Three days later...
In the quiet, sterile environment of Konoha's hospital, Jiraiya—who had suffered a broken arm and sustained serious injuries—lay silently in a hospital bed, completely unconscious.
For three full days, he hadn't stirred. His breathing was faint but steady, and a healing chakra pulse enveloped his body, maintained constantly by expert hands.
Then, finally, on the third day—
Jiraiya's eyes slowly fluttered open.
His vision was still blurry, but the familiar outline of a person standing beside him began to come into focus. The blonde hair. The calm, yet worried expression.
"Tsunade..."
He blinked a few more times. "Tsunade?!"
For a moment, Jiraiya was caught in a daze, still unsure whether he was dreaming or not. Then, his senses returned in a rush, and he tried to sit up in a panic.
"Hiss…!" A sharp, stabbing pain shot through his body the moment he moved, particularly from his right side.
"Don't move," Tsunade's firm voice commanded, as she gently pressed him back onto the bed. "Your injuries have just stabilized."
Reluctantly, Jiraiya obeyed and settled back down, though his gaze flickered to his side.
That's when he noticed—it was gone.
His right arm.
A deep, bitter expression crept over Jiraiya's face. Even for a seasoned warrior like him, losing a limb in battle was not easy to accept.
"Tsunade… Madara… did he hurt you?" Jiraiya asked with urgency, his voice hoarse and filled with worry.
Tsunade, seated beside him, shook her head gently. "Don't worry. He didn't do anything to me."
"But didn't he say something… about your medical skills?" Jiraiya furrowed his brow. "Something about needing your help for... a procedure?"
Tsunade let out a sigh and her expression softened, tinged with helplessness. "That was three days ago."
"Three days ago?" Jiraiya blinked. "Wait... I've been unconscious for three days?"
"If I hadn't treated you, you would have remained unconscious for at least seven days and seven nights," Tsunade said with a small smile, trying to lighten the mood.
"Tsunade, how can you still smile at a time like this?" Jiraiya said, frowning. "What exactly did Madara want you to do for him?"
She was silent for a moment, then exhaled slowly and answered, "He asked me to correct the chakra meridian connections leading to his Sharingan. They were apparently unstable, possibly due to external interference... or an unnatural transplant."
Jiraiya's face darkened. "And that's all?"
Tsunade hesitated. "And... he asked me to transplant two sets of cells into his body."
"Two sets of human cells?" Jiraiya repeated, stunned. "From who?"
"I'm not entirely sure about one of them," Tsunade said, narrowing her eyes. "But I believe the other... was the flesh and blood of my great-grandfather."
Jiraiya's mouth fell open in shock. "You mean... the First Hokage?! Senju Hashirama's cells?!"
Tsunade gave a slight nod. "Yes. I could feel it. The unique vitality and life force... I'm almost certain it was his."
Jiraiya's expression turned grim. "That bastard... Is he trying to gain the Wood Style? The same power your great-grandfather possessed?"
"That's what I'm afraid of," Tsunade muttered. "But what frightens me more is the second set of cells."
She looked down, her voice dropping in volume.
"The other sample... I couldn't identify it. But the chakra it contained... it was overwhelming. Perhaps even stronger than my great-grandfather's."
Jiraiya's pupils shrank. "What kind of person could possess that level of chakra...?"
Then he stared at Tsunade, his eyes filled with complex emotions—worry, anger, and disbelief.
"Tsunade... I know it's not your fault, but how could you—"
"Distinguished Heavenly Gods," Tsunade interrupted coldly, her voice trembling slightly.
Hearing those words, Jiraiya fell silent.
A heavy understanding dawned in his heart.
That Genjutsu. That cursed ocular power—capable of rewriting the will of others.
"Madara, you bastard!!" Jiraiya slammed his remaining fist into the mattress in frustration.
---
Meanwhile...
Elsewhere, in the heart of the Hokage Building—a place now devoid of its usual activity—the air was still and unnaturally quiet.
The current occupier of the office? None other than Leo.
He had claimed the Hokage's office as his own domain three days ago and had remained in complete isolation ever since. With the original office locked up tightly, Tsunade had been forced to handle official affairs from a makeshift command center elsewhere.
But now, in the dimly lit and silent Hokage's office…
Zheng—
Suddenly, a pair of eyes slowly opened within the darkness.
They emitted a mesmerizing lavender glow, shimmering with concentric ripple patterns. Eyes that had not been seen in generations.
Rinnegan.
At long last, Leo had succeeded.
"My Rinnegan… has finally awakened," Leo murmured to himself, his voice trembling with unrestrained excitement.
He raised both hands, almost reverently, and touched his face—his gaze fixated on the reflection of his eyes in a nearby mirror.
A devilish grin stretched across his lips.
"Hahaha… Hahahahaha!"
The once-calm demeanor vanished as he burst into manic laughter.
"This eye… it's real!"
"I didn't expect it. The fusion of Ōtsutsuki Ashura's chakra and Senju Hashirama's cells... It took only three days to awaken the Rinnegan."
He smirked coldly. "Compared to the near-death state that Madara required to achieve this power... I've done it in a fraction of the time."
Leo clenched his fists, and the air around him vibrated with power.
"This pupil power..."
"No—my entire chakra flow has surged! It's like I've been reborn!"
He threw his head back and laughed again, unrestrained and ecstatic.
Then—
"Wheel Tomb: Border Prison!"
With a sudden pulse of chakra, Leo activated one of the Rinnegan's hidden techniques.
To an outsider, it might have seemed like nothing happened.
But through Leo's new Rinnegan vision, he could see it clearly.
Four shadowy figures emerged around him—clones of himself that existed in an alternate realm. These were the [Limbo: Clones], visible only to the Rinnegan and capable of acting independently.
"So this... is the Limbo realm," Leo whispered. "Looks like I've inherited Madara's battle template as well."
He chuckled. "Fine by me. It suits me."
Then, as if speaking to someone unseen, Leo said aloud, "System, initiate fusion with [Heavenly Hand Power]. That should be possible now, right?"
A disembodied voice—one only Leo could hear—echoed back in his mind.
[Affirmative. Commencing perfect fusion of Heavenly Hand Power with Rinnegan.]
[Fusion in progress… Please stand by.]
In the next instant, Leo felt a whirlwind of chakra flood through his body again.
His Rinnegan flared. And then—
He felt it.
A new spatial technique had just awakened within him.
Heavenly Hand Power—the ability to instantly swap locations with any object or person within range.
"This sensation... Ahhh, it's exhilarating."
Leo tilted his head back and let out an unhinged laugh.
"Hee-hee-hee—HA HA HA HA!!!"
---
One hour later.
The sun had risen high into the sky. It was around noon, and the streets of Konoha were beginning to stir.
Creak—
The door to the Hokage's office slowly opened with a long groan.
From within, Leo finally emerged.
His Rinnegan had been deactivated, and his eyes now appeared ordinary—jet-black, calm, unreadable.
As he stepped outside into the hallway—
"Hmm?"
He paused.
A figure was standing just outside the door.
Young, but with a solemn presence.
He'd been waiting there the whole time.
"Madara-senpai!" the boy exclaimed, eyes lighting up with respect and admiration.
It was none other than Uchiha Sasuke.
He stepped forward, a spark of anticipation in his gaze.
"You've finally come out."
With a deep bow, Sasuke lowered his head respectfully toward Leo.
---