Infinite Anime [274-275] (Patreon)

Chapter 274: Gusion's Mangekyō Sharingan

"Let's adjourn. Zetsu, you come to the Land of Rain as well—I have questions for you."

Nagato's thoughts were a jumble. The Konoha incident would trigger a major chain reaction. He had too much to consider and handle.

The masked man was top priority, but since the battle in Konoha he hadn't shown his face. Maybe guilty conscience, maybe something else—he'd vanished like smoke.

And Akatsuki members had assaulted Konoha, tore through the village, even abducted a jinchūriki; this would certainly become an international flashpoint, and Akatsuki's international standing would become very passive.

He needed to end the meeting and discuss the road ahead in detail with Konan.

…

Hovering above the training grounds, Gusion watched several kids sparring. The scene felt strangely fascinating.

Hōzuki Suigetsu and Uzumaki Karin, according to the timeline, shouldn't be with Orochimaru yet.

But due to the previous explorers' impact on the world, the Hōzuki clan rebelled earlier with Zabuza, and were wiped out earlier too. Suigetsu, a genius, went into exile before he could build prodigy reputation.

As for Karin, after the Uzumaki were destroyed she wandered; this time she wasn't picked up by the Grass Country but by explorers, who sold her to Orochimaru. She ended up living in Otogakure.

Since they'd already trained under Orochimaru for a while, they had solid basics and would stomp Naruto and Sasuke in the daily matches.

For a while, Sasuke and Naruto were almost beaten to the brink. Fortunately both were stubborn and unyielding; they secretly trained together every day and were now catching up rapidly.

"Gusion-kun, when do you plan to head to the Land of Rain?"

Orochimaru came to Gusion's side and asked.

"I've got a few things to wrap up here. Once they're done, I'll go."

A month had passed since the Konoha battle. Sasuke and Naruto had adapted to life in the Land of Fields.

Sasuke aside, Naruto had been suffering yet happy lately.

Training under Orochimaru was tough, but he'd met peers who didn't discriminate against him. The daily feeling of competing and pushing each other was wonderful.

His favorite time was after training, eating and chatting with everyone in the cafeteria—scenes he never dared dream of before.

Gusion had also stayed in the Land of Fields training, waiting for the Konoha incident to ferment and for the Uchiha follow-up.

Afterwards Itachi sent word: because the Hokage line's talents had withered, only Kakashi remained more or less intact; they had basically collapsed.

Politically, their greatest rival was gone. In Konoha's crisis state, strength was the only hard currency, so the new Hokage election began under the banner of fairness and impartiality.

Unsurprisingly, due to Uchiha intermarrying with various noble houses and Fugaku's display of strength and magnanimity during the Konoha battle, he was elected Fifth Hokage with an 80% margin.

On Gusion's advice, the Uchiha didn't get cocky upon taking power. They tried to integrate with the populace and continued the policy of spreading their bloodline's branches.

And per the theory Gusion had first explained to Itachi, they broadened their horizons and tried to establish an international position—also to delay other great nations' covetous eyes toward Konoha.

The concrete operation: open the pattern and intermarry worldwide.

At first Fugaku and Itachi didn't understand how that works. After Gusion explained, they were stunned and accepted the ingenious plan.

With Uchiha bloodline outflowing, clans or villages who got Uchiha blooline would want to cultivate that blood and try to grasp the power of this kekkei genkai.

Especially after the battle in Konoha, the father-and-son's Susanoo was a world-class advertisement. Great nations and noble houses were drooling over Uchiha.

But is the Sharingan so easy to awaken?

No. Without guidance from the Uchiha main family, trying to awaken it yourself is near impossible.

Want to awaken the Sharingan? Check our packages: one tomoe is one price; training to two tomoe, three tomoe—different prices.

Want Mangekyō?

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After hearing Gusion's theory, Itachi was awestruck—Gusion-senpai was terrifying.

