The sound of the Tailed Beast Bomb explosion echoed across the land.
Orochimaru and Yakushi Kabuto had already taken Naruto to another hidden base.
As for Guren—whether she lived or died?
That didn't matter.
With the Nine-Tails forcibly extracted, Naruto's life was rapidly nearing its end. The bloodline of the Uzumaki clan was the only thing allowing him to cling to life a little longer. Orochimaru was determined to make use of that remaining time.
Following Orochimaru's orders, Kabuto placed Naruto at the center of a ceremonial array. The walls and floor of the room were covered in seal formulae—barriers designed to block all external perception.
Once his task was done, Kabuto stepped out and quietly waited outside the room.
"Ugh…" Naruto barely managed to open his eyes, gaze locking onto Orochimaru with a depth of emotion.
For some reason, Orochimaru felt a sudden pang in his chest—an unfamiliar twinge of guilt. But it didn't stop him. His hands moved swiftly into a series of hand signs, his mouth opened wide, and a grotesque white serpent slithered out from his throat.
The serpent bore Orochimaru's face. Its body was covered in a mass of squirming, writhing white snakes—this was Orochimaru's true form. In his pursuit of eternal youth and body-hopping immortality, he had transformed himself into this unnatural abomination.
In essence, Orochimaru had long ceased to be human.
Naruto's eyes widened in alarm, but the fear quickly gave way to desolation.
There was no one normal around him anymore.
Everyone was a monster—one kind or another. The trauma finally broke him.
...
The next moment, the white-scaled serpent swallowed Naruto whole.
Extracting the Asura chakra from Naruto's body would have been an incredibly difficult task. So Orochimaru decided to skip the process entirely and simply devour Naruto using Living Corpse Reincarnation!
Outside the room, Kabuto heard the noises coming from within and couldn't suppress a flicker of anxiety. He didn't notice that in the corner of the room, a shadow was squirming—gradually morphing into the shape of an eye.
A demon was watching.
...
Inside, Orochimaru was focused on fusing with Naruto.
The demon observed with great interest—curious to see whether Orochimaru would succeed, curious when the Sage of Six Paths would finally appear.
Even if Orochimaru fully absorbed both Indra and Asura's chakra, it was unlikely he would ever reach the level of the Sage of Six Paths. After all, Indra and Asura had inherited only fragments of the Sage's original power.
Still, with Orochimaru's scientific prowess, given enough time to develop, he could very well grow into another Six Paths–level being.
What a shame, then, that so many in the shinobi world were shortsighted fools.
In a world where everyone else had tunnel vision, those with long-term vision and lofty goals rarely survived the opening act—or were crushed halfway through. Talent wasn't rare. But those who could grow into true power? They were few and far between. Reality forced most gifted youths to abandon long-term ambitions just to survive the present. Without the luck or backing to reach the endgame, they had to sacrifice potential in exchange for survival—fading into mediocrity.
If not for the good fortune of being chosen as a student by Sarutobi Hiruzen, Orochimaru's talents would have been buried and forgotten—just like Konoha's defector Hiruko.
Orochimaru's research journey was destined to be full of hardships.
He had no time to grow slowly. His teacher, his friends, even his students—none of them understood him. Many actively tried to stop him from touching forbidden knowledge.
Now Orochimaru dared to lay hands on the reincarnated chakra of the Sage's sons. Studying Indra was one thing—but to attempt to devour Asura?
The Sage of Six Paths would never tolerate that.
...
In the early stages of its arrival, the demon had once tried to completely eliminate Naruto and Asura's chakra—only to be thwarted by the Sage's watchful eye from afar. When it came to background-busting powerhouse figures like that, the demon knew better than to underestimate them.
So the demon had slyly revealed some of the Ōtsutsuki clan's secrets to Orochimaru—offering a poisoned candy.
Knowing Orochimaru's nature, the demon was certain he'd grow obsessed with the Sage's sons—and inevitably make a move on Naruto.
A simple and brutal method of using someone else to do the dirty work.
...
The Sage of Six Paths was no warm-hearted, benevolent old man.
In many ways, he was cold to the core.
He didn't care about Naruto's life or death. Nor did he care about the fates of previous Asura reincarnates. So-called "reincarnations" were just vessels carrying Asura's chakra. As long as the core of that chakra remained unharmed, he would always stand by coldly and watch the tragedies unfold.
But now Orochimaru was making a direct move on both Indra and Asura. If he succeeded, their existence would be completely wiped out.
And sure enough—when Orochimaru swallowed Naruto whole and the two chakras began to merge and dissolve into one another, the Sage's gaze descended instantly.
...
A vast power followed—transcending time and space—crashing down on Orochimaru with the force of a mountain.
Orochimaru's pupils narrowed into slits. He was still in the middle of the fusion process—there was no time to dodge. All he could do was stare in horror as his body was obliterated, his soul annihilated.
...
"Orochimaru-sama!"
Kabuto's horrified, grief-stricken cry was entirely genuine.
But he didn't blink before turning and bolting without hesitation.
Orochimaru-sama, may the gods help you now.
Behind him, a thunderous explosion ripped through the base. The shockwave spread outward in every direction, even shaking the ground itself.
Kabuto fled at full speed. He swore he'd never run this fast in his life! He used Body Flicker Technique over and over again until every muscle in his body was screaming in pain—but he didn't dare stop.
In an instant, he had put over a kilometer behind him. And even then, the residual force of that terrifying attack left him battered and beaten.
Looking back at the base—now reduced to dust—Kabuto shuddered.
As Orochimaru's most brilliant assistant, he had been involved in some of the recent experiments. He knew the old snake had been playing with fire...
He just hadn't expected the consequences to be this devastating.
...
If the chakra of the Sage's sons could last for millennia...
Then what about the Sage of Six Paths himself?
Orochimaru had considered that question before, which is why he layered the lab with seal barriers and sensory-blocking wards.
It had all been for nothing.
He had underestimated the Sage.
If Kabuto hadn't stayed on high alert—ready to bolt the moment things turned south—he would've died along with Orochimaru.
His chakra was completely spent, but he kept pushing forward.
Luckily, the Sage probably didn't care enough to chase down a small fry like him.
...
Back at the ruins of the base, the eye formed by shadowy lines locked gazes with the Sage of Six Paths.
"You can sense my gaze," the Sage said sternly. "That means you can hear my voice as well."
He didn't wait for a reply—only continued, voice filled with certainty.
"You're the one who introduced this element of chaos into fate."
...
"Heh heh…"
The demon's eye melted on the spot—collapsing into a pool of black, tar-like slime. Two beady yellow eyes floated on its surface, and a wide mouth opened to reveal razor-sharp white teeth.
"Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo... you ungrateful little brat…"
The moment the name 'Hagoromo' left its lips, the Sage's expression shifted.
"Who are you!?"
"I'm your dear brother, of course! Hahaha!" the demon cackled.
"Just wait—I'm going to teach you and Hamura a lesson you'll never forget!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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