Orochimaru's situation was getting worse by the second.
He had always known that failure was a possibility. After all, being a shinobi meant facing countless uncertainties.
Sometimes, a mere genin could possess unimaginable strength.
Other times, a powerful shinobi could be brought down by someone far weaker through a single, well-timed betrayal.
But what he hadn't expected… was just how troublesome Uchiha Fugaku would be.
Or how terrifying those eyes were.
Even though Orochimaru had never directly fought against the Sharingan before, he was well aware of some of its traits. He had taken as many precautions as possible.
And yet, in front of Fugaku, those precautions felt completely useless.
Every move he made was seen through.
Every attack he launched was neutralized.
Worst of all, those eyes of Fugaku's were constantly emitting a strange, oppressive force.
That power spread quietly, influencing him without pause. At times, it caused brief hallucinations. At others, it led him into serious misjudgments.
At this point, Orochimaru understood.
Even without directly looking into Fugaku's eyes, he had already fallen under the influence of his genjutsu.
This ever-present illusion was disrupting his entire flow of battle. He didn't know how much longer he could hold on.
But one thing was certain—
If this continued, his end wouldn't be pretty.
"So this is the power of the Mangekyō…"
Gritting his teeth, Orochimaru barely avoided another attack from Fugaku. He could tell that Fugaku was still holding back.
Even now, the man seemed conflicted—still concerned about the relationship between Konoha and the Uchiha clan.
That hesitation was the only reason Orochimaru had managed to survive this long.
But realizing this only made his expression darker. A flicker of anger surfaced on his pale face.
It wasn't anger at being suppressed.
It was anger at himself.
He was furious that he hadn't accumulated enough knowledge—hadn't turned that knowledge into true power. That failure had left him at a disadvantage again and again in recent events.
His experiments had stalled.
He had been attacked by a mysterious figure wielding the power of the Nine-Tails.
Then there was Danzo's constant pressure.
All of it had forced him into a dangerous gamble, pushing him into cooperation with Natsuhiko of the ANBU.
And now… he had fallen into this situation.
Frustration and resentment filled his heart.
More than ever, he was certain of one thing—
He had to seize control of his own fate.
Meanwhile, Fugaku wasn't having an easy time either.
Even though he currently held the upper hand, it had been far too long since he last fought seriously.
Since inheriting his father's position and becoming the head of the Uchiha clan, his opportunities to engage in real combat had drastically decreased.
Even during the conflict in the Land of Grass, when facing the already defeated Iwa shinobi, he hadn't needed to exert himself.
Now, facing someone like Orochimaru, he could feel the strain.
If not for the Mangekyō Sharingan, this wouldn't just be difficult—
It would be certain death.
On top of that, he couldn't bring himself to kill.
Orochimaru was still the disciple of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"I need to end this quickly."
Fugaku made up his mind.
His chakra surged violently as he stomped the ground, instantly closing the distance between them.
A flash of cold light cut through the air as he swung a blade he had taken from a fallen Root shinobi. The strike was swift, sharp, and eerily precise, aimed directly at Orochimaru's left leg.
Killing him outright wasn't realistic.
But crippling his mobility… that was enough.
Orochimaru reacted just as quickly.
He leapt backward to the side, his right hand gripping a kunai, slashing at Fugaku from an unusual angle.
But his movement had already been read.
With the Sharingan—and especially the Mangekyō—the difference was absolute.
Fugaku extended his left hand forward. Just as Orochimaru's kunai was about to cut through, his wrist flipped sharply upward—
That strike was precise—aimed directly at Orochimaru's wrist.
Orochimaru seemed to have already anticipated Fugaku's intention. His body twisted unnaturally in midair, accelerating backward to create distance.
Yet, his arm remained extended, almost as if he was deliberately baiting Fugaku into grabbing it.
"Hmph."
In an instant, Fugaku withdrew his hand instead.
He had clearly seen it—hidden beneath Orochimaru's sleeve, a venomous snake was already flicking its tongue, waiting to strike.
This time, Fugaku didn't pursue recklessly. Instead, he stopped and rapidly formed hand seals as a scorching aura began to gather around him.
"If you want to retreat… then keep retreating!"
With a low shout, his hand seals completed.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Jutsu!"
A massive dragon of flames surged up from the ground, fueled by Fugaku's chakra. It roared as it lunged toward Orochimaru.
Moments later, a violent explosion erupted beside the lake. Flames shot skyward, dazzling even under the bright daylight.
The fire spread rapidly.
At the edge of the inferno, Orochimaru stood in a somewhat battered state.
