CHAPTER 204: CHAPTER 204: I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU MEAN!

Uchiha Haru waited for a long time, but Tsunade still didn’t answer. Her silence lingered like a weight in the air. He eventually lost his patience.

He turned to Orochimaru and asked flatly, "Do you have corpses prepared for Impure World Reincarnation?"

Orochimaru hesitated for a second, then nodded. "Yes."

After all, he had long been obsessed with forbidden techniques and human experimentation in pursuit of knowledge. That obsession had earned him widespread condemnation back in Konoha—and had eventually led to his defection.

When he was still in the village, he had to be cautious. He couldn’t afford to conduct his research too openly. But after leaving, Orochimaru no longer had any such restraints. He allowed himself full freedom, indulging in all manner of twisted experiments.

This hideout—his secret underground laboratory—was where he conducted most of those operations. Of course he had bodies for the Impure World Reincarnation technique.

"Good," Haru said, as if it had already been part of his plan.

"Go and bring them."

He gave the order casually, like it was nothing more than telling a servant to fetch water.

Orochimaru froze for a second. His golden eyes narrowed slightly.

No one had spoken to him like that in years—let alone dared to command him. For a moment, a surge of humiliation boiled in his chest. But he suppressed it quickly.

Because he knew very well: the man standing in front of him was Uchiha Haru—someone who could kill him with a single kick if he so desired.

Pride? Dignity? None of that mattered if he was dead.

In the end, Orochimaru simply turned around and left without a word.

Haru watched him go, completely unconcerned about the possibility of Orochimaru escaping. He knew better. As long as the Flying Thunder God Technique was marked, Orochimaru had no chance of slipping away—not even if he tried.

Sure enough, Orochimaru returned not long after, carrying two corpses in his arms. They were well-preserved, clearly selected for the ritual.

Haru nodded. "Now everything’s ready. All that’s left are the remains of Nawaki and Dan Katō."

His gaze slowly shifted toward Tsunade.

She still hadn’t spoken. Her face was stiff, her expression conflicted. Struggle flickered in her eyes like a storm on the horizon.

Haru didn’t wait this time.

Without warning, he grabbed Tsunade by the arm, and with his other hand reached toward Orochimaru. In an instant, he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique—and they vanished.

A flash.

Then—Konoha.

Tsunade’s heart sank the moment she saw the familiar trees of the Fire Country. Her instincts screamed the reason: Haru had brought her here to retrieve the DNA needed for the Impure World Reincarnation.

To perform the jutsu, one needed physical remnants—flesh, bone, or even just a strand of hair—of the deceased.

They had come to dig up the graves of her little brother, Nawaki, and her lover, Dan Katō.

Tsunade’s fists clenched at her sides. She wanted to object. Wanted to scream at Haru and tell him he had crossed a line. The words were right there—caught in her throat.

But she couldn’t say them.

Because deep down, beneath the grief and anger... part of her wanted to see them again. Nawaki. Dan. Even if it was just their souls pulled back by that forbidden jutsu. She wanted to know the truth—why they died, what they left behind.

Beside her, Orochimaru’s eyes were wide with awe. His lips curled upward slightly.

"So this is the Flying Thunder God..."

He had seen Haru use the technique before. But it was the first time he had personally experienced its full power. A single instant had taken them across countless miles, over rivers, forests, mountains—across an entire country.

It truly was the ninjutsu of legends.

Orochimaru’s heart stirred.

He had come back to Konoha—his old home. The last time he’d been here, he had launched a surprise attack. During the chaos, the Akatsuki had infiltrated as well, trying to capture a tailed beast.

The battle that followed was cataclysmic. Lives were lost. Buildings reduced to rubble. The trauma was etched into the bones of the village.

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had died in that conflict—along with many other cornerstones of Konoha. The final blow had come from Tendo Pain’s Chibaku Tensei: a massive gravitational technique that nearly erased the village from the map.

By all rights, Konoha should have been in ruins.

But what Orochimaru saw now was different.

Yes, there were signs of destruction everywhere. Rubble. Cracked roads. Damaged buildings.

But amidst the wreckage... life was stirring again.

Konoha was like a sapling surviving the harsh winter, a weed regrowing after a wildfire. New scaffolding rose from old stone. Children trained in the academy grounds again. Construction workers called to one another across rooftops.

A sense of tenacity, of rebirth.

Orochimaru watched in silence, unable to hide his emotion.

For Konoha to come back from that kind of devastation—it was no wonder it had held the title of strongest village for so long.

Even Haru felt something.

