From today onward, the old days would fade into memory.
Uzumaki Chigusa stepped forward, her body covered in glowing sealing marks of the Four Symbols Seal. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth as she faced the countless enemies surrounding her. Her once brilliant red hair now hung dull and tangled, yet her gaze still burned with determination.
"You all came here to plunder everything from the Uzumaki Clan," she said softly, her voice trembling yet resolute. "Then I'll take you all with me—to the other world!"
Her body trembled as she turned toward the girl lying behind her.
"I'm sorry… Nano."
Chigusa reached out and gently caressed Uzumaki Nano's pale face. Her heart, long since numbed by grief, ached again.
"Chief Chigusa…" Nano's lips quivered, her breaths shallow. "I don't care anymore. As long as I can drag some of them down with me before I die, that's enough."
Her crimson eyes flashed with hatred as she glared at the attacking ninja. The insignias on their foreheads revealed their origins—Hidden Mist, Hidden Rock, Hidden Cloud, and Hidden Sand.
If anyone had told her that the Four Great Ninja Villages—excluding Konoha—would one day unite to annihilate the Uzumaki Clan, she would have called them insane. Uzushiogakure had never provoked them, never joined any wars. Why, then, were they being hunted like animals?
"Stop her!" someone shouted.
"Don't let her activate the Sealing Technique!"
Realizing the danger, dozens of ninja rushed toward Chigusa, weapons gleaming.
But it was already too late.
You can't escape… Chigusa thought, as chains of pure chakra coiled behind her, forming an impenetrable barrier. This is the end.
As her enemies charged, she did not move. She simply smiled, calm in the face of death.
I still haven't finished reading that book… she thought faintly. And I forgot to put the manuscripts away… how careless…
The sealing formula on her skin began to flare, like molten gold leaking from within.
And then—
A blinding white flash tore through the air.
"White Snake Scale Blade!"
A massive white serpent tail slashed across the battlefield like a guillotine. The blade-like scales ripped through the attackers, scattering blood and flesh in every direction. Screams echoed as dozens of enemy ninja were thrown into the air, their bodies mangled and broken.
Some quickly swallowed healing pills, their wounds sealing at an unnatural rate. But the horror in their eyes did not fade.
Chigusa looked up in shock. A white-robed figure stood between her and the advancing army. The robe shimmered faintly in the sunlight—made of snakeskin.
She sensed the chakra immediately. It was familiar, yet utterly changed.
The figure reached up and removed his hood. Long, black hair cascaded down his back, framing a face marked by two pairs of pale, porcelain horns. Green magatama earrings gleamed faintly against his pale skin.
"...Orochimaru?"
Both Chigusa and Nano stared in disbelief. This was not the man they once knew.
Orochimaru's eyes glowed gold like a serpent's. He glanced at them, then at the ruined village around them.
"Chigusa, Nano… the situation is worse than I imagined."
His tone was cold and heavy. With his Sage Mode active, he could clearly sense Chigusa's rapidly fading chakra. If he had come even a few minutes later, she would have detonated the Four Symbols Seal—and no one would have survived.
Nano's condition was no better. Her once-lustrous red hair was now matted and colorless, her chakra nearly gone.
This isn't what I wanted… Orochimaru thought bitterly. I wanted to protect them—to return the Uzumaki's kindness to me and Grandma Mito. But now…
"Leave, Orochimaru…" Chigusa gasped in exhaustion, her knees buckling. Chains of chakra snaked across her back, trying to push him away. "You can't face them alone…"
"It's useless," Orochimaru replied. "You can't remove me from this barrier anymore."
He turned slightly, his sharp eyes narrowing. In the distance, he sensed a powerful chakra watching—Uchiha Madara.
So he's been here all along… observing.
"Is that the Konoha's Orochimaru?" one of the enemy ninja whispered.
"Did Konoha send him to help Uzushiogakure?"
"His appearance… what is he now?"
The name alone sent ripples through the invading army. Many of them remembered failed assassination missions—countless attempts to kill this man, all ending in blood and failure. Orochimaru had become a legend, a ghost that defied death.
"Chigusa," Orochimaru said, his voice sharp. "Remove the barrier. I'll take you and the remaining villagers away."
She hesitated. "But—"
"Do as I say!" he barked, cutting her off. "This is the only way."
Chigusa clenched her teeth. The sealing marks on her body slowly faded, and the golden chains rattled before dissolving into the air.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Dozens of Orochimaru clones appeared, filling the confined space within the barrier. Each moved with perfect coordination, scooping up the wounded Uzumaki and preparing to teleport them away.