He had barely avoided the fire dragon by the narrowest margin, but once it exploded, there had been almost no room left to escape.
Parts of his clothes and hair were scorched, and a faint burnt smell lingered in the air.
"How troublesome…"
Orochimaru's expression darkened as he instinctively licked his lips. Chakra surged wildly within him as he made up his mind—
He had to retreat.
Failing Natsuhiko's task would undoubtedly bring consequences, but he had no other choice now.
That massive fire technique had likely been used to draw attention from other members of the Uchiha clan.
If he stayed any longer, he would be surrounded.
And when that happened, his fate would be far worse.
This time, he intended to leave Konoha entirely. And once he did, he would immediately use his Living Corpse Reincarnation technique to sever his connection with Natsuhiko.
After seeing Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan, he had come to a conclusion—
Natsuhiko had sent him here for those eyes.
Even if he handed over ordinary three-tomoe Sharingan, it probably wouldn't satisfy him.
So escaping now was the only real option.
"Damn it!"
But Fugaku gave him no such chance.
In a single step, Fugaku closed the distance again, his blade slicing through the air as it came crashing down toward Orochimaru once more.
...
"That's quite the commotion…"
Standing at the edge of the forest, Natsuhiko looked toward the towering flames in the distance, his expression darkening slightly.
To be honest, he hadn't expected much from Orochimaru in a direct confrontation with Fugaku.
But for things to go this badly…
It was still disappointing.
A Fire Release of that scale—both in range and impact—was impossible to ignore.
Without even needing to think too much, Natsuhiko could already tell—
Orochimaru was planning to run.
After all, the man was both extremely cautious and exceptionally intelligent.
Each of those traits alone was admirable.
But when combined… and placed in the current situation…
They became a problem.
"He's seen Fugaku's Mangekyō… and with the mark I left on him, along with my emphasis on obtaining those eyes…"
Natsuhiko narrowed his gaze slightly.
"He's probably overthinking things, assuming I set this up on purpose. And now that he's failed, he's worried I'll retaliate."
It had to be said—despite their limited interactions, Natsuhiko had accurately grasped how Orochimaru thought.
And he absolutely couldn't let him escape.
If Orochimaru ran… who would continue his experiments?
With that in mind, Natsuhiko acted decisively.
He pulled out a mask.
It was an unusual one—completely covering the eyes, leaving no openings at all.
At the same time, he quickly applied a substance to change his hair color to black, then draped himself in a long black robe before stepping forward.
He didn't head straight into the center of the battle.
With the mask covering his face, he had already activated his Jōgan. He could clearly see the ongoing fight between Orochimaru and Fugaku.
More importantly, he could also see the Uchiha reinforcements gathering at the outskirts of the forest.
"Let's deal with these first…"
His voice was calm.
"Then I'll go find Orochimaru."
Natsuhiko thought silently to himself. A faint ripple of chakra spread through his body, and in the next instant, he vanished from his original spot.
Within the forest, one Uchiha after another quietly collapsed to the ground.
...
Meanwhile, Orochimaru and Fugaku's battle continued.
Orochimaru was being suppressed more and more heavily, and he couldn't find even the slightest opening to escape.
Under those damn Mangekyō Sharingan eyes, it felt like every single movement of his was being seen through completely.
He had to find a way to break free from that gaze. Only then would he have a chance to retreat.
Orochimaru was smart. He had already considered using Earth Release to block vision and create an opportunity to escape.
But Fugaku's speed was just as terrifying.
Every time Orochimaru used Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall, Fugaku would either immediately break through it or respond with a direct Fire Release assault while closing in from the side with his real body.
Against that kind of fighting style, Orochimaru was at a clear disadvantage. On top of that, he was completely unaccustomed to fighting without relying on eye contact.
Worse still, Fugaku's chakra was still lingering inside his body, interfering with him and making things increasingly difficult.
Swish!
Another blade came slashing toward him.
Orochimaru twisted his body to dodge, then quickly leapt backward.
Fugaku immediately pressed forward.
Even though he was also under strain—the burden of the Mangekyō was not small—he clearly understood that he held the advantage now.
And when you held the advantage, you had to finish the fight quickly. Otherwise, it would only lead to future trouble.
"Earth Release: Earth Spears!"
Seeing Fugaku closing in again, Orochimaru suddenly formed hand seals at high speed.
In an instant, the technique was completed.
Pushed this far, Orochimaru had been constantly thinking of ways to counterattack and create an opening.
And now, he finally saw a gap. Without any hesitation, he acted.
