Naruto: I am Uchiha Shirou-Chapter 207: Naruto: I am Uchiha Shirou []

Under the moonlight, three figures stood coldly, staring at a pale head emerging from the ground.

"Heh heh, so the little rat hiding in the dark has finally shown its face..."

With a hoarse and twisted smile, Orochimaru watched intently. Tonight, he had deliberately set up a sensory barrier to test Shirou. Unexpectedly, someone dared to walk right into it.

Meanwhile, Tsunade's pupils contracted the moment she saw the creature, her heart shaking in shock.

"This... White Zetsu!"

Shirou silently gasped in surprise. White Zetsu's courage was truly astounding. It was one thing to sneak around earlier, but now, in the presence of three high-ranked shinobi whose strength was among the best in the ninja world, to act so boldly was simply unthinkable!

"It seems I've been discovered..."

White Zetsu, now exposed, tilted his head and gave a comical smile. Just as he began to sink back into the ground to escape, Tsunade's powerful fist slammed into the earth.

"Trying to run? Stay right where you are!"

With a single, devastating blow, the ground shattered, sending a massive chunk of earth containing White Zetsu flying through the air.

Hidden Shadow Snake Hands

At that moment, Orochimaru released dozens of serpents from his sleeve. The snakes coiled around the flying earth chunk, shattering it and completely ensnaring White Zetsu's body.

In the next instant, Shirou's crimson Sharingan spun rapidly, the three tomoe transforming into a Mangekyo Sharingan with a sharp sound. A single intense glare from his eyes caused White Zetsu's pupils to contract before his gaze turned vacant, falling into a genjutsu.

"What is this creature?"

After Orochimaru sealed the immobilized White Zetsu with another jutsu, his snake-like eyes narrowed with a mix of surprise and excitement as he examined the pale creature before him.

Tsunade stood nearby, her eyes gleaming with a mix of certainty and astonishment as if she had long known of such beings.

"This creature contains a large amount of Mokuton cells. During the Second Great Ninja War, traces of it were found on the battlefield in the Land of Rain. After studying it, we concluded that it's likely a mutated hybrid between plants and humans.

It's suspected to be the result of secret experiments involving Mokuton, which eventually led to the creation of this mutated entity. It even resembles the subject of your research..."

Under the astonished gazes of Orochimaru and Shirou, Tsunade casually revealed years of research as if she were reciting from memory. However, when she reached the last part, her voice paused, and a trace of silence crossed her eyes.

"The mutated plant cells in this creature seem to hold the secrets to immortality and eternal youth. After all, plants can live for thousands, even tens of thousands of years...

Shirou, your body's unique constitution and your forbidden techniques also contain traces of this special energy, though in minimal amounts for now."

At that moment, Tsunade exuded an air of mystery, her extensive knowledge of the subject surprising even Orochimaru, who was momentarily left speechless.

As for Shirou, he stood stunned for a moment before realization dawned on him.

"A hybrid born from Mokuton cells and some kind of plant mutation?"

Instead of fear, Orochimaru's reaction to hearing about this new species was a twisted grin. Licking his lips, he murmured:

"Heh heh, fascinating... utterly fascinating. The secrets of this world are becoming more and more intriguing..."

Shirou extended his hand to White Zetsu's forehead, probing it briefly before frowning and shaking his head.

"I've absorbed cells from a similar creature before, so I also carry a small amount within me. But this one seems to be just a clone, not the original body.

Furthermore, as Tsunade said, it's like a plant. It's impossible to extract any useful information from its mind."

"Heh heh, how fascinating... This world might be far more interesting than we ever imagined."

Orochimaru's raspy laughter grew more excited. Just when he thought he was close to unveiling the mysteries of the world, he found even deeper enigmas waiting beneath the surface.

Under the moonlight, the precious White Zetsu clone hung in the air, bound tightly by Orochimaru's snakes.

"This regenerative ability... it's almost identical to that of a rapidly healing plant."

Orochimaru lightly ran a chakra scalpel across White Zetsu's arm, leaving a small cut. As wisps of white smoke rose and the wound healed instantly, Orochimaru licked his lips in excitement.

"I'll be taking this rare specimen for my research..."

Just as Orochimaru greedily prepared to claim the experimental material, a sudden slicing sound rang out.

To his and Shirou's shock, Tsunade's chakra scalpel flashed, and with a clean, decisive motion, she severed both of White Zetsu's arms.

Holding the dripping, white-liquid-covered arms in her hands, she ignored their stunned gazes and snorted coldly.

"A clone, nothing more."

Orochimaru let out a raspy laugh. "Heh heh, the arms are no different. After all, it's like a plant—there are no internal organs to worry about..."

But the next moment, Orochimaru's smile froze as Tsunade glared at him and snorted again.

"Orochimaru, don't get any ideas!"

