"Keep dreaming!"
Homura Mitokado roared, fury blazing in her eyes as she remembered the devastation caused by the Sky Ninja's invasion of Konoha. She swallowed a soldier pill, wiped her mouth, and with a puff of smoke, a massive scroll appeared on her back.
"Stop wasting words! We'll crush you right here!"
Beside her, Danzō Shimura's face darkened. His left eye glared fiercely at Shinno, the leader of the Sky Ninja. The resentment and old grudges that had long simmered in Danzō's heart now exploded into pure hatred. He wanted nothing more than to rip Shinno apart and destroy the Air Fortress that loomed ominously above them.
But through the Sharingan implanted in his right eye, Danzō could see the overwhelming chakra swirling inside Shinno. His heart thudded painfully. Gritting his teeth, he popped a soldier pill into his mouth and steeled himself for battle.
"Are you ready to pay the price for attacking Konoha?!" he shouted.
Utatane Koharu, standing at his flank, also swallowed a soldier pill. As a sensory ninja, she could feel the vast, suffocating power emanating from Shinno—it was unlike anything she had ever sensed.
"If you think you can, then try me!" Shinno's cold voice echoed through the air.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, was silent for a long moment. He swallowed his own soldier pill to recover chakra, his body trembling slightly from exhaustion. He had already spent an immense amount of energy forcing the Sky Ninja's Air Fortress away from Konoha. A single miscalculation could have caused the fortress to crash into the village, wiping it out completely.
He never imagined the Sky Ninja's leader would possess chakra that felt so close—so eerily similar—to that of the Nine-Tails itself.
They had no time to waste. This battle had to end quickly—before Konoha fell.
---
The Allied Shinobi Forces' Struggle
Far from Konoha, ninja from multiple villages had gathered to face a far more terrifying enemy: Orochimaru.
Though they came from different nations, they fought under a temporary alliance. Yet even with their combined strength, the sight of Orochimaru standing amid the ruins of Whirlpool Hidden Village filled them with dread.
He wasn't a man—they thought—but a monster wearing human skin.
That strange, mysterious jutsu he had used earlier had wiped out more than half their forces in mere minutes.
"Earth Release: Mountain Earth Technique!"
A Hidden Stone ninja slammed his hands together, and two massive hemispheres of earth rose from the ground, closing in on Orochimaru like jaws.
A flash of blinding sword light followed. The rock was split cleanly in two.
"Cloud Style: Thunder Burst!"
A Cloud ninja lunged forward, lightning crackling across his blade. Orochimaru didn't even glance up. His sword—Kusanagi—pierced through the man's chest.
The liquid pooling on the ground behind him suddenly rippled and took human form—a Hōzuki Clan ninja. She thrust her arm forward, stretching it like a whip, trying to strike Orochimaru from behind. But his body twisted in an unnatural motion. The white scales on his wrist thickened, and in an instant, the sword in his hand pierced backward through his own torso and into hers.
"L-Lightning Release?!" she gasped, eyes wide. "How… how do you—?"
Under the effects of Lightning Release, her body could no longer liquefy.
A single strike—and her head rolled to the ground.
Orochimaru turned, raised both hands, and intertwined his fingers above his head.
"Sage Art: Wind Release – Night Wind!"
Gales roared to life. Even the elite Wind Release users from the Hidden Sand were caught off guard. Cyclones of razor-sharp wind blades materialized from nowhere, slicing through flesh, armor, and bone alike. Screams filled the battlefield.
"We can't fight him!"
"Retreat—now! If we stay, we'll all die!"
"Run! Send the intel back home—save yourselves!"
The allied ninja, watching their comrades torn apart, abandoned any thought of victory. They fled in panic.
But Orochimaru's cold voice stopped them in their tracks.
"It's too late to run."
He thrust the Kusanagi Sword into the earth and formed another string of seals.
"Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation!"
The ground trembled violently. The ruined stones and shattered walls of the once-beautiful Whirlpool Hidden Village began to move—groaning, shifting, and rising. The broken village itself came alive, driven by Orochimaru's vengeful will.
The fleeing ninja screamed as the land itself turned against them. The earth swallowed their legs, sharp stones pierced their bodies, and collapsing debris crushed them one by one.
Their cries echoed endlessly.
Within minutes, the entire alliance—composed of elite ninja from the Five Great Nations—lay dead amidst the ruins they had once destroyed. Only their scrolls and reports, sent away via summoned animals, escaped to tell the tale.
Orochimaru stood amidst the corpses. He gazed at the fallen—both the invaders and the people of the Whirlpool Village—and a strange emotion flickered across his face.
For the first time, he felt how cheap human life truly was.
He looked at the strange, twisted remains of the village—structures that had somehow preserved their forms even after death. He sighed softly.
"The Land of Whirlpools… Such a beautiful place, now just a memory."
A white snake slithered up beside him, its tail coiling around the Kusanagi Sword. It flicked its tongue and looked up at him expectantly.
Orochimaru patted its head and turned his gaze toward the distant horizon.
