Chapter 75: Orochimaru — As Expected of You, Danzo, Old Dog!
In the Land of Fire.
After a long journey, Hoshigaki Kisame, who had been unconscious for quite some time, finally regained consciousness.
"...Did we escape, Mr. Itachi?"
He opened his eyes to see Uchiha Itachi carrying him forward.
However, Itachi's face didn't look good — it was obvious he was seriously injured.
"Hmm," Itachi replied briefly.
He didn't bother to explain, but the word escape wasn't entirely accurate.In fact, Su Li had deliberately allowed them to leave.
And Itachi could easily guess the reason — nothing more than using them to track the location of Akatsuki's base camp.
If Kisame knew that, he'd probably rather die than reveal the organization's whereabouts.
"Mr. Itachi, are you alright?"
"It's fine. I can't die."
"That's good… but you need to tell the leader about Konoha's changes as soon as possible. How could such a powerful person exist without us ever hearing of him before?"
Kisame motioned for Itachi to let him down so he could walk on his own as he spoke.
Their original mission had been to gather intelligence on the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, but now, that was the least of their concerns.
A powerhouse no weaker than the man with the Rinnegan had appeared — and as Konoha's acting Hokage, Su Li certainly wouldn't stand by while a Jinchūriki from his own village was captured.
Moreover, such a terrifying figure had no prior information whatsoever.That was strange — too strange.
In any case, this needed to be reported to the leader immediately.
"Yeah… not only that man, but Kakashi has gotten a lot stronger too. What on earth happened to Konoha?"
Hearing this, Itachi frowned slightly, deep in thought.
Meanwhile...
In a secret underground base somewhere in the Land of Sound, Orochimaru, his hands still sealed, lay on a bed.
"Lord Orochimaru! There's a situation!"
Upon entering, Yakushi Kabuto immediately reported. His tone caught Orochimaru's attention.
"What is it, Kabuto? Have you found Tsunade's whereabouts?"
Even with his hands sealed, Orochimaru remained calm, a faint, sinister smile curling at his lips.
His condition wasn't dire — at least, not yet.
Even in the original timeline, he had enough time to find Tsunade and fight alongside the other Sannin. It wasn't until much later that the pain from his sealed hands became unbearable, prompting him to send the Sound Four to recruit Sasuke.
"I've already tracked down Lady Tsunade's location, but this isn't about her. Just earlier, I dealt with a Sand Shinobi team that was tracking you, Lord Orochimaru."
"Sand Shinobi?" Orochimaru sat up slightly, intrigued. "To make you so serious... was the team led by an Elite Jōnin?"
After his hands were sealed, Orochimaru had ordered Kabuto to locate Tsunade to heal them. That should have been the priority.
Compared to that, what significance did a few Sand Shinobi hold?
Besides, Kabuto's strength was more than enough to deal with any typical Sand team.
"No, not at all. According to my intel, they were just a standard team — one Chūnin and three Genin. I even remember their names."
"Chūnin and Genin? Then it should've been easy for you."
Orochimaru nodded, trusting Kabuto's abilities.
Besides, the Sand Village wasn't in its prime.
The Kazekage was dead, many elite ninjas had fallen during the Konoha Crush, and the survivors were busy defending their village or taking missions to support its economy.
The chances of an Elite Jōnin appearing in the field were slim.
With Kabuto's strength, such a team should've been easily handled.
"Yeah, that's what I thought," Kabuto continued. "But when I attacked, all four of them suddenly used the same ability — something resembling the Steel Release bloodline limit!"
"Bloodline limit?!"
Even Orochimaru couldn't help but look surprised.
"If they were sent after me, it's not shocking that one of them might possess a bloodline limit," he mused. "But all of them? The same one?"
"I'm sure of it, Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto replied firmly. "If they hadn't been so inexperienced with the ability — and so weak overall — I might not have been able to defeat them."
Remembering the battle, Kabuto still felt uneasy.
A mere group of low-level shinobi — each with a bloodline limit?The same one?
That was… alarming.
"Artificial bloodline limits..." Orochimaru murmured, eyes narrowing.
The concept instantly took root in his mind.
The Kekkei Genkai was rare and precious. One or two was understandable, but a full team possessing identical bloodline limits? Impossible — unless someone engineered it.
And who better to see that than Orochimaru, a master of forbidden biology?
If the genetic mystery of a Kekkei Genkai could be decoded... then replication might be possible.
