Black Zetsu never expected this.
Fugaku Uchiha had actually arrived at the battlefield of Uzugakure as Konoha's reinforcement. Even worse, he had now become the target of the Third Mizukage, who was being controlled by Madara.
And unfortunately for Black Zetsu, he couldn't even find a reason to interfere with this battle.
Damn it, looks like Fugaku Uchiha will probably die right here today.
Just thinking about his carefully cultivated pawn about to be destroyed made Black Zetsu's already dark face grow even darker.
As Fugaku engaged in combat against the Third Mizukage—
Meanwhile,
Hiashi Hyuga's eyes were sharp like hawks. Once again, he drew his massive bow, smoothly nocked an arrow from his back, and pulled the string taut in one fluid motion. After fully charging his strength, he released with a loud "twang."
"Whoosh!"
The arrow let out an ear-splitting whistle that nearly shattered everyone's eardrums on the battlefield. It wasn't just infused with Hiashi's telekinetic power—it also crackled with dense, high-intensity chakra. At its tip, where the focus point lay, a shockwave formed—an impact so intense it was absolutely astonishing.
This was Hiashi Hyuga's ultimate arrow shot, powerful enough to directly kill a Kage-level expert. And its target was none other than the most conspicuous figure on the battlefield—the Third Raikage!
Clearly, Hiashi aimed to avenge Heiyan by using one of his most powerful, closely guarded techniques, hoping to wound or even kill the Third Raikage immediately. If that happened, Cloud's army would definitely see their morale crumble.
"Protect Lord Raikage!"
In Cloud's army, the jinchuriki hosts of Eight-Tails and Two-Tails, along with other elite ninja, all changed expression when they saw this world-shaking arrow whistling toward them. They instantly felt its destructive force.
Without hesitation, they rushed forward, determined to intercept this deadly shot for the Third Raikage.
However—
"Don't come near!"
The Third Raikage suddenly roared like thunder cracking across the sky. Without flinching or dodging, he waited calmly until the arrow came right before him. At the last possible second, he suddenly stretched out his right hand.
Crack!
Under everyone's stunned gaze, the Third Raikage used nothing but his flesh-and-blood body to grab the arrow mid-flight with his bare hand—and snapped it cleanly in two.
Even when Hiashi revealed another hidden trick—a concealed explosive tag within the arrow shaft—it erupted in a thunderous blast, engulfing the Third Raikage's towering form in a massive fireball.
Yet, once the smoke cleared,
The Third Raikage still stood firm, completely unscathed, his Lightning Release chakra shield intact.
Witnessing this, every ninja from Akagakure burst into wild cheers, their morale skyrocketing.
"How is this possible?!"
Hiashi Hyuga's face turned pale with shock. No one understood the true power of that arrow better than himself. He was certain even Heiyan wouldn't have found it easy to withstand such a direct hit.
But the Third Raikage had caught an arrow like that bare-handed—without a single scratch.
What a terrifying opponent.
After overcoming his initial astonishment, Hiashi soon burned with fierce fighting spirit inside. For the first time in a while, he faced an enemy truly worthy of his full effort.
Thus—
Whoosh!
Hiashi set aside the silver longbow and charged straight toward the Third Raikage at incredible speed, determined to face him head-on.
"Coming right up!"
The Third Raikage laughed heartily, greatly admiring Hiashi Hyūga's fearless bravery. He raised a hand, signaling everyone to back off.
Then—BOOM!
The Third Raikage stomped hard against the ground, creating spiderweb-like cracks across its surface before launching himself forward, surging straight toward Hiashi.
Two mighty flows of chakra clashed violently in the center of the battlefield!
Fugaku Uchiha vs. the Third Mizukage.
Hiashi Hyuga vs. the Third Raikage.
At this moment, two highly anticipated battles resumed once more.
Meanwhile, deep beneath the earth outside Uzugakure, within a subterranean passage,
"Your Sword of Kusanagi is impressive. Mind if I borrow it for a few days?"
As soon as Heiyan finished speaking to Orochimaru, he subtly frowned—[Shadow Clone] memories had just been transferred to him.
It seemed he needed to wrap up this battle as soon as possible.
Thinking thus, Heiyan snapped his right hand forward, instantly summoning the Celestial Binding Chain. A red chain shot forth from his palm, stretching several meters and faintly glowing within the subterranean passage.
What was that?
Orochimaru's snake-like pupils constricted. Spotting the Sealing Tags on the chain, he instinctively sensed its terrifying power. Without time to think further, he activated [Heavenly Sword — Ku no Taiga] again, manipulating the Sword of Kusanagi as it shot toward Heiyan like a projectile.
Strike first—that was Orochimaru's strategy. Seemingly reasonable, but it played perfectly into Heiyan's plan.
