"Humph. Don't pretend otherwise—you agree with my plan. If not, Nagato wouldn't have sent you."
Orochimaru spoke with pride, his voice slick with satisfaction, as if he had been preparing this scheme for far longer than he cared to admit.
Ash snorted lightly at Orochimaru's words and followed him toward Sunagakure. Once they crossed into the desert, the heat struck immediately—harsh, dry, relentless. The Land of Wind truly had the worst environment of any hidden village.
"Are you sure the Fourth Kazekage will cooperate with you?" Ash asked as they walked.
"Don't embarrass yourself when he refuses. He's still the leader of Sunagakure, after all. Even if you're strong, why would someone like him work with you for a single plan? And Konoha isn't exactly an easy enemy. World War II proved that well enough."
"He'll come," Orochimaru replied confidently.
"I offered him something he desperately wants. Besides… the man is already on borrowed time. As long as he shows up today, half of our work is done."
Ash said nothing. Orochimaru knew full well that Ash's strength was the real backbone of this entire plan—the Konoha Crush. Everything was ultimately for Orochimaru's personal goal.
"Lord Orochimaru, this is the meeting point with the Fourth Kazekage. We only need to wait now."
The round-eyed shinobi behind Orochimaru—Kabuto—stepped forward. The once timid orphan now followed Orochimaru like a shadow. He hadn't yet gained the power he would obtain later, and was still far from the monster he would eventually become.
Ash studied Kabuto. "This one's under you? His strength is decent. And his control over medical ninjutsu is impressive."
Through his Sharingan, Ash could clearly see the delicate Chakra flow within Kabuto's cells—precise, refined, undeniably medical in nature.
Medical ninjutsu was notoriously difficult to learn, yet indispensable. The discipline was pioneered by Konoha's own Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, who established the foundation for all modern medical ninja.
"Of course. Kabuto is my right hand," Orochimaru replied proudly. "Reliable and talented. I discovered him long before I defected."
He had no idea Kabuto was actually an undercover agent carefully planted beside him—a fact orchestrated years in advance by another hidden hand.
"Hm?" Ash suddenly narrowed his eyes. A powerful chakra—Kage-level—approached, accompanied by several upper-jōnin signatures.
"He's here."
"As expected of Ash-kun," Orochimaru said, snake-like pupils narrowing. "Your perception is still extraordinary."
"We're close," he continued quietly. "Soon, I'll gain a new body. For this plan, I spent over five years perfecting a certain technique. But after today… it'll finally be the era of Orochimaru."
Thinking of the Sharingan he sought, Orochimaru's expression flashed with obsession. To fully control the power of the eyes he intended to steal, he had created his ultimate ninjutsu—Living Corpse Reincarnation.
A jutsu that allowed him to transfer his soul into another body, effectively rendering himself immortal. With enough time, Orochimaru believed he would learn every ninjutsu in existence.
For him, perfecting this technique meant he had already completed half his goal—the most difficult half at that. His genius was undeniable; few could create such an unnatural jutsu.
But even this "immortality" had unavoidable weaknesses.
The first flaw of Living Corpse Reincarnation was the body itself—it could only sustain Orochimaru for three to four years before rejecting him.
Second, after each transfer, he suffered nearly a full month of weakness. And with every reincarnation, his spiritual energy was capped at roughly thirty percent of its original capacity. Even then, only about seventy percent of that reduced strength could actually be used.
This limitation was the most troublesome problem for Orochimaru.
Spiritual energy determined one's resistance to genjutsu, and his dropping mental stability made him vulnerable. Fortunately, he was still a Kage-level shinobi, well-versed in dispelling illusions through finesse rather than brute resistance.
The instability came from the rejection between soul and vessel. The body pushed back, the soul resisted, and the result was a constant imbalance in Orochimaru's spiritual power.
Still, immortality bought him time. With enough successful transfers, he believed he could one day perfect the technique entirely.
So his reincarnation really has succeeded…
Ash observed Orochimaru quietly, his Sharingan analyzing every cell and chakra thread flowing through the man's body. Everything was different from seven years ago—the changes were impossible to miss.
"Orochimaru," a voice cut in coldly.
The Fourth Kazekage—Rasa—arrived with his five elite guards. His expression hardened the moment he saw Ash standing beside Orochimaru.
"What is the meaning of this? You said we were working together. Why bring such a dangerous individual here?"
Orochimaru smiled thinly.
"Well… in this plan, Sunagakure is merely one of the pieces on the board."
Rasa's expression shifted in an instant. His instincts screamed, and he retreated immediately—
"—!"
A sharp sound split the air.
A pale bone blade erupted from the sand where he had been standing just moments earlier, slicing upward with lethal precision.
(End of Chapter)
📝 Limited-Time Discount (Ends Soon): $7 → 20 Chaps
⚡ Pa-treon-com/LordMerlin
😊 Thank You For Your Support!