58 - A Trap Within A Trap

Taking Tsunade along, Shin continued toward the border. Not far into their journey, they encountered new guests.

Even Shin couldn't help but marvel: this trip was growing livelier by the moment. This time, they ran into Konan and Sasori.

As in the original storyline, Sasori had come across Konan on his way to the Land of Rain. Their encounter had been brief but decisive.

Konan, with her ability to transform into paper and nullify physical puppet attacks, was a natural counter to his combat style.

Realizing his disadvantage, Sasori surrendered and joined forces with Konan.

At that moment, she was leading Sasori to Ame to deliver him to Shin. However, they coincidentally crossed paths en route.

"Why not travel together?" Shin readily invited them. "The borders are unstable these days."

Konan nodded. "It would be safer. Especially with the war spreading."

Uncertain what dangers lay ahead in rescuing Nonō, it seemed prudent to bring more companions. The more skilled fighters they had, the better their chances.

If Nagato hadn't been holed up studying new abilities of the Rinnegan—likely tinkering with the Six Paths puppets—Shin might have invited him along too.

Perhaps it's better this way. Too many powerful pieces on the board can be as dangerous as too few.

After these chance encounters, Shin's group had grown to seven people. It now included himself, Rai, Kakuzu, Tsunade, Shizune, and the new additions: Konan and Sasori.

This lineup seemed sufficient to fight a small-scale war.

With such a powerful team, their travel speed was rapid. They moved through the trees in perfect formation, with Konan's paper butterflies scouting ahead and Kakuzu's threads ready to respond to any threat.

Guided by Rai, they quickly reached the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers.

The country, a small buffer nation between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, had its mission quotas transfered to Konoha after the last war, as Konoha had emerged victorious.

Currently, the Land of Rivers was under Suna's de facto control. In fact, Suna had pushed its frontlines deep into the Land of Fire.

The upcoming decisive Battle of Kikyō Pass, which would shatter Suna's morale, was set to occur within the Land of Fire's territory. From a historical perspective, this period marked Suna's final peak in open warfare.

Unfortunately, they were unaware of their impending downfall. Most Suna ninjas remained optimistic about the war. Even the sudden entry of Kiri into the fray, launching a surprise attack along the coastline, hadn't shaken their confidence.

They believed the Fourth Kazekage's offensive would turn the tide.

With Suna focusing less on defending against the Land of Rain, Shin and his group crossed the border undetected, encountering no Suna patrols.

It wasn't until they discovered the carcass of a summoned bird in the forest near the main road that things took a turn. The dead creature lay unnaturally posed, its position too perfect to be coincidental. Someone wanted this to be found.

Konan, scouting from above in her paper form, quickly spotted figures nearby. "Shin, over here! There's a woman collapsed with a child next to her—they look severely injured!"

Hearing this, Tsunade and Shizune reflexively rushed over. Sasori showed no reaction, while Kakuzu's threads twitched with suspicion.

Shizune, feeling guilty about her unpaid debts, eagerly took the lead in checking on the fallen woman. Her hands already glowed as she knelt beside the unconscious figures.

The embarrassment of their debt-collecting misadventures had left her deeply ashamed. She was desperate to do something to regain the creditor's trust.

Of course, this was also because she didn't fully understand Tsunade's stature. After spending two years with a gambling drunkard, it was hard to reconcile her with the image of a revered, formidable kunoichi.

Unbeknownst to her, Tsunade wasn't as concerned about those creditors as she appeared. Still, she refrained from explaining, fearing she might encourage bad habits.

Now, she simply followed Shizune, occasionally offering guidance during the emergency treatment. Her experienced eyes noticed details her apprentice missed.

"Use chakra to stabilize the heart first. Yes, like that," Tsunade instructed. "Also, your sequence is wrong. You should detoxify before treating external wounds. She's been poisoned, which is why she hasn't regained consciousness."

Rai was the next to arrive, pushing past Sasori and Kakuzu. Seeing the situation, he anxiously asked, "How is she? How did she get poisoned? Was it Suna?"

