The Land of Whirlpools was cursed…
…or so the fishermen plying their trade on the eastern coast of the Land of Fire would have you believe, were you to lend an ear to their drunken rants, fuelled by cheap rice wine bought with the meagre returns from selling the day's catch.
After four of the great nations joined forces to annihilate the Uzumaki clan's country during the Second Shinobi World War, the Land of Whirlpools had become a no man's land, and the sea around the island had grown even more treacherous. Despite the abundance of fish, no ships dared venture to the island any more, for fear of vanishing without a trace, like all the others who had drawn too close to those cursed waters.
However, Sasuke was not one for superstition.
It was obvious to him that the disappearance of those ships and fishing boats had everything to do with the natural whirlpools surrounding the island, and nothing at all to do with sea monsters, resentful ghosts, or curses. Crossing the strait had been all too easy for him; as dangerous as whirlpools could be, even they could not reach up and pluck him from the sky off Garuda's back.
And yet, even the stoic Sasuke could not hold back a shudder as he stepped into the dilapidated shrine a few kilometres away from Uzushiogakure after Orochimaru, only to find himself facing row upon row of Hannya masks hung along the wall opposite the entrance, their empty eyes seeming to follow his every move.
Apart from the creepy Noh masks hanging from the wall, the place reminded him of the Naka shrine, where his own clansmen had once gathered to discuss weighty matters. Naruto's people must have gathered here too, Sasuke thought. He shook his head to banish the strange image that swum up before his mind's eye. A village full of people who looked and acted exactly like Naruto, what a nightmare that would be…
"The Uzumaki clan's mask storage temple," Orochimaru said in satisfaction. "Untouched, despite the village's destruction… not a single one is missing…"
Even though the shrine was quite far from the village, it didn't look particularly untouched by war to Sasuke. The main support beam overhead had cracked clean in half, and the entrance pavilion outside stood almost completely collapsed, with one of its stone pillars lying toppled across the ground.
"Gyah!?"
Sasuke glanced over his shoulder.
Guren had just stepped onto a rotten plank and sunk to one knee, her other foot punching straight through the floor. His eyes caught tiny flickers of movement along her ankle; by the look of things, this shrine's structural integrity was held up by wood that was about ninety per cent termite by mass.
Sakura would hate this place, Sasuke ruefully thought to himself.
"This one— I remember the design quite clearly," Orochimaru murmured, raising his arm as a snake poured from his sleeve and coiled delicately around one of the masks. "That time was certainly too close for comfort, Sarutobi-sensei…"
The snake retracted, and Orochimaru took the mask into his hands. A nostalgic look crossed his face as he examined it. The last time he had seen it, it had been on the Shinigami who had worn it as it tried to suck out his soul… back when he'd still had someone to prove the validity of his path to, the one who had refuted his way of life.
Destroying the village his Sarutobi-sensei held so dear had seemed so important to him back then… but now, he had nothing more to prove. The teacher was dead and buried, while the student still lived; for ever, if things went well.
Orochimaru's hands trembled.
In the end, longevity, eternal youth… immortality was what mattered the most; science and jutsu were only a means to an end. As long as he was alive, the possibilities were endless, and if he could live forever, his future was limitless. He had the mind and the willpower to venture where no one else dared to, and now he had the body to back up his theories.
For an instant, Orochimaru's eyes glazed over as he seemed to imagine a voice whispering in his ear… protect the Hidden Leaf… protect the Hidden Leaf… protect the Hidden Leaf…
"Eternity is at hand, but unthinkable quantities of capital, manpower, and experimental subjects will be necessary from here on. Achieving quasi-immortality is only the first step," he muttered to himself. "As expected, the Hidden Sound's revenue won't suffice to cover the expenditures. The Hidden Leaf's resources will prove crucial to my plans; thus, I cannot allow its destruction. But to save the village at this point would require a miracle…"
"Lord Orochimaru?" Kabuto said tentatively. "Are you feeling quite all right?"
Orochimaru blinked. "Never better," he said, feeling singularly refreshed. "Kabuto, bring out our… volunteers. Sasuke, you remember what to do?"
Before coming to the shrine, Orochimaru had given Sasuke a technique to memorise… but seeing as though the technique involved the ritual sacrifice of its user, Sasuke fully intended to attack if Orochimaru asked him to perform it.
Kabuto drew a scroll from his pouch; it expanded swiftly to a metre in length. He unfurled it across the floor, revealing six spirals ringed with profound-looking formulae on the white paper, from which inscriptions seemed to pool outwards like water. He laid his hand on the knot of black markings, where they converged at the scroll's base.
"Four Symbols Seal, Release!"
An old woman and five masked figures in ANBU Black Ops garb emerged from the scroll in puffs of white smoke. Orochimaru waved a hand with casual disdain, and snakes erupted from his sleeve, binding them tightly before they could recover.
"Orochimaru…!" one the ANBU operatives hissed weakly. Judging by her long purple hair and narrow waist, Sasuke thought to himself quietly, she was a woman. "I'll kill you for what you did…!"
"Choose whichever you like for the ritual, but I'd recommend the old woman, the weakest," Orochimaru said silkily, turning to Sasuke. Noticing the flicker of hesitation in Sasuke's eyes, he added, "I assure you, none of them are good people. They all have oceans of blood on their hands."
Sasuke's eyes widened as they fell on an old woman's wizened face. Unlike the first woman he had noticed, this one was unmasked.
"I know that face… Utatane Koharu… and the four-man squad assigned to protect her at all times, I assume," Sasuke said in a low voice. "That accounts for these five… so who's the sixth?"
"An annoyance who has been following me around, thinking I wouldn't notice. Nothing more," Orochimaru said disinterestedly. "So, who will it be?"
"No killing the innocent," Sasuke said coldly. "I won't follow your orders if that woman comes to harm."
A chill fell over the room.
"…I agree with Sasuke," said Neji, who had remained silent at Nanashi's side until now. "She's too weak. She won't make for a good sacrifice. There's no need to do all five in one go."
Orochimaru's eyes glazed over briefly again.
Protect the Hidden Leaf.
"Very well, then," Orochimaru said begrudgingly. "I suppose I could spare one of my failed experimental curse mark subjects to be the last sacrificial subject. We'll do that one later, when we get back home…"
The young, purple-haired kunoichi was tossed aside, leaving an empty space on the scroll. Kabuto and Guren then seized Koharu, who groaned weakly, and they frogmarched her before Sasuke and pinched her eyes open. Sasuke's eyes glowed red as he imparted onto Koharu the technique he had memorised with a genjutsu; she immediately went limp and ceased resisting.
"Here you go… you know what to do with it," Orochimaru said, smiling wickedly as he handed Koharu the mask, which she mechanically placed on her face. "We'll be watching your performance with great interest…"