NOVEL WEB Chapter 64: Chapter 074
"Your body is mine. And mine is still mine."
Ideals are beautiful, but the risks are high.
And all of this doesn't seem to be a problem. As for the issue of soul body depletion, he's already begun researching it—his direction is the Sage Mode of Ryūchidō.
But he never completed Sage Mode. Instead, he modified it and turned it into the Cursed Seal of Heaven.
He is a researcher.
Or rather, someone who deeply loves research. His two favorite things are studying ninjutsu and conducting research.
In the past, before he betrayed Konoha, he used to be with Tsunade and Jiraiya. At that time, Tsunade and Jiraiya once asked him what his dream was.
His dream in the past and now has always been the same.
He wanted to learn all the ninjutsu in the ninja world.
It's every shinobi's dream.
But his experiences told him—humans are fragile. No matter how grand your ideals are, people are just too weak, too easily destroyed.
So he shifted his focus to the study of immortality.
Immortality first, then study.
Because with immortality, one would have the life span, stamina, and energy to continue researching endlessly.
Thus began the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique.
When he first started choosing vessels, he actually considered using Kakashi Hatake's body.
Because Kakashi possesses all five chakra natures, he could move toward mastering a thousand kinds of ninjutsu—fulfilling the dream of his youth.
But...
That Kakashi guy wears Obito's Sharingan, and is basically a kidney-deficient boy.
Too many side effects.
Orochimaru thought it over—and gave up.
So he kept searching for a suitable vessel for his next reincarnation.
And now, the reason he returned to Konoha—even abandoning the large batch of backup vessels he cultivated in the Sound Village—is because he joined the Akatsuki a few years ago...
And then... was defeated by Uchiha Itachi of the Uchiha clan.
His power meant nothing in front of the Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan. He lost to Itachi's Mangekyō genjutsu—Tsukuyomi.
So, the Sharingan that he had once looked down upon was back on the table.
This time, he realized that not just chakra nature, but kekkei genkai were incredibly important too.
The problem was, he couldn't beat Uchiha Itachi. And the Akatsuki's leader Pain, who had the Rinnegan—he couldn't beat him either.
So he decided to return to Konoha.
To capture Uchiha Sasuke, Itachi's younger brother.
He planned to nurture Sasuke, then steal his body, and finally confront Itachi.
He really wanted to see—would Uchiha Itachi, who looked down on him, truly be able to fight his own little brother?
Surely he'd subconsciously hold back, right?
But now—
To hell with all of that.
All his plans in Konoha were disrupted again and again, and he himself had been killed several times.
Yes—
Orochimaru has been killed multiple times.
But due to the development of the Cursed Seal of Heaven, inspired by the Ryūchidō Sage Mode, he could be reborn through the seal marks he left behind after death.
That was the secret of his immortality.
Of course, doing this took a heavy toll—it was like performing Living Corpse Reincarnation repeatedly.
Which is why he's been looking so frail lately.
But now, that doesn't matter anymore.
"Kitahara Kaede, huh—"
He couldn't beat Pain, couldn't beat Uchiha Itachi, but surely he could handle Kitahara Kaede.
Of course—
He wasn't arrogant. He was a smart man. Since that small private group had "Observe Kitahara Kaede" as its name, it meant that guy wasn't just unique—he was extremely powerful.
But??
So what?
Because even if Kitahara Kaede was strong, he was still a shinobi of this era. And Orochimaru? He possessed the genes of Hashirama Senju.
Over the years, Orochimaru didn't just research Living Corpse Reincarnation—he also studied Impure World Reincarnation.
So—
As long as he could control the First and Second Hokage, and capture Kitahara Kaede, then maybe... he wouldn't need to keep reincarnating so often.
Kitahara Kaede had better physique and talent than Sasuke, and even came with a Rinnegan.
So now, Orochimaru was hoping Kitahara Kaede would become even stronger.
Yet, just as Orochimaru was smiling—someone appeared in front of him.
A person wearing a pitch-black cloak and a fox mask.
It was a member of Danzo's Root organization, and one of his most trusted agents: Yamanaka Kaze.
"Orochimaru—"
"Lord Danzo has a letter for you."
Yamanaka Kaze handed him a letter.
·······
Is the ninja world chaotic? That's up to Konoha.
That might not be true. But one thing is:
If Konoha is shady, it's because Danzo makes it pitch-black.
All these years that Orochimaru had been missing-nin, he actually still kept in touch with Danzo.
The earlier research into Wood Release, and the inhumane experiments on villagers—that was also secretly backed by Danzo. But once the truth came to light, Danzo pushed all the blame onto Orochimaru.
Orochimaru didn't care—he had already obtained what he wanted.
Still, Danzo could provide test subjects and funding, so there was no harm in keeping contact.
That's why—
Danzo's Sharingan-covered arm was actually Orochimaru's research result.
Although it did consume the user's chakra, it wasn't like Kakashi's, and Orochimaru even added Hashirama's cells to it. So Danzo's condition was far better than Kakashi's.
It was a mutually beneficial relationship.
And now—they were in contact again.
[Valley of the End]
Only these three words were written in the letter. Nothing else.
"..." Orochimaru frowned, then burned the letter and set out for the Valley of the End.
·······
Valley of the End.
Danzo stood alone beneath the stone statue of Hashirama Senju, eyes closed. His bodyguard Aburame Torune stood nearby.
Then—two figures appeared behind them with a bang.
It was Yamanaka Kaze and Orochimaru.
"Lord Danzo..."
Yamanaka Kaze came forward and reported, "Orochimaru has arrived."
"..." Danzo. "Orochimaru, if you're here, return Yamanaka Kaze to me."
"Heh..."
"Just kidding." With a poof, "Yamanaka Kaze" transformed into Orochimaru, and the real Orochimaru vanished.
It turned out Orochimaru had disguised himself as Yamanaka Kaze, then sent a shadow clone here.
"So—what's the meaning of all this?"
Orochimaru questioned him sharply. "Why did you join Hiruzen and the others in trying to capture me this time?"
Just today in Konoha alone—he had died three times.
And one of those times, Danzo was involved, using Sharingan to interfere.
"..." Danzo. "My Sharingan activities were exposed."
"So, sacrificing the pawn to save the king, huh."
"..." Orochimaru.
He seemed to hesitate for a moment.
But his instincts—especially for survival—were sharp. His body immediately tried to leap away, but—
The ground beneath him began exploding violently.
Boom boom boom!
The ground was filled with explosive tags!
!!!
Orochimaru's eyes nearly popped out.
Because—
Danzo had actually buried the entire Valley of the End with explosive tags!
Where did he even get so many explosive tags!?
"Danzo! If you want to die, don't drag me with you!"
"Summoning Technique!"
Orochimaru didn't hesitate. He summoned his strongest summoning beast—Manda.
Sure, he could still fake death and be resurrected.
But that would damage his soul.
So if he could avoid death, he'd much rather live.
"Orochimaru! You summoned me—I want 100 sacrifices—wait, what the hell!?"
Manda appeared.
It was several stories tall. But just as it emerged and Orochimaru landed on its head, it noticed its tail was exploding.
It could smell burnt flesh, pain—and it even smelled delicious.
"What the hell!?"
Manda froze for a moment—then quickly shook its body.
"Orochimaru, you bastard!!"
"The whole ground is covered in explosive tags!"
"Damn it!"
"I'm canceling our summoning contract!" Manda cursed loudly.
Although it was Orochimaru's summon, they weren't in a subordinate relationship—it was purely transactional.
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