The mention of poison immediately brought Suna to mind—it was a common assumption in the ninja world. Even Sasori, a former Suna ninja, tilted his head slightly.

Prompted by this, Tsunade examined the patient further.

What she discovered shocked her. She abruptly let go of Nonō's hand as if electrocuted, her pupils dilating in alarm.

"What's wrong?" Rai asked nervously, stepping forward instinctively to investigate.

But before he could approach, black threads suddenly wrapped around his waist, yanking him back with brutal force.

Kakuzu's threads had saved him from potentially deadly consequences. "Fool," he growled, his threads tightening. "Can't you sense the danger?"

Rai's angry protests ceased when Tsunade said, "This isn't Suna's poison. It's... snake venom." As soon as she spoke, a crimson glow flared around them, forming a cubic barrier that trapped her, Shizune, Nonō, and Kabuto.

The abrupt appearance of the barrier silenced Rai's cries. He stared in disbelief at the scene, realizing he had wrongly blamed Kakuzu.

Had Kakuzu not acted, he too would have been caught or, worse, injured by the barrier's edges.

The red cubic barrier triggered a distant memory for Shin. "Just like what trapped the Third Hokage. Which means..."

He had seen this before in the original story, and if he was right, that meant Orochimaru was involved.

Sure enough, the Snake Sage emerged from the forest, walking leisurely toward them.

"I expected this trap to lure that madwoman, but instead, I caught such interesting prey."

"You must be Akatsuki. A pleasure to meet you. And, Tsunade, it's been a while."

From the moment she identified the snake venom, Tsunade had guessed the culprit. Now, her shock gave way to wariness as she stared at her former comrade.

Two figures stood before her—Orochimaru and a white-haired young man.

"Orochimaru… and Hiruko. It truly has been a long time."

Hiruko? He is still loyal to Konoha? Shin thought.

He could only smile wryly at the chaotic turn of events. What had started as a simple mission to retrieve Nonō had snowballed into a spectacle.

At this moment, Shin couldn't help but feel a bit relieved.

If it hadn't been for running into Tsunade before leaving, the first ones to approach Nonō might very well have been him and Rai.

Without her, he would have been the only one in the team capable of medical ninjutsu. In that case, the one caught in the Four Flames Formation would likely have been him instead.

The barrier was a jutsu even Hiruzen and the Konoha Barrier Team couldn't handle in the original storyline. Shin had no confidence in breaking it either.

Looking back, he felt incredibly lucky today.

What surprised him even more was that the one chasing Nonō turned out to be Orochimaru. Was it because Nonō's defection from Root had been exposed?

But why was he the one pursuing her? Did he still have connections to Root? Was Danzō still in power at this point?

So many mysteries remained unsolved.

At that moment, Orochimaru's gaze fixed on someone among their group—Sasori.

"Both arms modified into mechanical parts, with traces of chakra threads. You must be a puppet master from Suna."

"You're Sasori? Ame and Suna working together—are you forming some kind of alliance?"

Hearing this, Shin couldn't help but chuckle bitterly. His own confusion suddenly felt like less of a weakness—watching even the Snake Sannin fumble to understand the situation brought an odd sense of balance to his mind.

If their enemies were this lost, maybe being confused wasn't so bad after all.

Initially, Orochimaru had only planned to use the poisoned Kabuto and Nonō as bait to trap Pakura, who was chasing them. But it seemed his fishing rod had snagged far bigger prey than he expected.

What have I reeled in? Behind his calm facade, he was internally panicking.

This sudden turn of events was overwhelming for everyone.

Except for one person, who remained entirely unfazed by the chaos—clear in their goal and firm in their intent.

"Sasori!"

The hatred in that single word could have melted stone. With a shout that seemed to shake the very air, the final participant, who had been hiding in the shadows, finally stepped onto the stage—Pakura had arrived.

Ignoring all distractions, her eyes were locked on one target: Sasori.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Caterwaul!"

