Chapter 317 |
Despite Orochimaru's self-proclaimed superiority and his genuinely formidable strength in the ninja world, he had repeatedly suffered at the hands of the Uchiha clan's Mangekyo Sharingan, leaving him with indelible psychological scars.
This time was no different.
Facing Sasuke, Orochimaru put up a front of aggressive attacks, but it was merely a cover for his inner fear.
Eventually, Orochimaru revealed his true nature during the battle and fell prey to the Mangekyo Sharingan's genjutsu.
In a daze, the famed "Sword of Kusanagi" that Orochimaru had spat from his mouth was seized by Sasuke, who then plunged it into Orochimaru's chest.
"My brother was right, our Uchiha Sharingan is your greatest nemesis. And this sword is quite nice, I'll be taking it."
Sasuke's cold eyes bore into Orochimaru as he yanked the blade from the latter's body.
"Orochi…maru," Orochimaru muttered, eyes wide with unwillingness, before collapsing backwards.
With a swift movement, Sasuke plunged the Kusanagi into the ground, forming seals with his hands to prepare a fire-release jutsu aimed at reducing Orochimaru's body to ashes.
But then, Orochimaru, lying on the ground, began to laugh maniacally, his golden snake eyes gleaming with malevolence.
Sasuke, sensing danger, leapt backwards, quickly distancing himself from Orochimaru.
In the next moment, a tremendous and malevolent chakra erupted from Orochimaru, engulfing the entire forest.
"Fall back!"
Tsunade, Naruto, and Konan also retreated, watching in horror as the forest was devastated.
In their astonished gazes, a colossal white snake with eight heads and eight tails emerged, rivalling the tailed beasts' presence.
This was Orochimaru's true form.
Over the years, he continually modified his body to perfect the S-rank forbidden jutsu, Yamata no Jutsu.
This eight-headed serpent was the embodiment of Orochimaru's intense obsession.
"Interesting," Sasuke mused, recovering from his initial shock. He promptly summoned his trump card.
Susanoo.
With a surge of tangible chakra, a half-bodied purple Susanoo, clad in the armour of a Uttengu, materialised around Sasuke.
Who would be the final victor: Yamata no Orochi or Susanoo?
Without a word, Sasuke attacked first, launching a blazing black arrow from Susanoo's bow, which pierced through one of the serpent's heads with lightning speed.
Amaterasu: Kagutsuchi.
This was one of Sasuke's Mangekyo abilities, allowing him to shape the deadly black flames of Amaterasu into various forms for both offence and defence.
This synergy with Susanoo made Sasuke's avatar especially formidable.
"Roar!"
The serpent howled in pain, but losing one head wasn't a fatal blow.
Quickly recovering, the massive creature lunged at Susanoo.
Another intense battle ensued.
After ten minutes, with a final crash, the last of Yamata no Orochi's heads fell to the ground, and the headless serpent collapsed with a thunderous crash.
The ground trembled as if hit by an earthquake.
"We won, Cousin Sasuke won!"
In the distance, Marisa cheered, waving her fists.
Sasuke glanced at his cousin, giving her a smile before turning back to scrutinise Orochimaru's body with a sharp gaze.
Against a slippery foe like Orochimaru, it was crucial not to lower one's guard, lest he escape once more.
Indeed, a small white snake slithered out from under the serpent's body, attempting to flee into the rubble.
With a sharp whistle, Sasuke's Kusanagi flew through the air, pinning the small snake to the ground.
The snake writhed desperately but soon fell still, lifeless, its head pierced and blood seeping out.
"I told you, Orochimaru, today is your end."
Sasuke picked up the Kusanagi sword, looking down at the pitifully dead white snake on the ground, and coldly remarked.
The others gathered around, marvelling at the massive corpse of the Yamata no Orochi.
"Orochimaru, you never thought… this would be your end, did you?" Tsunade looked at the small white snake on the ground, her expression complex.
Marisa, hearing this, curiously approached and pointed at the white snake’s corpse, asking:
"Godmother, was this guy once your good friend? I heard you were called the Legendary Sannin back then?"
"That's right," Tsunade confirmed with a sigh. "But people change. Orochimaru hasn’t been the same for a long time."
The Orochimaru she remembered was the strongest among the three of them and the most favoured disciple of the Third Hokage, with a bright future ahead of him.
Who could have predicted he would go astray, breaking taboos to research immortality and conducting human experiments in secret until he was exposed and became a rogue ninja overnight?
Over the years, Orochimaru continuously crossed lines, becoming increasingly depraved and insane, ultimately leading to his own demise.
At this moment, Tsunade felt only a sigh for her former close friend.
Seeing Tsunade’s sombre mood, Marisa’s eyes sparkled, and she patted her chest, proclaiming loudly:
"Godmother, I will never change. I will always love you."
With that, she spread her strong arms and gave Tsunade a big hug.
"You cheeky girl, let go of me."
Tsunade scolded Marisa with a helpless expression, but her heart felt warm.
Though she was over fifty and unmarried, with no clan or family, she was fortunate to have a few adorable disciples and a lovable goddaughter like Marisa.
For Tsunade, that was enough.
Nearby.
"Well, Karin is saved now. But it seems like we just stood by and watched the whole time without helping much," Naruto said awkwardly, scratching the back of his head with an embarrassed smile.
Konan replied calmly:
"Regardless, we completed our mission. Karin will return to Konoha with these people. It’s time for us to leave, Naruto."
"…Alright, Konan-sensei."
Naruto nodded hesitantly.
He then removed the Konoha forehead protector from his head and approached Sasuke, saying:
"Please pass these two forehead protectors to the Sixth Hokage. Both Konan-sensei and I are very grateful to him."
