Saying goodbye
Knowing that this is the world of One Piece, Luna was a little excited. Now that she has the Eternal Eye, she just needs a Devil Fruit to supplement it, preferably a Logia type, so she won't be afraid of physical damage and will be invincible in the shadows.
Wait a minute, it seems like all the natural-type characters are already taken.
Aside from the Flame-Flame Fruit and the Dark-Dark Fruit, right?
Luna sighed, noted her location, and began to drift. She remembered that most of the main characters were in the East Blue, so she could go check it out and get acquainted with them. After all, if she wanted to find the fruit on the high seas, she would need to sail the Great Sea Route.
I know nothing about the ocean, have no idea about the ever-changing weather, and can't even float, so it's like looking for a needle in a haystack.
—Ninja World—
Without the memories of her original self, Luna was unaware of what had happened over there. Luna continued her preparations to leave the ninja world. She found Orochimaru and started banging on the ground outside, mimicking the sound of knocking.
"Mr. Orochimaru, are you home?"
The ceiling rattled and shook, sending down a fine dust cloud that silenced everyone on the floor. Kabuto Yakushi adjusted his glasses. He had originally been sent to infiltrate Konoha as an inside agent, but Orochimaru-sama had suddenly run into trouble and needed a medical ninja by his side, so he had been recalled.
The fact that the Uchiha who ran away has come knocking on our door can't be good news.
"Let Guren go take a look." Orochimaru chuckled hoarsely; his hand was throbbing with pain, but his mind was much clearer.
Upon closer examination, he realized that the current situation in Konoha was stirred up by Itachi and Koizumi together. Both were working for the Uchiha clan, but Itachi gradually sided with the Third Hokage, while Koizumi sided with the clan members, creating a conflict between them.
Unfortunately, Danzo was too difficult to deal with. He used the Uchiha clan as leverage to lure him into intervening in Konoha, leading to the current situation. Originally, he only went to capture some experimental materials, but unexpectedly became an accomplice of some brat.
Before long, Orochimaru heard footsteps, one of whom he didn't recognize. His face, already covered in cold sweat, grew even more impatient. Guren was so useless; she couldn't even handle a little girl.
The door opened, and Honglian entered silently, standing there without saying a word. Dou lowered his eyes, his body stiffening as he walked to the bedside and stood still.
Orochimaru saw the unharmed girl enter and licked his lips with a sinister smile: "Heh~ Kids these days are really scary."
"Look at what Mr. Orochimaru is saying, didn't you invite me here?" Luna covered her mouth and smiled, pulling up a stool to sit down.
The snake pit was on the ground, and the air was a bit stuffy. The surrounding walls were dark, made of hard mud, which must have been forged by ninjutsu. Orochimaru understood the principle of doing it himself to save on decoration, and he made it quite unique.
Orochimaru's pale cheek twitched, and his breathing quickened. He did indeed want to invite the other person as a test subject, but if it was a bully, he'd rather not. However, adults' emotions are usually quite stable, especially for someone like Orochimaru who's been around for a while.
"Are you here to silence me?"
"No, I'm here to learn. I want to learn basic medical ninjutsu, detoxification, and how to draw sealing arrays. Kabuto has already agreed." Luna glanced at the bewildered Kabuto beside her; he had agreed as soon as she asked.
Orochimaru looked at Kabuto, who was under the Sharingan's genjutsu, and felt a bit disappointed. "Don't look directly at the Uchiha's Sharingan, hasn't this guy learned how to use it?"
"It's a very simple thing."
"I still want to learn the Impure World Reincarnation technique. There's someone I want to see."
"Is that Itachi-kun?"
Luna smiled without saying a word, looking at him with gentle eyes: "If there are any techniques you would like to learn along the way, would Mr. Orochimaru be willing to teach you?"
"Of course." Orochimaru smiled, his expression cold and composed, showing no sign of being threatened.
If that's all there is to it, it's not that he can't compromise. Right now is the time to recuperate, and if possible, he doesn't want to clash with a scheming Uchiha.
"That's great. As expected of Orochimaru, he's more sensible than some people." Luna's tone rose slightly, indicating that she was in a good mood.
Honglian snapped out of her daze, conjuring a crimson crystal in her hand, preparing to stab Luna's temple: "You woman!"
"Gulian, don't be rude," Orochimaru called out to her, lest she be accidentally killed. He had only recently acquired Kimimaro and couldn't use him yet, so he didn't want to lose Gulian's bloodline limit.
“…Yes.” Honglian gritted her teeth, hating herself for having been subjected to the illusion.
Luna also gave away two White Zetsu as tuition for learning two techniques. Orochimaru's snake eyes lit up several degrees when he saw the White Zetsu; if his hands weren't currently immobilized, he would have wanted to experiment on them immediately.
The two sides reached a pleasant agreement, but Orochimaru said he needed to go see Tsunade to heal his hands first. This implied that he wanted to take Luna with him, or separate from her.
However, Luna, whose spirit bodies are everywhere, has reliable information channels: "She was tricked back to Konoha yesterday. The Nara family tricked her back by claiming that you used the Impure World Reincarnation technique of the First and Second Hokage. I heard that she also paid respects at the Third Hokage's grave."
That's right, this idea was a hint she planted for the Nara clan head, which would be triggered during the selection of the Hokage. Given the Nara clan's intelligence, it wouldn't take long for them to trick someone who still cared about Konoha into becoming Hokage.
