Orochimaru had no time to care about his summoned beast. He snapped his head around, his keen golden slit pupils locking tightly onto a certain direction.
Not far away, beyond the rolling smoke and raging flames of the molten sea, a figure was walking forward—each step taken atop streams of lava that seemed to bow beneath his feet, advancing unhurriedly, tearing through the inferno and smoke toward Orochimaru's position.
Wherever that figure passed, the magma itself seemed to grow more violent and frenzied from the heat, forming a winding path of molten fire.
"…He even knows from which route I fled? Could it be an illusion…? It feels like he can see me from an immense distance away."
Orochimaru's eyelids twitched slightly.
And just as Uchiha Keizumi drew closer—
Orochimaru suddenly froze in place.
He was stunned to find that Uchiha Keizumi's eyes were no longer the eerie scarlet of the Mangekyō Sharingan—but a pair of pure white Byakugan from the Hyūga Clan. It was likely through these eyes that he could pierce through layers of smoke to track Orochimaru's every move!
Wait—
Wasn't he an Uchiha?
How could he possibly possess the Byakugan?
Could it be that one of Uchiha Keizumi's parents was a member of the Hyūga Clan? Had Konohagakure truly grown so open-minded that the Uchiha and Hyūga could now intermarry?
Orochimaru could not comprehend it!
"His fourth kekkei genkai…" Orochimaru muttered, his throat dry. Some of the "monsters" he had once created through experimentation were perhaps not as monstrous as Uchiha Keizumi himself!
Others, possessing even a single bloodline limit, could rise to become elite jōnin of Konohagakure.
Uchiha Keizumi, on the other hand, wielded four at once!
He wasn't some "dual bloodline limit genius" as people called him.
He was a four-bloodline-limit monster!
Suddenly—
Without the slightest warning, the figure still hundreds of meters away blurred, and a scorching wave so intense it made even space tremble surged toward him!
In the next instant, a massive fist of molten rock, wrapped in boiling magma and compressed to its limit, appeared before Orochimaru as if by teleportation.
Its speed was so great that even thought itself froze!
By pure instinct, Orochimaru thrust the Kusanagi Sword before him, flooding it with immense chakra as the screech of Wind Release howled along the blade!
[BOOM!!!]
A thunderous explosion erupted, the force comparable to a Tailed Beast's claw strike, slamming into the Kusanagi Sword.
It was impossible to resist!
[Splurt—!]
Orochimaru spat out a mouthful of scorching blood. He felt his organs shatter within him as his body bent backward like a bow and was hurled through the air—
Crashing violently into the massive summoned serpent behind him.
That serpent as massive as a hill was also sent flying dozens of meters by the overwhelming force, crushing a small forest and letting out a pained, ear-piercing hiss!
Orochimaru's body slammed into the ground like a lump of soft mud—
Then bounced twice like a broken puppet.
He struggled to prop up his upper body, the bones within emitting sickening cracks and grinding sounds as they shifted out of place. Yet, bizarrely, none of them had fractured—at the moment of impact, his body had performed an astonishing softening to dissipate the force!
His body no longer resembled that of a human.
It looked more like that of a human-shaped serpent!
"Hehe… Uchiha Keizumi… your 'surprises' truly keep coming one after another…"
Orochimaru wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"I had originally planned to reserve this technique for Hiruzen-sensei… but since your power has exceeded even my expectations, I might as well test it on you first, Uchiha Keizumi."
He slowly stood up—his entire appearance disheveled and wretched, hair in wild tangles, looking for all the world like a beggar wandering out of nowhere.
"Summoning Technique…"
Straightening his posture, Orochimaru formed four hand seals, then pressed his palms together firmly.
[Bang!]
[Bang!]
[Bang!]
A wave of bone-chilling chakra burst forth from beneath Orochimaru's feet, pitch-black curse seals spreading wildly across the ground like living creatures, weaving together in chaotic patterns.
The earth groaned under the strain as massive cracks spread like spiderwebs, and three coffins emanating the thick, putrid aura of the underworld were violently torn from the Pure Land as though by an invisible giant hand!
The heavy lids slammed inward with a thunderous crash, sending up a cloud of dust.
Orochimaru's mouth opened to an inhuman extent, and from deep within his throat slid out three small serpents, each pure white from head to tail. Between their fangs, they each held a slip of paper inscribed with Edo Tensei talismans.
The white snakes shot forward like arrows loosed from a bow, diving straight into the mouths of the three soulless bodies waiting inside the coffins!
At that very moment, the three figures opened their eyes.
"Ah…"
Among them, the man with long black hair glanced around in puzzlement, then sensed the strange state of his body. With a helpless sigh, he turned toward another man beside him with an expressionless face and silver hair.
The man with long black hair spoke: "I told you long ago not to dabble in such bizarre jutsu."
The silver-haired man turned to glance at Orochimaru behind him, his tone calm and unreadable. "To think someone could perform Edo Tensei… Are you a shinobi of Konoha? Remarkable, young man."
"Hehe…"
A faint smile curved Orochimaru's lips. "What a pity—once, I indeed was a shinobi of Konoha. Unfortunately, one day… Konoha cast me aside."
