Orochimaru returned to Konoha as night fell.
He received the "recall notice" after Tsunade, so naturally she had already returned to the village before him.
After completing the Nine-Tails sealing on Kushina's side, Mito Uzumaki was escorted back to her woodland cottage by Shikou and Kushina. Unless something unexpected happened, Tsunade and Nawaki should both be there by now.
Haseo and the twelve Uzumaki shinobi, however, waited for Orochimaru at the Kagenami base.
The "Impure World Reincarnation body" couldn't be seen by Orochimaru directly, otherwise everything risked exposure. So Haseo sealed it inside that "pot-style Poké Ball"—specifically, the container originally crafted by the Uzumaki clan for sealing the Two-Tails.
This way, Orochimaru would instinctively assume this Nine-Tails was simply the one extracted from Mito Uzumaki. Although the time gap between his and Tsunade's return might spark some speculation in his mind, he ultimately wouldn't suspect the existence of multiple Nine-Tails.
Only Haseo had the audacity to even imagine it—no one else could fathom splitting the Nine-Tails.
Therefore, when Orochimaru arrived at the underground base of Kagenami, even though he didn't see the former jinchūriki but only a "large cooking pot," he merely showed mild surprise... Any inconsistencies he noticed, he'd rationalize internally. After all, Orochimaru had never actually witnessed the Nine-Tails transfer ritual in action before—maybe the beast needed time to "cool off," who knows?
It was possible that the beast needed several hours to settle after being ripped from its previous host before it could be shoved into someone else. In short, Orochimaru didn't know squat about Nine-Tails sealing techniques. When it came to this, Haseo was the real expert—one capable of making laws with mere words.
"Are you ready, Orochimaru? This is your last chance to walk away—once a ninja becomes a jinchūriki, there's no going back. Ever. Even if you change your mind later, you'll just have to swallow your tears—and your pride."
As Orochimaru examined the large cooking pot closely, Haseo gave him a routine, half-hearted warning.
Needless to say, it was all just for show—no real warning at all. If Orochimaru suddenly decided to back out at this point, Haseo would simply grab him and cram the Nine-Tails into his body regardless. The Nine-Tails wasn't something Orochimaru could casually give up after expressing interest—it was his responsibility now.
Thus, from the moment Orochimaru talked with Haseo late into the night, he had been bound to the Nine-Tails. As for when he might become independent again—that wouldn't happen until at least after he completed the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique.
Provided, of course, he still had the ambition to develop such a jutsu in the future.
"If you mean psychological readiness, then I definitely have no issues. As for other preparations… as long as your sealing ritual goes smoothly, I won't have any problems either," Orochimaru replied hoarsely.
Haseo believed that although this guy now appeared very calm and composed, he was actually somewhat nervous too.
But that was understandable. Having a giant creature like the Nine-Tails forced into your body would scare even the strongest of men.
Haseo just smiled and didn't say anything else, signaling everyone to get started with the task—Orochimaru, being an eccentric scientist at heart, would never fully trust someone else's technique, especially when those so-called others were about to tinker around inside him.
Yet in this matter, the Uzumaki clan truly were the experts.
But Orochimaru's sensitivity didn't really matter anyway, since he wasn't as delicate as Kushina.
Haseo had been deeply worried when Kushina became a Jinchuriki, and other Uzumaki shinobi had handled things carefully too—but with Orochimaru? Whatever worked most efficiently was fine, even if it was rough.
Next, Haseo prepared to release the Nine-Tails, already ready for battle... Somehow or another, the Nine-Tails seemed to hold an obvious grudge against him, meaning the Nine-Tails would definitely target him first again during the second sealing.
There was no need to describe the repetitive process once more. Anyway, after going through the ordeal, they still successfully sealed the second Nine-Tails. But compared to the previous sealing, this time took quite a bit more effort.
Without Mito Uzumaki's power, simply subduing the Nine-Tails wasn't easy anymore. Mokkō's strength alone proved somewhat insufficient, making it inevitable for both Haseo and Orochimaru to fight the Nine-Tails head-on. During the battle, the beast predictably stopped attacking others and focused solely on Haseo.
Though slightly bumpy along the way, overall, the second sealing operation could still be considered successful, with the process mostly smooth enough—but naturally, everyone felt completely exhausted afterward.