Artificial shinobi — mass-produced powerhouses.
"I didn't think the Sand Village's science had surpassed my own..."
Orochimaru's expression grew grim.
Power was common in the ninja world. But true scientific mastery — that was rarer than any bloodline limit.
"But if the Sand really had this technology," Orochimaru wondered aloud, "why didn't they use it during the Konoha Crush? Could they have succeeded only recently?"
He frowned deeply.
"Kabuto, did you bring back their corpses? I want to study them."
"I did, Lord Orochimaru… but there's something else. I found something strange in their storage scrolls."
"Oh? Show me."
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."
Kabuto bowed and handed over a few manga.
Unable to move his hands, Orochimaru used his prehensile tongue to unroll one.
"…What is this?"
The snake sage blinked in disbelief.
Manga?
"Lord Orochimaru, I thought the same — it's strange. But each of them carried one. I figured there must be a reason."
Kabuto's tone was uncertain.
Comics? Ninjas reading comics?
If they had that much time, they'd be better off training.
"Each of them carried one?"
Orochimaru frowned, gazing down at the covers.
"This one says... 'How Many Danzos Can You Blow Up?' What is that supposed to mean?"
His eyelid twitched involuntarily.
Of course, he knew who Danzo was — which only made it more suspicious.
He used his tongue to flip through the stack.
"Armament Haki""Observation Haki""Breath of the Wind"
Four different titles. Four copies of each — sixteen books in total.
Exactly matching the Sand team's numbers.
Orochimaru immediately sensed something was off.
Using his tongue, he opened the one that caught his eye — How Many Danzos Can You Blow Up?
Inside the Comic World
The first level of the dungeon.
Orochimaru appeared there.
Since Konoha's ninjas had already cleared this floor, he was now the only one inside.
"This?! I didn't expect this inconspicuous comic book to be a medium that opens a different dimension!"
Excitement flashed across Orochimaru's eyes.
He instantly understood how the Sand team had gained their bloodline powers.
Such a precious artifact... if he could uncover its secrets...
He could mass-produce Kekkei Genkai users just like them!
Orochimaru wasn't driven purely by conquest — not really.He was a scientist above all, obsessed with the how.
The thrill of the unknown.
At that moment, a cold, mechanical voice echoed from the void:
[Countdown: 10 seconds. First-level challenge enemies will appear!]
"Ten… nine… eight…"
"A fight?" Orochimaru murmured. "Then there must be a reward. Likely the source of their bloodline power..."
He smiled. The truth was close.
"Three… two… one!"
A hum filled the air.
Suddenly, a figure appeared before him.
"Danzo?"
Orochimaru froze in disbelief.
What the hell?
How could he be here?
Although the manga's title had mentioned Danzo, he hadn't expected to actually meet him in the comic's world.
But before he could ponder further, the Danzo clone attacked.
With swift hand seals, he launched a jutsu:
"Wind Style: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
"Oh? Such killing intent — you truly wish to kill me?"
Orochimaru smirked.
Though Danzo was a Kage-level ninja, he was also an old man. Orochimaru wasn't afraid — especially after noticing that, in this world, his hands were restored.
Since this was a spiritual dimension, not the real world, his body was whole again.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Orochimaru struck.
Massive serpents burst forth and overwhelmed Danzo's jutsu, wrapping tightly around him.
With a loud bang, the body exploded.
"…What?" Orochimaru blinked.
Was Danzo that weak?Had age finally claimed his mind?
But then —
Another Danzo materialized in front of him.
"Izanagi… huh. So that's it. You want to erase the one man who knows your dirty secrets, so you can sit safely as Hokage?" Orochimaru hissed, narrowing his eyes. "As expected of you, Danzo."
Though he didn't understand why Danzo appeared here or why he was alone, one thing was clear:
Danzo wanted him dead.
Their collaboration during the Konoha Crush had always been one of convenience.
Orochimaru was to eliminate the Third and Fourth Kazekage, paving Danzo's way to the Hokage seat.
In return, Danzo promised resources for Orochimaru's research.
But given Danzo's character... betrayal was inevitable.
Once Orochimaru lost his usefulness, Danzo would eliminate him without hesitation.
The thought made Orochimaru's snake-like eyes glint with fury.
"Since you wish to kill me, let's see if you have the strength, you old dog!"
With that, Orochimaru drew the Kusanagi Sword from his mouth — and lunged forward.