Countless earth spikes erupted from the ground, shooting upward violently and forcing Fugaku to adjust his approach.
"Hmph."
Fugaku let out a cold snort.
With the Sharingan active, he could see everything clearly.
His blade came down first, cutting through one of the spikes with precision. Then, his eyes rapidly analyzed the full distribution of the remaining spikes.
Like a drifting butterfly, he weaved through the forest of stone spears with incredible agility, evading and repositioning as he continued closing in on Orochimaru.
"Ninja Art: Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Seizing the opportunity, Orochimaru thrust his arm forward.
In the next moment, countless poisonous snakes shot out from his sleeve, baring their fangs as they lunged toward Fugaku.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Fugaku did not take the risk of engaging in close combat again. He quickly formed hand seals and unleashed a massive fireball from his mouth.
The fireball collided with the swarm of snakes.
Instantly, the air was filled with hissing screams, followed by the unmistakable smell of burning flesh.
Orochimaru showed no concern at all for the snakes being incinerated. Instead, his expression grew more excited—because he knew he had finally found his opening.
"Ninja Art: Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes!"
He formed seals once more.
In the next instant, a summoning-like array appeared beneath Fugaku's feet.
Countless snakes surged out from it again, a horrifying sight that sent chills down anyone's spine.
Fugaku clicked his tongue in annoyance. He swung his blade rapidly, cutting down snake after snake as they lunged at him.
But there were simply too many.
Faced with such overwhelming numbers, even he had no choice but to avoid direct confrontation.
After slicing through another snake's head, Fugaku leapt backward once more.
At the same time, his hands blurred into new seals as a terrifying surge of chakra erupted around him.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Jutsu!"
"I've got you now!"
At that moment, Orochimaru's expression suddenly shifted—he looked genuinely excited. This excitement was completely different from the cautious, ready-to-flee attitude he had shown just moments ago.
With a single hand seal, several small venomous snakes silently appeared at the edge of Uchiha Fugaku's sleeves.
They flicked their tongues, then without hesitation sank their fangs into Fugaku's arms.
"Ninja Art: Binding Snake Glare Spell!"
Orochimaru's chakra surged violently. The snakes that had bitten Fugaku became increasingly agitated under his control.
And since they were venomous to begin with, the moment Fugaku was bitten, his body instantly went numb. He couldn't even struggle free from their grip.
Orochimaru's chakra continued to intensify, the sense of danger growing sharper and sharper. Finally, under Fugaku's seemingly panicked expression, the snakes exploded violently.
"It's over…"
Orochimaru licked his lips and stepped forward, moving toward Fugaku's position.
The sight before him looked completely miserable.
Fugaku's entire arm had been blown off. His body lay collapsed in a pool of blood, seemingly on the verge of collapse. That alone made Orochimaru quietly let out a breath of relief.
This man had been far too troublesome. If he hadn't exposed a fatal opening by becoming too aggressive, Orochimaru might never have found an opportunity like this.
But as he continued walking, Orochimaru suddenly frowned.
He saw someone.
Uchiha Itachi.
Fugaku's son—the so-called genius of the Uchiha clan.
At that moment, a realization struck him.
If he truly wanted to suppress Fugaku completely and force him into submission, shouldn't he have targeted that child instead?
So why… had he never even thought of it?
In fact, he had completely forgotten the boy's existence.
And then there was something else—
"Binding Snake Glare Spell doesn't summon small snakes… it summons giant snakes."
Recalling the battle just now, Orochimaru suddenly felt a chill crawl up his spine. Everything about this situation felt wrong.
Fugaku had suddenly revealed a massive opening.
He had completely forgotten about Itachi.
And even the technique itself—he had used it incorrectly.
None of this should have happened.
And yet it had happened so naturally that he hadn't even noticed when or how it went wrong.
"Have I been discovered? As expected of Orochimaru."
At that moment, a soft murmur sounded right beside his ear.
Instantly, cold sweat broke out all over Orochimaru's body.
"That voice… Uchiha Fugaku!"
Orochimaru never expected things to develop like this. But at the very least, it confirmed one thing—his suspicion was correct.
He had fallen into a genjutsu.
Completely and unknowingly, even while on full alert.
But what he couldn't understand was when it had happened.
He had been so careful. He hadn't even looked into Fugaku's eyes once.
And yet he had still been caught.
"So this is the Mangekyō Sharingan… truly terrifying."
Orochimaru murmured softly.
At that moment, the world around him began to distort and fade. The "Fugaku" lying in a pool of blood became completely transparent.
In the next instant, the world transformed.