Sasuke glanced at the forehead protectors but did not reach out to take them. Instead, he replied coldly:
"Do I look like your errand boy? Uzumaki Naruto, just because you beat me once, don’t think you can order me around!"
"Uh."
Naruto was taken aback and then quickly forced a smile, "That’s not what I meant, you misunderstood…"
Just as he was feeling awkward.
"I’ll take them, Naruto."
Luckily, the considerate Shizune appeared in time, taking the forehead protectors and relieving Naruto.
"Thank you, big sister."
Naruto sighed in relief, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, and then turned to leave.
"Wait!"
Sasuke suddenly shouted, his figure flickering as he used the Kusanagi sword to block Naruto’s path.
Naruto looked at the cold, black-haired boy in front of him in surprise:
"Sasuke, what do you mean by this?"
"Did you think I’d let our last fight go just like that?" Sasuke’s eyes burned with battle lust, his face full of restrained anger.
He hadn’t yet avenged his defeat by Naruto, so how could he let him leave easily?
Facing Sasuke’s determined demand for revenge, Naruto sighed and spread his hands:
"I’ve lost the Rinnegan and Kurama. Without those powers, I’m no longer your match. Sasuke, you are the true genius, not me."
Naruto’s words were sincere.
But to Sasuke, it sounded like a backhanded insult.
Predictably, Sasuke’s anger was completely ignited, and he shouted coldly:
"Enough talk, let’s settle this with a fight."
As soon as he finished speaking, his blade flashed, slicing toward Naruto’s neck.
However, Naruto stood still, a calm expression on his face, as if ready to let Sasuke do as he pleased.
Swish.
The sharp blade stopped less than half a centimetre from Naruto’s vulnerable throat.
"Why won’t you fight back? Do you look down on me that much?"
Sasuke demanded, his voice filled with rage; though he had temporarily halted his attack, the killing intent in his eyes had not diminished at all.
Naruto showed a peaceful smile and sincerely said:
"I've decided to give up my identity as a ninja and leave the shinobi world with Konan-sensei. I won't fight anyone anymore. Sasuke, if you're still angry, you can stab me. This is the punishment I deserve."
Sasuke squinted his eyes and stared at Naruto in silence for a long time before slowly lowering his sword.
"Coward!"
He spat out the word, losing all interest, and immediately turned around to leave without looking back at Naruto.
At that moment.
"Someone's coming," Karin suddenly shouted, drawing everyone's attention.
Sasuke, still frustrated after Naruto's talk, seized the opportunity to vent his anger and shouted towards the forest:
"Who's there? Show yourself!"
"Calm down, Sasuke."
A familiar voice emerged from the forest, causing Sasuke to pause.
Soon, amidst the rustling sounds, Kakashi, with a group of Konoha ANBU, appeared.
Tsunade frowned and asked:
"Kakashi, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back in Konoha?"
"I came on the orders of the Sixth Hokage to capture Orochimaru," Kakashi said, glancing at the massive corpse of the Eight-Headed Serpent.
"Kakashi-sensei, you're too late. I already took care of him."
Sasuke's expression was one of surprise, not expecting his uncle to want Orochimaru alive. Had he known, he would have spared Orochimaru's life.
Kakashi shook his head:
"Sasuke, Orochimaru's life force is more tenacious than you think. He won't die that easily."
Under everyone's confused gazes, Kakashi walked straight to Anko Mitarashi.
"Sorry about this."
With a swift motion, before Anko could react, he lifted her cloak.
"What are you doing?!"
Tsunade shouted, rushing to protect her disciple.
"This is the order of the Sixth Hokage. Tsunade-sama, don't worry, I won't harm your disciple. On the contrary, I will help her remove the hidden danger within her."
Kakashi explained, raising his hands to form seals quickly before placing his palm on the curse mark on Anko's shoulder.
In an instant, a red light glowed.
As Kakashi performed the technique, the chakra of Orochimaru contained within the curse mark rapidly left Anko's body, being released.
"What's this…"
To Tsunade's increasing astonishment, a figure emerged from Anko's shoulder, finally separating from her body and falling to the ground with a thud.
It was Orochimaru.
As he revived, the curse mark on Anko's shoulder disappeared, and she immediately fainted.
"Rest assured, your disciple will be fine after some rest."
Before Tsunade could ask, Kakashi explained, "The curse mark Orochimaru left on Anko contained his chakra and a part of his soul.
Thus, the Sixth Hokage ordered me to use the Evil Sealing Method to revive Orochimaru from Anko's body after Sasuke defeated his main body and then bring him back to Konoha for judgment."
Everyone present was shocked by Kakashi's words.
They were astonished not only by Orochimaru's revival but also by the Sixth Hokage, Uchiha Dan.
Even though he wasn't there, it seemed as if he had anticipated everything and controlled it all.
Terrifying.
"Why go through all this trouble? Just deal with him here. There's no need for a trial."
Tsunade frowned and opposed Dan's decision, clenching her fists and preparing to kill Orochimaru.
Orochimaru panicked.
He had no choice but to panic because this was indeed his last life, and he couldn't afford to die again.
"Tsunade, didn't you hear what Kakashi said? This is Uchiha Dan's order. He doesn't want me dead. Are you going to defy the Sixth Hokage?"
Orochimaru said, hiding behind Kakashi.
"Hmph."
Tsunade snorted disdainfully, her fists crackling as she approached Orochimaru, "What use is keeping you alive, to threaten the shinobi world? Even if you die, Konoha's intelligence department can still extract information from your corpse."
"Tsunade-sama…"
When Orochimaru suddenly said something shocking, Kakashi felt a headache coming on, trying to think of how to dissuade her.
"I can help Uchiha Dan obtain the Nine-Tails, allowing him to gather all the Tailed Beasts and become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki!"
(End of Chapter)