Chapter 177: Favor
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Mito's eyes, as ageless as her spirit, were reflective. She had been the first Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails. The revelation about the Tailed Beasts' origin hit her hard, shattering the understanding she had lived with for centuries.
"What are my chances against... that entity?" Orochimaru questioned, his voice laced with an analytical tone that could dissect the heart of a matter with surgical precision.
Koushin's eyes, bright and piercing as emerald flames, twinkled with a touch of malevolent glee. "Ten Tails or Kaguya?" he tossed back, his tone flippant yet loaded.
Orochimaru held his gaze, a thin sliver of a smile creeping onto his face. "Both," he retorted, his tone clipped and sharp.
Koushin's response was a hearty laugh that reverberated around the silent forest, a stark contrast to the seriousness of their conversation. His shoulders shook, his laughter fading into a chuckle before he composed himself to speak. "Against them one on one, your chances are practically nonexistent. And if they join forces? You might as well play dead." His words, delivered with a cruel nonchalance, echoed through the clearing, their harsh reality hanging heavily in the air.
Orochimaru's eyes widened momentarily before he quickly regained his composure. He was silent for a moment, considering Koushin's words, before he challenged, "And your chances?"
Koushin's lips curled into an inscrutable smile. "Ah, trying to gauge my powers, Orochimaru-san? You're clever, I'll give you that."
"First of all, I am not alone," Koushin began, his calm voice slicing through the palpable tension, "something you cannot claim. Secondly, I am way, way stronger than you. No matter whose body you possess, no matter how many Sharingan you implant into your body, there are powers you cannot attain." His voice was cold, like steel against stone.
Koushin's gaze bore into Orochimaru's, a violet stare as sharp as a kunai, heavy with his words' implications. The joviality was gone, replaced by a certain hardness that dared Orochimaru to deny his statement.
"So, I told you this story in hopes that you can kill Zetsu and end this battle before it begins. But I know you, Orochimaru. I know what a snake you are, slithering and sneaking around, choosing to strike when it suits you best. You won't even get close to him. And as for me... well, Zetsu is tricky. He cannot be found when he does not wish to be."
His words rang through the air like a chilling bell, unsettling in their raw truth. Orochimaru's face was unreadable, his expression as cryptic as ever, yet the flicker of understanding in his eyes couldn't be missed.
Koushin's violet gaze flickered with a flash of mockery, a silent jab at the serpentine man. "Anyway, when the time comes, you will see," he concluded, his voice simmering with unspoken promises.
"I will take Yamato-san now," Koushin declared, turning his gaze to Yamato. He wasn't asking for permission; he was stating a fact. It was as though he was issuing a challenge to anyone who dared to argue. None did.
"And I will do you a favor, Orochimaru-san," Koushin added, his gaze darting back to the pale-faced man, "just so Lady Tsunade won't break you down to boneless play dough."
Koushin's eyes sparkled with a hint of mischievous mirth, a gentle jab at the powerful Tsunade's notorious temper. He spoke in jest, but the implications were clear. Orochimaru was on thin ice, and Koushin wasn't afraid to remind him of that fact.
Turning his attention to Mito, Koushin smiled, his expression softened by sincere respect for the woman who was the first Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails. "Mito-sama," he addressed her with a gentle voice, "you were not responsible for the Uzumaki's destruction."
He let his words sink in, watched as Mito's ageless eyes widened slightly, the echo of old guilt flashing in her gaze. "It was an evil act planned by four other villages and instigated by Danzo due to his fear of every other big clan. Sarutobi Hiruzen was a weakling of a monkey who could not stand against the love of his life, Danzo. Thus, he let it happen."
His words were heavy, a harsh truth laid bare. Mito seemed to stagger under the weight of his words, her eyes shining with unshed tears. Her hand lifted to her mouth, her silent gasp barely audible over the humming of the forest around them.
"You weren't betraying your clan. There wasn't anything you could have done." Koushin's voice was gentle yet firm, a soothing balm over a festering wound. "Release your guilt, and go to the afterlife in peace."
Silence fell over them, as Koushin's words echoed into the nothingness, resonating within each of them in different ways. It was a moment of stark revelation and hard truths, leaving them to grapple with the realities they had been presented with.
After a pause that seemed to stretch into eternity, Mito's lips quirked into a tender smile. The corners of her eyes crinkled as she let out a sigh that sounded like a millennia of buried guilt being set free. A single tear traced a path down her ageless face, catching the fading sunlight and casting a diamond-like glint. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice a bare echo that nonetheless vibrated powerfully within their hearts.
As she voiced her gratitude, her figure started to shimmer, the edges becoming ethereal. The solid presence that was Mito Uzumaki began to dissolve, fading into the gentle evening breeze, her smile the last thing to disappear.
Orochimaru's eyes widened in surprise, confusion marring his normally stoic features. He turned towards Koushin, a hint of desperation creeping into his gaze. "What have you done?" he demanded, his tone sharper than a kunai.
Tobirama watched Orochimaru with a smirk playing on his face. His icy eyes gleamed with quiet satisfaction. "Seems like this teen knows Edo Tensei better than you, snake," he said, each word dripping with heavy irony. His gaze bore into Orochimaru, driving home his point. "It cannot hold a soul that is in peace and travels to the afterlife. It can only summon souls that linger in the world between due to regret or other emotions."
As Tobirama explained, Koushin too wore a smug smile. His violet gaze held a triumphant spark, basking in the significance of the moment. He looked directly at Orochimaru, his voice steady and assured. "Your plans will never bear fruit, Orochimaru-san, but I will give you a chance anyway," he declared. The smile on his face didn't falter as he laid bare the reality of Orochimaru's situation.
"If you stand against us, you will die for real. I know all your secrets, and I will destroy every last piece of you," he warned, his voice an icy whisper that curled around them, carrying the weight of an unspoken promise. His gaze didn't falter, not once, as he held Orochimaru in a relentless stare, daring him to challenge his proclamation.
"Think thoroughly and make your choice," Koushin advised, the air of finality in his tone making the threat all the more tangible. "If I see a single Edo Tensei in the battlefield, then it is over for you."
His words echoed in the silence that followed, hovering in the air like an ominous prophecy. Without waiting for a response, Koushin turned to Yamato. He reached out, his hand coming to rest on Yamato's shoulder. "Let's go," he said simply, not a request but a statement of intent.
With that, he closed his eyes, and the world around them seemed to warp, bending and twisting as if reality itself was caught in a violent storm. And then, in the blink of an eye, they vanished, leaving nothing but a slight gust of wind as proof of their existence.
Tobirama smirked at the spectacle, his arms crossed over his chest. "Another technique of mine," he said to the empty space, an unmistakable note of pride lacing his words.
"Another technique you created based on my Ancestor Hana's teachings, you mean?" Mito's voice reverberated in his ears, as if the Uzumaki Matriarch who had just moved to Pure Land was mocking her for one last time. Tobirama could only sigh in defeat. It was true, although the world knew them as his, they were mostly derived from scrolls Hana Uzumaki left behind. 'Well, so long as it helps to defeat Uchiha.'
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