With a faint whoosh, one of the clones grabbed Chigusa and Nano and vanished using the Flying Thunder God Technique. The others followed, flickering in bursts of golden light as they spirited the survivors out of the doomed village.
From his perch, Uchiha Madara's eyes widened.
The Flying Thunder God…?!
The realization hit him like a blade. That forbidden technique—Senju Tobirama's jutsu—was now in Orochimaru's hands.
No wonder I didn't sense his arrival… he teleported!
Memories surged through Madara's mind—of Izuna's death, of Tobirama's cold eyes as he struck the fatal blow. His fists trembled with fury.
"Don't let him escape!" a Hidden Rock shinobi roared. "He's evacuating the Uzumaki!"
Dozens of ninja rushed forward—only for Orochimaru to slam his hands together.
"Sage Art: White Rage Technique!"
He exhaled sharply. A blinding red dragon of light burst from his mouth, spiraling upward with a deafening roar. At its core, a black orb pulsed—then detonated with a sound that split the heavens.
The world turned white.
Even Madara, far away, flinched and covered his ears as the shriek tore through the air.
"W-what is this?! My body—!"
"I can't move!"
"It hurts—it hurts so much!"
The sound and light paralyzed the enemy shinobi. Their bodies convulsed, nerves burning from the vibration.
But Orochimaru moved through the chaos unfazed. His body shimmered with pale light as the Yin Seal on his wrist faded, its stored chakra drained. He now relied entirely on Sage Chakra to move within the storm of his own jutsu.
A white serpent uncoiled from his back, spitting out a hilt wrapped in snakeskin. Orochimaru gripped it and drew the blade free.
The Kusanagi Sword gleamed, humming with power. Unlike the katana form from legends, this version was a long, double-edged blade—bestowed by the Three Snake Princesses of Ryuchi Cave themselves.
Orochimaru dashed forward, his movements slowed by the dense energy but still deadly. One thrust pierced a ninja's heart; another swing severed a neck before a scream could escape. The serpent tail lashed out, impaling several more in a single strike.
When the light finally faded, dozens lay dead.
Orochimaru flicked blood from the blade, its edge shimmering with faint blue light as Sage Chakra surged through it.
"You destroyed Uzushiogakure," he said coldly. "Now pay the price."
---
Land of Waves – White Snake Pharmaceutical Company
"Lord Orochimaru, these people… they're from the Uzumaki Clan," said Qing He, the company's executive. The red-haired survivors were instantly recognizable.
"Prepare the surgical chambers," Orochimaru ordered without hesitation. "They're severely wounded. If we don't treat them now, they'll die."
"Yes, my lord!"
Within minutes, the medical wing of the facility—already equipped like a small hospital—was converted into an emergency treatment area.
Uzumaki Chigusa, lying on a stretcher, opened her eyes weakly when she heard Qing He speak.
Qing He… the president of the White Snake Pharmaceutical Company?
She had seen him many times on television, promoting their latest medical breakthroughs. And now, he was here, bowing before Orochimaru.
Her eyes widened as the pieces clicked together.
"Orochimaru… don't tell me…"
He looked at her, a faint smile curving his lips. "If you want to know the truth, I'll explain later," he said. "But not now. Saving your people comes first."
Chigusa realized the truth—Orochimaru was the true master of the White Snake Pharmaceutical Company.
He had built an empire in secret, one that even the Land of Waves' Daimyo dared not oppose. The nation's ruler was nothing compared to the reach of Orochimaru's influence. Few even remembered their own Daimyo's name anymore.
---
Land of Fire – Konoha
Far away, in the Hidden Leaf Village, a new threat stirred.
Shinno—the man who once commanded the Air Fortress—descended from the sky. His muscles bulged, his body radiating dark purple chakra as he targeted his next prey: the Nine-Tails sealed within Uzumaki Mito.
As the Zero-Tails within him devoured more power, his ambition grew—to consume every Tailed Beast, one by one, until he ruled the entire shinobi world.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others stood frozen, feeling the monstrous energy approaching.
"That chakra…" one whispered. "It feels like the Nine-Tails!"
Shinno landed like a meteor, the impact carving a deep crater into the ground. Rising from the dust, his hair wild like a lion's mane, he glared at the Konoha nin.
"Hand over the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki," he roared. "Or I'll tear Konoha apart myself to find her!"
His voice thundered across the battlefield.
A new storm was coming.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)