"So, you've found me… haven't you, Madara?"
---
Madara's Shadow
Far away, Uchiha Madara wasn't surprised. Having mastered Sage Mode long ago, he knew Orochimaru would sense his presence eventually. He remembered well how terrifying that power was—the same power that once belonged to Hashirama Senju.
But Orochimaru wasn't interested in fighting—yet. He reached out with his chakra and felt a familiar mark—the Flying Thunder God formula he had left behind at White Snake Pharmaceutical Company.
He vanished.
---
White Snake Pharmaceutical Company, Land of Waves
Inside the president's office, Orochimaru lounged on a sofa, lazily flipping through patient records. A white snake tail coiled comfortably around his waist.
"How are the survivors?" he asked without looking up.
Standing before him, Qing He straightened her back. "Lady Orochimaru, the people rescued from Whirlpool Hidden Village are safe. The lightly injured have been treated with Healing Pills and are recovering well. The severely wounded are in surgery."
"Good," Orochimaru said, setting the files aside. "Have we organized search teams?"
"Yes, my lady. We've contacted trustworthy black-market agents and sent our own clan's elite trackers. We believe more survivors are out there."
Before she could finish, the door opened and Kakuzu entered. His sharp gaze fell on Orochimaru, and he frowned.
"Orochimaru," he said bluntly, "bringing the Whirlpool survivors here will cause problems for the company."
Orochimaru smiled faintly. "Kakuzu, sometimes it's not about profit or loss. Sometimes, you follow your heart."
He tapped his chest lightly. "And mine tells me that if I don't act when Whirlpool Village is destroyed, I'll regret it forever."
---
The Infirmary
The infirmary inside White Snake Pharmaceuticals was more like a miniature hospital—small, but fully equipped. In the operating room, several of Orochimaru's shadow clones worked seamlessly together, performing surgeries with perfect telepathic coordination.
Outside, the rescued people of Whirlpool Village waited anxiously. Their leader, Uzumaki Chigusa, lay inside, gravely wounded after using the Four Symbols Sealing technique to protect her people.
When Orochimaru emerged from the operating room, removing his gloves, the crowd surged forward.
"What are you all doing here?" he asked coldly. "Instead of wasting time, why not clean up the living quarters prepared for you? Or"—his golden eyes narrowed—"do you not trust my skills?"
"N-No! We trust you completely, Lady Orochimaru!" they stammered.
Seeing her stern expression, the villagers recalled her friendship with their clan leader and realized she must be suffering too. They bowed deeply and left.
Once they were gone, Orochimaru released his shadow clone. After receiving its memories, he turned and walked to the recovery ward.
Inside lay Uzumaki Chigusa, pale and frail. When she saw him, she tried to sit up, but dizziness overtook her.
Orochimaru caught her instantly, supporting her gently. Her body was so light, so weak—it was a miracle she was alive at all.
"Your body's been drained by the sealing jutsu," Orochimaru said quietly. "The Four Symbols Seal consumes the user's blood. Even though you didn't complete the final step, it nearly cost you your life."
Chigusa smiled faintly. "You shouldn't have risked yourself for us… You'll only bring trouble to your doorstep."
Orochimaru shook his head. "You're overthinking. Their attack wasn't random—it was calculated. They feared the Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques, especially the ones capable of sealing Tailed Beasts into Jinchūriki. That's why they struck so ruthlessly."
His voice grew colder as he remembered the ruined village. "If they dare come to the Land of Waves… I'll make sure they never return."
Chigusa sensed the dangerous shift in his chakra. "So… they planned it together," she whispered.
"Exactly," Orochimaru said, confirming her fear.
Chigusa tried to speak, but her body convulsed with violent coughs. Blood stained her fingers. "If only… they hadn't spread the rumor that Lady Mito—the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki—was here… Whirlpool wouldn't have suffered this fate…"
"Enough," Orochimaru said sharply. The white snake tail coiled around her, restraining her gently. He activated the Mystical Palm Technique, infusing healing chakra into her body.
"Rest, or I'll make you sleep until you recover," he warned.
Her breathing steadied. Looking up at him with weary eyes, she whispered, "I'm sorry…"
"Chigusa," Orochimaru said softly, "you're the leader of the Uzumaki Clan. Your people need you alive. You are their pillar—so don't fall."
He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Stay in the Land of Waves until you're healed. Leave the rest to me."
Chigusa nodded weakly. "And… Naino? How is she?"
"She lost a lot of life force," Orochimaru replied. "But recovery isn't impossible. I'll study your clan's forbidden techniques and find a way."
He had seen Uzumaki Naino use the Cursed Seal Blood Imprint, a forbidden jutsu that used the caster's own life force to fuel a sealing formula. If it truly relied on Yang Release, then perhaps her life could still be restored.
"Orochimaru…" Chigusa's voice trembled. "Thank you—for everything. For saving us… for saving the Whirlpool Hidden Village."
Orochimaru turned away, his golden eyes gleaming faintly under the light. "Don't thank me yet," he murmured. "There's still a price to pay."
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)