r18novel Chapter 226 Runtu: What? Could it be Lin who has been resurrected?
Chapter 226 Runtu: What? Could it be Lin who has been resurrected?
Chapter 226 Runtu: What? Could it be Lin who has been resurrected?
As soon as Nawaki finished speaking, Tsunade and Jiraiya fell silent.
The atmosphere was subtle.
It looks like someone pressed the pause button.
Tsunade's face suddenly turned pale, her mouth opened and then closed again.
Jiraiya was completely speechless.
This silent reaction itself is already an answer.
After a brief silence, Nawaki looked at the complicated expressions on the two people's faces and a sense of foreboding arose in his heart. His throat tightened, and he asked in a trembling voice, "Could it be—Master—has sacrificed himself?"
Jiraiya shook his head, finally revealing the truth: "No! He defected!"
"That's impossible!" Rope Tree exclaimed in shock, his eyes wide as he blurted out the rebuttal.
For him, this was simply a fantasy!
"Our teacher loves Konoha so much. To ensure the safety of the volunteers, he spent months researching and designing the safest experimental procedure! How could he possibly defect?!"
As Rope Tree spoke, his eyes reddened: "You must have made a mistake! Someone must have framed him! I don't believe it!"
As they were talking, they arrived at the Hokage Building.
Seeing Nawaki's agitated state, Jiraiya sighed, patted Nawaki's shoulder, and gently advised, "Nawaki, this matter—is very complicated. Let's go upstairs first, and we'll explain it to you slowly."
Nawaki suppressed his anxiety and doubts and silently followed the two towards the Hokage's office.
Unbeknownst to the three, a scarlet raven with bright red eyes silently perched on a branch of a large tree outside the Hokage Building, watching them enter the building, the kaleidoscope pattern in its pupils subtly shifting.
The area around Konoha Village was quiet and still.
Deep in the dense forest, three figures stood silently.
Payne sat cross-legged under a large tree, motionless, meditating with his eyes closed like a statue.
Beside him, Kisame Hoshigaki, carrying Samehada, stood guard, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings.
Uchiha Itachi sat cross-legged on the tree root on the other side, his eyes slightly closed, seemingly meditating and resting.
He slowly opened his eyes, the patterns in his pupils swirled once, and then gradually stopped.
Just now, he retrieved the distant image through the psychic crow.
He originally intended to take some time to visit Sasuke, but unexpectedly, he saw crucial information.
For anyone who has ever entered a dream, it is a dream.
This information is extremely important.
Even for himself.
"Can people from dreams actually come to life?"
What exactly happened in yesterday's dream?
Itachi frowned almost imperceptibly, a hint of inexplicable worry rising in his heart.
For some reason, upon hearing this news, his previously calm state of mind became chaotic, making it difficult for him to remain composed.
Especially when he thought about how "Uchiha Itachi" from his dream would actually come to life and act out an intimate scene of brotherly love with Sasuke in front of him, Itachi couldn't help but feel a pang of bitterness in his heart.
He took a deep breath, trying to suppress the inexplicable surge of agitation.
[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Itachi Uchiha have been detected! Emotional value +400!]
"Did you find anything?"
A cold, deep voice suddenly rang out from the side. Pain had stood up at some point and was looking down at Itachi.
He noticed that Itachi's expression was strange when he opened his eyes, so he asked in a deep voice.
Itachi looked up at the sound, meeting Pain's cold Rinnegan eyes. After a moment of contemplation, he replied calmly, "Nothing special."
Payne stared at him for a moment, but did not ask any further questions.
Just then, he frowned slightly, as if he had sensed something.
The next instant, Payne turned around abruptly, his Rinnegan eyes sweeping across the other side of the woods like lightning.
"Is there an enemy?"
Not far away, Kisame immediately became alert and gripped his Samehada sword.
Pain raised a hand, signaling Kisame to calm down, and then closed his eyes to sense for a moment.
A moment later, he opened his eyes and nodded slightly to Kisame: "Someone is approaching."
After saying that, Pain turned his gaze to Itachi Uchiha.
Itachi remained unmoved.
"It must have been Danzo who sent them."
Since returning last night, he had been keeping an eye on Konoha's movements, but he hadn't discovered that Tsunade had sent out any ninjas.
So this group must be Danzo's men.
The root people!
It's not a pity to die!
Pain was satisfied with Itachi's reaction. He nodded to Kisame: "Kisame, go and handle this!"
Kisame grinned, hoisted Samehada onto his shoulder, and waved his hand heartily: "Got it! Got it! I'll go patrol the area right now!"
He chuckled, then his figure flashed, stepping on the thick layer of fallen leaves, and with a thud, he disappeared into the nearby bushes, vanishing in an instant.
After Kisame ran away, the area returned to tranquility.
