Uzumaki Chigusa smiled gently at Orochimaru.
"If you want to thank me, you'll have plenty of chances later. For now, get some rest."
Orochimaru didn't reply. Her words of gratitude should have pleased him, yet no joy stirred in his heart. Everything had unfolded just as he predicted—but somehow, he couldn't accept it.
---
Land of Fire — Outside Konoha
The vast forest surrounding the village lay in ruins. Towering trees had been uprooted, the earth torn apart by explosions, and shattered ninja tools were scattered everywhere. Deep drag marks scarred the ground as if some monstrous force had dragged the forest itself away.
In the midst of this devastation, the battle raged on.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, Utatane Koharu, and Homura Mitokado faced off against one man—Shinno, the priest who had fused with the artificial Tailed Beast, Zero-Tail.
Zero-Tail's chakra pulsed through Shinno's body, granting him monstrous vitality and a nearly infinite supply of chakra. His body healed faster than any known regeneration technique. Against such an enemy, the four elders of Konoha were fighting a battle that could not be won quickly—if at all.
"If this continues, we'll be the first ones to collapse," Homura growled. Twin scythe-like weapons spun in his hands, their chakra-forged blades gleaming faintly in the smoke.
They had fought many brutal battles in their long lives, but this enemy was something else entirely. No matter how many wounds they inflicted, Shinno's flesh would twist and mend before their eyes. Even the famed vitality of the Uzumaki Clan couldn't compare.
"This can't go on," Hiruzen muttered grimly. "We'll have to use a sealing technique."
Danzo's eyes widened in alarm. "Don't tell me you're thinking of—"
Hiruzen's expression said it all. There was only one sealing technique powerful enough to end this: the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, a forbidden jutsu of the Uzumaki Clan.
"Hiruzen!" Danzo shouted. "You're the Hokage! You can't throw your life away like this!"
Danzo's voice trembled—not from concern alone, but from fear. If Hiruzen died, he would have no choice but to take up the position of Hokage, something he had no desire for. As the Assistant Hokage, he already wielded both influence and wealth. Why shoulder the burdens of the Hokage's seat when he already had everything he wanted?
Besides, the Hokage had access to all of Konoha's secrets, including the Forbidden Jutsu Chamber—but even Danzo hesitated to use those techniques. Some powers were too dark, even for him.
---
"The monster inside you was born from a fragment of the Nine-Tails," said a calm, aged voice. "If that's the case, then I shall handle this."
The air shimmered, and Uzumaki Mito appeared beside them.
"Grandmother Mito?!"
All four turned in shock. None of them had sensed her arrival.
"Uzumaki Mito, the Nine-Tailed Jinchūriki," Shinno sneered, his eyes lighting up with twisted excitement. "To think you'd come to me of your own will!"
Dark-purple chakra erupted from his body, flaring like flames. Behind him, the Zero-Tail's monstrous form emerged—an enormous shadow with a serpentine body writhing in the air.
Within Mito, the Nine-Tails stirred restlessly, sensing the presence of its fragmented chakra. But with decades of experience and iron will, Mito easily suppressed the beast's rage. Her gaze remained fixed on Shinno, then drifted upward to the massive Air Fortress floating ominously in the sky.
---
The Air Fortress
Without warning, a thunderous explosion tore through the sky fortress. Fire and smoke billowed out as three enormous serpents burst forth—one crimson, one deep blue, and one massive purple snake with horns curling from its head.
Hiruzen and the others stared upward, stunned. "Those snakes... could it be Orochimaru?"
Indeed, far away, Orochimaru, cloaked and silent, watched the destruction unfold.
---
The Sky Ninjas Panic
"Damn it!" Shinno roared, his eyes bloodshot. That fortress was the Sky Ninja Village's greatest weapon—their very home. Without it, all his ambitions would crumble.
He launched himself into the air like a cannonball, intending to return and stop the serpents. But before he could escape—
"Not so fast!" Homura shouted.
Chakra-forged chains shot out, coiling around Shinno's body. The twin scythes bit deep into his flesh, and Hiruzen, Koharu, and Danzo moved in at once.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!" Danzo inhaled deeply and unleashed a razor-sharp gale shaped like a weasel's claws. The slicing wind tore through Shinno's torso, shredding flesh and muscle—but within seconds, the wounds sealed over as if nothing had happened.
With a mighty heave, the four elders yanked Shinno down from the sky. He crashed into the ground, sending debris flying.
"Damn you all! Get out of my way!" Shinno bellowed. His muscles bulged grotesquely, bursting the chains apart. His fury spiked as he saw the giant snakes still ravaging the Air Fortress.
