Naruto: This Genius is Somewhat Ordinary-Chapter 344

"How is this possible..."

The Second Tsuchikage’s body had been cleanly cut in two, yet the halves remained strangely aligned, refusing to separate.

He couldn’t understand it.

He had activated Dust Release first. His technique should have erased everything in its path. And yet, in a single instant, his Dust Release had been split apart—and so had he.

Even more unsettling was his vision.

Though his eyes were still connected, what each eye saw was subtly different. Where their sight overlapped, the world seemed distorted, as if a transparent sheet of glass had been wedged between reality itself.

It felt as though space had been sliced open.

"So this... is the Sixth Hokage who defeated the Second Mizukage and the Third Raikage?"

At that moment, all doubt vanished.

If anything, the Second Tsuchikage felt puzzled. How had those two managed to last so long?

Against a technique like this, they should have been finished instantly.

With that unanswered question lingering in his mind, his body fell from the sky and slammed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Ōnoki stared down at his former master in shock.

The Edo Tensei body was clearly trying to regenerate, but no matter how the two halves aligned, they refused to merge. Something invisible was preventing them from reconnecting.

"This is..."

Tōma wasn’t surprised.

Normally, a clean cut meant little to an Edo Tensei body. Such damage would regenerate quickly. But this was different.

The spatial distortion from his technique still lingered along the cut.

The two halves appeared close, but they existed in slightly different layers of space. As long as that distortion remained, regeneration was impossible.

And dispersing his space-time chakra took time.

Plenty of time.

More than enough to seal the target several times over.

Tōma stepped forward and prepared the sealing technique.

Just before the seal took effect, the Second Tsuchikage spoke.

"Be careful, I—"

The words never finished.

The seal activated, and his voice vanished.

Ōnoki finally landed, clutching his lower back as he let out a long breath.

"So... it’s finally over."

"No," Tōma replied calmly. "It’s not."

Ōnoki froze.

A flash of lightning burst from Tōma’s body.

The next instant, a blinding beam tore across the battlefield.

Boom!

An explosion erupted where the beam struck a pile of rocks in the distance.

"Well done, Sixth Hokage. Very impressive."

A voice emerged from empty ground.

The Second Tsuchikage stepped forward—perfectly intact.

Ōnoki’s eyes widened.

"A split body? When did that—?"

"Tch," the Second Tsuchikage scoffed. "You really are naïve, Ōnoki. As my student, you didn’t even realize you sealed a decoy."

Ōnoki grimaced. That technique had fallen out of use long ago. He hadn’t recognized it in time.

The Second Tsuchikage turned his gaze to Tōma, curiosity clear in his eyes.

"I’m more interested in how you saw through it."

"I didn’t know the technique," Tōma admitted. "I just knew you split the moment you saw me and hid. I assumed it was a standard clone."

"Then how did you find me?"

"That part was easy," Tōma replied. "I’m a sensor-type shinobi too."

The Second Tsuchikage nodded.

"As expected."

Anyone capable of wielding a space-cutting technique like that was no ordinary sensor.

"Very well," he said calmly. "Seal me properly this time."

Before Tōma could move, the Second Tsuchikage’s body suddenly stiffened.

His arms fell limp. His pupils lost all color.

Tōma’s eyes narrowed.

"Orochimaru."

"Heh... sharp as ever, Tōma-kun."

The voice that came from the Tsuchikage’s body was no longer his own.

"You’ve been busy," Orochimaru continued softly. "Lightning to defeat the Third Raikage. Water to overcome the Second Mizukage. And now you nearly erased the Second Tsuchikage in a single strike."

"What are you planning?" Tōma asked.

"A gift," Orochimaru said pleasantly. "I hope you enjoy it."

He slammed both hands onto the ground.

Coffins burst up from the earth.

As the lids slid open, Tōma’s pupils contracted sharply.

Inside them were figures that should never have appeared here.

Hatake Sakumo.

Might Dai.

Uzumaki Mito.

Uchiha Fugaku.

And—Uchiha Itachi.

Even Tōma felt a headache coming on.

The first four were shocking but understandable.

Might Dai, however, left him genuinely speechless.

The man had died after opening the Eight Gates. And Orochimaru still managed to dig him up?

Then realization struck.

Kabuto didn’t know everything.

Orochimaru remembered far more than his former subordinate ever did.

And Itachi’s body...

Sasuke must have buried it after taking his eyes.

Which meant Orochimaru had dug it back up from the Uchiha graveyard.

Orochimaru watched Itachi with a complicated expression.

The man who had once been the embodiment of his obsession now stood before him as a tool.

How ironic.

The five figures opened their eyes.

For a moment, they simply stared.

"...So we’ve been summoned by Edo Tensei," Hatake Sakumo said quietly.

"Orochimaru?" Uzumaki Mito frowned. "That boy... I didn’t expect this."

"Yes, Mito-sama," Orochimaru replied through the Tsuchikage’s body. "It’s me."

"I see," Mito said calmly. "You chose the wrong path after my time." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Orochimaru laughed softly. "As long as it leads to the end I want, the path doesn’t matter."

She sighed.

"Tobirama should never have created this jutsu."

"What’s Edo Tensei?" Might Dai asked curiously.

Sakumo gave him a brief explanation, studying him as he spoke. To be summoned like this meant Dai’s strength had been recognized by the world.

Meanwhile, Itachi turned to Fugaku.

"Father..."

Fugaku met his gaze, conflicted.

"So even you couldn’t escape our clan’s fate."

"Enough reminiscing," Orochimaru cut in.

His focus shifted to Itachi.

Instantly, Itachi’s body went rigid. The light vanished from his eyes.

"You erased his consciousness?" Tōma asked.

"For safety," Orochimaru replied. "Even as Edo Tensei, Itachi is dangerous."

"Then you have Shisui’s body too," Tōma said flatly.

"Of course," Orochimaru smiled. "Which is exactly why I won’t summon him."

Tōma chuckled softly.

"Still more careful than Kabuto."

Orochimaru studied him closely.

He wanted to see it.

The real limit of Fujimoto Tōma.

After watching Naruto and Sasuke reshape the battlefield elsewhere, Orochimaru’s expectations had risen.

If this was all Tōma had, then perhaps bloodlines truly decided everything.

"Show me," Orochimaru said, laughing. "Your true strength."

Uzumaki Mito turned toward Tōma.

"And you are?"

"Fujimoto Tōma," he replied respectfully. "Sixth Hokage of Konoha."

"Sixth?" she echoed softly.

Sakumo and Fugaku exchanged looks.

So young.

Too young.

Ōnoki swallowed hard.

"Sixth Hokage... what do we do?"

Tōma smiled.

"Tsuchikage, withdraw the Fourth Division. There are no White Zetsu here anymore."

"But Hokage—"

"I know exactly who they are," Tōma said calmly. "And I won’t lose."

Not now.

Not ever.

Ōnoki stared at him, then sighed.

"...Then I leave this to you."

As he departed, Orochimaru watched with interest.

"So you’ll face all five alone?"

"Yes," Tōma replied.

"They are all from Konoha. As Hokage, it’s my duty to send them back."

White robes with flame patterns flowed around him.

Five bold characters burned across the back.

Sixth Hokage.

"With the name of the Sixth Hokage," Tōma said quietly.