadow Snakes shot from Orochimaru's sleeve. Tsunade, mid-air, formed a scalpel of chakra and slashed.
"ONE!"
The snake-hands were severed, but Orochimaru's stretching neck had already coiled around Tsunade's waist.
Hiss hiss hiss…
His tongue flickered out, a foot long. "Tsunade… have you neglected your training since becoming Hokage? Your belly seems… softer."
"YOU BASTARD!"
Enraged, Tsunade grabbed Orochimaru by the neck. The moment she landed, she pivoted her hips with terrifying force, yanking his entire body off the ground. She spun him in a wild arc overhead before slamming him into the earth with all her might.
BOOOOOOM!
Orochimaru's legs splayed. His neck, still wrapped around Tsunade's waist, went limp as a rope.
A second later, his body deflated.
"TWO!"
Simultaneously, a pale hand shot from the ground and seized Tsunade's ankle.
—Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!
CRUNCH!
The dust settled. Only Tsunade's head remained above ground.
Orochimaru erupted from the earth nearby, his legs morphing into serpent tails as he slithered away with eerie grace.
"STOP LOOKING DOWN ON ME!"
Tsunade brute-forced her way out of the rock. The Yin Seal on her forehead unleashed its stored chakra. She launched herself skyward again, a fist like a meteor aimed at the ground.
BOOM!
The earth beneath her fist shattered. Cracks spiderwebbed out, racing under Orochimaru's path.
Tsunade produced a ninja wire chain, whirling it overhead. Whoosh! It flew out, snaring Orochimaru. She yanked him back towards her, her other fist already pulled back for a devastating, face-shattering punch.
"LET'S SEE YOU DODGE THIS!"
Yet, as her fist closed in, Orochimaru's face began to change.
—Face-Stealing Technique!
The moment Tsunade saw that face, an electric shock ran through her. Her fist instinctively pulled back.
Because that face belonged to her former lover—Dan Katō.
Orochimaru, now wearing Dan's face, slipped the chain and used the momentum to pull Tsunade into a gentle embrace. He whispered softly, "Three."
Tsunade snapped back to reality, shoving him away and tearing the false face off with a snarl.
But the face beneath… was her own little brother—Nawaki.
BOOM. A different kind of explosion went off in Tsunade's mind.
Eyes wide with fury, she lifted the man wearing her brother's face by the throat with one hand. "YOU'VE CROSSED A LINE!"
The face of Nawaki smiled. "Old wounds awakened… Good. Preparations are complete."
Hssss… His body turned into shed snakeskin.
A familiar scene.
CRACK!
Even in her rage, Tsunade wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. The moment the ground churned for the Headhunter Jutsu, she was already airborne.
—Reverse Headhunter!
BOOM!
Orochimaru's head burst from the earth instead, his neck stretching impossibly to coil around Tsunade's waist once more.
"FOUR!"
He flicked his foot-long tongue. "Tsunade… have you neglected your training since becoming Hokage? Your belly seems… softer."
…
Tsunade stood perfectly still. Her eyes were vacant, unseeing.
Orochimaru stood before her, looking down at the small snake in his sleeve. Its Mangekyō eye had turned a dull, pure white.
"And so… Izanami takes hold."
From his other sleeve, another small snake emerged. Its right eye—still shining with the light of Amateru-no-Mikoto—gazed at the blinded left. A faint glow transferred. The left eye's light was rekindled.
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