At this moment, Orochimaru's condition was clearly deteriorating compared to the earlier clashes.
Not only was his skin visibly paler, but his chakra reserves seemed strained—his breathing shallow, movements sluggish.
After all, he had just used a forbidden technique—Living Corpse Reincarnation—to reconstruct his body, enabling temporary immunity to conventional damage.
But all ninjutsu consumes chakra.
Even Orochimaru, with his unnatural vitality, wasn't truly invincible.
His defeat wasn't impossible—just extremely difficult.
"How terrifying… three of my bodies destroyed in mere seconds…"
Orochimaru's tongue flicked out as he stared at Tian Yu.
"Your strength, Tian Yujun… it's real. But you aren't the true wielder of Ice Release, are you? From your flow of chakra and casting rhythm… the source must be your blade. Hm? What an intriguing weapon…"
Though the battle had lasted only seconds—mere blinks of an eye—Orochimaru had already cycled through three bodies, his host vessels shredded beyond use.
It was a manageable loss, but still concerning.
Suitable bodies weren't easy to find. Each container took months—years—to prepare.
And yet, Orochimaru didn't seem fazed.
Even as he guarded against Tian Yu's unpredictable style, his mind was working—analyzing patterns, testing reactions, collecting data.
He quickly deduced the truth: the Ice Release techniques weren't coming from Tian Yu himself, but from the sword he wielded.
That realization made Orochimaru shiver—not with fear, but excitement.
The weapon was a conduit for a bloodline ability. A tool capable of replicating a kekkei genkai without the need for inherited genes.
A shortcut.
If he could obtain that blade… then his long, frustrating search for perfect bloodline hosts could be bypassed entirely.
No more chasing Uchiha. No more bottlenecks.
Just a weapon—refined, contained, and controlled.
Orochimaru's narrow snake eyes locked greedily onto the boy before him. He licked his lips.
He would have that sword.
"The Art of the Eight Branches…"
The words came low, but laced with deadly intent.
Orochimaru knew Tian Yu wouldn't give him time to act.
So he began to weave hand signs—fast, faster than ever before.
This was no ordinary ninjutsu.
The Eight Branches Technique (Yamata no Jutsu)—a forbidden, S-rank kinjutsu—required more than fifty seals.
At his usual speed of five seals per second, it would've taken ten full seconds.
But driven by obsession, Orochimaru doubled his sealing rate.
His hands blurred, sweat flying off his brow.
He could feel Tian Yu watching him, preparing to strike.
If Orochimaru didn't finish the sequence in time, he'd lose everything.
"Ffffuh…"
The last seal clicked into place. Orochimaru exhaled—long, shaky.
He'd done it in under five seconds.
His fastest ever.
Pride swelled in his chest. This was it—his greatest weapon.
A technique that transformed his body into a colossal, eight-headed white serpent—an incarnation of destruction that rivaled even the Uchiha's Susanoo.
A monstrous trump card, born of countless experiments.
He'd spent a month mastering it. A lifetime preparing for it.
Now, the battlefield would see why he was feared.
"…So you've finally been forced to use that," Tian Yu said quietly.
He raised one hand.
In his palm—something small.
Orochimaru paused mid-shift, suspicious.
Tian Yu always had a new surprise. The Kusanagi, chakra threads, that terrifying ice sword...
Now what?
But as he focused on the small object in Tian Yu's hand—
Orochimaru froze.
His snake-like pupils contracted. His breathing hitched.
That thing—
That eye.
Red. Three spinning tomoe.
A Sharingan.
Orochimaru's mind blanked.
That's… that's what he'd come to Konoha for.
What he'd been chasing for years.
The Uchiha Clan's legendary dojutsu—the key to his evolution.
But why… how did Tian Yu have one?!
His thoughts stuttered. His body began to tremble.
And then—
He was inside a Genjutsu.
The illusion struck hard and fast.
Inside it, Orochimaru saw himself—dying.
Struck down by Tian Yu, again and again, his giant serpent form unraveling into blood and dust.
His consciousness reeled.
He couldn't breathe.
When the vision finally broke, Orochimaru dropped to one knee, drenched in sweat.
The Yamata no Jutsu, which he had just activated—
Never launched.
The chakra backlash hit hard. His already drained reserves flatlined.
His physical strength collapsed.
He looked like a corpse—skin chalk-white, body shuddering.
He was breaking.
"How does it feel, Orochimaru?" Tian Yu asked calmly, lowering his arm.
"To be trapped in your own mind?"
Tian Yu's assumption was spot on.
Orochimaru's body could survive decapitation.
His chakra allowed him to dodge jutsu with ease.
But the mind—that was his one true weakness.
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi, his old sensei and the Third Hokage, had no choice but to resort to the Reaper Death Seal to fight him—an act that cost his life.
And even then, Orochimaru escaped with only his arms sealed.
But now—
Tian Yu had pierced that weak point perfectly.
It was clear: in his many reincarnations, Orochimaru's soul had suffered.
His spiritual defenses had thinned.
Even a standard three-tomoe Sharingan Genjutsu was enough to paralyze him.
And that explained something else—
Why Orochimaru had always been so obsessed with Sasuke Uchiha.
The boy wasn't just talented.
He was a path to perfect Genjutsu resistance.
Against Uchiha Itachi, Orochimaru had discovered his flaw.
Without a Sharingan body of his own, he'd never be able to counter illusions like Tsukuyomi.
He needed a vessel with that bloodline.
Only then could he become truly invincible.
"You… how do you have a Sharingan?!" Orochimaru hissed, his voice shaking.
"You're not Uchiha…"
His eyes flicked between Tian Yu and the red eye in his hand.
"No… that eye has no chakra flow. No life signature…"
"What is that thing?!"
Tian Yu's smile deepened.
"Of course it has no life," he said softly.
"Because it's not an Uchiha's Sharingan anymore."
Orochimaru's brows twitched.
"This…" Tian Yu continued, "is a weapon—refined from an actual Sharingan."
"A tool that retains the abilities of the three-tomoe eye… but without the burden of transplantation or rejection."
"No Uchiha blood needed. No chakra compatibility."
"Anyone can wield it."
Orochimaru's expression twisted—horror mixing with envy.
Tian Yu held up the device—a small orb, etched with faint seals, glowing faintly with suppressed power.
"The name of this weapon," he said,
"Is the Eye of the Triple Tomoe."
End of Chapter.
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