Infinite Anime [288-289] (Patreon)

Chapter 288: The Five Nations Tremble

Hearing Lonely Noise's account and noting that their reference contract was still in effect, Gusion concluded he wasn't lying and that the intel had some reliability.

As for whether he could just happen to run into that socalled Soul Singer, that would be easy. With a world-locator item, he could enter the Shinigami world ahead of time; he didn't have to stay in the Space for a full thirty days.

He picked up the item Lonely Noise mentioned and took a glance. It was an epic-grade, full-score locator called the Rewinding Clock, which could enter any mission world he had visited before.

Under Lonely Noise's tense gaze, Gusion nodded. "Useful intel."

"Calamity, we…"

Silent Wind started to speak, thinking that since Gusion was willing to trade, they would offer team assets to get Gusion to spare Lonely Noise.

But before he could finish, he saw Gusion sheathe his blade, turn around, and walk away. "Don't let me see you in this world again."

Feeling Little Flower's priestly skill land on him, Lonely Noise's condition improved a bit. He sighed. "We really lost… in every sense."

…

"Gusion, we truly owe you this time."

Upon waking, Nagato thanked Gusion solemnly.

Only after he woke did Konan tell him what had happened later. Without Gusion holding the line in the Land of Rain, the consequences of this great war would have been unimaginable.

Gusion not only protected him and Konan, but also held the Land of Rain, repelling all invading enemies.

Although now that he had recovered, he would fear no enemy again, likely after today's battle no one in the shinobi world would dare invade the Land of Rain.

Gusion's feats had already spread via the "escaped" Raikage, Hokage, and Mizukage: one man repelled the shinobi coalition of the Five Great Nations, fought the Five Kage and five Jinchuriki alone and won—perhaps the strongest record since the era of the God of Shinobi.

And since even the Akatsuki's second-in-command was this strong, people would deem the mysterious leader of Akatsuki even more terrifying.

"Are you really okay like this?"

Gusion looked at Nagato's head of white hair and his frail, skin-and-bones frame. At least the black rods were no longer stuck in his back; otherwise he would look even worse.

He had consumed a lot of life force to resist that meteorite from the heavens, and, stubbornly refusing to stop nurturing the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, he had been further drained.

Seeing Nagato's current state, without supplementation, he wouldn't last three years, let alone ten.

"Cough, cough, it's fine. It won't affect our plan."

Nagato coughed. "I'll hold on until the Three-Tails revives, and we'll talk again after reviving the Ten-Tails."

Gusion understood: even if he had to force it, Nagato would live until his ideal was achieved. After the Ten-Tails revived, he wanted to transfer the Rinnegan to Gusion, so Gusion could inherit his ideal and maintain world peace.

"What are you saying? Nagato, did you forget what I told you before? As long as we get Nine-Tails' chakra, you should be able to recover."

Gusion, while interested in the Rinnegan, couldn't stay in this world for years. Nagato couldn't remain this feeble.

He looked to Konan. "Konan, the Five Nations should be quiet for a while. I'll leave the Land of Rain to you. I need to return to the Land of Fields."

"Mhm. Don't worry about Rain. Akatsuki's operations will gradually resume. Kakuzu said he found a few talents while traveling and will bring them in later."

Konan smiled. "Then you won't have to run missions all the time."

As for Nagato, she didn't need Gusion to say it; she would take care of him.

The masked man was dead, the Five Nations were half-crippled, and those strange ninja who invaded Rain had been repelled by Gusion. For now, she couldn't think of any threats to Nagato.

"Gusion, better be cautious."

Nagato spoke up.

"About what?"

Gusion was puzzled.

"Konan told me some strong ninja invaded Rain before—their identities unknown. They weren't a threat by current standards… but that meteor from the sky might be connected to them."

Nagato's expression was grave. "I suspect there are unknown enemies above us. I sensed ocular power on that meteor—likely on the same level as the Rinnegan."

He left some words unsaid, to avoid worrying Konan and Gusion too much: he felt the opponent's ocular power was above his.

Nagato couldn't figure it out. The Rinnegan was the legendary Sage's eyes. What ocular power could surpass it?

Was it also Rinnegan, better developed than his? Or some bloodline ocular technique he didn't know?

"Relax. I know my limits. I won't look into it unless I'm confident."

Gusion understood Nagato's fear—he worried Gusion would investigate the moon on his own.

But Gusion was more clear-headed than Nagato thought. As someone who had read the original story, he knew what was on the moon and wouldn't go looking for trouble.

