Uchiha Gate: From Konoha to One Piece

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"Wonder what the Second Hokage would think if he knew his clan were allied like this with the Uchiha."

"Who knows?" Tsunade rolled her eyes, clearly uninterested. "Honestly, whether he's happy or not, or even agrees or not, it doesn't matter—it's not his decision to make!"

"Even if he were resurrected, do you really think he'd dare interfere with my grandma's or Lady Naori's business?"

Tsunade smirked. "Yep, I don't think so."

Her grandmother's authority alone was unquestionable, being the wife of the first Hokage. Her word would have held weight even back then.

As for Lady Naori?

Tsunade had heard enough stories from her grandmother to know that even her granduncle had been put in his place by Naori on more than one occasion.

And that was the old Naori.

If he were to face the super-upgraded version of Naori now? Oh, the chaos would be glorious.

Oh, and her grandmother wasn't exactly the same old granny either. She was upgraded too.

Tsunade couldn't help but snicker at the thought of what would happen. The mental image alone was pure entertainment.

"Yeah, that would be a sight to see."

She had her own grudge against her granduncle. If he hadn't taken on those four useless disciples, and if he hadn't pushed for that ridiculous policy of the Senju blending with the civilian population…

The Senju wouldn't have ended up in their current state.

Konoha wouldn't be the mess it was now—or worse, what it would become in the future.

All of it could be traced back to her granduncle's mistakes.

"Hmph. It's all his fault!"

"Oh? Sounds like those two are even stronger than I imagined," Orochimaru remarked, his interest piqued. "I've got to admit, the Uchiha clan's nutritional pills are impressive. They're great for enhancing a ninja's physique and even their vitality."

"I'm sure the internal versions they keep for themselves are much stronger. You can tell just by looking at how quickly the Uchihas' physical prowess has improved over the past few years."

He paused, then added, "I've tried extracting the essence from those pills myself. It worked to some extent, but I couldn't replicate it perfectly. The best I could do was combine the essence of several pills and consume it all at once. The results were remarkable, though."

"Over the past few years, my body and vitality have improved significantly. My chakra reserves have also grown considerably. Honestly, I owe a lot of my recent breakthrough to Kage-level to those pills!"

Orochimaru's voice carried a mix of awe and curiosity.

If only he could unlock the full secret of these pills. But alas, his research alone hadn't been enough.

There was a crucial ingredient—one he couldn't identify and one that didn't exist anywhere else in the ninja world.

"Oh?"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, giving Orochimaru a scrutinizing look. "So that's why your physique and strength have been skyrocketing lately?"

"I thought you'd developed some groundbreaking technique and applied it to yourself."

"Turns out, it's all thanks to those pills, huh? Leave it to you to come up with such a method to enhance their effects."

Tsunade couldn't help but be impressed. This was practically equivalent to consuming the full effect of the pills or eating meat from a Sea King.

If Orochimaru had techniques to boost absorption, refine his body, and strengthen his soul and spirit—like meditation practices—his progress might've been even greater.

"No wonder Kaito wants to recruit him. He's perfect for research!"

Tsunade mentally acknowledged she'd underestimated her teammate in the past.

"It's a great method, sure, but it's expensive!" Orochimaru groaned. "Even with all the missions I take and all the inventions I sell, I still can't keep up with the cost."

"Not like you, Tsunade. You've got access to even better versions of these pills. That's something anyone would envy."

"No wonder your three clans allied. Makes total sense now. If I were in your shoes, I'd have done the same."

Orochimaru licked his lips, his gaze sharp and calculating.

If he could get his hands on the higher-grade pills Tsunade had, he might finally unravel the full mystery behind them.

Who knows? Maybe he'd even create a pill with effects that far surpassed the originals.

But he knew better than to ask directly.

Tsunade would almost certainly refuse. Worse, it might strain their relationship.

For now, he held back.

Tsunade caught on to Orochimaru's barely hidden thoughts but didn't bother addressing them.

There was no way she'd hand over the top-tier pills. Even the regular ones, diluted tenfold, could be refined into perfect versions. Giving Orochimaru access to the pure ones? Absolutely not.

Who knows what he'd create with them?

Besides, it'd be better if he sought Kaito for that. It'd serve as a perfect way for Kaito to win Orochimaru over.

Once Orochimaru formed a contract with Kaito, he'd get everything he wanted—and more.

Tsunade was doing this for his own good, after all.

The future of the ninja world was undoubtedly Kaito's.

It was better to join early and reap the rewards than to oppose him later.

"What are you two even talking about?"

Jiraiya's voice broke through their conversation, laced with confusion and a tinge of jealousy.

"Orochimaru, when did you break through to Kage-level? Why didn't I know about this?"

"Damn it! I haven't even reached that level yet!"