Sunlight filtered through the layers of leaves and shone on Payne, but it did not dispel the chilling murderous aura emanating from him.
Pain stood with his hands behind his back, slowly turning to Itachi Uchiha, and asked in a low voice, "How is the situation with Danzo?"
Uchiha Itachi pondered for a moment before replying, "He appears to be unharmed. I observed that he just went to Hiruzen Sarutobi's residence alone."
"Furthermore—the assassination attempt last night did not attract much attention from Konoha."
Upon hearing this, Payne's brows furrowed suddenly, and a strange look flashed in his eyes.
"You're really not injured?"
Although it was well concealed, it still revealed a rare hint of frustration and doubt.
Itachi nodded slightly and asked in a low voice, "Did the assassination attempt last night fail?"
Itachi was also very surprised to see Danzo appear unharmed.
It's important to understand that Pain's strength is absolutely unmatched within the Akatsuki organization. Even with his own strength, it's impossible to say that he could reliably defeat Pain.
It's unbelievable that Danzo emerged unscathed from Pain's personal assassination attempt.
Payne hesitated before nodding, then said in a deep voice, "Danzo possesses an extremely strange ability, seemingly capable of directly altering reality—I'm certain I've put him to death several times, but the next moment, he reappears as if nothing happened..."
At this point, his gaze darkened as he looked at Uchiha Itachi, "When you were in Konoha, did you ever hear of or see a similar ability?"
Itachi remained outwardly calm upon hearing this, but inwardly he was shaken.
Of course he knows!
This ability is exactly the same as the Uchiha clan's ultimate forbidden technique—Izanagi!
That is a forbidden technique that sacrifices the light of one Sharingan to temporarily nullify a reality that is unfavorable to oneself!
However, Itachi did not tell Pain all of this. He simply shook his head slowly and said calmly, "Never heard of it."
Pain remained silent for a moment upon hearing this, seemingly accepting the answer, before standing up and ordering, "I'll return to Amegakure to investigate this matter. You and Kisame stay here and keep a close watch on Konoha. I'll be back as soon as possible."
"Understood." Itachi nodded gently.
As soon as he finished speaking, Payne's figure vanished from the spot.
As soon as he left, the woods fell silent, with only the intermittent rustling of leaves in the wind.
Itachi slowly opened his eyes, looked up in the direction of Konoha, and his expression was uncertain.
He was more concerned with the characters from his dreams coming to life than with Danzo.
"That Obito guy—he's been secretly plotting some big event."
Itachi pondered silently, a flash of red light appearing in his dark pupils.
"He absolutely could not ignore such a bizarre turn of events—"
The fact that characters from dreams could come into reality is a completely uncontrollable variable that Obito definitely doesn't want to see!
Itachi's expression shifted, and his Sharingan began to subtly rotate.
The next instant, Tobi, who was attached to him, seemed to have been de-silenced and suddenly started yelling: "Aaaaah! Uchiha Itachi! What did you do to me?!"
Itachi remained calm and composed, slowly withdrawing his eye power, his expression still as serene as ever: "You were too noisy, I just wanted you to be quiet for a bit."
"Itachi, you ungrateful bastard! I went to great lengths to heal you, and you not only give me the silent treatment, but you even used genjutsu on me!"
Afei shouted angrily, "Wait till I tell Obito, and see how he deals with you!"
Itachi remained unmoved and said calmly, "Oh? Then go now."
He paused slightly, then added in a deep voice, "Perfect timing, there's some important information I need you to convey to Obito."
Afei paused for a moment, his cursing abruptly stopping, clearly intrigued: "...What information?"
Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly and slowly uttered, "Tell him that a character from a dream has come to the real Konoha Village!"
"What do you mean?" Afei was stunned for a moment, clearly not understanding.
"If I relay his words verbatim, he will naturally understand," Itachi said calmly.
Afei gave a half-believing "Oh," then fell silent and began transmitting messages to Obito in the distance through the mysterious underground network of White Zetsu. White Zetsu's clones covered almost the entire land, and the information was transmitted to Obito across great distances in an instant.
The weasel looked up at the dappled sunlight filtering through the treetops, pondering to himself.
How will Obito react when he hears this news?
Is it fury, or—
However, before Itachi could think further, the surrounding space suddenly fluctuated violently!
The air around him twisted strangely, as if an invisible hand had stirred up a pool of spring water, and a vortex suddenly formed in mid-air!
Itachi's pupils contracted, and before he could make any move, a dark shadow suddenly darted out of the vortex with lightning speed.
"Uchiha Itachi!"
The person who came in sounded hurried and anxious, clearly very agitated, even their breathing was disordered.
His robe was now worn crookedly, with one sleeve slipping down to his elbow.
"What did you mean by what you just said?!"
[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Uchiha Obito have been detected! Emotional value +1000!]
The person who arrived was none other than Obito!