Although Ōtsutsuki Toneri was still young, the Ōtsutsuki clan on the moon might not be entirely extinct. From the earlier meteor incident, it was clear someone up there could still drive the Giant Tenseigan.

Was Toneri strong? He was a Six Paths-level seed; his combat experience was just lacking. His power source wasn't merely the Tenseigan formed by merging Hyuga's pure Byakugan.

The reason he could unleash power enough to cut the moon was because he also had the Giant Tenseigan's support.

So in terms of energy scale, that eye could, under specific circumstances, erupt with Six Paths-level power. Who knew how far the Ōtsutsuki could push it? Without certainty, Gusion wouldn't court death.

Judging from the lack of help the lunar side gave Lonely Noise and his companions, they had only reached some humble transaction with the moon—hardly equal partners.

After this war, the shinobi world would enter a brief peace after the storm. Until his power qualitatively changed, Gusion wouldn't stir trouble. He would carefully tally his gains in this world and secure tangible benefits.

"Good. Then, Gusion, I'll wait for your message."

Hearing Gusion's ready agreement, Nagato felt relieved. Still, he wouldn't forget the threat on the moon and planned to investigate after supplementing with Nine-Tails' chakra and recovering to peak.

Thus, Gusion bid Nagato farewell and set off for the Land of Fields.

…

After the great battle, Gusion and Nagato parted, and the storm swept the shinobi world.

The daimyo of each country and the upper echelons of the great villages broke into cold sweats upon hearing the outcome. Never would they have thought that the Five Great Villages, who had dominated for decades, would lose, even together, to a single man from Akatsuki.

Such hegemonic combat power hadn't appeared since the Warring States era of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama.

After returning to Kumogakure with the battered remnants and a gravely wounded Killer B, the Raikage immediately ordered all shinobi on missions to return. Clearly, he meant to consolidate the village's strength to face possible future upheaval.

The Fifth Mizukage, Zabuza, rushed back to Kirigakure with Terumi Mei and the wounded. Only on home turf did he breathe easier.

As Gusion's subordinate, he had expected the outcome, yet at the last moment he'd still broken into a cold sweat.

He had just found Terumi under cover of Hiding in Mist Technique, shouldered a few wounded, and began retreating—when the meteor descended. He hadn't even reached the Rain border.

If Nagato hadn't stemmed the tide and opposed a true natural disaster with raw human power, they would have died in Rain as well.

By contrast, Konoha was more composed than Zabuza, because Fugaku had sent himself out first, and, after hiding in the rear, kept the rescue squad for him from moving forward.

Kakashi, ever the single-minded elite, was unhappy with the Hokage's decision. But before he could object, he saw Gusion in the distance cutting down elites from five villages in succession.

Fugaku's look said it all: if you want to rescue him, go ahead.

Kakashi was at a loss and chose to obey. He initially thought the Hokage would bide his time, activate Susanoo, and fight Gusion head-on.

Then he realized he was overthinking it. After the Five Kage and Jinchuriki fell, Fugaku withdrew the team from Rain's borders, claiming he had a bad premonition and needed to preserve Konoha's living strength.

Fugaku felt that excuse was a bit flimsy, but since he had publicly revealed his Mangekyō abilities to some high-level forces after taking office, Kakashi half-believed and complied.

What Fugaku didn't expect was the meteor that fell afterward—truly apocalyptic.

Kakashi and the others who had doubted the decision were instantly full of admiration for Fugaku.

The disaster validated his words. Konoha bolted out of Rain's territory without a backward glance.

Thus Konoha suffered the least—virtually no injuries—aside from Fugaku coughing blood after being hit by Gusion at the start.

Aside from Kiri and Konoha, the other three villages were less fortunate.

Though the Raikage escaped with B, Kumogakure's other elites were trapped in Rain—many dead or wounded, and those who survived would likely be captured and become Akatsuki's hostages.

But compared to Suna and Iwa, Kumo's losses were acceptable. Their Kage and Eight-Tails Jinchuriki still lived.

Sunagakure's Kage died on the spot—instantly killed, a true disgrace for a Kage.

Iwagakure suffered even more: the Third Tsuchikage and two Jinchuriki all fell; the Tsuchikage died on the field, and the two Jinchuriki were captured alive by Gusion.

The Iwa army on the march, upon hearing the news, withdrew from the coalition in grief and anger to return home and plan.

On the way back, they received urgent intel: Iwagakure was gone.

Yes… gone.