Everything turned into a monochrome realm of black and white. Even the blazing sun in the sky looked like a pale silver moon.
And there, Uchiha Fugaku stood calmly to the side, gazing at him with those strange, patterned eyes.
"How did you discover my genjutsu?" Fugaku suddenly asked. "I didn't leave behind any flaws."
"It was your son," Orochimaru replied, his voice growing heavier. "The moment I saw him, I realized something was off."
"Is that so?" Fugaku nodded indifferently, as if he understood Orochimaru's meaning.
But once he understood, his expression grew even colder.
Anyone who threatened his family… was his enemy.
In his heart, Orochimaru had already been sentenced to death. There was no question he would make this man pay.
But even so, Fugaku still held a trace of caution. He needed to confirm something first—how many people were involved in this operation.
Only after obtaining enough evidence would he act. Only then would he dare to act.
"How many people are involved in this?" Fugaku asked.
The strange patterns in his eyes continued to rotate, and that special chakra kept flowing into Orochimaru's body.
"And what is your objective?"
"There are still…" Orochimaru answered almost instinctively.
But in the next moment, his expression shifted.
He suddenly realized there were two different "voices" inside his mind.
One was telling him to obey Fugaku completely.
The other was screaming in resistance, insisting he must never yield to this control.
Orochimaru gritted his teeth hard. He felt like he was losing his sanity. His logic was breaking apart, his consciousness becoming chaotic. He could no longer even tell which thoughts were truly his own.
"Tell me—who else is involved, and what is your goal!"
Fugaku's voice rang out again, this time directly echoing inside Orochimaru's mind.
Pain, disorder, and submission twisted together. Resistance, suppression, and the struggle to reclaim his will all collided violently within him.
Under this extreme mental pressure, Orochimaru felt himself sinking deeper and deeper. That invisible force was tightening its grip on him.
"The ones involved… include Danzo…"
Orochimaru spoke again.
He was shocked to realize that even though he still retained his resistance, even though he still refused to submit in his heart, his mouth continued to move on its own.
It was as if his body no longer belonged to him.
He had already been completely controlled.
Completely dominated by Uchiha Fugaku.
"And…" he continued through gritted teeth, struggling desperately against the control—but it was useless.
He could only watch as "he" kept speaking.
Buzz!
Just as he was about to reveal every participant—including Natsuhiko's name—an eerie force suddenly rippled through the black-and-white world.
In that instant, Orochimaru felt his mind snap back to clarity.
The second consciousness inside him was forcibly wiped away, and that nightmarish voice disappeared completely.
Sensing something, he abruptly looked up.
Above him, within this monochrome world, the white moon hanging in the sky was slowly dyed a deep blue.
The black-and-white realm was now suffused with an otherworldly blue glow, carrying a strange, almost hypnotic rhythm.
That blue light shimmered with an uncanny radiance, as if it held infinite attraction. Just looking at it made Orochimaru feel as if even his soul was being pulled in.
"…Beautiful."
...
Thud!
At the same time, Natsuhiko knocked out the last Uchiha shinobi who had been rushing in for reinforcement and immediately moved toward Orochimaru's location.
He hadn't bothered counting how many he had taken down, but he knew the Uchiha had sent more than just this number.
Still, he no longer had time to deal with them.
Because in his eyes, Orochimaru's condition had become increasingly strange.
Aside from his own chakra, there was now an ever-growing presence of dark chakra originating from Fugaku's eyes spreading inside him.
A faint link had already been formed in silence between him and Uchiha Fugaku, and in the end, it was even suppressing Orochimaru's chakra more and more.
This kind of domineering technique was something Natsuhiko was seeing for the first time. Especially now that Orochimaru's movements had turned completely chaotic—he was slashing and striking at empty air as if fighting invisible enemies—Natsuhiko immediately understood that he had already fallen fully under control.
"The power of the Mangekyō Sharingan really is strange. Is this the effect of a genjutsu?"
Natsuhiko thought quietly to himself. After all, Orochimaru here was not the same as the version in the future.
In the future, his soul had been repeatedly transferred, suffering damage over time, which made him helpless against genjutsu. But right now, Orochimaru's soul was intact. Logically speaking, he should not be performing this badly against illusion techniques.
The only explanation was that the Mangekyō Sharingan was simply too overbearing—its unique dōjutsu ability was far too oppressive.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, as Natsuhiko's gaze deepened further, he realized that another world seemed to appear within his vision.
A world of black and white intertwined.
And within that world, Uchiha Fugaku was interrogating Orochimaru!