At present, with many moves in concert, the Uchiha situation was excellent. Not only had the clan head truly become Hokage, they'd also consolidated Konoha's international status and, amid tense global circumstances, avoided a rapid descent into war.

He believed that with patient management for five or six years, when the new generation of shinobi matured, Konoha's vitality would be restored.

And Konoha wasn't that easy to bully now. The calamity who had pierced both Kirigakure and Konoha had been stymied by the father-and-son Uchiha. If anyone thought Konoha was a soft persimmon now, they'd pay a price.

Compared to post-invasion Konoha's weakness, the primary public enemy in the shinobi world was Akatsuki, where Gusion belonged.

After a month of fallout, the Konoha destruction plan had alarmed the entire shinobi world, cementing Akatsuki's label as an international terrorist organization.

Even Iwagakure, which used to place orders with Akatsuki often, had recently cut contact, trending toward hostility.

In this climate, the Kazekage, once assassinated by Orochimaru, was the first to lose patience and called for a Five Kage Summit.

The agenda: discuss how to eliminate the Akatsuki menace and how to kill the dangerous international terrorist, Calamity.

Two days ago Gusion received letters from Uchiha Fugaku and Zabuza, asking if he wanted to attend. After some thought he replied: attend without hesitation.

The summit was the trend of the times. He'd just wrecked two great villages—of course the remaining three weren't idiots; their sense of crisis would be maxed out and they'd agree to attend.

If the Kage of Kiri and Konoha—the worst-hit—didn't show, wouldn't that scream "something's fishy"? So they had to go.

Besides, by attending, they could get first-hand intel—a good thing.

As the ninja world surged, the Uchiha fully rose, able to declare themselves Konoha's and even the shinobi world's number one clan.

Accordingly, Gusion received a hidden quest prompt.

[Hidden Quest: Uchiha's Redemption reward accumulation has reached the cap. Claim?]

Gusion chose to claim, and a small vial appeared in his storage space, filled with dark yellow liquid in which two Mangekyō Sharingan were soaking.

He picked it up to inspect it. It was classified as a bloodline item.

The description said he could directly remove his current eyes and insert the vial's eyes, and they'd work immediately.

Truly plug-and-play—very convenient.

However, the End Space also noted: this usage only grants Mangekyō vision, not awakening of exclusive ocular powers, because outside the space the system couldn't assist with physique alteration to adapt to the Sharingan bloodline.

The Sharingan is the eye that reflects the heart; used inside the End space with the explorer's physique, one could directly awaken exclusive techniques. But crude transplantation in-world wouldn't do that—you'd only awaken after returning to the space.

Essentially, crude transplantation is like swapping in someone else's eyes, like Kakashi. Using it as a bloodline item in the space makes it your naturally adapted eyes.

Gusion didn't intend to swap them in now. Ordinary Mangekyō was a bit chicken-rib to him. He needed to complete a link-quest and upgrade them to Eternal Mangekyō level before using them in the End Space with peace of mind.

So after returning to base with Orochimaru, Gusion took out the two Mangekyō. "Orochimaru, please study fusing these eyes with Hashirama cells, and ideally adapt them to my physique."

Orochimaru scrutinized the Mangekyō. Though they looked like three-tomoe in their default state, he could feel the hidden ocular power and was surprised. "Gusion-kun… where did you get these?"

"The source isn't important. Don't worry, you'll have a pair too. The masked man's Mangekyō with space-time powers have superb survivability, offense and defense in one. I think you'll like them."

Gusion painted the pie. He planned to give Orochimaru Obito's eyes after killing him, enabling comparative experiments and references.

A smile spread on Orochimaru's face. "You really do trust me, Gusion-kun. Aren't you afraid I'll just keep these and not return them?"

"I believe you're capable of that—but I can give you more benefits, so you don't need to. Frankly, the masked man's eyes are better. His seem to have eternal ocular power, unlike these two which will decline."