When he had first arrived in the Hidden Mist Village, it had been suffocating. Bloody. Cold. Trapped under the rule of the Mizukage during the Blood Mist era.

Compared to that, Konoha had suffered even more—but its spirit was vastly different.

Despite all the mistakes made by Sarutobi Hiruzen, and despite how warped the Will of Fire had become in some minds—like Itachi’s—there was something undeniable in the will it had left behind.

Something worth preserving.

Tsunade, however, was overwhelmed.

She looked around, her breath catching in her throat. Her gaze drifted across the shattered Hokage Rock, the ruins of the hospital, the burned husks of familiar buildings.

She bit her lip hard. Tears threatened at the corners of her eyes.

"What happened here...?" she asked hoarsely.

Her voice trembled, thick with pain. "What happened to Konoha?"

She turned her eyes to Haru, demanding an answer.

Tsunade clenched her fists, lowering her voice so the anger beneath it could be heard. Although many things in Konoha had long frustrated her, no one—absolutely no one—was allowed to hurt the village like this.

Orochimaru shifted awkwardly, unable to hide the truth. Yes, it was because of him... Yet thankfully, Tsunade didn’t seem to know the full story, or else he might never get out of this conversation alive.

They were now firmly within Konoha’s territory.

Orochimaru glanced sideways at Uchiha Haru, who caught the look and understood perfectly. To proceed with their plan and resurrect Nawaki Senju and Dan Katō using Impure World Reincarnation, it was best not to stir up any trouble.

So Haru said calmly to Tsunade, "During the Chūnin Exams, the Akatsuki organization launched a raid on Konoha, aiming to seize the Tailed Beasts."

"Akatsuki!" Tsunade’s eyes narrowed, her chest rising and falling violently with rage. At this moment, no one would doubt that if any member of Akatsuki stood before her, she’d knock them down with a single punch. Her destructive power was not an exaggeration.

Orochimaru exhaled a quiet sigh of relief. Thankfully, Haru hadn’t named him as one of the culprits. Orochimaru knew Tsunade well—once angered, she was unstoppable. She wouldn’t hesitate or care about consequences; she’d act first and ask questions later. From their past missions together, he’d learned that all too well.

Had Haru exposed him, Orochimaru would be in deep trouble. He was one of the true reasons behind Konoha’s current ruinous state, and he knew it.

"Don’t worry," Haru said, placing a reassuring hand on Tsunade’s shoulder to calm her. "Although Konoha is in bad shape now, the Akatsuki has paid a heavy price. I have killed Pain, the leader of that organization, so vengeance has been served."

He didn’t want to see Tsunade lose herself to anger and flee. If she did, Haru could easily stop her, but he respected her too much to force anything. Tsunade was still a friend, and no needless conflict would come from him.

Hearing that the Akatsuki had suffered, Tsunade’s emotions steadied somewhat.

"Sooner or later, I will make the Akatsuki pay an even heavier price!" she spat through gritted teeth, her fury unmistakable.

Even Orochimaru trembled at the threat. If Tsunade ever learned the truth about his role in Konoha’s destruction, she would ensure he paid dearly.

Orochimaru just wanted this matter to end quickly so he could disappear into a secret hiding place. Even if Tsunade discovered the truth later, finding him would be impossible—unless Haru’s Flying Thunder God Technique gave him away. Orochimaru was confident of that.

Haru said no more on the subject. Instead, he led Tsunade and Orochimaru deeper into Konoha, to lay the meritorious ninjas to rest.

They visited the graves of Konoha’s heroic shinobi, including the first and second Hokage, and notable figures like the White Fang of Konoha. Many warriors who had died in battle were buried here.

Among these graves were those of Tsunade’s younger brother, Nawaki Senju, and her lover, Dan Katō.

During the recent Chūnin Exams, Pain had used Chibaku Tensei to nearly annihilate Konoha. The original trees, houses, buildings—even rocks—were crushed or scattered.

Yet, the cemetery remained largely intact. Aside from superficial damage, the bodies buried beneath had suffered little.

Still, without Tsunade’s presence, locating Nawaki’s and Dan Katō’s graves would be nearly impossible.

All the markers had been destroyed.

Only someone familiar with the grounds could navigate the cemetery by memory—and Tsunade was exactly that person.

Nawaki was her younger brother; Dan Katō, her lover. Tsunade had visited these places countless times and could find them blindfolded.

Leading Haru and Orochimaru to the underground rope tree marking Nawaki’s grave, her face was heavy with sorrow and longing. She had loved her brother deeply, and his premature death was a wound that never healed.

Then she guided them to Dan Katō’s grave, her steps slow and reverent.

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