That's how mental magicians are; they can always control a situation unexpectedly. However, if their ideas differ from those of the person involved, they won't work. The fact that the suggestion to the Nara clan chief was successful means that Tsunade was one of the candidates for Hokage.
Orochimaru's expression froze for a moment, recalling the Nara family's brains, and the pain in his hand transferred to his head. He exhaled and decided to use the Reanimation Jutsu; fortunately, the vessel was already prepared.
"This thing is still alive, how do you want to use it?" Luna kicked White Zetsu and tilted her head to ask curiously.
Orochimaru thought it would naturally involve dissection, research, and experimentation. But for some reason, an idea suddenly popped into his head.
A living, usable body?
Should we try this out?
"Gu Lian, take Miss Uchiha to rest."
“...Yes.” Honglian reluctantly opened the door and stared wide-eyed.
Luna smiled nonchalantly and shook her head at Orochimaru: "No need, I'm not interested in living underground. Besides, my main body hasn't arrived yet, and I plan to visit you again in three days."
Bang!
Luna's body disappeared into the smoke, and Honglian searched everywhere but couldn't find her.
Orochimaru pursed his lips, annoyed that he hadn't realized the other person was a shadow clone because of his illness. Little did he know, a transparent shadow was silently watching him from the side.
After awakening the Eye of Eternity, Luna's mental power surged, and she can now create more than eight thought entities. She leaves one behind, one that is simply watching him and doesn't stand out much.
The number eight refers to the number of thought entities that can be subtly controlled. This excludes those large, unresponsive, emotionless hordes of ghostly soldiers who simply echoed the shouts, lacking any real personality.
She's practically joining the ranks of the supernatural now, specializing in scaring timid people.
>>>>
Winter passed and spring arrived. Luna, a year older, had made some progress. Her studies continued, but she could take her manuscript with her and work on it slowly; she'd become a bit allergic to cold-blooded animals from always being around Snake. So, Luna, using Snake as a convenient excuse, infiltrated the place where White Zetsu were kept, and she also managed to steal a few more.
"Well then, I'm off." Luna waved to the little snake, packed her things, and left.
Orochimaru is a man of principle; once he discovers the masked man and the secrets behind Akatsuki, he certainly won't stand idly by. Now that he has the White Zetsu's body as a vessel, he might just develop even more advanced cellular genetics ahead of time.
Alternatively, we could investigate directly to find out the true identity of White Zetsu.
Orochimaru stopped what he was doing in the lab, his golden eyes gleaming as he licked his lips. Since Akatsuki had such a secret, he wouldn't withdraw for now; he'd play with it again later…
"We need to build another base." It needs to be a safer, more secretive place, a place where Xiao cannot find it.
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."
—Konoha—
Naruto is helping Aunt Hazuki clean up. Izumi hasn't been found yet, and Auntie is about to leave this sad place to open a cake shop elsewhere.
This means giving up waiting for her sister to come back.
Does this mean... my sister will never come back?
As Naruto swept away the dust on the ground, tears streamed down his face, as if he were sprinkling water. His azure eyes were filled with deep reluctance and sorrow.
"Stop crying." Sasuke, who was cleaning up the trash, frowned and yelled at Naruto, who had stopped crying.
"Mind your own business!" Naruto yelled, his tears flowing even more freely.
No one will ever again pat his head, praise him for being cute, or give him snacks or treats just because he's clean and tidy.
How could Orochimaru be so evil?
He kidnapped such a wonderful older sister.
"I want to find Sister Quan."
“…Hmm.” Sasuke rarely responded, but whether it was life or death, there had to be an outcome.
Hazuki left some snacks for the two children and gave Naruto a separate package containing long-sleeved and short-sleeved shirts and winter clothes. This was her way of thanking him for coming to keep her company every day for the past six months.
Her expression was better than Naruto had expected. She reached out and patted the little girl's head, her tone very gentle: "Don't cry, Koizumi. She likes delicious food. I'm going to open a shop outside, so that people all over the ninja world can eat my cakes. Then... she'll know where home is."
"Yes!" Naruto nodded, tears welling in his eyes, while holding the things, revealing a smile that looked even more like a grimace.
Hazuki took one last look at the house, handed the key to Mikoto, and said that if anyone had nowhere to live, they could stay here; she probably wouldn't come back for the rest of her life.
"If Koizumi comes back..." Mikoto said something she herself didn't believe. How could someone who went to Orochimaru's place possibly come back unscathed?
"When I have money, I'll buy my daughter a big house."
Mikoto sobbed and fell silent; she still couldn't accept the devastating news about Itachi and Koizumi. Watching Hazuki's departing figure in the car, she took Sasuke's hand and saw her off.
The car left Konoha and traveled along the main road, soon arriving at a prosperous city. There were almost no ninjas here; the city was thriving. Hazuki arrived at the small courtyard she had purchased, bid farewell to the clansmen who had seen her off, and pushed open the door to see a familiar figure. That face she had longed for came into view, and she called out sweetly.
"Mommy!" The girl nestled into her mother's arms and smiled happily.
The cold body pressed against her chest, and Ye Yue was momentarily stunned, but quickly realized that this was her daughter, her real daughter. She hurriedly hugged her tighter, unwilling to let go even though the body was cold.
"You're back."
Luna's ethereal form floated away, bidding a formal farewell to Konoha. Her body wouldn't return, but her daughter could: "Goodbye, Uchiha Izumi."
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