Gusion spoke plainly. Orochimaru's morals weren't high, but his greed was reliable.

Orochimaru let out a hoarse laugh. "It's a pleasure working with you, Gusion-kun. Rest assured, with the funding you provided last time, I've got a handle on fusing Hashirama cells with the human body. Progress will be swift."

He licked his lips. "I hope to see my own pair with eternal ocular power soon."

"Don't worry. Have I ever failed in what I promised you?"

Gusion smiled. He wasn't sure he could find Obito alone, but together with Nagato he believed they could ferret out that rat.

After nudging Orochimaru's hidden quest forward, Gusion stepped out of the pressure-laden secret base. Back at the training grounds, he saw Itachi visiting Sasuke. Sasuke was excitedly showing his month's progress.

Itachi was pleased, ruffling Sasuke's hair, bringing a happy smile to Sasuke's face.

Not far away, Naruto saw and felt both happy for Sasuke and inexplicably lonely.

He'd made friends in the new village and was much happier than in Konoha, but at night he still thought: if only his parents were here.

He didn't ask for his parents to be great heroes; he just wanted a hug and to see their faces.

"Naruto, what are you thinking?"

Gusion walked to Naruto's side and saw his slump.

"Nothing, Brother Gusion. I'm thinking about the new jutsu."

Naruto grinned silly yet bright, always good at masking sorrow with a smile.

Seeing this, Gusion could guess his thoughts. Orochimaru had been busy researching, mostly a hands-off teacher—he set an education policy and let kids compete, only occasionally offering pointers.

In that situation, under the Nine Tails' influence, Naruto had fallen behind Sasuke; among the seven kids he was the genuine tail-ender.

That wasn't the development Gusion wanted. He hoped by the next visit Naruto could stand alone. Even if Naruto couldn't help him, the world exploration rate would surely be higher.

Given that, and Naruto's thoughts, Gusion felt he should help Naruto develop his jinchūriki power. All told, Naruto needed additional "tutors."

Yes—Naruto needed a jutsu, needed jinchūriki control techniques, and ideally some sealing arts.

With that in mind, Gusion decided to visit the Uzumaki ruins. He believed two particular dead people wouldn't mind teaching Naruto.

That's right—he would find the Shinigami mask and release the souls in the Death God's belly.

Chapter 275: The Fourth Hokage Couple

"Gusion-kun, you never stop surprising me."

Orochimaru smiled at the Shinigami mask in Gusion's hand.

"You know how to release the souls, right?"

Gusion had gone to the Uzumaki ruins, had a small mishap, and secured the mask.

A group of explorers from Heaven's Will Space had planned to trade the mask with Orochimaru, but upon seeing him they dropped the mask and fled. Seeing their timidity, Gusion didn't bother to chase.

"Of course."

Orochimaru licked his lips. "Without those two powerhouses, my Edo Tensei really isn't very useful."

In the Konoha battle, the Fourth Mizukage and Kisame were captured by Sealing Squad. The First and Second Hokage were sealed by Hiruzen with Reaper Death Seal. Without good targets, Edo Tensei was temporarily useless.

Holding the mask, he didn't immediately perform the technique, but looked at Gusion. "So, Gusion-kun, what do you want me to do?"

Having worked with Gusion long enough, he was direct now; any deal would be put on the table.

"Nothing much. I just think your teaching progress has been slow. I'd like two tutoring assistants to help Naruto."

Gusion explained. Dark Naruto might be interesting, but it would hinder his plan. Besides, with Asura's chakra, Naruto was innately sunny and hard to truly darken.

So the priority was to make Naruto stronger. He didn't want to come back next time and find his layout invalid, Naruto already turned into part of the Demonic Statue.

Due to explorers' influence, Nagato had started collecting tailed beasts earlier. Even if Yagura had delayed things, it would only push the timeline back four or five years—nowhere near Shippuden.