As soon as he appeared, he couldn't wait to interrogate Itachi.
"Who has come to Konoha? Explain yourself!"
Caught off guard, Itachi was grabbed by the shoulder, his body stiffened, and he almost thought that Obito was going to harm him.
However, the next second, he saw Obito's current appearance clearly and couldn't help but feel a little pleased. When had this man ever been so out of control?
In the past, this person always spoke slowly, as if he had everything under control.
Now, he's no different from a bratty kid.
Itachi was secretly alarmed: This was the first time he had ever seen Obito so flustered!
It seems this news hit him far harder than he imagined.
He quickly regained his composure and was about to explain.
Obito abruptly waved his hand, interrupting gruffly, "Forget it! I'll go see for myself!"
He turned and left without looking back, tossing out, "Konoha Village, right?!"
Before he could finish speaking, the space around Obito began to twist wildly once again.
Obito leaped into the black vortex and vanished without a trace.
The entire process, from appearance to departure, took less than five seconds.
Uchiha Itachi remained frozen in place, his hand still outstretched, his mouth slightly open, unable to close for a long time. The words he wanted to say were stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single one.
He stared intently at the spot where Obito had disappeared, feeling a moment of disorientation.
This Uchiha, who was always expressionless, finally showed a crack in his perpetually icy demeanor.
My mind was filled with big questions.
Itachi slowly lowered his arm, still somewhat dazed, wondering why Obito seemed not worried at all, but rather very excited.
In fact, I'm almost impatient?
He recalled Obito's shocked yet ecstatic tone, and doubts began to arise in his mind.
Doesn't Obito worry at all that this kind of incident might have a negative impact on his plans?
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office in the Konoha Hokage Building, Jiraiya and Tsunade spent a considerable amount of time explaining the ins and outs of Orochimaru's defection to Nawaki.
As each past event was slowly recounted, Rope Tree's face grew increasingly dark.
He sat comfortably on the sofa, staring blankly at a certain spot on the table.
An old photograph on the table caught my eye. In the photograph, a young Orochimaru stood side by side with Jiraiya and Tsunade next to the Third Hokage, with a spirited smile on his face.
As Jiraiya and Tsunade narrated, the color drained from Nawaki's face little by little, until he was almost as pale as paper.
Orochimaru-sensei...did he actually do that kind of thing later?
Live human experiments resulting in heavy casualties?
Kidnapping a fellow villager ninja?
A plan to destroy Konoha?
Each of these things seems like something that could never happen to a teacher!
After a long silence, beneath Nawaki's slightly drooping bangs, his gaze gradually hardened.
He looked up and was first met with Tsunade's concerned and worried gaze.
Nawaki looked at her sister with complicated emotions, then at Jiraiya, and could no longer control her suppressed feelings.
"I don't believe it!" he shouted.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! A teacher would never do such a thing!"
"Someone is definitely framing him! It must be some despicable person spreading rumors to frame him!"
"Rope Tree—" Tsunade pursed her lips, staring blankly as her younger brother was once again caught up in his intense emotions, unsure how to respond.
She never expected that in Nawaki's heart, Orochimaru was a kind and gentle person.
Nawaki's voice boomed: "Big sister! Jiraiya-senpai! You grew up with our teacher, don't you understand who he is? How can you believe such nonsense about framing our teacher!?"
Tsunade frowned upon hearing this, speechless at his questioning.
On one hand, she understands the bond between her younger brother and Orochimaru.
On the other hand, she herself was a witness to what happened back then.
Although she wasn't at the scene when the incident occurred, she couldn't help but believe the evidence and the truth.
However, looking into Rope Tree's clear yet determined eyes, she suddenly wavered a little.
Was there really a misunderstanding back then?
The face of Danzo Shimura flashed through her mind, and a faint but undeniable thought arose in her heart.
For a moment, Tsunade was also caught in a struggle.
Jiraiya opened his mouth, though he had never really believed that Orochimaru had fallen so completely.
Tsunade opened her mouth, about to say a few more words of persuasion, but was interrupted by Nawaki's resistant expression.
"Unless the teacher admits it himself, I will never believe these accusations, not because of me!"
The boy practically roared those words, his voice echoing through the air.
He does not mean that.
Nawaki's stubborn stance gave Jiraiya a sudden flash of inspiration, and his eyes lit up.
Yeah, why not take this opportunity to send Orochimaru back to Konoha!
After all, judging from the care that Orochimaru showed to Nawaki in the dream, the chances of successfully persuading him to return seem to be very high!
Jiraiya thought about it more and more and it seemed feasible, and his heart began to beat faster.
Suppressing his excitement, he suggested, "Nawaki, you're right. Wouldn't it be better to let Orochimaru explain everything himself?"
He paused, then turned to Tsunade. "Tsunade, why don't we take this opportunity to bring Orochimaru back?"
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