Orochimaru was struggling and resisting with all his might, but his will seemed to be steadily weakening, his thoughts being torn apart bit by bit.
He had already spoken, then suddenly snapped back to awareness—but the next moment, those black chakra threads once again wrapped around and controlled him.
"Is this a world inside the genjutsu?"
Natsuhiko was slightly startled.
Genjutsu was normally something that only worked on a single target. Some techniques could affect multiple people, but that would place an enormous burden on the caster. In principle, genjutsu was a direct clash at the spiritual level, and outsiders should not be able to see what was happening inside it.
Yet right now, Natsuhiko could clearly see everything unfolding within the illusion. How could he not be surprised?
"So this is the so-called 'super perception'… truly a terrifying ability."
He felt a brief sense of admiration, but it quickly faded. There were more important things to deal with.
He had already figured out the nature of this genjutsu. Uchiha Fugaku had constructed a special space-like illusion, somewhat similar to Tsukuyomi—but not quite the same.
Orochimaru was still able to resist, and more importantly, Tsukuyomi shouldn't be able to manipulate a target's thoughts directly.
But no matter what it was, Natsuhiko couldn't allow Orochimaru to continue speaking. Fugaku was clearly extracting information—and among that information, his own name was definitely included.
With a slight surge of chakra, Natsuhiko's figure vanished from where he stood. The next moment, he had already appeared beside Orochimaru.
A burst of deep blue light erupted in his eyes.
To break this genjutsu, the most direct method was to disrupt the chakra system stabilizing it.
The power leaking from the Mangekyō Sharingan was not something ordinary techniques could easily counter, so Natsuhiko decisively chose to use the power within his own eyes to forcibly break it.
His blue light surged violently, piercing straight into Orochimaru's body. The instant that power entered him, Orochimaru immediately regained clarity.
And within this black-and-white world, even the "sun" that had once looked like a silver moon in the sky now transformed—becoming the reflection of Natsuhiko's eyes.
"Impossible!"
Uchiha Fugaku naturally sensed the intrusion of this strange power and the sudden, unnatural blue glow. When he saw that floating, radiant blue sphere in the sky, he couldn't help but cry out in shock.
In that instant, his genjutsu collapsed completely.
The world he had constructed shattered silently into countless fragments.
The black chakra connection that linked him and Orochimaru was severed the moment the genjutsu world collapsed.
Uchiha Fugaku let out a low groan, and blood tears uncontrollably began to stream down from his eyes.
"So it was an ocular ability," Natsuhiko immediately confirmed his judgment after seeing this.
That illusion-like space technique was clearly a unique ability of Uchiha Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan. And now that it had been forcibly broken by Natsuhiko, the backlash naturally returned to its caster.
Even though Natsuhiko did not know what the technique was called or what its full capabilities were, he understood one thing very clearly—he now held the advantage.
"Who are you?" Fugaku ignored the blood flowing from his eyes and continued to stare at Natsuhiko with his Mangekyō Sharingan activated.
"Who I am isn't important. What matters is that your eyes are quite interesting," Natsuhiko replied calmly. Then he lowered his gaze slightly toward Orochimaru. "You alright?"
"If you had come any later, I would've been in real trouble," Orochimaru replied, licking his lips as his voice remained low.
He had already realized who had saved him.
That deep blue eye that hung in the sky within the illusion—that was the manifestation of Natsuhiko's eyes.
He had seen those eyes before. The pressure and sense of suppression they gave him were beyond imagination.
Even now, he still had no idea what exactly those azure eyes were. But one thing had become clear to him today.
Those eyes were not weaker than the Mangekyō Sharingan. Otherwise, they would not have been able to break Fugaku's illusion and even inflict backlash upon him.
"That's good then," Natsuhiko nodded lightly. "But I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed. You couldn't complete Konoha's mission… and you couldn't complete mine either?"
"You?" Fugaku caught the key word instantly. "Orochimaru, you've been working with outsiders from outside the village?"
"Your village wants you dead. Why shouldn't I take this chance to get what I want?" Natsuhiko said calmly, casually spouting nonsense without a hint of hesitation.
"Besides, after this incident, Orochimaru won't have a place in Konoha anyway. Rather than letting your eyes end up in Danzo's hands, it's better they come to me in exchange for protection."
As he spoke, Natsuhiko glanced at Orochimaru once more.
At that moment, Orochimaru revealed a faint smile and gave a barely noticeable nod, clearly already understanding the situation.
With that settled—
Natsuhiko slowly drew a ninja blade, a vast surge of chakra beginning to rise within him.
"It's time to end this."