The sun rose and the moon fell, as day after day passed by.
Fugaku and Jiraiya kept up their tireless campaigning, steadily building support from different fronts.
Today, Jiraiya would treat his comrades from the Northeastern Front to dinner. Tomorrow, Fugaku would invite allies from the Northwestern Front to celebrate victories. Both men held their own in these displays, making the competition seem extremely intense.
However, Aozora knew that although Jiraiya had higher popularity among commoner ninja, after successfully courting influential clans like the Hyuga and Ino–Shika–Cho alliance, Fugaku's chances of winning weren't just secure—they were at least seventy percent.
As long as the Uchiha didn't mess up, Fugaku was almost certain to become the Fifth Hokage.
On this particular day, Aozora stayed home.
Besides Torifu Akimichi, there was no need for Aozora himself to court anyone else—having Fugaku personally reach out carried more sincerity.
He stepped into the courtyard, ready to stretch before training, when suddenly he noticed a green snake coiled within the shadows of the yard, flicking its tongue.
A kunai shot from beneath his sleeve, and within an instant, Aozora pinned the snake against the wall.
Noticing a small scroll clamped in the snake's mouth, Aozora used Kage Bunshin to carefully retrieve and open the scroll.
"Orochimaru coming to see me on the Leader's orders? Now that's interesting!"
Without hesitation, he burned the scroll and stroked his chin thoughtfully, eyes gleaming.
Soon afterward, a dark figure darted out from Aozora's home. It quickly left the Uchiha Compound, crossed the Nanaha River, and arrived at a forest outside Konoha Village.
Hardly had Aozora entered the woods when a person slowly walked toward him from within the trees, followed closely by a giant crawling serpent.
Glancing sideways, Aozora saw Orochimaru step out from behind a tree.
"Aozora-kun, it's been quite a while."
Without responding to Orochimaru's polite greeting, Aozora asked directly, "Orochimaru, what do you want with me?"
"How cold-hearted!"
Orochimaru's yellow-brown vertical pupils suddenly widened as he glared coldly at Aozora, asking sharply, "The Leader ordered me to ask you—who sent you to infiltrate the Akatsuki organization?"
Under normal circumstances, an ordinary ninja facing such sudden hostility and abrupt questioning would surely lose composure.
But Aozora was unfazed. "When did I ever join the Akatsuki?"
At Aozora's reply, Orochimaru's expression froze—he hadn't expected this kind of response, momentarily unsure how to continue.
Seeing this, Aozora shook his head and said, "Your Transformation Jutsu is impressive, but transformation is just transformation."
From the moment he'd received the secret message supposedly from Orochimaru, Aozora had sensed something was off.
If the Akatsuki truly suspected him and wanted to contact him, they would've sent only Obito or Zetsu—never Orochimaru.
Then, upon entering the forest and seeing this "Orochimaru" in person, Aozora became even more convinced of his suspicions.
This Transformation Jutsu differed from his own "Jia Xing"—it didn't alter muscles and bones completely, instead relying solely on chakra manipulation.
Though the imposter's chakra control was excellent, under Aozora's secretly activated Yin Yang Eye, flaws became obvious.
"What are you implying?" The false Orochimaru frowned.
"If this really were Orochimaru, he wouldn't have asked that question."
Even as he spoke, Aozora had already directed thick chakra from inside his body deep underground.
[Mark of Imprisonment]!
In an instant, a faint Sealing Technique Formula appeared on the ground before Aozora. Upon closer inspection, it formed a perfect circle.
False Orochimaru felt a sudden pulling force beneath his feet as his chakra rapidly began to drain away.
He quickly stepped back, but after retreating only two meters, he felt his back slam into what seemed like an earthen wall.
Glancing slightly sideways, he saw that a thick wall of earth had risen from nowhere behind him.
[Earth Wall?]
Turning his gaze toward Aozora, who stood with arms crossed watching the show, False Orochimaru canceled his Transformation Jutsu.
Using the smoke created by the technique to obscure his movements, he burst forward with chakra-propelled speed toward the right.
Yet before him, out of thin air, a thick wall of earth suddenly emerged.