He grumbled, glaring at Orochimaru.

Jiraiya had been working his ass off over the past few years, even managing to grasp Sage Mode…

Well, sort of.

It was still incomplete. Sage Mode was ridiculously hard to master, after all.

Still, he thought he was doing pretty well. Wasn't he supposed to be talented?

"You idiot! I broke through over a year ago! You really didn't notice?" Orochimaru rolled his eyes at Jiraiya's cluelessness. "And Tsunade surpassed me even earlier—over a year before I did."

"Honestly, I can't even figure out how strong she is now!"

"Right now, out of the three of us, you're the only one who hasn't reached Kage level yet." Orochimaru smirked. "You'd better hurry up, Jiraiya, or you'll fall too far behind."

Hearing that, Jiraiya immediately flared up, jumping to his feet. "Who are you calling the weakest? Your whole family is weak! I'm way past the old me!"

"Hmph! Just wait and see—I'll surpass you all soon enough!" Jiraiya declared confidently. "And besides, even now, if I enter Sage Mode, there's no guarantee either of you could beat me!"

He was proud of his Sage Mode, even if it wasn't quite perfected yet.

"Oh, please," Orochimaru scoffed. "Do you think I don't know you? That half-baked Sage Mode of yours? It's practically useless in a real fight."

He continued, "It takes you way too long to enter Sage Mode. Plus, your incomplete mastery means you start sprouting toad features, making you look even uglier."

"Knowing how much you care about appearances, you'd never willingly show that form in public unless it was absolutely necessary."

"At least I can use it! Unlike you two!" Jiraiya shot back, smirking as he threw in a jab.

Orochimaru and Tsunade exchanged a glance, both suppressing the urge to punch him.

That was a sore spot for them. Who would've thought that out of the three of them, Jiraiya—the guy they always saw as simple-minded—would be the one to get the hang of Sage Mode?

Neither of them would admit Jiraiya had an edge. Instead, they rationalized it: Sage Mode must suit straightforward people better.

Smart people like them had too many thoughts running through their heads, which made it harder to achieve the calm and unity with nature that Sage Mode required.

— — —

That day, Kaito, Mikoto, Minato, Kushina, and Nawaki all applied for early graduation.

The Third Hokage, already prepared for this, approved it without hesitation and scheduled their exams for the following day.

Additionally, he announced that senior students across the academy would soon undergo group early-graduation exams. Those who passed would be assigned mentors and sent on missions to gain experience.

Kaito's group received confirmation of their exam schedule later that day.

None of them were worried.

With every member of their group already at least Jonin-level in strength, the exam was hardly a challenge.

Even if the Third Hokage himself oversaw the test, Kaito was confident they'd all pass.

"Finally, we're graduating!" Kushina stretched with a grin as the group left the academy. "No more sending shadow clones to school. I'm free!"

"Exactly," Mikoto agreed with a laugh. "Even with shadow clones, we still get the memories of attending class every day. It's been such a headache!"

"Still," she added with a more serious tone, "we can't relax just yet. Missions are coming, and with the war underway, we'll need to stay sharp. Training and caution are key—we can't afford to slip up."

Among their group, only Kaito had the strength to handle most problems on his own. The others were strong but still had a lot of room to grow.

A single misstep could lead to disaster.

While they had Kaito's space-time portal as an emergency escape, it was better to avoid relying on it unless absolutely necessary.

Using it too often might expose its existence and cause trouble for Kaito.

Unless, of course, they dealt with every witness afterward.

"Don't worry, I'm not stupid!" Kushina assured them with a firm nod.

"Oh, by the way," Minato said suddenly, "yesterday I ran into this white-haired old guy. He said he was the Toad Sage from Mount Myoboku and wanted to take me as his disciple. Should I accept?"

"Honestly, it feels like it'd just be a hassle."

With Kaito's guidance, Minato didn't really need another teacher. Besides, he had too many secrets to keep. Adding a teacher into the mix would complicate things.

"Jiraiya? You mean that perverted teammate of Tsunade's who likes spying on women?" Kushina asked, frowning.

Mikoto and Kaito exchanged knowing looks.

Kaito, in particular, thought to himself, "Even after I've changed so much of Minato's fate, Jiraiya still managed to find him. Should I call this good intuition or sheer luck?"

Minato's frown deepened. "A pervert? That guy has that kind of hobby?"

"And as Tsunade-sama's teammate, how has he not been beaten to death by her for it?"

"Guess he really does have some skill to survive her temper."

Having spent so much time around Tsunade, Minato had learned a lot about her personality.

She was quick-tempered and didn't hesitate to use her monstrous strength to deal with people who annoyed her.

Someone like Jiraiya, with his pervy tendencies, should've been at the top of her hit list.

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