Hiss!
Facing the incoming blade once more, Heiyan reacted calmly. The Celestial Binding Chain danced like a dragon in his grasp, clashing head-on with the Sword of Kusanagi.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Midair erupted in fierce collision—the sword aggressively breaking through, the chain defending without a gap.
Crack!
In the struggle, with a crisp sound, the Celestial Binding Chain was actually severed by the Sword of Kusanagi, splitting into two halves.
Delighted by this sight, Orochimaru felt vindicated—this blade's sharpness indeed overpowered all other weapons. Yet his joy lasted less than a second.
The moment the chain snapped, new links extended from both ends. More astonishingly, side branches erupted rapidly, weaving a net that coiled tightly around the Sword of Kusanagi.
Alarmed, Orochimaru desperately tried to control the blade, wanting to break free.
However, as the Sealing Tags on the Celestial Binding Chain glowed, the once-frantic sword gradually quieted down, no longer responding to Orochimaru's commands.
With stunned disbelief, Heiyan retracted the Celestial Binding Chain and seized the legendary sword, immediately erasing Orochimaru's residual chakra mark from the blade.
"A truly fine blade," Heiyan murmured, twirling it with admiration, clearly reluctant to let go. After all, in this world, very few weapons could so easily sever the Celestial Binding Chain.
Hiss!
Witnessing this scene, Orochimaru's heart twisted painfully, his throat releasing a snake-like hiss. Driven mad by desire to reclaim his beloved weapon, he unhesitatingly performed hand seals in a rage-fueled frenzy, activating the Summoning Jutsu.
Pop!
[Summoning Technique!] With a puff of white smoke, a giant snake covered in purple stripes appeared in the underground tunnel. Its massive body nearly filled the entire passage, creating an overwhelming sense of pressure.
This snake was Manda, the boss of the Summoned Snake Clan residing deep within Ryuchi Cave.
Not only was it enormous, but it was also fast and powerful. Combined with its cruel and evil nature, Manda was undoubtedly one of the strongest summoned beasts in the world of shinobi.
"You should know the price of summoning me—One hundred live sacrifices, not one less."
As soon as Manda appeared, it glared down at Orochimaru with lantern-like eyes, coldly demanding his "performance fee."
"You can rest assured that I'll provide them—just help me take down your target."
Orochimaru was about to ask for Manda's assistance when, halfway through his sentence, he caught sight of Heiyan charging forward from the corner of his eye.
"Hmph."
Manda naturally noticed Heiyan too. It turned its huge body, looked down on him condescendingly, and haughtily said, "Kid..."
Before the words faded.
Whoosh!
[Demon-Subduing Chain] A red chakra chain covered in lightning patterns shot out from the palm of Heiyan's left hand. With a swift swing, it struck Manda's weakest point—the base of its neck—at unimaginable speed.
Demon-Subduing Chain, as the name suggested, was created specifically for eliminating fiends like Manda.
Bang!
With a dull thud, scales covering Manda's heart shattered one after another, blood splattering everywhere.
"Ss!"
Letting out a shriek of pain, Manda's entire serpentine body stiffened before it exploded into white smoke again, vanishing without a trace. Whether it was dead or alive was unknown.
...
Seeing this, Orochimaru was utterly horrified.
He had visited Ryuchi Cave several times, barely managing to make a contract with Manda. By its power alone, it could fight against both Jiraiya's and Tsunade's summoned beasts simultaneously.
But this time, barely making its debut, speaking just one line, Manda was instantly killed by Heiyan with a single strike...
At this moment, Orochimaru's face turned pale, no fighting spirit left in him—he could only stand there dumbfounded, watching Heiyan slowly approach.
Heiyan didn't go after Orochimaru right away.
First, he formed a one-handed hand seal and injected chakra into the trees created by Tree Encampment Creation. Soon, giant flowers bloomed on those trees, releasing poisonous pollen that caused all the trapped Root agents to fall unconscious.
Then, Heiyan picked up the Sword of Kusanagi and pointed it at Orochimaru's throat:
"I can spare your life. But under one condition—you must answer my question."
"What... question?"
Feeling dry-mouthed, Orochimaru swallowed hard and hesitantly asked.
"Who is the spy within the Uzumaki clan?"
Heiyan said flatly. "Don't even think about playing dumb or lying to me," he warned. "Or I'll cut your tongue out."
From sabotaging the Enshinsui seal Heiyan left in Uzugakure to revealing the location of this underground passage to Orochimaru and Danzo—all evidence clearly pointed to one person.
"It's Genichiro Uzumaki, the Six-Tails Jinchuriki."
Without hesitation, Orochimaru trembled all over and immediately revealed a name.
Just as expected.
