Naruto charged at Orochimaru with everything he had. His hands flew through seals again, and in the smoke, thousands of shadow clones appeared, all wearing faces full of rage.
Orochimaru looked on coldly. Facing Naruto's eruption, she simply lifted the Sasuke in her hand and shook him: "If I put a little pressure right now, he dies. You sure you want to try me?"
Every Naruto froze in place at the same time.
Floating in the air, Naruto clenched his teeth hard, his eyes blazing red: "Sasuke…"
Sasuke gave a bitter smile. "Naruto, in a battle, people die. Now that I'm dead, it only proves I'm nothing special. So… don't hold back because of me!"
"How could I possibly…" Naruto's whole body was shaking, his face pale.
He wanted to say… how could he possibly not care?
"What an interesting scene~" Orochimaru showed a disgusting smile. "Sometimes I really think the two of you are closer than real brothers. The more I understand you, the more I believe—if one of you were a girl, what exists between you would definitely be love."
Naruto: "…"
Sasuke: "…"
That line sounds familiar? Didn't Kurama say something like that?
Naruto almost couldn't keep a straight face.
Sasuke quickly spoke up, his voice full of anger. "How did you even figure it out? Our combo should've been unbeatable!"
Orochimaru gave a small laugh. The situation was already obvious, and she didn't mind explaining. "Luring tactic. Naruto's transformation did surprise me for a moment, but from that moment I knew what you two were planning."
"You used Shadow Clones to confuse my senses so I wouldn't notice Sasuke among them. Then Naruto's sudden burst made me instinctively ignore Sasuke's presence, and finally Sasuke landed the finishing blow. The only thing I didn't expect was that you had a technique that targets souls. That really surprised me."
Orochimaru smiled. "My Rinne Sharingan should have the same power, right?"
It made sense. The Rinnegan was basically a weaker form of the Rinne Sharingan. If the Rinnegan had that ability, then the Rinne Sharingan definitely would too—it's just that Orochimaru hadn't learned it yet.
Looking down at Sasuke in her hand, Orochimaru's tone carried a hint of mockery. "I once coveted your body, but now I don't need it. Because I've already gotten the strongest body. And you… to me now, you're just an ant I can crush at any time."
And it was true. Sasuke was in her grip. If she squeezed even a little harder, Sasuke would die instantly.
"Then kill me!" Sasuke's voice was full of resolve. "Even if you kill me, Naruto will avenge me!"
"Sasuke!" Naruto's body trembled uncontrollably.
Orochimaru raised her lips in a grin. "Avenge you? Once you die, Yin-Yang Release will disappear. There will be no way in this world to seal Kaguya again. So how exactly will he avenge you?"
In that instant, both Naruto and Sasuke's faces changed drastically.
They had almost forgotten about that detail.
"K-Kurama should be able to, right?" Naruto wasn't sure.
Orochimaru glanced at him. "The Nine-Tails did inherit all of the Sage of Six Paths' powers. But Yin-Yang Release isn't just power—it's a technique. Even the Sage of Six Paths couldn't use it alone."
In other words, if Sasuke dies, that technique will truly disappear forever.
"So, I have no reason not to kill you." Orochimaru's hand started to squeeze tighter. Sasuke's face twisted in pain.
Naruto quickly reached out. "Wait! You can't do this!"
"Why not?" Orochimaru ignored him completely and kept tightening her grip. "Sasuke was right. In battle, people die. Not just enemies—comrades, friends, family, lovers… anyone who steps onto a battlefield can die."
"Naruto, you are strong. You have the power to end wars. But you can't stop your friends from dying."
Naruto froze on the spot.
Sasuke could barely breathe. His face turned awful, his body struggled desperately to break free, but he still clenched his teeth. "Death… isn't the worst thing… Worse than death… is being forgotten… If someone can remember me… then my death… has meaning…"
Hearing that, Orochimaru laughed out loud. "Remember? Remember how someone died? Or remember what they were like before they died?"
She shook her head. "It's meaningless. Once you're dead, nothing matters. Only the living matter. The living remember others, the living remember the dead. But the dead… will always be forgotten."
"That is reality."
With a single strong squeeze, a huge force snapped Sasuke's neck. His body stopped struggling at once. His eyes widened, his mouth opened toward the front, but the light in his eyes was completely gone.
His hands hung down, like a silent protest against the world.
Orochimaru calmly watched this scene, raising Sasuke's corpse in his hand toward Naruto. "Then, remember him, because he…"
"…is still alive?"
Naruto… he didn't rage, he didn't even look angry. He just looked at Orochimaru calmly, and under Orochimaru's surprised gaze, he spoke slowly. "Kurama once said, there are three stages of death."
"The first stage, when your heart stops beating, your brain stops working, and your body loses its life force. At that moment, you are dead in the sense of life."
"The second stage, when your family and friends cry for you at your funeral, and they move on while still missing you. At that moment, you are dead in the sense of society."
"The third stage, when everyone who remembers you is gone, when no one in this world knows you ever existed. That is when you are truly dead."
Naruto took a deep breath. "You're right, after death everything loses meaning. Only those who are alive have the right to remember others. So wanting to live forever isn't wrong. Wanting to live on and keep remembering others isn't wrong either. As long as someone who lives forever still remembers that person, then that person hasn't truly died."
Orochimaru froze, as if he couldn't believe Naruto's calmness at this moment.
But Naruto didn't care. He just looked at Orochimaru and almost whispered, "But what does it mean to 'live'? Orochimaru, do you understand?"
Orochimaru glanced at Sasuke's body in his hand, then at Naruto's calm face. For a moment, his mind just went blank.
He didn't answer. Naruto kept talking to himself. "I don't know. I don't know what truly counts as being alive. But I know this—death is painful, because after death, one day you will be forgotten."
"So, there's nothing wrong with chasing eternal life."
"Orochimaru, your mistake is… your immortality is built on the death of others. That's why we will stop you—not to stop you from living forever, but to stop you from using others' lives to trade for your own immortality."
Bang—
A soft sound brought Orochimaru back to his senses. He instinctively looked at his now empty right hand. The corpse he had been holding had already turned into smoke and vanished.
"A shadow clone…" Orochimaru muttered under his breath.
So that was it, a decoy tactic.
I thought I had seen through his plan, but it turns out… I was the one being read?
A massive purple Susano'o dropped from the sky, chains rattling all around, and its crimson blade slashed down on Kaguya's body.
Sasuke smirked, looking at the still-dazed Orochimaru. "This is it! Konohagakure Style Ultimate Genjutsu Secret Technique: Beten Mouth!"
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