"I see…" Senju Tobirama, the Second Hokage, nodded thoughtfully, then turned his gaze toward Uchiha Keizumi.
The uniform of the Police Force that Keizumi wore bore a clearly visible Uchiha Clan crest—something the Second Hokage recognized at a glance.
He narrowed his eyes. "A Konoha rogue using Edo Tensei against an Uchiha radiating such sinister energy… you juniors truly baffle me."
Orochimaru let out a chilling laugh. He turned toward the third figure stepping out of the coffin and said, "The First Hokage and Second Hokage have already spoken. Danzō-sama, upon seeing the one who killed you—have you nothing to say?"
Indeed—
The third coffin did not contain the Fourth Hokage—it held Shimura Danzō, who had already perished under Absolute Justice!
However, Orochimaru soon realized something was terribly wrong with Danzō's condition.
The reanimated Danzō's body was trembling violently, like a leaf in a storm!
His tightly shut eyes suddenly snapped open. Those Edo-formed eyes—normally hollow and lifeless—were now filled with indescribable agony and terror born from the very depths of the soul!
"Urgh… aaah… AAAAAHHHH—!!!"
A blood-curdling scream—something no human throat should be capable of producing—burst from Shimura Danzō's mouth.
He clutched his head with both hands, his facial features twisting grotesquely, and his reanimated body began to show signs of collapse and disintegration.
The reanimated Danzō fell to the ground, writhing and curling in agony—
As if enduring torment so intense it could tear the soul apart!
"…?!"
Orochimaru froze—what was happening?
The next instant, an even more chilling sight struck him to the core.
Hiss—!
Without warning, a strange flame erupted from Shimura Danzō's reanimated body. The fire instantly engulfed him, turning him into a blazing human torch.
The Edo Tensei body sizzled under the flames, disintegrating at a speed visible to the naked eye—reduced to the most primitive dust.
And yet, the Impure World Reincarnation still remained active.
The dust… once again gathered and reformed under the power of Edo Tensei. As Danzō's body reconstituted, his eyes—filled with boundless pain and despair—snapped open once more.
"No—!!!"
A new, even more despairing scream resounded.
The fire of judgment ignited again, creating an endless, horrifying cycle of agony and rebirth!
Orochimaru stood there completely stunned.
Even with all the horrors he had witnessed, his mind could barely process what was unfolding before him.
"Tobirama, what is… this?"
Senju Hashirama also looked at Danzō in confusion. "He seems to be one of your subordinates, isn't he?"
Senju Tobirama frowned deeply. "Yes, Danzō was both my subordinate and my disciple. But I've never seen such a state before. This doesn't resemble a side effect of Edo Tensei failure. Such backlash would afflict the caster, not the reanimated dead."
"This condition of his…"
Just as Tobirama hesitated, Uchiha Keizumi's cold voice suddenly cut through the air, interrupting him: "The Mangekyō Sharingan's Judgment and Divine Retribution will eternally hunt every sinner. Whether in life or death, whether in the shinobi world or the Pure Land, endless torment shall follow them."
Orochimaru immediately understood. "I see… so Shimura Danzō died under your Mangekyō Sharingan, then? Heh, it seems I miscalculated…"
He also recalled that during an Akatsuki meeting, that masked man had once mentioned intelligence concerning Uchiha Keizumi's eyes.
It seemed the information from that masked man was indeed correct.
Shimura Danzō was the perfect example.
Just hearing Danzō's screams and witnessing his endless cycle of agony was enough to make a chill rise within Orochimaru's heart.
Pain that pursued even the soul itself…
Damn it.
It really was something that restrained him!
Cold sweat streamed down Orochimaru's face.
"Mangekyō Sharingan?!" Senju Tobirama's sharp eyes narrowed instantly as he fixed his gaze upon Uchiha Keizumi. A fierce killing intent burst from him. "So you've awakened the Uchiha clan's most extreme eyes? Tell me, evil-born Uchiha brat—how many dear friends and loved ones did you personally kill to awaken that Mangekyō… Hm? Your eyes…"
Tobirama suddenly froze. "Those are Byakugan!"
"Second Hokage-dono, don't underestimate him. He possesses four kinds of bloodline limits—Lava Release, Wood Release, Sharingan, and Byakugan! Hehe, I've heard the Second Hokage has quite the hatred for the Uchiha clan, hasn't he?"
As Orochimaru retreated step by step, he continued speaking from behind Tobirama. "Then I've conveniently given you, old man, the perfect chance to kill the strongest genius of the Uchiha clan in this era."
"You should be thanking me."
As soon as his words fell, the white snakes that had slithered into Senju Hashirama's and Senju Tobirama's bodies activated the talismans clamped in their fangs.
At once—
Both Hashirama and Tobirama's eyes lost their sentience, replaced entirely by emptiness and killing intent.
They had become complete Edo Tensei puppets!
"Go forth, First and Second Hokage!" Orochimaru commanded coldly, ignoring the still-tormented Shimura Danzō.
The First Hokage was the first to clap his hands together.
"Ha—Wood Release!!!"
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