Uzumaki Heiyan's expression turned cold upon hearing those words.
The traitor within the Uzumaki clan must hold a high position to have access to such critical intelligence. If it wasn't Ashina Uzumaki, then the only one remaining was Genichiro Uzumaki.
This guy probably got turned by Black Zetsu and started playing both sides. When push came to shove on the battlefield, he'd betray them without hesitation.
But now that Uzumaki Heiyan had found out about his betrayal, he'd make damn sure this bastard paid the price.
Thinking about it, Uzumaki Heiyan sheathed the Sword of Kusanagi, glanced twice at Orochimaru, and asked again, "You should have a way to contact Danzo Shimura, right? Help me deliver a message for me."
"Uzumaki Heiyan-kun, please just tell me what you need," said Orochimaru, who had now completely become a collaborator in order to save his own life. He pulled out a blank scroll, unrolling it, and waited for Uzumaki Heiyan's instructions.
"You tell Danzo Shimura that I will expose everything that happened today to the public. Everyone will know how he attacked Konoha's allies and committed acts of betrayal against the village. This is unforgivable."
"Starting from now, if that rogue ninja Danzo Shimura dares return to Konoha, even setting one foot into the village, whether in front of the Third Hokage or all the villagers, I will kill him on the spot. My word as Uzumaki Heiyan—killing Danzo Shimura will be like killing a stray dog. If he doesn't believe it, let him try me."
Uzumaki Heiyan spoke each word deliberately, making Orochimaru shudder with fear and chill down his spine.
There's an old saying: 'To truly kill someone, strike their heart.'
In Uzumaki Heiyan's opinion, rather than chasing Danzo around the world, it would be better to make the latter live the rest of his life like a homeless stray dog, never able to enter Konoha again.
Danzo was obsessed with power, dreaming of becoming Hokage his entire life, doing all sorts of terrible things while using the justification of protecting Konoha.
In the original timeline, even when he was killed by Sasuke Uchiha, he still refused to admit failure, stubbornly believing he had sacrificed everything for Konoha and was a noble martyr.
For a person like this, destroying his physical body wasn't particularly meaningful.
Instead, it was more impactful to let him live but break his heart—to completely dismantle his 'ideals' and destroy his spirit and willpower. That was true punishment.
"I've noted everything."
Orochimaru swallowed hard again, his adam's apple bobbing, before writing every word Uzumaki Heiyan had spoken onto the scroll.
Then, he performed the Summoning Jutsu again, calling forth a small white snake. After placing the communication scroll inside the snake's mouth, he released the jutsu.
"Uzumaki Heiyan-kun, may I ask… Is there anything else I can do for you?"
After completing this task, driven by sheer survival instinct, Orochimaru managed a forced smile and actively tried to flatter Uzumaki Heiyan.
This servile demeanor was vastly different from his usual cold and mysterious aura.
"Hmm…"
Uzumaki Heiyan rubbed his chin thoughtfully, eyeing Orochimaru up and down until it made the latter feel anxious inside before finally issuing the command:
"Take off your shirt."
"What?"
Orochimaru was startled, a chill creeping up from his tailbone, but eventually gritted his teeth and complied with Uzumaki Heiyan's order to take off his upper clothing.
Then, Orochimaru watched in growing horror as Heiyan's hand reached toward his chest.
Just when he felt humiliated and his entire body stiffened, he suddenly noticed Heiyan's hand stopped.
It turned out nothing like what Orochimaru had imagined.
Heiyan's hand hovered over Orochimaru's chest. In his palm was a white eye, continuously rotating and using its ocular power to examine something.
The mark being examined was the fiery seal engraved upon Orochimaru's chest.
This flame mark was a jutsu imposed on him by someone he met long ago—Uchiha Madara—who used it to control Orochimaru's life.
"Madara Uchiha's work?"
Heiyan observed the flaming seal with his Byakugan. After discerning its structure, he quickly acted, carving a Four Symbols Seal around the mark.
Now, the flame mark on Orochimaru's chest was gone, replaced instead by a swirling black spiral enclosed by countless ancient runes.
From this moment onward, Orochimaru's life was no longer under Madara Uchiha's control.
"This is..."
Orochimaru touched his chest and quickly realized what had happened. He couldn't help but shoot Heiyan a look of genuine gratitude.
This time, his thanks were coming straight from the core of his soul.
"Little Snake, Danzo is finished. The mark left on you by your former master has also been erased by me. So starting today, follow me instead—I won't treat you poorly."
Seizing the moment, Heiyan clapped a hand on Orochimaru's shoulder and added firmly.
He had already made up his mind—he would take control of Orochimaru, the foremost scientist among shinobi, and lead him toward the right path from now on.
"Little Snake..."
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