The Elemental Nation is vast, and even the strongest ninjas have limits.
Unable to sense the seals of Flying Thunder God that he left in the original world, Akashi had no choice but to travel alongside Orochimaru on foot.
The night has arrived, and they decided to take a short break for the time being.
"They say that in the long, long past, the world was nothing but a darkness."
So they sat. Aware of the risk that setting up a campfire may bring, they conversed in the dark night.
"...What about it?"
"Personally, I find it amusing."
Orochimaru was the one to break the ice, trying to ease the tension.
"My studies suggest that human beings came into life years after the development of this world. How would we know whether such a story is true or not?"
"Scholars exist for a reason. Chakra tells many things, they say."
"Yes, but the information is limited. Besides, it's not like chakra isn't flawless. My studies suggest that the chakra is actually something akin to a life force that originally didn't belong to humans. It perfectly matches the myths of the Six Paths Sage."
"What does that have to do with whether the world was dark or not?"
"Now here comes the cool part. If the myths are true, humanity preceded the arrival of chakra. Chakra originated from a chakra fruit, which was eaten by the rabbit goddess Kaguya, the mother of the Six Paths Sage. It could be said that there were ages before chakra existed. Based on the idea, did the story of how the world was dark at the start come from the before chakra era or the after chakra era?"
"Aren't you passionate?"
There was a pause before Akashi decided to open the curiosity of his own.
"Have you heard of the Yin Yang Release?"
"Ah yes, the legendary technique that Six Paths Sage apparently used."
Orochimaru shook his head knowingly. His eyes glimmered with excitement as he eagerly spoke; he was someone who clearly loved to discuss.
"It is said to hold the power of creation and destruction. It is unique in the sense that the mix of two different pure energies results in a form that is purer rather than more impure."
"Why is that the case?"
"Because Yin Yang Release is the origin of, and the very essence of chakra. Chakra is commonly known as the mix of will and power. In other words, it is the very manifestation of willpower itself. One cannot exist without the other. Therefore, it is not only pure but stable; it can be considered the most efficient means of energy."
"Is it possible to recreate this technique through training?"
Orochimaru shook his head.
"Going from the normal, conventional chakra to Yin Yang Release means the complete riddance of positive and negative chakra debres that we collect throughout our lives. Some people are able to use Yang Release because they can sense it and purify it to some extent. Conversely, the users of Yin Release also exist. However, the ability to sense Yin and Yang Releases at the same time is something that no one but the Six Paths Sage was said to be capable of. The minimum requirement to achieve such a feat... is to become a sage yourself."
"As in..."
"Yes. You need to master what is known as the senjutsu. Or that's what I hypothesize."
Akashi paused as Orochimaru stared at him knowingly.
"...You know about my ability, don't you?"
"Yes. The leader never bothered to hide it. The ability to utilize the perfect Yang Release is what gave him the most fame of all his feats."
Just then, the moth, Chakka, flew out of Akashi's cloak out of the random.
"Hm?!"
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.
"Geez, what's going on? What's with all these mumblings? I can't sleep—wait! Weren't we fighting?!"
"This is?"
Orochimaru turned to Akashi for an explanation.
"This one's a speaking moth named Chakka. We are from the same world, so temporarily formed a contract until we get out of here."
"I see... that explains how you were able to sense us with confidence. The leader wasn't a chakra sensor after all..."
"You surely do know quite a bit about my other self."
"Well, I was trying to assassinate him."
Parting his eye from Orochimaru and staring at Chakka, which appeared to be cautious of Orochimaru, Akashi spoke,
"He's no longer an enemy. There is no need to keep your guard up."
"I... don't know! I just don't have a bad feeling about that guy!"
Akashi furrowed his brow. Then, he realized something.
"...Do you know Orochimaru from our world?"
"This guy's name is Orochimaru?"
Akashi looked at Chakka intently for some more before sighing. It wasn't like Chakka had much to hide anyway.
"Anyhow, let's get some rest in."
Orochimaru suggested, seeing that the conversation had come to an end.
"We need to travel a lot more tomorrow."
Akashi nodded as he leaned back against a tall tree, preparing to take a quick nap.
...
As Akashi entered the state of rest, Orochimaru gazed at Chakka, which settled down next to Akashi.
He didn't dare to hold any malicious intent, of course, knowing that Akashi would instantly wake up and slay him, not that he had any in the first place.
He was simply curious.
