Konoha's Mission Master

He didn't want to make things too tense, and he already had a solution in mind.

Tsunade visibly breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Yakumo had chosen to back down.

"Lord Yakumo, you know why Minato Namikaze was detained. Even if he was once a war hero, he cannot be accused of colluding with the enemy."

Orochimaru's smile remained unchanged as he slowly sat back down in his seat.

“Everyone here knows Minato’s character. Saying he’s a traitor is a baseless accusation. Besides… with Madara Uchiha threatening Konoha from the outside world, we shouldn’t weaken our combat personnel at this time.”

"I agree."

Jiraiya, as Minato Namikaze's teacher, strongly opposed the detention back then, but he ultimately failed to persuade Nawaki to change his plans. However, things are different now; Yakumo's influence far surpasses that of Jiraiya.

“Lord Yakumo’s words make sense. In that case... I will order the release of Minato Namikaze. However, for safety reasons, the Anbu will need to monitor him.”

Orochimaru looked thoughtful, then finally nodded in agreement.

"That's settled then. Sweet dreams tonight."

Yakumo vanished from the spot. Of course, he couldn't kill Orochimaru, who had the skin of Nawaki, in front of Tsunade, but Orochimaru had to pay with his life tonight.

He usually likes to settle scores that very night.

What do you mean by that?!

Upon hearing this, Tsunade angrily pushed open the window and shouted loudly at the street outside the Hokage Building.

But Yakumo was nowhere to be seen on the streets.

"No, I have to go find him and get to the bottom of this."

Tsunade immediately raised her leg, intending to jump out of the window to find Yakumo and get some answers. If you thought about it carefully, those words could be considered a death threat.

"Sister, there's no need to go. It seems that Lord Yakumo has a deep misunderstanding about me."

Orochimaru sighed softly, his face full of frustration and shame.

"If he really wants to kill you, I will fight to the death to stop him!"

Tsunade sat back down on the sofa and said slowly and deliberately, she would not allow anyone to take away her last loved one from the center of her heart.

Jiraiya, standing beside him, remained silent, his expression becoming complicated. Was this really a misunderstanding? He thought it was unlikely.

He had witnessed the changes in Senju Nawaki, and he was more inclined to believe... Yakumo's guess, since he often saw Orochimaru's figure.

Unlike Tsunade, he wasn't driven by emotion; instead, he analyzed Senju Nawaki's problems with considerable rationality. Yet, when it came to matters concerning Tsunade, he would become extremely emotional...

A major battle might break out tonight, and then... he will help Tsunade.

Jiraiya would always stand behind Tsunade!

"Sister, you don't need to give your life for me. Just use my life to clear up Lord Yakumo's misunderstanding."

Orochimaru continued his act, putting on a show of deep affection.

"I will definitely protect you!"

Tsunade looked at her brother, whose emotions were running through her, and her eyes reddened slightly. In this world, he was the only one who called her "sister," so he was Senju Nawaki.

"Thank you sister."

The two forced a hug from Jiraiya, appearing to be a close sibling.

“I’ll go home and prepare; he won’t dare to make a move during the day.”

A dozen seconds later, Tsunade stood up, intending to go back and prepare, while signaling Jiraiya to stay in the office to assist Senju Nawaki.

"Okay, sister, please be careful."

Only Jiraiya and Orochimaru remained in the Hokage's office.

"Actually, I'm also curious... are you Orochimaru or not?"

Jiraiya lay on the sofa and asked casually.

"Of course I am the Thousand-Armed Rope Tree."

Orochimaru, who had resumed his work, answered without even looking up.

No, he's lying to you.

Suddenly, a third voice rang out in the office, and a figure wearing a light blue short-sleeved shirt appeared out of thin air—it was Yakumo, who had returned.

"Yakumo, don't be impulsive."

Jiraiya immediately sprang to his feet. If something were to happen to Senju Nawaki in front of him, Tsunade would probably never forgive him for the rest of her life.

"Lord Jiraiya, you can't stop me."

Yakumo replied with a smile, his soul energy deep within his mind erupting like a tsunami. He slowly walked towards Orochimaru behind the desk, appearing very calm and unhurried.

"Soul Imprisonment!"

The terrifying pressure acted on the two of them; Jiraiya and Orochimaru were like insects encased in resin, unable to move... and unable to react.

Jiraiya's eyes moved slowly, but his limbs were completely immobilized. No matter how he tried to activate his chakra, the chakra within his body was frozen solid and could not flow.

He knew that his strength was inferior to Yakumo's, but he did not expect the gap to be so huge. In front of Yakumo, he did not even have the right to resist.

"Actually, it makes no difference to me whether my master leaves or not. I just don't want her to watch her lose her 'perfect' younger brother."

Yakumo's Soul Restriction is not just a Soul Restriction; it also incorporates the life-suppressing stance that naturally comes with his physique exceeding 100. For him at this moment, suppressing three people is really not a big problem.