She unleashed a massive Fire Release jutsu that engulfed the battlefield, the dragon-shaped flames roaring with such intensity that nearby trees began to wither.

Everyone was forced to retreat, the heat alone enough to scorch skin. Then, she charged straight at Sasori.

At first, Sasori didn't want to reveal the Third Kazekage puppet in front of his fellow villager. But Pakura's killing intent was overwhelming, with every attack aiming for his life.

He dared not block her fireballs with his body, unsealing the scroll on his back. The scroll unfurled with a snap, trailing streams of smoke.

The human puppet of the Third Kazekage appeared, its wooden joints clicking into position as chakra threads connected. It intercepted a fireball aimed directly at Sasori.

"You really killed the Third Kazekage!"

"What a surprise. It was him who killed the Third Kazekage," Hiruko said beside the Snake Sannin.

This mirrored Orochimaru's thoughts. He hadn't expected today's events to reveal such information.

Even the mystery behind the outbreak of the current Shinobi World War became clear.

Suna's attack on Konoha had been justified by the death of the Kazekage. Yet here was his body, turned into a puppet, blatantly wielded by one of their own.

During the war, Suna had kept the truth of the Kazekage's death under wraps, even avoiding declaring Sasori a rogue ninja.

Orochimaru's slit pupils darted back and forth, spinning countless wild scenarios in his mind.

One second later, when he locked eyes with Shin, an overwhelming sense of pressure surged forth.

He wasn't one to retreat over mere conjecture. With a flick of his wrist that seemed almost casual, a blade appeared in his hand—the Kusanagi Sword.

Leaning forward in a battle stance, Orochimaru charged at Shin, aiming a slash at him.

Meanwhile, Kakuzu confronted Hiruko.

Out of respect for Orochimaru, he released all four of his masked monsters right from the start, going all out.

"Water Style: Water Shockwave!"

"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"

The Water and Lightning masks attacked in tandem, bombarding Hiruko with a devastating combination of water and lightning. 

Most of the firepower focused on Hiruko, while a small fraction targeted Orochimaru, as a gesture of his loyalty to his new employer.

Though well-intentioned, Kakuzu underestimated Hiruko.

In a split second, he lost his connection to one of his masks—the Water Style mask was entirely obliterated.

In truth, Hiruko's forbidden jutsu had consumed the mask, absorbing it into himself.

Without pause, he formed seals and counterattacked using Kakuzu's own technique.

"Water Style: Water Shockwave!"

A torrent of water blasted out, suppressing Kakuzu and even catching Shin in the crossfire.

Initially, Kakuzu had aimed to relieve some of Shin's burden in facing a Sannin. Instead, his actions had turned Shin into collateral damage.

Did Hiruko use the Chimera Technique? How... is this a parallel world? Shin wondered, watching the waves approach. If this world differs from what I know, how much can I rely on my knowledge of the original timeline?

Maybe I could reach Rōran before Minato's team, use their time travel mechanism myself? Would that show me the true canon timeline?

Nah, I'd probably end up meeting Boruto instead of Naruto, fighting those Ōtsutsuki beings instead, he thought, nearly laughing out loud at the absurdity.

Before the waves could reach him, he threw his sword in a smooth arc, freeing his hands to form seals.

"Water Body Flicker!"

Using the water pooling on the ground, he vanished into the currents, swiftly repositioning himself.

Clang!

Orochimaru deflected the flying sword with a flick of the Kusanagi, sending it spinning through the air.

A moment later, a stream of water zigzagged through the battlefield, dodging every obstacle before leaping skyward.

Mid-air, the water transformed back into Shin, who caught the sword mid-flight and spun.

Using the momentum, he launched a vicious overhead slash aimed at Orochimaru.

Clang!

Shin's blade clashed with Orochimaru's Kusanagi.

The force of impact sent ripples through the muddy ground. Both fighters leapt back.

Glancing at Kakuzu, Shin noticed the man's averted gaze. He sighed inwardly.

The older ninja had meant well, but against an opponent of this caliber, good intentions weren't enough.

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