With no time to react due to proximity and speed, his head met the wall in an intimate collision.
Bang!
A thunderous impact echoed, yet the wall merely trembled slightly before stabilizing again.
By the time he staggered back to his feet, the crater he'd made in the wall had already healed smoothly.
Aozora casually glanced at the ninja trapped within the Earthen Wall before shifting his gaze deeper into the Dense Forest.
Suddenly, several vine-like tendrils shot forth like arrows. Aozora lightly pushed off the ground, swiftly leaping backward just in time to dodge the attack.
Following the Vine Attack, figures clad in tight-fitting suits and wearing masks sprang from the trees—Konoha ninjas emerged from all directions, surrounding Aozora.
Leading them was Tenzo, formerly part of Anbu—now known as Yamato.
He coldly declared, "Uchiha Aozora, you're suspected of defecting from Konoha and joining the Akatsuki organization. Come with us!"
"Since when does Anbu have the authority to arrest regular Konoha citizens?"
Aozora mocked, "If I recall correctly, during the High-level Meeting last year, Anbu's internal power was reduced to mere surveillance and reporting functions! If you want to arrest me, go through the Police Force or the Interrogation Unit..."
He paused momentarily before continuing, "Are you really planning to break the law? To openly disregard Konoha's rules?"
At this, Yamato hesitated—the weakened Anbu indeed no longer held authority for internal arrests, interrogations, or detentions.
Seeing Yamato's hesitation, Sho—one of the agents behind him—took initiative, urging, "Emergencies justify exceptions—we cannot allow such a traitor to escape justice!"
After a brief struggle, determination flashed across Yamato's eyes. He raised his hand and shouted, "Attack!"
The members of Anbu were ready. In an instant, ninja tools flew through the air while hands performed hand seals rapidly.
Within moments, barrages of Iron Rain, Fireballs, Water Spheres, Earth Spears, Lightning, and Wind Blades came crashing from all directions.
Faced with the overwhelming barrage, Aozora simply smiled.
[Earth Release: Great Stone Wall of Captivity!]
Instantly, the earth roared beneath him. The ground beneath Aozora's feet crumbled into loose earth and stone, then with a mighty rumble formed a dome-shaped barrier around him, shielding Aozora inside.
Almost the moment the dome took shape, countless jutsus struck its stony walls from every direction.
Among the torrent of attacks were many high-powered techniques, sending flying shards of earth and rock everywhere. However, the dome remained intact despite the constant damage thanks to Aozora continuously infusing it with chakra.
The Anbu members scoffed when they saw Aozora resorting to a doomed defensive tactic while burning massive amounts of chakra.
"What an idiot! Instead of breaking through the encirclement, he's wasting massive amounts of chakra on defense!"
"No matter how much chakra he has, does he really think it can surpass ours combined?"
"One or two more rounds and let's see how much chakra he has left!"
"..."
Although Yamato had a vague feeling that something was wrong, he couldn't find fault with the Anbu's judgment. Uncertain of a better plan, he joined them in launching ninjutsu attacks against Aozora's earthen dome.
Boom boom boom—
Crash crash crash—
Clang clang clang—
After repeated strikes, when the attackers themselves began to feel their chakra reserves draining, they finally noticed the surface of Aozora's earthen dome was no longer smooth—it had become pitted and cracked, appearing extremely fragile.
Seeing this, confidence surged once again among the Anbu members, excitement visible on their faces.
Sho commanded, "His chakra is nearly depleted—let's attack one more time!"
As the Anbu prepared to strike, a new member rushed from the forest's edge, shouting, "The Uchiha are coming!"
Upon hearing this, Yamato's expression darkened as he muttered, "No good!"
BOOOOOM—
While the Anbu were still reeling from the news of the approaching Uchiha, a tremendous sound erupted nearby.
In the next instant, the bulging earthen dome created by Aozora exploded apart, flames surging outward violently.
Then, massive boulders flew out from the dome, each wrapped in blazing fire like meteors soaring through the sky, hurtling in all directions.
The elite Anbu members sent to capture Aozora reacted quickly, but how could they possibly evade such an overwhelming rain of meteors?
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