She casually tossed the two severed arms at him. Orochimaru, visibly annoyed, realized that Tsunade intended to keep the most valuable parts of White Zetsu for herself.

"These arms are your share!"

"Tsunade, you—"

For the first time, Orochimaru's expression darkened with dissatisfaction. But Tsunade, as domineering as ever, declared:

"Orochimaru, the three of us split everything evenly!" She then turned to Shirou with a raised eyebrow.

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"Shirou, I'll hold onto your share for research. Any objections?"

Seeing this, Shirou quickly shook his head and shrugged.

The situation became clear: two against one. Orochimaru ended up with only the severed arms.

Looking at the two limbs, Orochimaru remained silent. A snake slithered out of his mouth, depositing a container in which he carefully sealed the precious material.

Shirou smirked and said tauntingly, "I trust, Orochimaru, that after the war, you won't mind taking responsibility for the research?"

His tempting words seemed to imply that, after the war, the entirety of Konoha would belong to him. Such bold ambition made Tsunade's eyes soften with admiration.

This is what it means to be a Uchiha. This is her man. Someone who spoils her at times but remains resolute in his own will.

"Responsibility for the research?!"

Orochimaru licked his lips while flashing a twisted grin. Watching Shirou and Tsunade, he seemed to understand something deeper.

Those two words—responsibility for research—essentially confirmed Shirou's ambition.

"I see. So, Shirou-kun, you're determined to become Hokage. I wonder what kind of shock your true strength will bring to Konoha..."

With great interest, Orochimaru watched as Tsunade stored the valuable White Zetsu clone.

"After all, Shirou-kun, you've never truly displayed your full power—whether it's your perfected Sage Body or your Mangekyo Sharingan..."

Shirou smiled faintly, his gaze shifting toward the distant enemy forces near Kikyo Mountain.

"Well then, I suppose this is a good opportunity to show my full strength."

Orochimaru's raspy laughter echoed again. He seemed to revel in the idea of pursuing immortality while Shirou sought to dominate the ninja world. The first step was to become Hokage.

To become a god, one needed power—enough power to demonstrate the potential to rival the First Hokage, the God of Shinobi.

And at this young age, the potential was all that mattered.

With a confident smile tinged with subtle dominance, Shirou exuded an aura that made Orochimaru chuckle darkly.

"Is that so? Then I shall wait and see the power that will allow Shirou-kun to stand at the pinnacle!"

On the side, Tsunade listened to these words and revealed a proud smile in her eyes.

No one understood her chosen person better than she did, especially in a large-scale war like this, where Shirou's true strength could be fully unleashed.

The Mangekyō Sharingan, the perfect Sage Body, mastery of the five elemental chakra natures, and a terrifying-tailed beast-level chakra reserve!

"Shirou! Use your power to shock the ninja world!"

At this moment, beneath Tsunade's confident smile, she slowly uttered a sentence, her voice softening toward the end:

"This is also your first step to becoming Hokage!"

Shirou also displayed an ambitious smile. The Third Great Ninja War would become his stage. Amid the brutal conflict, he would show Konoha that only the strong could lead the village back to the divine pinnacle.

Finally... returning to Konoha, he would usher in a new Hokage!

...

"Report! The forces of the Hidden Cloud, Hidden Rock, and Hidden Sand are advancing rapidly. They're almost at the base of Kikyo Mountain..."

"Their numbers... their numbers are impossible to estimate. The combined forces of the three hidden villages have deployed at least five thousand ninjas!"

Inside the Konoha camp on Kikyo Mountain, one ninja after another delivered their reports. Particularly among the sensory ninjas, the dense chakra signatures they detected left them drenched in cold sweat, their faces filled with panic.

Although Konoha had over six thousand ninjas stationed on Kikyo Mountain, the mountain was an entire range. At least three thousand of Konoha's ninjas were scattered around the range, setting traps and fortifying defenses.

Thus, on the frontlines, Konoha could muster only about three thousand combat-ready ninjas.

"Prepare for battle!"

Inside the Konoha camp, shouts of readiness echoed as the densely packed Konoha ninjas on the mountain exuded a heavy atmosphere.

Jiraiya, still wrapped in bandages, looked solemnly at the distant, densely packed enemy forces.

"Chiyo from the Land of Rivers' direction is commanding the Sand forces to attack. Danzo has already gone to defend, but we have no choice but to face this head-on now. The two thousand reinforcements from the village will take at least three more days to arrive!"

Jiraiya said angrily, but Tsunade, standing nearby, only let out a cold laugh upon hearing his words.

"Reinforcements?! You mean those children who just graduated, along with the countless genin and chunin who graduated only a year or two ago?"

Konoha's forces were severely short-handed, forcing the deployment of these relatively inexperienced genin to the battlefield.