'Judging by how the other world seems to be nigh identical to ours in many ways, it is safe to say that one is the mirror of another.'
Orochimaru couldn't help but question himself,
'Throughout my life, I've never once seen a moth ninja summon. I am fairly confident, thanks to the information that snakes bring me, that no such thing exists. Yet... here it is.'
In Orochimaru's eyes, Chakka was a greater anomaly than Akashi.
__________
After a long travel, Akashi, Chakka, and Orochimaru finally arrived at Konohagakure.
Akashi was left dumbfounded by the sight of the village.
The vast forest and lively village were no more. Instead, there was a barren land with camps here and there, filled with people who were depressed and lifeless.
"...What a mess."
"It was one single attack from the leader. Upon the use of rinnegan, everything was demolished to a fine grain. Numerous ninjas died on the day of the assault... including the fourth hokage Namikaze Minato and the previous hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen."
"H-HEY!!"
One civilian, upon noticing the two, shouted in horror as his finger pointed at Akashi.
"Y-YOU—"
"Calm down, everyone—"
"Shut up, betrayer!!"
Orochimaru attempted to calm them down, but the civilians weren't aware that he had been a spy.
The civilians uproared. Full of rage, sorrow, and fear, they reacted frantically to Akashi and Orochimaru's appearance.
In an instant, a disaster rose, and things were about to get even messier than they already were.
Until someone stepped in.
"Everyone, please keep calm!!"
A tall blonde woman with emerald-like eyes.
Akashi recognized her, Senju Tsunade.
"Everything is fine! Orochimaru's betrayal was nothing but a decoy to help him spy Akatsuki! Be at rest, I will take care of this!"
For some reason, Tsunade of this world appeared nice and soft, unlike the woman whom he encountered before.
Under the watchful eyes of the civilians, Tsunade walked up to the two.
"...Did you succeed?"
Ignoring Akashi, Tsunade looked at Orochimaru with hope.
Grimly, Orochimaru shook his head negatively.
Tsunade's hands trembled as her head lowered dejectedly. Taking in a deep breath, she raised her head back up and looked at Akashi.
"And... who may this, identical-looking gentleman be?"
"The alternative self of Hattori Akashi himself. He says that he came from a world parallel to ours."
Tsunade stared Akashi in the eye. Upon eye contact, Akashi read the fear in her eyes.
"What happened to Jiraiya-sen... Jiraiya?"
Akashi asked.
Tsunade gritted her teeth as anger flashed in her,
"He betrayed the village for his own survival...!"
"No matter. He still died anyway, by your own hands."
Orochimaru explained while looking at Akashi. He was saying that his alternate self killed Jiraiya; a bizarre emotion entered Akashi's mind as he heard this.
Sighing to relieve the anger in her, Tsunade turned and motioned them to follow.
"Follow me. Let's talk inside."
They therefore followed. Akashi had to grab Chakka, who was about to stray away, trying to fly around the new area out of curiosity.
...
"...All the other Akatsuki members are dead?"
Tsunade whispered in disbelief.
"Yes, I was present. Akashi over here is truly strong."
"Well... I suppose that their leader found no more use for them."
She chuckled weakly,
"Hahah... it kind of makes sense. Only the nine-tailed fox remains for him to capture anyway."
"...Capture?"
Akashi frowned, not having heard about this yet.
"Yes, your alternate self is collecting the tailed beasts. He was storing them in what is called the 'Gedo Statue,' but no one knows what it's about. I do have some speculations, but they are just rough ideas for now."
Regardless, the fact that only nine tails was left for his other self to capture meant one thing.
He will be coming here, to Konoha.
"Last time, Minato and Hiruzen-sensei managed to catch him off guard and force him to retreat. However, with them gone this time around..."
Tsunade, while wiping her sweat, looked at Orochimaru.
"Do you have a plan?"
Without responding, Orochimaru turned toward Akashi.
"How many days?"
Akashi asked.
"...The reason why the leader didn't show up in front of you was that he was injured. I would assume about two weeks before his invasion."
"Then, in two weeks,"
Akashi met his eye with Tsunade and Orochimaru, one by one.
They were known as the sannins. They were famous for their ninja summons. This also meant that...
"Teach me the senjutsu."
They must have some idea regarding senjutsu.
"You..."
Orochimaru's eyes widened as he realized what Akashi was aiming for.
"Aim to learn Yin Yang Release...?"
Akashi nodded.