Orochimaru had fled—or rather, his clone had been dispelled. He needed to relay the information he had obtained from Higashino Makoto back to his main body so that it could make preparations in advance.
His ideal was to master the art of immortality and grasp the endless truths of the world. For that, he could not die. And right now, this was precisely his weakest moment.
He had already made a good start, but the time had been too short. The Living Corpse Reincarnation technique was still imperfect; for now, Anko was his only backup.
If what Makoto said was true—that he could remove the Cursed Seal of Heaven he had left on Anko—and if something happened to his main body, then everything he had done so far would turn to nothing.
What the hell kind of situation was that?
Using a Shadow Clone, Makoto briefly inspected the laboratory, but found nothing particularly noteworthy. This place was merely an unimportant snake den.
Afterward, he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and brought the unconscious Anko to the surface.
Spatial-temporal ninjutsu really was ridiculously convenient. Once you mastered this kind of technique, as long as you didn't act recklessly, it was extremely hard for anyone to kill you.
Sealing barriers and the like simply couldn't block space-time ninjutsu.
Outside, everything was calm and quiet. Even Konohagakure in the distance appeared just as it always did—nothing major seemed to have happened.
But beneath that calm surface, nearly the entire ANBU had been mobilized, carrying out orders from the Third Hokage.
Hiruzen led what remained of his direct ANBU forces toward Orochimaru's laboratory.
Gekkō Kumomi gathered the new ANBU and began assigning tasks to each squad, ordering them to search the remaining underground experimental bases.
Orochimaru was one of the Sannin—powerful and extremely dangerous. He was not someone ordinary ninja could handle. Everyone's orders were clear: avoid direct confrontation. If encountered, immediately send a signal for backup.
One or two squads fighting Orochimaru head-on was no different from seeking death.
Based on the evidence currently available, that man had long since abandoned any notion of comradeship with Konoha. He wouldn't show mercy.
After arranging everything, Kumomi took the Hayate squad to rendezvous with Makoto.
Yamato had already informed him of what had happened earlier.
In Kumomi's judgment, in terms of raw strength, Orochimaru might not even be a match for his disciple—but worry was unavoidable.
In battles between ninja, aside from strength, schemes and trickery were often more decisive.
He feared that his disciple, being too young, might fall into that snake's trap.
Just then, Makoto suddenly appeared beside them, carrying the unconscious Anko.
After approaching Konoha, he had sensed the large-scale movements of the ANBU and immediately rushed over using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Kumomi immediately asked, "Makoto, where is Orochimaru?"
"That wasn't his main body—just a clone."
"I see. How is Anko?"
"She's been marked with some kind of curse seal. It looks like she's already passed the critical stage—her life isn't in danger. But aside from that, after my examination, it seems part of her memory has been sealed."
Kumomi sighed. "That guy Orochimaru… he's really gone this far, hasn't he? Not even sparing his own disciple."
"Sensei, what are you all doing here?"
Kumomi unfolded a mission map. "We're carrying out the Third Hokage's orders—searching these laboratories."
Assigning the search of laboratories to the new ANBU? Aren't they afraid something real might be uncovered?
Makoto quickly understood Hiruzen's intention.
He pointed in a certain direction. "What about over here?"
"This area is being handled personally by the Hokage."
Makoto immediately understood—perhaps that was where Orochimaru's main body was.
There was still some bond between master and disciple. Orochimaru allowing his teacher to find his main body might very well have been intentional.
He created several Shadow Clones. One followed Kumomi and the others back to the previous laboratory for a more thorough search.
The rest went to support other directions. As for the original body, aside from sending Anko to the hospital, he still had something more important to do.
...
In a laboratory to the southwest—
Orochimaru had knocked down two ANBU who attempted to ambush him. After briefly clashing with his teacher, he appeared in a passage behind Hiruzen.
Hiruzen made no move.
The summoned Monkey King Enma urged anxiously, "Hiruzen, what are you doing? Why aren't you attacking?"