However, Orochimaru let out a hoarse chuckle.

"But the battlefield is the best catalyst. It will accelerate the rebirth of the weak through fire. If we can produce two thousand more combat-ready soldiers from the mountains, even if their strength is lacking, they'll be enough to buy us some time.

Not to mention, war forces many to unlock their hidden potential..."

Orochimaru's ruthlessly cold voice echoed, his tone calm but leaving Jiraiya in silence.

Though he wanted to argue, Orochimaru's words were undeniably true.

Sending these genin to the battlefield was more about the village utilizing its remaining strength while they could still afford to. By pairing chunin with genin, they could quickly forge a large number of battle-hardened ninjas.

This cycle would repeat in waves, burning like fuel until the four major villages were exhausted.

"Where is Uchiha Shirou?"

Just as preparations for the battle were underway, Jiraiya, about to bite his finger to summon Gamabunta, suddenly realized that one of their key combatants was missing.

"Jiraiya..."

Orochimaru rarely displayed a serious expression, but his golden snake-like eyes glanced at Jiraiya before looking toward the mountainside with a hoarse laugh:

"Perhaps today, we will witness the fearsome power of the Mangekyō that once brought terror to the ninja world."

It was only then that Jiraiya noticed a lone figure standing calmly atop a massive boulder on the mountainside. Seeing this, his face twitched.

"Damn it! Is that brat insane? This is a war of tens of thousands, not a skirmish between squads..."

Though he said this, Jiraiya's eyes revealed a burning fighting spirit. After all, they were protecting their home!

"Sister Tsunade, let me handle the summoning."

Just as the three Sannin were about to bite their fingers and summon their respective creatures, Kushina Uzumaki raised her hand, volunteering to perform Tsunade's summoning. Tsunade gave a grave nod.

"Alright! Kushina, be careful out there!"

Summoning Jutsu!

In an instant, three massive clouds of white smoke appeared atop Kikyo Mountain. As the smoke dispersed, three colossal summoned creatures were revealed.

"Jiraiya, last time you almost got me killed!"

The newly summoned Gamabunta spat out a puff of smoke, angrily complaining. Yet the toad's angry eyes quickly locked onto the enemy forces at the foot of the mountain.

"Orochimaru..."

"These are all yours if you have the ability," Orochimaru interrupted Manda before it could finish speaking. Manda let out a low grunt, clearly displeased, but its snake-like eyes still glared at the dense mass of enemy ninjas in the distance.

"The Sannin!"

As the three massive summoned creatures—Gamabunta, Manda, and Katsuyu—appeared on Kikyo Mountain, the Konoha forces erupted in spirited cheers.

Such enormous summoned beasts were war machines on the battlefield, akin to tailed beasts in their destructive power.

Other ninja villages were lucky to have even one or two such beasts, yet Konoha had three at once.

"Prepare for battle!"

With a deep war cry, the massive Katsuyu instantly split into countless smaller slugs that were about the size of a child's arm.

The slimy slugs quickly crawled onto the bodies of numerous jonin and elite chunin. With this, the Konoha ninjas' morale soared.

Katsuyu's presence effectively turned Konoha into an army of thousands of field medics. This was the foundation of Konoha's endurance in prolonged battles.

Tsunade could remain off the battlefield entirely, yet thanks to Katsuyu, Konoha's survival and recovery rates in any conflict far surpassed those of the other four great villages.

The longer the battle dragged on, the greater Konoha's advantage became.

On the battlefield, the combined forces of the Sand, Rock, and Cloud villages advanced in a dark, oppressive wave, destroying explosive tag traps placed along their route.

Onoki, Ebizo, and A, the Cloud's Fourth Raikage candidate, stood gravely observing the battlefield. Surrounding them were guards and sensory ninjas.

"Konoha's summoned beasts' chakra signatures have been detected..."

"Konoha ninja chakra formations have been established..."

"Wait... wait a moment!"

At that moment, a young sensory ninja suddenly cried out in alarm, his face pale with fear, as if sensing something utterly terrifying. His reaction drew the attention of Onoki and the others.

"What is it?"

Onoki frowned in displeasure, but the young sensory ninja's face remained filled with dread as he stammered:

"Chakra! A massive chakra signature has suddenly appeared on the battlefield!"

The next moment, the other sensory ninjas also cried out in shock.

"Something's wrong! We've detected an incredibly terrifying chakra signature!"

"The chakra is still growing... Damn it..."

Amid the exclamations, the strongest sensory ninja among them broke out in a cold sweat, pointing toward a specific direction.

"Over there!"

Using an Earth Release jutsu, they all rose to higher ground, gaining a broader view. Onoki and the others frowned as they looked in the direction indicated by the sensory ninjas.

A chakra source capable of shocking every sensory ninja present... even a jinchūriki had never received such a reaction!