Northern Hideout, Northern Border of the Land of Grass.
This was a secret base built within the rocks.
Just like the Southern Hideout, which had been completely submerged by seawater, Orochimaru had also constructed deep-level buildings underground resembling a labyrinth.
But unlike the Southern Hideout, the prisoners and test subjects held here weren't ordinary people with little ability to resist.
Even average Genin or Chunin might not be a match for these prisoners.
They all shared a common characteristic.
A special gene had been implanted into their bodies.
That was also the source from which Orochimaru developed the [Heaven and Earth Cursed Seals].
Somewhere deep within the prison cells…
Jugo, with his orange hair, listened uneasily to the roars and struggles coming from the next cell.
"Arghhh!!!"
Jugo counted silently in his heart… this was already the third day since the person next door had been imprisoned.
Their roars had hardly ceased during these three days.
This was also tormenting Jugo's spirit.
Of course, compared to his own lack of sleep, Jugo was more concerned about the other party's condition.
It might be hard to tell, but such a good-natured young man who cared for others was actually the origin of the Cursed Seal.
Jugo, a natural talent who could absorb natural energy and enter a state of [Pseudo-Sage Mode].
Unlike Naruto, Jiraiya, or even Hashirama, who required training…
Whenever Jugo fell into a state of excitement, black patterns would spread across his body, and his entire appearance would change, turning into a monster resembling a demon.
In that state, Jugo's personality would also change, becoming highly aggressive.
Precisely because of this, after losing control once and injuring someone from his own village, he resolved to leave alone.
Later, he was subdued by Kimimaro, sent by Orochimaru, and voluntarily remained in the Northern Hideout.
At least in a prison cell, he wouldn't hurt others.
Listening to the noises next door, Jugo carefully pressed against his cell door and tentatively called out.
"Hey? Are you okay? Do you need me to call the guards?"
This was actually who-knows-how-many-eth time he had asked in these three days.
But each time, the reply was meaningless roars.
This time was no different.
Getting no response, Jugo sat back down again.
'Ah... If only Orochimaru-sama were here.'
So, why wasn't the Orochimaru-sama, whom Jugo placed his hopes on, currently in the base?
This was also closely related to the guy yelling next door.
In the adjacent cell.
Unlike Jugo's ordinary cell, this one had no bed, only layer upon layer of seals and chains.
Within the seals, a red-haired boy with a half-grown horn on the side of his head was still struggling.
Apart from his head, all his other parts were tightly bound by the seals.
He was Gaara, who had recently been implanted with a Cursed Seal by Orochimaru.
Even Orochimaru himself hadn't anticipated that the Cursed Seal of Heaven would produce such a wonderful reaction when encountering a Jinchuriki.
Not long after he implanted the Cursed Seal, Gaara completely lost his sanity, becoming as frenzied as a wild beast.
At first, Orochimaru thought it was just the Tailed Beast rampaging and added a few more layers of seals.
But what happened next opened his eyes.
The out-of-control Gaara first involuntarily manifested a Tailed Beast Cloak.
It changed from the sand that constituted Shukaku to the red Chakra common to Jinchuriki, then quickly transformed into another form.
A mass of earthy yellow Chakra turned into a cloak, draped over Gaara's body, but it quickly dissipated due to instability.
At that moment, a guess appeared in Orochimaru's mind.
'Could there be some connection between Tailed Beast Chakra and Natural Energy?'
This reminded him of a term… [Sage Mode].
'Could this be the true form of Sage Mode?'
'But that didn't make sense either… then how did someone like Jiraiya learn it?'
Holding such doubts, Orochimaru temporarily left the Northern Hideout and went to Ryuchi Cave, seeking answers.
And Gaara, left behind here, fell into a cycle of 'Frenzied Rampage – Energy Depletion – Awakening – Renewed Frenzy'.
Thus, Orochimaru missed the chance to witness the scene of Gaara's physical form changing.
The roars suddenly stopped, and Jugo was used to it by now.
Based on the experience of the past few days, it shouldn't take more than half an hour for the other to wake up again and resume roaring.
But this time, he was wrong.
'Where... am I?'
Gaara raised his head somewhat dazedly, then felt the restraining force around him.
That was a sealing formula researched by Orochimaru specifically for suppressing Tailed Beast Chakra.
The memories in his mind were like fragments, and no matter how much Gaara shook his head, he couldn't piece them back together.
'Who... am I?'
Gaara could recall some vague memories.
But in those scenes, he was either being looked at with cold eyes or huddled alone in the shadows.
'It seemed someone was calling my name...'
'What was it?'
He couldn't remember.
The clearest memory was of a Ninja with yellow hair.
That person had punched him.
'He must know who I am.'
'I must find him.'
As if by some unseen will, a voice seemed to be urging Gaara to find the person in his memory.
At this very moment, within the seal inside Gaara-
Shukaku had fallen into a deep slumber.
Perhaps due to overexertion of power, or some other reason.
'I need to leave here.'
Gaara glanced around… it was empty, with nothing at all.
He tried to break free from the restraints, but as soon as he exerted force, the power within his body would be drained, converted into the energy that suppressed him.
Just as Gaara was at a loss, a few grains of sand drifted in through a crack in the door from somewhere.
Looking at those tiny grains of sand, Gaara felt a certain instinct rapidly awakening.
Without hand seals, without using Chakra-
Just a thought, and soon more and more sand gathered.
The area where the Northern Hideout was located had a dry climate, and although the terrain was mostly rocky cliffs, sand wasn't uncommon.
Maybe some guard had accidentally brought it in.
The sand quickly gathered under Gaara's gaze, then transformed into a kunai made out of sand, slowly floating up.
Sshhh-
The kunai easily cut through the outermost layer of scrolls. Gaara felt the suppression on his body suddenly loosen.
Then came the chains and other seals below.
These things were completely insufficient in the face of Gaara, who had recovered a certain amount of power.
He didn't even need to use sand, breaking them purely through physical strength alone.
'Originally... was my strength this great?'
As the chains fell to the ground, Gaara also looked at his own body with curiosity.
He felt that he shouldn't have been like this originally.
Sand and that yellow Chakra converged together, coalescing into a robe around him.
This wasn't something Gaara intentionally created, but closer to an instinct.
Gaara narrowed his eyes slightly, sensing the thing hidden beneath the sand.
It seemed to be... a certain emotion.
He could feel that this sand contained a certain will.
It seemed to be something he had always yearned for.
Tap tap tap...
Just then, hurried footsteps suddenly came from the corridor outside, interrupting Gaara's contemplation.
Clearly, there was some kind of monitoring method in this prison.
The moment he broke free from the seal restraints, the guards immediately noticed.
Gaara, who had completely changed his appearance, lifted his eyelids, looking at the cell door and wall ahead.
Without any visible action, the sand turned into fine blades barely detectable by the naked eye.
The wall ahead was silently and seamlessly cut open, the incision incredibly smooth.
At that moment, the guards also arrived at the cell door, coming face to face with Gaara, who was walking out.
Because the cell door was fully enclosed, Jugo in the next room didn't know what had happened.
He only heard a few short exclamations, followed by the smell of blood drifting in.
'What... happened?'