Orochimaru felt as if an unprecedented grand performance was playing out in his mind. Countless cheers echoed in his head, and every single one of his brain cells seemed to be rejoicing, all united in a desperate cry of desire!
The Sharingan!
What a beautiful and powerful force!
"Hahahahaha!!! The Uchiha clan... truly a perfect vessel!" His golden, snake-like eyes burned with an intense flame. He longed to possess the Sharingan. His battle with Uchiha Shisui had made him realize that he had been chasing in circles all along. The perfect vessel had always been right there in Konoha, yet he had traveled to the Land of Water, the Land of Lightning, the Land of Earth, the Land of Wind—searching every corner of the continent for a suitable vessel to aid him in achieving true immortality.
But the Living Corpse Reincarnation Technique was not perfect.
His humiliating defeat at the hands of Uchiha Shisui had exposed the flaws in the technique. The road to immortality was long and difficult, and his current achievements were merely scratching the surface. There was still a long way to go before he could reach his ideal of perfect immortality.
For that, he needed a more outstanding, exceptional vessel.
If the path to immortality was like a vast ocean, then Orochimaru saw a physical vessel as the ship to cross that sea. Some vessels were mere rafts, capable of only staying near the shore. A single storm would sink both the person and the ship. But a superior vessel was like an ocean liner, able to travel much farther. Anyone with common sense would know which to choose.
After examining countless different vessels, Orochimaru realized that the ideal ones had always been back in Konoha. Every Uchiha who had awakened their Sharingan was a decent vessel, and the near-perfect vessels like Uchiha Sozuke and Uchiha Shisui were particularly exciting, difficult to resist.
Leaving the Land of Water, Orochimaru arrived in the Land of Hot Water, carefully sneaking into the battlefield between Konoha and the Cloud Ninja, hoping to snatch something valuable. Unfortunately, he had yet to find anything of worth. Orochimaru knew full well that neither Konoha nor the Cloud would welcome him.
If discovered, he would undoubtedly be hunted by both villages.
Thus, he could only hide his tracks, unable to reveal himself openly.
Raising his head, Orochimaru took a deep breath of the cold air, forcibly cooling his over-excited brain and suppressing his aggressive impulses. Uchiha Shisui was indeed a near-perfect vessel, but the problem was that such a vessel was far too strong for him.
He gazed at the green Susano'o battling the Eight-Tails.
The two massive figures continuously altered the landscape with their fierce clash. Whether it was the Tailed Beast Bomb or Yasaka Magatama, Orochimaru knew he couldn't face such terrifying power head-on!
The vessel was perfect, but he couldn't beat it.
That was Orochimaru's dilemma.
As for settling for something less... there was still plenty of time before he needed to switch vessels, and his greed made him reluctant to give up on the best. He wasn't ready to abandon the possibility of obtaining the most exceptional vessel just yet. In fact, given the current situation, there was still a chance.
Fight!
Fight harder!
The fiercer, the better! Ideally, they would both suffer severe injuries.
While he wasn't particularly interested in the Jinchuriki, he wouldn't mind acquiring more research materials.
At that moment, he heard the faint sound of footsteps behind him. The snow that had accumulated on the ground crunched softly underfoot. The wind and snow were getting heavier, and in the blink of an eye, the nearby forest was covered in a thick layer of snow.
"Did you find anything, Haku?" Orochimaru asked.
"Orochimaru-sama, Konoha's reinforcements are on their way," Haku, his long ponytail swaying, answered as he approached quickly, his white robes fluttering in the cold wind.
"They're coming? What a pity!" Orochimaru wasn't surprised but sighed with disappointment.
"Did you get a good look at Konoha's reinforcements?"
"My shadow clone saw them. If I'm not mistaken, their leader is Uchiha Sozuke, the one whose portrait you showed me."
"Uchiha Sozuke..." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.
He had heard of this person many times but had never seen him in person. When he was still in Konoha, he had little knowledge of the Uchiha clan's internal affairs. He knew the clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, and a few other notable jonin, but not much more.
Figures like Uchiha Sozuke, a rising star, he had never met. He had only crossed paths with Uchiha Shisui a few times while in the Anbu, but even then, they hadn't interacted much.
It was only after leaving Konoha that Orochimaru learned through various channels what these names represented. He had personally experienced Uchiha Shisui's strength, so how powerful could Uchiha Sozuke, who was said to be on par with Shisui, really be?
And from what he had heard, Uchiha Sozuke might even be stronger than Shisui.
Perhaps today, he would get a chance to witness Uchiha Sozuke's power firsthand.
"Orochimaru-sama, what should we do next?" Haku asked, seeing Orochimaru standing still like a statue, letting the snow fall on him.
"Hmm... for now, we keep watching! It's not yet time for us to intervene," Orochimaru replied, brushing the snow from his shoulder and continuing to observe the fierce battle between the two giants in the distance. "Haku, don't worry. We just need to sit back and watch!"
"But... Orochimaru-sama, my shadow clone may have already been detected by Konoha's ninjas! You've told me before how terrifying the Byakugan's scouting ability is. My shadow clone won't be able to hide from the Byakugan's sight. If we stay here, won't it lead Konoha's forces to track us?"
Haku asked with concern.
"Relax! They don't know who you are. Trust me, they'll just think you're a scout from the Cloud. Neither Konoha nor the Cloud knows of our existence, so they won't be able to find us. We're perfectly safe here, playing the role of the fisherman waiting for the right moment. Even if they track you, they'll only send a small team. Their priority is reinforcing the battlefield, so at most, they'll send a squad or two our way."
Orochimaru reassured Haku calmly.
The clever boy quickly understood Orochimaru's reasoning and nodded in agreement.