A group of rogue ninja had attacked Iwa, ravaged it, and nearly leveled it. With the Tsuchikage and Jinchuriki absent, no one could stop them.

The rogues then quickly pushed south, crossed the border, and hit Sunagakure. To Suna's dismay, they even recognized familiar faces they had once hired among the rogues.

The back-to-back raids made this rogue corps famous. Many rich and powerful wanted to hire them, but for some reason, after two strikes, the group vanished without a trace.

So the shinobi world's attention shifted back to Akatsuki. Gusion, the super ninja who defeated the coalition and cleaved a meteor, became everyone's topic over tea.

…

While the world churned, Gusion arrived in the Land of Fields.

Orochimaru walked out of the base with a welcoming smile. "Gusion, you're truly the number one name in the shinobi world now. Why study Hashirama cells? I'd say you're not far from the God of Shinobi's realm yourself."

"Enough flattery, Orochimaru. You're giving me chills."

Gusion, uncomfortable, took a small vial from his storage and tossed it to Orochimaru. "As promised—the Mangekyō."

As it turned out, Orochimaru knew the ways of the world. Normally he hid in his secret base and wasn't enthusiastic even when Gusion visited, but today, upon hearing the news, he practically wanted to greet him from ten miles out—all for the Mangekyō.

Clearly informed, he knew Gusion had slain the suspected Obito in Rain and obtained the Mangekyō he dreamed of. Naturally he was effusive today.

"Heh… Gusion, you are generous indeed."

Orochimaru checked the vial and smiled wider, surprised Gusion had so straightforwardly handed over a Mangekyō with abundant ocular power.

"I've kept my promise. I hope you can deliver the research result I asked for."

Gusion walked with him toward the lab. He had squeezed out the gains in this world; only the hidden chain quest remained. Time was short; he hoped Orochimaru would hurry and make the eyes he wanted.

"Rest assured. I haven't been slacking. Now that we have a comparison sample, your Eternal Mangekyō will be ready soon."

Orochimaru licked his lips.

On their way in, they ran into Minato.

Minato looked at Gusion with a complicated gaze. "Is it as you said before?"

"I brought back his head. Do you want to see it?"

Gusion knew what he meant.

Chapter 289: Naruto and Sasuke's Ambitions, Return

Minato looked into Gusion's eyes, then sighed and shook his head. "Forget it. Better not."

He knew the masked man was Obito. Even if Obito had murdered his teacher, Minato wasn't without feelings for his disciple. The man was dead; he didn't want to see a bloody head.

Gusion had brought back the entire corpse, mainly to facilitate Orochimaru's experiments with Hashirama cells and human fusion.

Seeing Minato didn't want to, he let it go.

Inside, Gusion checked Orochimaru's progress. Orochimaru was a research genius. Gusion's Mangekyō had begun absorbing the yang-nature power of Hashirama cells, evolving toward perfection.

But at this rate it wouldn't directly transform into an Eternal Mangekyō: without a human as a warm bed to nurture the eyes, the process would stall at a certain point.

He could only hope Orochimaru's theory was correct and he could produce a close-enough finished product, letting Gusion obtain an Eternal Mangekyō via the hidden quest path.

…

"Subarashii—"

Orochimaru stared at the pair of eyeballs floating in culture fluid, awestruck.

"Orochimaru, you're truly a genius in the research field."

Gusion was excited as well. By comparing with Obito's Mangekyō, Orochimaru had found the optimal yin-yang fusion ratio and pushed this Mangekyō forward.

In Gusion's view, this pair, which had yet to awaken any specific ocular techniques, hadn't quite reached eternal standards, perhaps because they had no true host.

Only after being implanted in a host and awakening ocular techniques would they become a complete Mangekyō Sharingan.

At this point, his chained hidden quest was complete—barely in time.

Today was his last day in the Naruto world. If Orochimaru had delayed a few more days, he wouldn't have received the top reward.

"Haha, Gusion, you flatter me. It's thanks to your funding and samples."

Being praised for research pleased Orochimaru more than praise for ninjutsu. With Gusion's successful case, he believed he could also overcome the side effects of transplanting Sharingan into non-Uchiha.

He was in high spirits recently, not only because experiments were going well, but also because he saw great potential in his two disciples.

Sasuke went without saying. Even Naruto, whom he'd underestimated, showed astonishing talent once Nine-Tails' chakra stabilized.

He had been hasty before. After all, Naruto was Minato's son; his talent would hardly be poor.

