Chapter Fifteen: The Embarrassed Orochimaru!

“What... what is your relationship with Tsunade?” Orochimaru’s gaze shifted toward Sakura, unable to ignore how her monstrous strength was so reminiscent of Tsunade’s! In fact, at Sakura’s age, even Tsunade herself could never have wielded such power!

“Tsunade will be my teacher someday!” Sakura declared, holding her head high.

Orochimaru nodded silently. “I believe she’ll be very fond of you...”

Sasuke formed a hand seal. “Orochimaru, your opponent now is me!”

“Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!”

“Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!”

Their jutsu collided, but despite Sasuke’s strength having reached Kage level, his experience couldn’t match Orochimaru’s. His chakra distribution in the jutsu was less practiced; a violent gale scattered his flames, not even igniting a single branch!

Yet Orochimaru dared not relax for a moment. In that brief exchange, he had already sensed Sasuke’s formidable power—no less than his own! Especially those eyes, the Rinnegan, so different from the Sharingan, sparked an intense urge in him to capture Sasuke immediately for research.

Orochimaru’s tongue flicked out as he licked his lips, his gaze on Sasuke’s eyes burning with obsession.

“What a splendid body...”

“Disgusting. Get lost! Sage Art: Majestic Destroyer Flame!”

Suppressing the urge to retch, Sasuke unleashed his full power with a torrent of fire—this time, harnessing his newly enhanced Sage Physique to perform the Fire Style at maximum force!

Flames surged in a tidal wave behind Sasuke. Startled, Orochimaru quickly summoned the Triple Rashomon, conjuring nine monstrous gates adorned with grimacing demons, which stood firm against the oncoming blaze.

When the flames finally died down, eight out of the nine gates had melted completely; the last one trembled, barely standing.

“Summoning Jutsu: Manda!”

Having nearly been overwhelmed, Orochimaru could no longer afford to let Sasuke attack unchecked. Slicing his palm to draw blood for the summoning contract, he summoned a colossal serpent that lunged at Sasuke!

The stench was nauseating. Sasuke’s face twisted in revulsion as he soared into the air, lightning chakra gathering in his hand, sharp as a blade.

“Lightning Style: Chidori!”

“Earth Style: Yomi Numa!”

Descending with Chidori, Sasuke pierced Manda through instantly. However, Orochimaru evaded harm by slipping into a swamp conjured by his own earth jutsu, vanishing into the ground without a scratch.

But the wounded giant snake had never intended to risk its life for Orochimaru. It immediately dispelled itself, wanting no further part in the fight.

After this round of combat, both Orochimaru and Sasuke had measured each other’s strength. As fellow Kage-level shinobi, one boasted greater chakra reserves, the other richer combat experience; without outside interference, neither could claim victory in less than several hours.

Orochimaru licked his lips again, though his gaze upon Sasuke had grown more reserved. Now, Sasuke had earned the right to speak as an equal, no longer merely under Itachi’s protection. Sasuke had proven himself—he was no puppet to be manipulated at will!

“The proctor will arrive soon, little one. I’ll let you go this time. If you wish to grow stronger and find your brother, come seek me out.”

Suppressing his impulse to abduct Sasuke, Orochimaru withdrew... The potential Sasuke had revealed far outstripped even Itachi’s.

Naruto made to give chase, but Sasuke stopped him.

“Forget it. Let’s finish the mission. Master will deal with him.”

....................

Meanwhile, Orochimaru, having escaped, crawled out of the giant snake’s mouth, his body fully restored. This was a jutsu of his own invention, allowing rapid recovery, though it consumed massive amounts of chakra and was far less efficient than medical ninjutsu.

“Tch. Where did Sasuke acquire such power...”

“Oh? You want to know? I can teach you!”

He’d barely had time to collect himself after emerging from the serpent’s mouth when a strange voice sounded from behind.

He spun around in surprise—his unnaturally long neck nearly gave Hao Yun a reason to blast him with a railgun!

“And who are you?”

“Me? Just Sasuke’s master. Orochimaru, do you desire immortality?”

Orochimaru’s eyes narrowed slightly. Immortality had always been his life’s pursuit... but who was this man before him?

“You? You can help me?”

“Certainly not with your half-baked Immortality Reincarnation technique.” Hao Yun looked at him with obvious disdain. “Anyone with sense knows the soul is far more important than the body. Yet you weaken your soul by jumping into other people’s bodies... You’re a researcher, capable of gene studies. Have you never thought to clone your own body? When danger arises, transfer into your own clone. That way, you’d lose no power, and your soul wouldn’t suffer. I have no idea what you were thinking.”

“Er...” Orochimaru was at a loss for words. He’d never considered creating a copy of himself. After all, no vessel could be more compatible with his soul than his own body.

No, it wasn’t that he hadn’t considered it—he simply lacked the knowledge!

“All right, take a look at this.”

Hao Yun tossed him books on genetics, human biology, and other scientific research from his world. Orochimaru flipped through them casually, and his eyes lit up instantly...

If he mastered these studies, he might be able to transplant countless Kekkei Genkai into himself without any side effects!

“What do you want in exchange?”

Closing the book, Orochimaru looked at Hao Yun. He knew well—there was no such thing as a free lunch. If you want something, you must pay for it! Anything offered for free is the most expensive of all!

“A comprehensive knowledge system,” Hao Yun replied, wagging a finger. “I plan to transform the entire shinobi world, and I need your help. This is just your basic reward. In the future, I’ll give you endless research opportunities.”

He handed Orochimaru an e-reader—and a solar charging panel.

“This is a completely different technological system. Take your time to understand it. The instructions are in the packaging. Oh, by the way, the Konoha Crush plan will proceed as usual. I need the Hidden Leaf Village as the base for our transformation of the shinobi world.”

“Transform the shinobi world?” Orochimaru instantly latched onto the heart of Hao Yun’s words.

“Yes, to change the world.” Hao Yun nodded, tossing him a recorder filled with the history of the Hokage. “Remember to keep this secret. Don’t let White Zetsu catch wind! I trust you know what White Zetsu is.”

Without waiting for a reply, Hao Yun soared into the sky on his flying machine.

“When you’ve made your decision, I’ll send someone to contact you.”

“Change the world, hmm?” Orochimaru licked his lips with that long, unsettling tongue. Not only was it not cute, it was downright revolting!

“I wonder how this will compare to the Akatsuki... But it certainly sounds interesting.”

At that moment, Anko had already discovered the traces of Orochimaru’s battle with Sasuke and reported to the Third Hokage.

The Third’s face was clouded with worry as he gazed wearily at the distant Hokage Rock... Orochimaru...