Demonic Illusion ∙ Hell Viewing Technique!
Just that one illusion was enough to bring an Anbu to his knees. His body convulsed as a strangled scream tore from his throat, his mind drowning in the most terrifying scene his heart could conjure. His comrades tried to snap him out of it, but his eyes were wide with horror, staring at something only he could see.
For the already wary Anbu, Orochimaru's genjutsu was overwhelming, sharp as a knife and merciless in its strike.
Amid the echo of that scream, Orochimaru licked his lips slowly, his golden snake-like eyes gleaming with malice. "Life… is so fragile…" he whispered, almost lovingly.
*Swish!*
Two Anbu charged at once, long swords gleaming as they descended toward Orochimaru's neck and torso. But the Sannin did not even bother to turn his head.
Evil Snake Wrist Explosion!
With a flick of his arm, his sleeves burst open, and two monstrous serpents lunged forth. Their bloodied jaws unhinged wider than humanly possible, snapping down over the swords.
*BOOM!!!*
The serpents detonated in midair, shredding themselves into chunks of flesh and viscera. The force engulfed the two Anbu, their bodies caught in the blast. A rain of blood and torn flesh pattered down upon the cracked tiles of the laboratory.
"You bastard!!!"
Kinoe roared, staggering as he tried to rise, but the earlier strike had left him grievously wounded. His body trembled, refusing to obey him.
Yun's hand pressed firmly onto his shoulder. "Don't push it. Stay down. If your Wood-style was on Uzumaki Sora's level, maybe you could be of use here… but now, you'll only drag the team down."
*Swish!*
Uchiha Yun vanished, reappearing in the heart of the battlefield. Two wounded Anbu were thrown to safety by his hand, their breaths ragged but alive. His Mangekyō Sharingan spun with a cold, merciless rhythm.
At the battlefield's center, Orochimaru crouched low, his jaw distending. Then his throat bulged grotesquely as his mouth opened wide, wider, impossibly wide.
Ten Thousand Snakes Formation!
*HISSSSSSSSS!*
An unending tide of serpents gushed forth like floodwaters from a shattered dam. They slithered across the laboratory floor, pouring over shattered tables, wrapping around broken test tubes, filling every crevice like living shadows. Their scales scraped against stone, their hisses merged into a deafening chorus.
The Anbu of Team 6 faltered under the sheer mass, their blades flashing desperately as they tried to cut the swarm back. But for every serpent they slew, ten more replaced it.
Yun narrowed his eyes. His scalp prickled—not with fear, but with revulsion. This was beyond disgusting.
Fire Style ∙ Majestic Destroyer Flames!
*FOOOOOOSH!!!*
His chakra surged outward in a violent torrent, igniting into a roaring wall of flame that blasted through the laboratory. The blaze devoured the swarm in an instant, scorching scales and flesh alike. The room filled with the nauseating stench of roasted meat and charred blood.
*Hissss…*
Orochimaru only laughed, sticking out his tongue like a serpent savoring the heat. "I never imagined Yun-kun's chakra was this vast. To pour such raw power into a single Fire-style… such talent, such promise…"
"Promise?" Yun scoffed from across the blaze, shaking his head. "It's called cleaning up. I don't exactly enjoy sharing space with vermin."
The firelight painted Orochimaru's pale features with shadows, but his eyes gleamed brighter still, filled with hunger and greed. "Yuno-kun, why remain shackled to Konoha? With your chakra reserves, with those Mangekyō eyes awakened, this village is far too small for you. Follow me… with me, you'll gain immortality, learn every ninjutsu the world hides. Yun-kun… don't you wish to uncover the true secrets of this world?"
Yun tilted his head, scratching idly at his hair as though considering. His lips quirked with a sardonic smile. Should he really tell this snake the truth? That the "secrets of the world" weren't what Orochimaru imagined—that this was all the aftermath of alien gods planting a tree, and a pathetic son scheming to dig up his mother from a celestial prison?
Was Konoha really such a bad environment compared to following this lunatic? At least Konoha had food. Orochimaru had nothing but slime and snakes.
"Pass." Yun muttered, his Sharingan blazing.