Hiruzen still gave no response—only silence.
Behind him, Orochimaru let out a sinister smile and sped away from the laboratory.
Even someone as rational and survival-driven as him was not entirely devoid of emotion. By using his main body, he had confirmed that his teacher truly couldn't bring himself to kill him.
What an… inescapable bond between master and disciple.
He had seen his teacher's sorrow toward him—and also the growing weakness and lack of principles that came with age.
It was the same with him, and the same with Danzō.
As expected, humans were too fragile—both in body and in emotion.
As he fled, Orochimaru became even more resolute in his chosen path.
In terms of the body, he had already modified himself, making it difficult to die from injuries. What remained was to strip away unnecessary human emotions. Once that was done, he would become something close to perfect.
From now on, the only thing he needed to do was search for the perfect body.
A squad of ANBU lying in ambush approached him from the side.
Orochimaru swiftly took them down. Just as he summoned a giant snake to kill the three fallen ANBU, an explosion suddenly erupted inside the snake's open mouth, catching him off guard and injuring him.
It was the same snake he had used in his earlier battle with his teacher. Somehow, at some point, an explosive tag had been placed inside its mouth.
"Tch… that old man, still teaching me a lesson even as I leave."
Orochimaru muttered, clutching his wound as he stood up. Without bothering to finish off the downed ANBU, he hurried to escape before reinforcements arrived.
After running for a while, Orochimaru suddenly smiled faintly, stopped, and sat down against a tree.
In front of him, Makoto descended from the sky like a feather, ignoring gravity, and hovered before him.
Using Wind Release to achieve flight, yet without the slightest leakage of chakra—the trees and grass around him remained completely still, unaffected.
This level of absolute control over chakra even made Orochimaru feel envious.
Makoto had never kept his self-developed ninjutsu secret; copies were stored in the village, and Orochimaru had naturally studied them.
But after reading them, he had only one conclusion: this was something no human could achieve. His judgment was the same as Danzō's—no one could learn it.
"What an incomprehensible talent you have, Makoto."
"Orochimaru-senpai, as someone praised by the Third Hokage as a once-in-decades genius, do you also envy others' talent?"
"Of course. No matter what, I'm still just an ordinary person. I can't obtain the innate abilities that bloodline ninja are born with. Ordinary ninja have their limits."
"But you, Makoto—you seem to have shattered my understanding. I've checked your records. Your parents and ancestors were all ordinary people. So… are you really their child? Or are you even human?"
"I'm human. You don't need to doubt that."
"Is that so? Then tell me, Makoto—someone with talent beyond my comprehension—how do you view the issue of human lifespan? Don't you think that a mere few decades is far too fragile and short?"
"So you've found a solution—just as I guessed. Replacing bodies repeatedly?"
"Mm, more or less."
"Then what's the price?"
"The price? Compared to eternal life, any price is insignificant, wouldn't you say?"
"That's true. But unfortunately, Orochimaru-senpai, I've already found my own path. Your temptation of immortality is meaningless to me."
Orochimaru's eyes lit up. "As expected, Makoto—someone as talented as you has also considered the problem of human lifespan. Can you tell me what your path is?"
"There's no need for me to tell you. But I can give you a hint. As far as I know, the sages of the Three Great Sage Regions have lived for over a thousand years. Have you never wondered why?"
"Or rather—for someone like you, who seeks eternal life by replacing bodies, wouldn't those sages be the perfect vessels?"
"Heh… how interesting."
Orochimaru extended his long tongue and licked his face.
"So you intend to walk the path of Sage power as a human."
"And Makoto—the sages of the Three Great Sage Regions are not opponents I can handle. Besides, they live long lives, but their lifespan is not truly eternal."
"Perhaps. But until the day I reach the end of my own path, I won't be interested in your method."
"Then I hope you never see that end. I'd also like to witness a path to immortality beyond replacing vessels… how truly exciting."
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