The reason Shigure wanted to capture Orochimaru was to allow the Great Sage to conduct a full analytical breakdown of his abilities.
At the same time, under the effect of Gluttony, a shinobi could be completely devoured.
If everything went as planned, Shigure would obtain all of Orochimaru's ninjutsu and even his unique physique.
Although the effect of Gluttony was currently limited to only 10%, Shigure couldn't wait to experience its power.
[Great Sage: Analyzing…]
[Notice: Current target is a substitute and cannot be parsed]
Bang!
In an instant, Orochimaru's body froze and shattered into countless fragments, scattering across the ground.
Shigure froze for a moment, staring at the remains that rolled to his feet.
"Earth…?"
His eyes narrowed.
"A clay substitute?"
He was surprised that Orochimaru had actually deceived him with such a trick.
Even his own chakra perception had been fooled?
When did that happen?
[Great Sage: Analysis]
[The target escaped underground in the form of countless snakes, leaving behind a special clone to draw the host's attention]
At that very moment, a white snake slithered out of the ground a hundred meters away, turning back briefly to glance in Shigure's direction before disappearing into the distance.
Shigure looked back down at the pile of broken fragments.
A wry smile tugged at his lips.
"It seems I underestimated the Sannin…"
"How could Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Three, not have a way to save his own life?"
"In the end… you really did manage to escape."
He could only admit—Orochimaru's reputation was well-deserved. Even in such a desperate situation, the Snake Sannin had found a way out.
When Shigure arrived, he immediately sensed that something inside Orochimaru's body was off. There were likely two reasons for this.
First, Orochimaru's body had almost reached its limit. His battle with the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, must have inflicted damage. Although the original history never detailed their fight, killing a Kage was no simple feat. Orochimaru surely paid a price.
Second, implanting the Curse Mark onto Sasuke at such a critical moment had consumed a great deal of his energy.
And now, after clashing with Shigure for so long, and using his unique substitution ninjutsu multiple times in succession, even Orochimaru had been pushed close to his limit.
It was already impressive that the Snake Sannin could fight him for this long.
Still, Shigure couldn't help but feel regret. If he had captured Orochimaru alive, the Great Sage could have performed a full analysis. The rewards would have been immense.
Orochimaru's ninjutsu, his physique—everything would have been Shigure's to claim.
A pity indeed.
Returning to his previous position, Shigure's eyes fell on the severed arm Orochimaru had left behind.
"Glutton—devour."
Buzz!
A black, unknown substance surged from Shigure's palm, wrapping around the severed hand before consuming it whole.
[Swallowed]
[Congratulations: Host has obtained the ability Accelerated Self-Healing]
"Accelerated self-healing…?"
[Accelerated Self-Healing: Hastens recovery of injured parts. Current version is incomplete—true form of this ability should be full regeneration.]
"So it's only a fragment of Orochimaru's regenerative ability… but still useful."
It wasn't perfect, but it was far from worthless.
The ability overlapped with Shigure's own Chemical Healing Technique. But overlapping meant synergy—stacked effects, faster recovery, and greater resilience.
He had yet to develop a seal-less healing ability like the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. But with both Accelerated Self-Healing and his own healing ninjutsu combined, Shigure could now achieve something frighteningly close to Hashirama's legendary regeneration.
Suddenly, he sensed several chakra signatures approaching rapidly. Anko's forces, most likely, drawn by the violent chakra fluctuations.
Although discovery wouldn't matter much, Shigure didn't want to waste time dealing with them.
With a wave of his hand, the frozen ground and trees around him melted away in an instant. Then, without hesitation, he turned and moved in the direction of Naruto.
Moments later, Anko arrived with a large group of Konoha shinobi.
"Just now, the chakra here was intense—this wasn't an ordinary genin skirmish," a sensory-type ninja reported.
"But there's nothing here now."
Anko frowned as she surveyed the scene. The battle scars were obvious: massive craters, shattered terrain. Whoever fought here wielded incredible power.
Even stranger was the glistening dew dripping from the trees. Droplets slid down their bark like morning condensation, though this was neither dawn nor thaw.
"Lord Anko, we searched the area—there's no one around!"
"Strange," Anko muttered. "I felt it clearly. So why did it vanish?"
Her gaze lingered on the melted ice. The scene tugged at her suspicions. Among the many candidates in the Chūnin Exams, only one boy's Ice Release could create such an environment.
Gekkō Shigure…
She narrowed her eyes. I'll have to question him later.
"Alright," Anko finally ordered. "If no one's here, let it go. The exam's still ongoing—keep monitoring the candidates. Minimize casualties if you can."
The squad nodded. Death was inevitable in the exams, but unnecessary losses were to be avoided.
Meanwhile, Shigure, already far away, could still sense Anko's chakra. He paid it little mind. His attention was on Orochimaru.
Yet, no matter how he extended his perception, the Snake Sannin's chakra had vanished completely.
"Tch. Chakra perception isn't absolute," Shigure muttered. "If I had the Byakugan, he wouldn't have been able to escape, no matter what tricks he used."
Chakra perception only sensed chakra. Against an opponent who could suppress or mask their chakra completely, it became useless.
And Orochimaru was a master of such arts.
Shigure sighed and let it go. "We'll meet again soon, Orochimaru."
"When that time comes, not only will I capture you… I might not even need to develop Wood Release myself."
If Orochimaru truly attacked the Third Hokage as he did in the original timeline, that would be Shigure's perfect chance. At that moment, he could seize the Wood Release without having to forge it from scratch.
And the Edo Tensei as well—summoning the First and Second Hokage was an ability Shigure envied. But with the Great Sage's analysis, it would only be a matter of time.
Earlier, he had refrained from analyzing Orochimaru through the Great Sage. Too many of his jutsu were tied to his unique cells—without them, replication was impossible.
That was why Shigure wanted to capture Orochimaru whole, to achieve a complete analysis.
Still, even without Orochimaru, another valuable target remained—Sasuke's Curse Mark.
Shigure's eyes glinted. He was very interested in the Curse Seal of Heaven.
...
TN:
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