Indeed!
His shadow clone had used the transformation technique to blend in and gather intelligence on Konoha's reinforcements. Being detected by Konoha's ninjas was inevitable, but they wouldn't be able to connect his clone to Orochimaru's presence.
That seemed impossible.
Haku raised his head and, together with Orochimaru, gazed at the intense battle between Susano'o and the Eight-Tails in the distance, soon forgetting all distractions and becoming fully absorbed in watching the thrilling confrontation.
...
"Most likely a Cloud scout."
Hinata Hiashi said.
"A Cloud ninja, huh?"
Uchiha Sozuke looked down at the faint tracks in the snow, indicating that someone had been watching this spot. However, that 'person' had been a shadow clone because Hiashi had 'seen' the ordinary-looking man dissolve into a puff of white smoke.
It was hard not to curse the Second Hokage for making things more complicated.
Since the widespread use of shadow clones, which weren't too difficult to learn, ninja battles had become far more complex, full of trickery and deception!
"Since Cloud Ninja spies have appeared here, it seems like their counterattack is moving faster than we expected!" Sōgen cast his gaze into the distance.
The Cloud Ninja forces originally stationed at the Kusatsu Mountains had already been crushed, so there was no way they could still have spies here. It would make no sense—unless Cloud reinforcements had arrived ahead of time and sent out scouts to monitor when Konoha's backup forces would arrive… to avoid being caught off guard.
That would explain things!
But still—
"Shisui, you didn't use Susano'o in the battle?"
Sōgen felt a bit puzzled. Based on his calculations, even if Shisui had the Samehada in hand, it wouldn't have been easy to crush the Cloud Ninja with Susano'o, but the Cloud Ninja definitely shouldn't have been able to encircle them so easily. Let alone send spies out this far…
Of course, Sōgen understood that his thinking might be a bit far-fetched, with a lot of assumptions.
So he didn't voice it in the end.
"Should we track them down?"
Hyuga Hizashi asked.
"Shibi, take a few men and check it out. If you can catch up to them, deal with them. If… I mean, if anything seems off, don't act recklessly. Prioritize your safety and just bring back the intel."
Sōgen had no suspicion of Orochimaru.
What he was really worried about was whether Uchiha Obito, that crazed snake, might be lurking nearby. Kamui was still an unresolved threat, with no reliable way to counter or defend against it. They had to stay constantly alert.
"Understood."
Aburame Shibi nodded. He handpicked a Hyuga jonin, an Ino-Shika-Cho jonin, and an Inuzuka jonin— all expert trackers. The four formed a temporary team and began following the faint trail left behind.
The main force paused to rest for about a minute before setting off again, quickly heading towards the Kusatsu Mountains, now close at hand.
Sōgen led the charge at the front.
If he weren't the commander of the army, he would've left the main force far behind and gone ahead by himself already. But he couldn't do that. His goal was to become the Sixth Hokage, and being Hokage required more than just battle prowess. There were many other responsibilities to consider.
Especially given the Uchiha Clan's tarnished reputation, Sōgen had to be careful not to act recklessly, which would only further damage both his and his clan's image.
He needed to demonstrate his strength and authority to this joint force made up of ninjas from various clans and commoners alike. He had to plant the seeds of respect and submission in their minds and foster those feelings until they were willing to follow him, whether as the commander of this army or the Sixth Hokage.
Before long, everyone caught sight of the towering Susano'o and the Eight-Tails locked in battle ahead.
"Boom!"
The sound of explosions echoed across the sky.
The ground beneath their feet seemed to tremble!
"What is that…?"
Even though Hyuga Hizashi had seen Susano'o before, he couldn't help but shudder at the sight of the massive, green Susano'o fighting the Eight-Tails. He wasn't the only one feeling the vibrations—many others were so stunned they forgot to breathe.
Even the seasoned veterans who had survived the Third Great Ninja War.
Seeing this familiar sight brought back memories of the chaos of the Nine-Tails' attack. It was during that night that they had lost the Fourth Hokage!
"What is this?"
"Are we… really supposed to join this kind of battle?"
Fear rippled through the ranks, but their combat training as ninjas kept them from outright panic. Instead, they all instinctively looked to the team leaders and jonin for guidance, anxiously awaiting orders.
"What's going on up ahead?"
Sōgen stopped in his tracks.
"It's… the Fourth Raikage, A. He's fighting Uchiha Fugaku…" Hizashi, eyes wide in shock, shifted his gaze away from the green Susano'o battling the Eight-Tails and realized that Fugaku had activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Fugaku's Susano'o was only in its first stage, nowhere near as large or imposing as Shisui's. In fact, Sōgen and his team couldn't even see Fugaku's Susano'o from their position.
But—
"Fugaku-senpai?"
Sōgen raised an eyebrow, coming to a realization.
It seemed Uchiha Fugaku had finally fully awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan. As the former leader of the Uchiha Clan, Fugaku surely had hidden strengths!
"Besides Fugaku-senpai, what else is going on?"
"The Cloud Ninja forces are mostly on the other side of the Susano'o and Eight-Tails, fighting Fugaku-senpai's group. But there are only around 200 of them in total, and on our side, we only have about 30 or 40 combatants… the chunin haven't even joined the fight yet!"
"Chunin and genin, hold your position!"
Sōgen turned around and gave orders to the jonin following him, "Enmizu, you command the chunin and genin. Hizashi, select some of the jonin and go support Fugaku-senpai."
"And what about you, Hokage Assistant-sama?"
"Me?"
In response to Nara Enmizu's question, Sōgen smiled. "I'll go help Shisui. If I'm lucky, I might even get to enjoy some grilled octopus!"
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