*Bang!*
His blade ignited in crimson flame. In a flicker of motion, he was before Orochimaru, the fire trailing his sword in three burning arcs.
Sword of Burning Moon Flame!
*BOOOOM!!!*
The strikes exploded with searing heat, carving through Orochimaru's body—only for the Sannin to crumble into soil and dust. A substitution.
But Yun was ready. He drove his blade down into the ground, and a surge of fire erupted, shattering stone and earth. From below, a charred figure was forced out—Orochimaru, coughing, his flesh burned black.
Yet even before Yun could press his advantage, a cold light flared in the shadows. Swish! A long sword swept across, blood spattering the walls.
Orochimaru's head rolled to the ground, struck aside by Yun's shadow clone. It tumbled like a grotesque ball, bouncing until it rolled into the flames. But even headless, the Sannin's voice slithered out from his mouth.
"You can't kill me… no one can. Not when I've embraced immortality. Don't you desire this power, Yun-kun?"
*Bang!*
Yun's real body drove his sword into the earth, blood spilling outward as Orochimaru's true body clawed its way free.
"As expected of you." Orochimaru rasped, his voice slick with admiration. "Is this the ability of the Mangekyō Sharingan? Just as before, no matter where I hide, you find me."
His flesh split, peeling away as a fresh, saliva-soaked body crawled out, unscathed. Disgusting. Every wound, every burn, every cut erased in an instant.
The two faced each other again in the flames, the ground littered with charred snakes and fallen Anbu. Orochimaru's head remained lowered, still cautious of Yun's eyes, while Yun's patience thinned. This battle could drag on forever unless he pushed Orochimaru to exhaust his chakra. But to reveal the true extent of his reserves here… in front of everyone… would be dangerous.
'Hmm?'
Yun's gaze flickered toward the entrance. Orochimaru, too, noticed. His tongue slid out with another hiss. "Ahhh… so, Sarutobi-sensei is here as well?"
The entrance shuddered, and Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, strode inside with his staff in hand. His eyes took in the devastation—the broken glass, the blood, the charred flesh. His expression hardened.
"Are you certain?" he asked quietly.
Kinoe forced himself upright, bowing deeply despite his wounds. "Third Hokage-sama, it has been confirmed. Orochimaru… has been using Konoha villagers as experimental subjects."
Hiruzen's gaze lingered on the shattered glass and spilled fluids. When his eyes rose to his former student, they carried sorrow, anger, and deep disappointment.
"Orochimaru… why? What is this place? Why are you here?"
The question was hollow—Hiruzen already knew the answer. Yun smirked faintly behind his mask. The old man's soft heart bled through again, even here. He still wished to salvage this broken disciple.
But Orochimaru sneered. "Sensei… as you can see, I'm developing a new ninjutsu. Research requires sacrifices. These? These are merely the victims of progress."
"Orochimaru!" Hiruzen's voice thundered, his fists trembling. "Do you even realize what you're saying?"
"Sensei," Orochimaru mocked, "you've grown old. If you were the man you once were—the hero of Konoha—you'd have struck me down already. But now? You hesitate. You waver." His golden eyes gleamed. "It's meaningless, all of it. No matter how brilliant one's life, no matter if you rise to Hokage, the end is the same: nothing but dirt. Life is fragile. But I…" He spread his arms. "…I have found another path."
Hiruzen's eyes shut tight. A single tear slipped free. The bond was severed. This disciple—his most gifted, his most cherished—had chosen a path from which there was no return.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
"Enma!"
With a burst of smoke, Enma appeared, the aged monkey glaring down at Orochimaru. "So, Hiruzen… this guys has finally done it."
"Transform." Hiruzen ordered quietly, gripping him tight. "Since he is my disciple… I will end him myself."
Orochimaru's lips curled upward, tongue flicking in anticipation. "Sensei… can you truly do it?"
Yun, meanwhile, stepped back into the shadows, gathering the battered remnants of Team 6. Their eyes turned to him, respect burning in their gazes. His battle against Orochimaru had already proven his strength beyond doubt. In the Anbu, strength was the only language that mattered.
*****
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