Homura smirked, unsealing another scroll. "You seem to be in a hurry," he said coolly. Dozens of ninja tools materialized in a flash of smoke—chains, hooks, and blades, all gleaming with chakra.
Danzo blinked in disbelief. How many weapons did he prepare?!
Even amidst the chaos, Orochimaru observed silently from above.
No... this isn't the regeneration technique I was seeking, he thought, watching the dark chakra roil around Shinno's body. His power doesn't come from life force alone, but from that twisted energy... that thing inside him.
Realizing this, Orochimaru gave up the idea of studying Shinno's regeneration.
---
Inside the Air Fortress
"Hey, Orochimaru, can I eat them?"
The massive serpent Manda flicked its tongue, eyeing the Sky Ninjas scrambling for their lives.
Orochimaru's voice was calm. "You know best."
He had no intention of leaving any survivors anyway.
Shinza, another of his summoned serpents, hissed mockingly. "You'd really eat that trash, Manda? Don't you fear indigestion?"
Shinza opened its mouth wide, spewing a mist of petrifying venom. The Sky Ninjas screamed—but before the sound could escape their throats, they turned to stone statues mid-air, crashing into the burning fortress below.
Orochimaru raised his hand. "This place is yours now. When the fortress collapses, return to Ryūchi Cave."
With that, he vanished in a flash of light—the Flying Thunder God Technique—and reappeared beside Uzumaki Mito.
---
The Return
"Orochimaru?!" Hiruzen, Danzo, Koharu, and Homura were stunned. Even Mito's eyes widened in disbelief. The young man before them looked nothing like the Orochimaru they remembered.
He smiled faintly under their shocked gazes. "Don't look at me like that. I just left the village for a little while, and you've already forgotten me?"
"Speak properly!" Mito snapped, her fist slamming down on his head.
"Grandma Mito! That hurts!" Orochimaru cried, rubbing the sore spot. Even in Sage Mode, that punch stung.
Hiruzen watched closely, eyes narrowing. "So… you've mastered Sage Mode?"
"Let's just say I took a short break from training," Orochimaru said with a sigh. He pulled down his hood, revealing long black hair cascading like silk, porcelain-white horns glinting in the sunlight, and magatama earrings swaying at his neck. A white serpent tail slithered behind him, coiling at his feet.
"With something this big happening, how could I possibly keep training in Ryūchi Cave?"
"So those three snakes... were your summons?" Hiruzen asked.
"Indeed."
Above them, Shinno let out a furious roar. The Air Fortress, his dream of dominion, was collapsing before his eyes.
---
Shinno's Fury
Shinno slammed his fist into the ground, shattering it and hurling massive stones into the air. Using the debris as cover, he leapt upward, desperate to reach the fortress. But a familiar voice echoed from above.
"What a coincidence," Orochimaru said coldly. "I was just about to come find you."
Shinno's eyes widened. "You—!"
"White Snake Scale Blade!"
Orochimaru's tail lashed out, slamming into Shinno with bone-shattering force. The impact drove the man into the ground, leaving a crater in his wake. Blood splattered, flesh torn—but once again, the horrifying regeneration began. Muscles twisted, bones reformed, skin sealed over in an instant.
Uzumaki Mito frowned. "Orochimaru, his vitality and chakra come from the beast within. Unless we separate it from him, he'll never die."
Orochimaru's golden eyes gleamed. "A beast, hmm? Then what would you call the Nine-Tails inside you, Mito-sama?"
Shinno laughed, a harsh, echoing sound. "You're right! The Zero-Tail was created from a fragment of the Nine-Tails' power. Once it devours the Nine-Tails completely, the Sky Ninjas will surpass even Konoha!"
Dark-purple chakra surged from his body, condensing into a pulsing orb in his hand. It shimmered like a miniature sun—dense, unstable, deadly.
He hurled it straight at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru's pupils narrowed to slits. His tail struck the ground, propelling him aside with snake-like reflexes. The orb exploded where he had stood, vaporizing everything within a ten-meter radius.
---
The Village Watches
Far below, Konoha's ninjas looked up at the chaos in the sky.
"What's that?!"
"Those aren't Hokage-sama's summons!"
"Hokage-sama's beast is Enma!"
"Danzo-sama's is Baku!"
The villagers murmured in confusion. No one could identify the colossal snakes tearing apart the Air Fortress above.
But for Hiruzen and the others, the truth was clear. Orochimaru had returned—not as the boy they once knew, but as something far more powerful.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)