The blond kid seemed unserious, but inside he might be a genius no less than Sasuke—perhaps even stronger.

With both disciples progressing by leaps and bounds, Orochimaru could almost see the day they would become super shinobi like Gusion. When Naruto and Sasuke shook the world, their teacher would share in the glory.

Gusion put away the Mangekyō on the bench. Sure enough, he received the hidden quest completion prompt: this Eternal Mangekyō became a pending reward he could activate upon returning to the End Space, granting him a personal Mangekyō.

"Thank you. With this done, I have other matters to attend to."

Gusion had prepared a reason for disappearing—laying groundwork for his next return.

"Oh? What matters? Our experiment just succeeded. Shouldn't we celebrate tonight?"

Orochimaru, cheerful, asked.

"Obito called himself Uchiha Madara. I find it suspicious. After investigating and analyzing, I suspect Madara may truly not have died—or left behind some scheme."

Gusion said, "If I don't clarify it, I feel uneasy. I plan to investigate where Obito 'died' the first time."

"That's simple. If you want to know whether he died, I can test with Edo Tensei."

Orochimaru thought he had the perfect solution.

Gusion was startled. "Orochimaru, don't mess around. Do you even have Madara's tissues?"

"I do."

Orochimaru grinned. "Got them along with the Hashirama cells back then."

Gusion was speechless. So Kabuto's Madara samples came from you two—truly a death-seeking duo.

Luckily Orochimaru hadn't actually tried summoning Madara; otherwise, once he broke Edo Tensei's control, it'd be a nightmare.

"Don't try it, including with Hashirama. I suspect if the summoned is strong enough, they can break free. I'll investigate Madara myself…"

He paused, then added, "If I'm absent from the next Akatsuki meeting, mention this to the leader and have him be cautious."

Orochimaru was puzzled. As sharp as he was, he sensed Gusion was about to "vanish."

But they were only collaborators. He didn't intend to pry into Gusion's true goals. He was comfortable holed up in the Land of Fields doing research.

"In that case, travel safely, Gusion."

Orochimaru, smiling oddly, saw him off and returned to studying Obito's eyes.

Outside, Gusion saw Sasuke and Naruto sparring in the training field, with Itachi watching.

"Senpai."

Itachi greeted Gusion politely.

"How's Konoha? The clan doing well?"

Gusion asked.

"Thanks to you, Konoha's reconstruction is going smoothly. The Uchiha are getting along better with the village."

Itachi spoke with feeling, grateful.

It felt like a dream. Months ago he had contemplated annihilating the clan. Now his father was Hokage, and the village's rift with Uchiha shrank day by day.

"Want to be Hokage?"

Gusion smiled.

Itachi shook his head. "I'm not suited to that seat. Father is still in his prime. If the village lacks external elites in the future, selfishly, I'd prefer Sasuke to become Hokage."

At that moment, Sasuke and Naruto finished their bout—Sasuke narrowly won.

Hearing his brother, Sasuke smiled. He hadn't expected such high hopes. "Brother, I'll work hard to become Hokage!"

Naruto, climbing up off the ground, pouted. "Tch, what's so great about being Hokage? When I grow up, I'll be like Brother Gusion, join Akatsuki, and become a powerhouse feared by all nations."

"Naruto, you're not allowed to join Akatsuki. That's an organization for rogues. You're coming back to Konoha with me!"

Sasuke was unhappy. Though his brother and father respected Gusion, he wasn't convinced and thought Akatsuki was ultimately a rogue group—"unjust."

He was going to be Hokage. How could he watch his village's Jinchuriki—and his begrudging friend—join Akatsuki?

Gusion found the scene amusing. He had thought with Minato and Kushina's guidance, Naruto would be straightened out toward Konoha—but not so.

Instead, Sasuke, without a tragic past and with his father as Hokage, was now striving for the Hokage seat.

Would we see Naruto defect and Sasuke chase him in the future?

"Senpai, why are you smiling?"

Itachi found Gusion's smile odd.

"Nothing. I just thought of something happy."

Gusion waved. "Got something to do. See you."

Naruto wanted to say something to Gusion, but Sasuke's words set them off again. The two boys butted heads, glaring at each other.

Watching Gusion's back, Itachi felt, for some reason, that he wouldn't see him again for a long time.

Listening to the bickering fade behind him, Gusion smiled and walked into the forest. Feeling the breeze on his face, he took another breath of this world's air.

As the sun slanted, his time in this world reached its limit.

A white light fell.