So if Naruto and Sasuke didn't start cramming early, they'd be discarded by the times. As a chain reaction, without the era's two protagonists resisting the torrent, Madara might revive early and Kaguya might descend sooner.

Then next time he returned to the Naruto world, he'd have to fight the final boss directly, losing all the mid-game gains.

"Gusion-kun, I wanted to ask before—you seem to look after Naruto. As the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, wouldn't it be easier for our plans if he stayed weak?"

Orochimaru's hoarse voice: "And you even want me to teach him ninjutsu. I'm puzzled."

Gusion met his gaze. "No need to ask knowingly. We've never been on the same path as Akatsuki. I don't plan to hand the Nine-Tails jinchūriki to Pain."

Orochimaru chuckled darkly. "Ambitious, aren't you. I won't ask what you're really after. Surely it's not pity for that blond brat."

Gusion fell silent—neither confirming nor denying. Though there were other purposes to his arrangements, the root was that afternoon chat with Naruto—he did pity the kid a bit.

He believed Naruto deserved a better childhood than growing up under Konoha's cold violence.

Seeing Gusion not answer, Orochimaru tactfully dropped it. "So you want me to use Edo Tensei to summon the Fourth Hokage? Gusion-kun, don't outsmart yourself."

Gusion understood. "Just place restrictions so they can't take Naruto away. As for whether Naruto will want to return to Konoha—do you really care?"

Orochimaru smiled. Indeed, he didn't care. He just found Gusion's play interesting.

After completing the Konoha Destruction Plan and personally killing the Third, the resentment in his heart had vented. He neither loved nor hated Konoha now—just a faint homesickness.

Naruto was nominally his disciple. However Naruto chose after becoming strong, he couldn't escape that label. Orochimaru would be glad to see him reach higher heights.

"Alright, let's begin."

He ended the topic, donned the mask, formed seals to summon the Shinigami, then drew a blade and slit open his own belly.

The process went smoothly. Orochimaru successfully tricked the Death God and released the souls in its belly.

Honestly, aside from a weirdo like Orochimaru, few in the ninja world could do this and keep their life.

Orochimaru showed no weakness. He cheerfully put away the mask and called Kabuto to fetch tissues from the Fourth couple's bodies.

He had already tried summoning the Fourth before and had procured their tissues, but his Edo Tensei failed inexplicably. He only understood after seeing the Reaper Death Seal.

After some time, preparations were complete. He selected two Oto-nin zealots as vessels and began Edo Tensei.

Gusion watched at Orochimaru's side as the forbidden technique that could turn the Naruto world upside down unfolded. He found Edo Tensei surprisingly not complex. If you knew the seals and principle and had the deceased's tissue, anyone could use it.

When the jutsu finished, two figures rose from the ground, opened their eyes, and looked around in confusion.

The Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, spotted Gusion with surprise and puzzlement. "Gusion-kun, you're back in Konoha?"

Then he realized something off. "No—weren't I already dead…"

From Minato's expression, Gusion could tell he knew the inside story of Calamity being driven out of the village. But back then Minato hadn't become Hokage yet and had no authority to help.

"Where is this? Orochimaru—is this your lab?"

Uzumaki Kushina shot Orochimaru a look. She'd never liked one of Konoha's Sannin much, having heard plenty of shady rumors about his research.

Like Minato, she hadn't expected this not to be Konoha—mainly because Orochimaru had still been in Konoha before they died.

"Edo Tensei… Lord Orochimaru… so you really were studying this."

Minato was polite—after all, Orochimaru was his teacher Jiraiya's peer.

But his face held worry. "If you're using this to summon me… is Konoha in danger?"

His sense of responsibility as Hokage and trust in the war-hero Sannin made him instinctively not assume the worst. He thought Konoha was in danger and Orochimaru summoned him to help.

"Hehe, Minato, you're still so naive. We just destroyed Konoha."

