Both men sheathed their blades and began weaving hand seals.
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
The ground beneath Seiryu instantly turned to a liquid swamp, and dense swarms of venomous snakes slithered toward him.
"Ten Thousand Snakes' Prison!"
Facing the thousands of snakes, Seiryu's expression didn't change as he finished his last seal.
Suddenly, the sea of lightning returned. Pillar-thick bolts of lightning danced like silver snakes, instantly vaporizing the advancing snakes. The rest, at the edge, stopped in fear—their eyes filled with terror. Despite Orochimaru's careful breeding, these snakes had a certain intelligence, but faced with such a disaster, instinct took over.
As the surviving snakes hesitated, the lightning around Seiryu gathered, forming a massive, wrathful Buddha several dozen meters tall.
"Lightning Release: Fudo Myo-o!"
Lightning gathered into the Buddha's raised staff, compressing until it looked and felt real—hinting at the terrifying power within.
"Get back!" Kakashi shouted, feeling the chakra pressure. Six years ago, during the Nine-Tails' attack, even a tailed beast bomb was about this destructive.
Seiryu raised his hand, clenched his fist, and the Buddha hurled its staff at Orochimaru.
Thunder roared—the explosion enveloped everything within hundreds of meters. The compressed lightning released its raw energy, reducing everything to nothingness.
When it was over, only the shattered corpse of a giant snake remained.
Seiryu slowly approached the snake's body—he had no doubt Orochimaru survived. After all, he was the hardest man to kill in the ninja world.
Sure enough, just as Seiryu expected, the corpse started writhing. Orochimaru crawled out of the charred snake's mouth, his robe intact but soaked with slime.
"So this is the power of the Uchiha clan, Seiryu-kun," Orochimaru said, licking the slime from his face. "After a jutsu like that, you must be low on chakra."
Seiryu frowned. Even in this world, where killing was routine, the sight before him was still a little nauseating.
In the original timeline, it was Itachi who ignited Orochimaru's obsession with Uchiha bodies. Now, Seiryu had taken that place, and Orochimaru's face twisted with a sick smile—he was eager to claim Seiryu's body for himself.
Orochimaru's neck suddenly stretched, his entire head shooting toward Seiryu.
[As long as I can plant the curse mark, this body will be mine!]
But just then, a piercing eagle cry rang out.
Driven by the primal fear snakes have of raptors, Orochimaru looked up. In that instant, his eyes met those of the descending hawk—crimson Sharingan blazing.
[Is that…? Mangekyō Sharingan?]
Genjutsu: Kotoamatsukami—activated!
The spinning eye's chakra and power branded Orochimaru's soul with eternal loyalty to Seiryu.
Orochimaru's eyes cleared instantly.
Seiryu stepped forward, drew his sword, and decapitated Orochimaru's body.
Only then did Kakashi and the others finally catch up.
"Is it over?" Hyūga Ken sighed in relief at the sight of Orochimaru's severed head.
"As expected of the Uchiha clan leader—he defeated even a legendary ninja like Orochimaru," Nagai Seiichi marveled.
"No, it might not be that simple." Kakashi frowned, looking at the corpse.
Within moments, the body began to crumble to ash and scatter on the wind.
"What…?" Inuzuka Kaze frowned. "What's going on?"
"He's probably not dead yet." Seiryu sheathed his sword and sighed. "He got away."
"That's just how he is. Anyone who's survived so many years being hunted by the village has to have his tricks," Kakashi said.
"Kaze, have Kuromaru search thoroughly. There should be a base nearby. Once I've recovered my chakra, let's check it out together," Seiryu said.
….
Meanwhile, twenty km away, in Orochimaru's base, a body in a large cultivation tank suddenly opened its eyes—the curse mark had taken.
The tank shattered, and the figure stepped out, its features morphing into Orochimaru's.
After dressing, the new Orochimaru immediately began modifying the laboratory.
…
Two hours later, after Seiryu had recovered his chakra, the team, led by Komaru tracking the scent, discovered the base.
"No one's inside," Hyūga Kihito reported after a Byakugan scan.
"Looks like he's gone," Kakashi said. "Let's look inside—maybe we'll find something."
Once inside, the evidence of human experimentation was everywhere.
Even as a battle-hardened ninja, some scenes were disturbing; Uzuki Yugao, the only woman on the team, had to cover her mouth to keep from vomiting.
"That monster… he has no humanity," Inuzuka Kaze growled.
"Let's look for clues," Kakashi ordered.
The group began searching the lab.
Hayate comforted his girlfriend while searching. Soon, he found a stack of scattered documents.
As he picked one up and glanced at it, his eyes widened in shock.
The document detailed how Danzo's Root had kidnapped children from small bloodline clans in the village and sent them to Orochimaru for human experimentation. There was even evidence implicating the Koharu and Mitokado clans. Hayate suddenly remembered a four-year-old cousin who had mysteriously disappeared years ago—and felt a chill run down his spine.
He was about to speak when Seiryu appeared beside him, pressed a hand on his shoulder, and shook his head, signaling him to stay quiet.