Especially Mokkō, who led the suppression efforts against the Nine-Tails. After finishing her job, she couldn't even muster the strength to take a couple steps. Without Mito Uzumaki's power, all the pressure had fallen onto her shoulders.
Even Haseo himself was worn out—probably because he always managed to draw so much hatred.
"How are you feeling, Orochimaru? Can you keep the Nine-Tails under control?" After taking a short rest, Haseo asked Orochimaru.
This question, though, was somewhat unnecessary. If Orochimaru couldn't suppress the Nine-Tails, then the sealing had failed. And if the sealing had failed, the Nine-Tails would have escaped immediately—and Orochimaru would've died instantly.
Right now, though, Orochimaru was clearly conscious and intact, which meant the sealing had basically succeeded.
However, Orochimaru's chakra didn't possess the special characteristics that Kushina's did, which made asking about his condition still worthwhile.
"Truly impressive—the Nine-Tails. I can feel nearly endless chakra within the seal, violently struggling against its bonds. Yet the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style firmly restrains it, [Eight Trigrams Sealing Style] like… a blazing flame surging fiercely within my palm.
From now on, I should try learning how to control this power. The Nine-Tails… will become an excellent tool."
Orochimaru stayed calm, probably because sealing the Nine-Tails had sparked that scientist fire in him again. The tension he'd shown earlier was completely gone.
"Hmm, this is just a normal rejection reaction, like… organ transplantation," Orochimaru explained.
Haseo frowned slightly but didn't say much. That long-haired bastard really lacked insight—please, endless chakra? Please—that was just an eighth of the Nine-Tails' chakra!
Right now, Orochimaru was still in the transitional phase from Orochi to Orochimaru, essentially a mid-stage version of himself, so it was understandable he'd be easily alarmed. Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to become a Jinchuriki in the first place.
But this also showed just how overwhelmingly powerful the Nine-Tails must seem to someone encountering it for the first time—even an eighth of its chakra was more than enough.
"Go on, get moving. Go study your Nine-Tails. If any problems arise, contact Kagenami. As for us, we're heading to Lady Mito's next."
Seeing that Orochimaru seemed fine, Haseo immediately started pushing him to leave.
Upon hearing Haseo's words, the Jinshou girls who had been resting on the ground stood up one by one. Even Mokkō managed to rise with the help of others.
Everyone began exiting the underground base, heading toward Mito Uzumaki's woodland cottage.
Haseo took one last look at that "big pot." He gave a slight bow before falling into step behind the others. A clan elder's mission had been completed, and there was no need for his soul to remain bound by the Impure World Reincarnation technique anymore. Once the Third Hokage removed the jutsu placed upon him, his spirit could finally rest in peace.
The Kagenami Base was shut down completely, silent as a tomb once they were gone.
Orochimaru went off to do his own thing, while Haseo and the rest made their way to the small cottage, arriving just as dawn broke.
"So another night has passed already. Time really does fly," Haseo murmured softly.
Yet time always did fly.
At this point, he and the twelve Uzumaki shinobi were all in tattered condition. Therefore, Haseo and the twelve Uzumaki shinobi simply remained in the surrounding woods without drawing closer to the cottage—they'd come far enough and didn't need to go nearer.
Cold morning light filtered through the cloudless blue sky and entered the window on the side wall of the small house.
Mito Uzumaki lay partially reclined against the bed, covered by a pure white blanket so bright it almost hurt to look at.
Inside the house were only Tsunade, Nawaki, Shikou, and Kushina. Compared to Mito's status, these people were few in number.
But this handful of individuals was more than sufficient.
It looked like Mito was holding Tsunade's hand and chatting gently, letting out soft laughter now and then.
Then, as if sensing something, she turned her face toward the window.
With her head full of white hair, Mito gave the most peaceful, gentle, and affectionate smile.
It was an expression that Haseo simply couldn't bear — the weight of it forced him to smile in return. What he didn't know was that, at this moment, Mito's vision had already blurred. She could barely perceive Haseo's chakra through her sensor ability.
Time itself seemed to halt at that very moment.
And at this moment, there was only one thing Uzumaki Mito could say to this world.
That was nothing more than a quiet "Goodbye."
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