Orochimaru chuckled darkly. He didn't hate Minato—just the Third's choices. But since Minato had "taken" his Hokage seat, he felt some bitterness.

"What!?"

Minato was shocked. His eyes moved between Orochimaru and Gusion. He'd heard "we." Did Calamity attack Konoha too?

His mind stalled. In his memory, Gusion was a good Konoha shinobi who didn't kill pursuers even after being forced to defect; Orochimaru was a research shut-in with high standing in Konoha before their deaths.

What was going on? He'd "been dead a bit," and woke to Konoha gone?

"More accurately, we just made a huge ruckus."

Gusion wasn't thrilled with Orochimaru's phrasing. "Relax, Konoha still stands—just with a new structure."

"Hey! Gusion! It's one thing to defect, but you dared attack Konoha—where's my precious son!?"

Beside him, Kushina exploded like a firecracker, leaping at Gusion with a punch.

Gusion calmly sidestepped, letting her whiff and charge at the wall. Orochimaru quickly formed a seal to immobilize her.

"Still so hotheaded."

Gusion put on the tone of an old acquaintance. "Your son is fine. I summoned you to see him—and to tutor Naruto while Orochimaru plays absentee teacher."

Minato opened his mouth. His sharp mind raced but couldn't parse it. If Gusion and Orochimaru were enemies, Gusion wouldn't sound like someone who bore Konoha a grudge—and he hadn't harmed Naruto, even proposing they teach him.

If they weren't enemies, they had indeed attacked Konoha. Minato was baffled.

"Basic restrictions will do. I'll take them to see Naruto."

Gusion looked at Orochimaru, then beckoned to the couple. "It's a long story—let's walk and talk."

…

"Even so… you still shouldn't have attacked the village… Is Jiraiya-sensei alright?"

After hearing the cause and effect, Minato honestly couldn't berate Gusion—Konoha had been unjust first, and Gusion didn't intend to annihilate Konoha.

Analyzing the situation, the Hokage line and the Uchiha were at a fight-to-the-death point. Gusion stood with the third party, the Uchiha, which outwardly made him Konoha's public enemy.

But fundamentally, Minato sensed Gusion didn't want to destroy Konoha. In fact, the uproar solved Konoha's internal conflict; henceforth they'd likely be united.

That said, Minato felt Gusion had gone too far—piercing Konoha and nearly wiping the Hokage line.

Emotionally, Minato stood with the Hokage line, but he knew the village had treated Uchiha poorly for years. As a dead man, he wouldn't judge too harshly.

After hearing that the village still stood and was rebuilding, he subconsciously sighed in relief.

As a dead man restrained by others, he couldn't do much. He just wanted to see how his son was.

"Hey, are we there yet? Don't you trick me by picking some random blond kid and calling him my son."

Kushina was frantic, eager to see Naruto.

"If you don't recognize him, that's not on me."

Gusion smiled. "But I think you'll know at a glance."

He led them to a high point overlooking the training grounds and pointed down. "Which one is your son?"

Minato, too, forgot their debate about Konoha's future and was drawn to the blond kid sparring below.

Naruto was sparring with Sasuke. Due to the Nine-Tails' influence, he'd fallen behind recently. In taijutsu he wasn't a match, yet he resisted with all he had, searching for a chance to counter.

Just as Naruto studied Sasuke's opening, a shout rang from above: "Naruto—!"

Startled, Naruto slipped up on defense and was kicked flying by Sasuke.

Annoyed, he looked toward the source, wondering who had messed him up.

Then he saw the two figures leaping down from the high ground, and froze.

In the setting sun, the woman's red hair streamed as she leapt, face full of maternal love, eyes glistening with tears, running toward him without a trace of hesitation, gaze full of a love he'd never seen.

A step behind, the blond man wore a white cloak edged with flame patterns. He leapt more steadily, posture graceful and airy, but in his eyes the same joy and tenderness shone.