With One Blade, Overturning Konoha!

Outside Iwagakure.

On a certain mountain peak.

More than two hundred ANBU operatives were resting, sharing the results of today’s battle.

The Nine-Tails’ Tailed Beast Ball had been overwhelmingly destructive.

Taking advantage of Iwagakure’s chaos, the black-clad shadows of the ANBU had claimed plenty of lives as well.

It was a commendable achievement.

But still not enough to etch their names onto the Wall of Honor, so the unit remained hungry for more killing.

No need to hurry. With the Minister leading them, their dream of reaching the wall would never be far away.

At the very top of the peak, Night Owl Squad had finished gathering.

Jiraiya looked strangely sentimental as he took out a small notebook and scribbled in it.

A bored Tsunade dragged Shizune along and had her perform a full head-to-toe check on Itachi.

Shizune did the examination; Tsunade diagnosed.

Even now, she still held a prejudice against the Uchiha.

But since Itachi Uchiha was that brat’s friend, helping out wasn’t an issue.

A bit farther down, Deidara stared at the fox in front of him with a conflicted, almost tormented expression.

Shisui, Kakashi, and Guy beside him were laughing uncontrollably.

“You’re seriously the old master behind that explosion?”

Deidara’s eyes were filled with disbelief.

Impossible.

The creator of that magnificent, flawless blast… was a fox?

How ridiculous.

This truth was too much for him to accept.

“Go show him one,” Hakken said calmly, tossing Kurama a bottle of baijiu and patting its head.

BOOM!

Deliberately showing off, Kurama—finally treated with a little respect—produced a small Tailed Beast Ball in front of Deidara and, as casually as sneezing, flung it at the mountain behind them.

The explosion hit, and everyone turned in shock.

The small mountain was blown in half.

A true veteran artist indeed.

This form of explosive art was pure essence.

Deidara immediately tensed with excitement. Imitating the Nine-Tails, he pulled explosive clay from his pouch and began chewing it with the mouths on his hands.

Opening his arms toward an empty stretch of ground, Deidara breathed in deeply.

“Art is an explosion!”

BOOM.

A modest blast followed—earning Kurama a look of pure disdain.

That’s it?

That level counts as an explosion?

“Uh… ahem, that was a mistake.”

A bit awkward.

“That wasn’t a mistake—you just skipped a step before using your art.”

Kurama narrowed his eyes as if lecturing an apprentice. With a powerful hop, he jumped onto Deidara’s back and whispered a few words into his ear.

“This… actually works?”

Deidara’s expression shifted.

“Try it if you don’t believe me.”

Kurama remained perfectly calm.

“Alright! For art, hm!”

Nodding heavily, Deidara plunged his hands into his clay pouch, chewed up a fresh batch, then took in a deep breath and shouted toward the sky,

“O mighty Nine-Tails, God of Explosions, grant me strength!”

“Ah!”

BOOM!

The explosive clay hit the ground, and the resulting shockwave left everyone stunned.

Holy crap.

It actually worked.

Deidara’s eyes shone as he immediately dropped to his knees before the Nine-Tails.

“Great Old Artist, please take me as your disciple!”

“No problem.”

Chuckling, Kurama patted Deidara on the head, pleased with himself.

Hakken, however, had seen clearly: when Kurama leaped onto the kid’s back, he’d let out a fart right into that clay pouch.

Any ninjutsu infused with the Nine-Tails’ chakra naturally became stronger.

A bigger explosion was only expected.

But the end result was obvious—Deidara had completely accepted Kurama as an object of worship.

A good thing.

In the original timeline, Deidara’s death was far too tragic. Despite his cold exterior, his heart was warm, and he had managed to form a real bond with someone like Tobi.

Even after being revived through Edo Tensei, he’d asked if Tobi was still alive.

A talented individual, no doubt.

If Iwagakure didn’t want him, taking him into Konoha was no issue at all.

“Hey, brat, come here a moment.”

Just as Hakken was considering how to handle Deidara, Tsunade strode over, grabbed him by the arm, and pulled him aside.

“Is Itachi’s condition really that serious?”

Hakken frowned. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novelFɪre.net

“It’s a very rare condition,” Tsunade sighed. “Even for me, this is the first time encountering it.”

“From his brain to his lungs and throughout the body, there’s always one meridian wound extremely tight. If he suffers too much emotional shock, that meridian fails.”

“It’s well hidden, but once it erupts, it’s basically a terminal illness.”

“And the stronger he gets, the more troublesome the treatment becomes, because using chakra only increases the pressure on that meridian.”

“So—”

Hakken raised a hand, cutting her off.

He already understood the cause.

A so-called terminal illness born from years of internal pressure, combined with thinking like a Hokage from a young age, and the final trigger being the trauma of the clan massacre.

He didn’t need the details.

“Just tell me—can it be cured?”

That was all he cared about.

Tsunade’s diagnosis was just a reference. If needed, the System Store could fix the issue entirely, but he wanted to get the right solution the first time.

“Can’t you let me finish?” Tsunade rolled her eyes. “It’s not really an illness. It’s that the belief he clings to must never collapse. In other words, as long as the person he puts his faith in doesn’t fall, the chance of triggering it is low.”

“It’s a psychological condition.”

“When the comrades he relies on fall one by one, the accumulated pressure builds deeper and deeper.”

“In simple terms—if you don’t die, he’ll be fine.”

What kind of explanation is that?

Hakken rolled his eyes right back.

Forget it. Once he had enough points, it wouldn’t matter. And if it was a meridian issue, Ashura’s chakra should fix it perfectly.

The kid was still young anyway.

And as for overthinking…

Hakken narrowed his eyes and beckoned Itachi over.

The boy sprinted toward him, curiosity flickering in his gaze. The sudden examination had clearly left him uneasy.

“You idiot. If you ever start overthinking again, I’ll beat you.”

What did I do?

Itachi looked utterly innocent.

...

Land of Rain.

The familiar rainfall continued.

Inside an underground cavern.

Black Zetsu stared in shock and fear at the figure slowly rising before him.

He really came back to life?!

But the current Obito… wasn’t exactly the real Obito anymore.

“Yaaah!”

“This great Tobi is a person again!”

“Shut up! Or I’ll kill you!”

The trembling figure abruptly stopped. Obito’s familiar voice came from behind the mask.

One body, multiple souls.

It wasn’t just physical fusion. To fill the unbearable void in his soul, the maddened Obito had even tried to absorb Tobi’s spirit.

Not just Tobi—he’d tried absorbing the souls of other abnormal White Zetsu too.

He… was no longer himself.

He was a lunatic.

“Has Kirigakure fallen?”

His Sharingan rotated slightly as Obito’s breath grew ragged.

“As expected. Without me controlling him, that illusion-stricken fool Yagura couldn’t resist at all.”

“Zetsu, go check what happened in Kirigakure!”

“No need.”

Black Zetsu exhaled in relief as Obito returned to a stable state. This man switched between multiple souls speaking to him several times a day.

At least he seemed to have suppressed the White Zetsu spirits for now.

“The one who took Kirigakure was Hakken Yoru.”

Hakken Yoru.

BOOM.

His very soul felt struck by lightning.

BOOM!

Obito smashed his head against the cave wall like a man possessed.

Pain didn’t matter—whatever his skull felt couldn’t compare to the agony shredding his heart and soul.

He raged and raged.

The entire cavern echoed with a single, agonized scream.

“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you, Hakken!”