Naruto: Aizen's Shadow in Konoha

In the dead of night, on an expansive grassy plain, a few battered figures struggled to stay upright, panting heavily.

They were now several hundred kilometers away from the outskirts of Cloud Shinobi Village. 

"Lord Zashi, we... we finally made it out..." 

Tanaka grimaced, clutching his wounds as he spoke haltingly to Zashi. 

They had narrowly escaped from the siege of thousands of Cloud Shinobi elites! 

Had it not been for the darkness of night, which hindered the Cloud Shinobi unit's ability to coordinate.

Had they not possessed at least the combat strength of Jōnin-level shinobi.

Had Zashi not pushed his own limits, burning through his vitality to unleash powerful Lightning Style jutsu. 

They would never have escaped. 

Even with all those factors in their favor, their original team of more than fifty, including Zashi and Gekko Yoru, had been reduced to only seven survivors. 

The casualties had been staggering. 

Most of the Anbu ninjas supporting them from the outskirts were ambushed and wiped out by Cloud Shinobi forces. Only a handful—those intended to be used as leverage against Hatake Sakumo—survived. 

The once-mighty Konoha New Faction was now nothing more than a shadow of its former self, reduced to just a few individuals, including the Anbu's top brass. 

"Hnngh..." Zashi grunted in response to Tanaka's words, his expression dark and brooding. 

He had already prepared himself mentally for the grim outcome of their mission, including the loss of their comrades. 

Now, their only hope rested on Sakumo returning with the secret scroll. 

Without it, the devastating losses they had suffered would be impossible to justify, and even the senior members of the faction—including Zashi himself—might be forced to resign in disgrace. 

"By the way..." Yoru broke the tense silence, his tone heavy with disbelief. "Sakumo mentioned earlier that the strange illusion in the intelligence base came from within Konoha itself. Could it really be that the leak of our mission details was orchestrated by someone from Konoha?" 

At the mention of this possibility, Zashi's expression darkened further. 

In Zashi's eyes, an intense and frigid murderous aura flickered. 

"Who else could it be? It must be that bastard, Hiruzen! That damned hypocrite! I should've assassinated him the moment he seized power!" 

Thinking of the devastating losses they suffered during the mission, Zashi's eyes burned crimson with rage. His mind seethed with hatred and unrelenting malice toward Hiruzen. 

"Zashi, calm down!" 

Seeing that Zashi had become unhinged, teetering on the edge of hysteria, Yoru hurriedly stepped forward to restrain and comfort him.

Tanaka also rushed over to lend his support. 

The presence of his comrades—those who had risked everything alongside him—helped Zashi regain his composure. His furious gaze softened, and his wild emotions finally settled. 

"Ugh..." 

Zashi let out a deep, exhausted sigh, his entire demeanor collapsing in defeat. It was as if he had aged decades in mere moments. 

The mission's failure weighed heavily on him, a burden that crushed his spirit. 

"Zashi..." 

Seeing the man who was once brimming with confidence—who once led them with unwavering determination—now reduced to a shadow of his former self, Yoru felt a pang of sorrow. 

Even Tanaka stood in silence, overwhelmed by the gravity of the situation. 

"Come on, Zashi! Snap out of it!" 

After a moment, Yoru could no longer hold back. He seized Zashi's shoulders, forcing him to meet his gaze. 

"Zashi! You are the leader of our faction! You're our pillar! If anyone can fall, it's not you! Have you forgotten the promises you made when we united under you?" 

He shook Zashi firmly, his voice growing more impassioned. 

"And don't forget, Sakumo is still out there, alone in that danger-ridden Cloud Shinobi Village! Think about the risks and sacrifices Sakumo has made just to give us one last chance! 

"If he sees you like this... Can you imagine how disappointed he'd be?" 

Yoru's words struck Zashi like hammer blows to the heart. 

The mention of Sakumo—his closest comrade—ignited something deep within him. 

"Sakumo..." 

As memories of Sakumo's selfless return to Cloud Shinobi flashed through Zashi's mind, the sharpness returned to his gaze. 

"You're right, Yoru. Thank you... and I'm sorry for making you worry."

Zashi spoke with renewed resolve, bowing his head in gratitude. 

Relieved, Yoru smiled and released his grip. 

"Now, our priority is to figure out Sakumo's current situation and find a way to support him," Zashi declared with unwavering determination. 

"Yes!" 

Tanaka, infected by Zashi's restored confidence, responded with enthusiastic vigor, ready to act.

Just as the atmosphere among the group began to improve, strange wisps of darkness emerged suddenly, engulfing Zashi and the others in an instant. 

"This is... the Second Hokage's Darkness Technique! This is bad!" 

Zashi's expression shifted drastically. He raised his hands to form seals, preparing to unleash a powerful jutsu to counter the sinister illusion.

Hiss!

Out of the darkness, numerous shadowy lions materialized, swiftly binding everyone with unyielding force. 

Simultaneously, a dozen gleaming sword slashes cut through the air. Zashi and Yoru collapsed to the ground, injuries blooming across their bodies. 

Though their throats and spines were critically wounded, they did not die. Instead, their wounds began to heal at an unnatural pace, flesh stitching together before their eyes. 

However, a strange energy lingered within the wounds, persistently disrupting their regeneration. The healing process remained incomplete, keeping them trapped in a state between life and death.

Gradually, the shroud of darkness receded, revealing a slender figure standing amidst the fallen. 

"Orochimaru?!" 

Zashi, struggling to rise to his knees, locked eyes with the familiar figure. His gaze shifted from disbelief to rage as he spat venomously.

"So, it really was you, you snake! Hokage's lapdogs—Sarutobi Hiruzen, you treacherous bastard! You'll rot for this!" 

Consumed by anger, Zashi's voice quivered with fury. 

"To secure his own interests, Hiruzen betrayed us in secret—and now he's sent you to finish us off! Mark my words, Orochimaru, he'll meet a fate even worse than mine!" 

Orochimaru chuckled softly, licking the corner of his mouth with a mocking smile, a glint of pity in his serpentine eyes. 

"If not for your tenacity, Zashi, you wouldn't have survived this long..." 

Orochimaru's voice slithered through the night, laced with contempt. This man—once a powerful figure in Konoha's political landscape, now reduced to nothing more than prey—was a tragic sight. 

"Ironic, isn't it?" Orochimaru mused inwardly. "A man once hailed in the ninja world, now helpless to know whose hands will claim his life." 

"How pitiful."

"Captain Zashi, it's unfair to direct your hatred solely at the Third Hokage," Orochimaru said with a sly grin. 

"After all, the leak of your information had nothing to do with him!" 

Zashi's seething rant against Hiruzen halted abruptly. He froze as a familiar yet slightly altered voice drifted through the air.