His current strength is comparable to that of a Six Paths level ninja, the ceiling of the ninja world.

"The moment I saw you at the Senju mansion, I knew... you were Orochimaru. Your soul is like a parasite, clinging to the soul of Senju Nawaki. Because you need Nawaki's memories, you won't erase Nawaki's soul."

Orochimaru's eyes slowly rolled, a hint of fear creeping into them. Initially, he believed that once he fully fused with Yakumo's bloodline, he would be able to fight him and even win.

But now he suddenly felt... that Yakumo was invincible.

Four failures, three restarts... finally wore down his fighting spirit.

As Yakumo approached, Orochimaru felt a twisted and strange anticipation, his eyes revealing the fanatical and morbid look characteristic of Orochimaru.

He didn't believe that Yakumo would kill the body directly. As long as his soul was still inside Nawaki's body, Yakumo had to consider Tsunade's thoughts.

For Yakumo, Tsunade was ultimately different from everyone else; she was his only teacher in name only.

In the end, I won!

"I didn't act then because I wasn't confident that I could erase your soul without harming Rope Tree's soul. But things are very different now. I have a feasible method now."

Yakumo touched the emerald green vertical line on his forehead with his finger, and his soul energy surged into it, forcibly dragging Orochimaru's soul into the space of the battle of wills.

Will Space.

Yakumo transformed into a golden giant, looking down at the white snake, which was only about two meters long, on the lake surface. That was Orochimaru's soul, or rather, only a fragment of his soul.

Orochimaru's soul had been split multiple times, and he had been injured by the Soul Reaper several times, so his soul was no longer intact and was extremely weak... He was able to suppress Senju Nawaki's soul only through his mastery of the Way of the Soul.

To some extent, his soul was weak, which meant that his pursuit of immortality was a mistake.

Now he has met the true king of the soul!

The golden giant swung his sword, relentlessly slashing at the poisonous snakes beneath his feet. Initially, Orochimaru was able to use his speed to stall for time, but when Yakumo transformed his soul into golden raindrops, his speed advantage completely vanished.

Five minutes later, Orochimaru's will was cleansed, leaving only light spots formed from pure soul energy. Such is the peril of a battle of wills.

The loser will lose everything.

The winner takes all.

Yakumo did not choose to absorb Orochimaru's soul energy, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, and allowed Senju Nawaki's soul to absorb it instinctively. The area of ​​the heart lake gradually expanded, and more silver light spots appeared around it.

Deep within the heart's lake, the soul of the Thousand-Handed Rope Tree is peacefully asleep.

The golden giant sword pierced the surface of the lake, and a wisp of golden soul energy rapidly spread towards the bottom of the lake, until it pierced the brow of the Thousand Hands Rope Tree's soul body.

"Awaken, Senju Nawaki."

Outside, Yakumo had released his soul seal, and Jiraiya had regained his mobility. However, he sat back down on the sofa, looking rather dejected, with a frighteningly pale face.

"It's over, it's over, it's over..."

"Tsunade will never forgive me in this lifetime."

Jiraiya quickly grasped the situation. Yakumo released the seal on him and Nawaki, but Nawaki remained leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed. His worst fears... had finally come true...

"Yakumo, Tsunade will definitely fight you to the death now."

Over the past two years, he had witnessed Tsunade's doting love for 'Nawaki', which was even more than her own life, but now... Nawaki died at Yakumo's hands.

With a loud bang, the office door was kicked open, and Tsunade, like a Valkyrie, rushed into the office and immediately saw Senju Nawaki lying on the chair with his eyes closed.

She felt as if she had awakened from a beautiful dream and returned to cruel reality.

"What...what did you do to my brother?"

With two cracking sounds, the floor beneath Tsunade's feet suddenly shattered, sharp wood chips flying everywhere. Deep blue chakra erupted from her entire body, and the Yin Seal on her forehead was unlocking. She had entered her strongest battle mode.

If Yakumo cannot provide a reasonable explanation, she will definitely take action.

"What I can guarantee is... he's not dead."

Tsunade instantly teleported to the chair to check on him. She found that her brother was breathing steadily, but... for some reason, he was unconscious.

"How long will it take for him to wake up?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure I'll wake up!"

"you!!!!"

Tsunade's anger was suddenly ignited, and just as she was about to fight Yakumo to the death, her wrist was suddenly gripped tightly.

At this moment, Senju Nawaki was gripping Tsunade's right wrist tightly.

"I promise I'll never make my sister angry again, please don't hit me..."

For some reason, Tsunade saw the confusion of a child in Nawaki's eyes.

This conversation also reminded her of... the scene of beating up Nawaki twenty years ago.

At that time, Rope Tree had caused a lot of trouble, which made her very angry and she took drastic measures.

Tsunade's face showed a mixture of astonishment, disbelief, and many other indescribable emotions.

At that moment, she even began to doubt the world before her.