Chapter 126: The Akatsuki Secret Technique
Katō Ryūya held the triple-sealed, urgent, encrypted intelligence scroll, his heart filled with conjecture, but his pace did not slow as he rushed to Orochimaru's office.
Knock, knock, knock—
He knocked on the door.
Orochimaru took the top-secret Konoha intelligence from Katō Ryūya's hand. Seeing the words "URGENT ENCRYPTED" and the triple seals, his gaze immediately sharpened.
His hands moved quickly, weaving three sets of hand signs to swiftly unseal it.
Tear— The scroll, about three fingers thick and a palm's length, was swiftly unrolled by Orochimaru.
His dark-golden eyes swept over it, taking in all the contents in a flash.
Immediately understanding the severity of the report, he frowned and instructed Katō Ryūya: "Go and call Sakumo immediately!"
Seeing Orochimaru's grave expression and knitted brow, Katō Ryūya instantly realized the situation was likely even more serious than he imagined. He bowed, retreated, and immediately went to notify Sakumo.
About five minutes later, Sakumo walked in with Katō Ryūya.
Orochimaru nodded to the two of them, handed them the unsealed top-secret intelligence, and said in a low voice: "News has come from Konoha: Hōsai Nagai has dispatched a Suna elite force consisting of three quasi-Kage-level powerhouses, nearly fifty Jōnin, about three hundred Chūnin, and over a thousand Genin, launching a massive invasion of Konoha!
Konoha was caught off guard, and the border guards are collapsing all along the front. The Suna army is advancing rapidly, having already pushed dozens of miles into Konoha territory. Furthermore, the report states that Amegakure (Hidden Rain Village) has also begun to stir, showing signs of coordinating with the Suna army!"
Katō Ryūya and Sakumo quickly scanned the contents of the top-secret report. Looking up after hearing Orochimaru's summary, they exchanged a glance, both seeing a look of shock in the other's eyes.
Orochimaru paused, then continued: "The Second Great Ninja War has begun!"
Katō Ryūya couldn't help but ask: "Lord Orochimaru, what should we do?"
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, then gave a wicked smile, licking his lips as he said coolly: "Heh heh, I've decided to go to Amegakure alone!"
"What? Go to Amegakure? No, Orochimaru! You know very well that Amegakure has most likely joined the Land of Wind's forces. Going there is practically walking into a tiger's mouth!" Sakumo immediately tried to dissuade him.
Katō Ryūya, however, fell silent, his golden eyes simply fixed on Orochimaru, quietly awaiting his next words.
Orochimaru saw their reactions. He lifted his head, his gaze unfocused as if recalling something, and said with a voice full of killing intent: "Hanzō of the Salamander has 'specially cared' for me repeatedly in the past. Now that I have an opportunity, I can't possibly let him down!"
Seeing that Sakumo looked ready to argue further, Orochimaru waved a dismissive hand: "Enough. I have my own methods, and besides, I still need your help, Sakumo."
Seeing Orochimaru's mind was set, Sakumo resigned himself: "Alright, tell me what you want me to do."
Orochimaru didn't answer. He stood up, took a black and white ordinary scroll from his tool pouch, spread it on the ground, and quickly unrolled it.
Katō Ryūya looked closely and saw an inky-black character for "Seal" (封) inside the black and white scroll, surrounded by a winding, esoteric Ninjutsu formula.
Seeing the familiar sealing jutsu, Katō Ryūya was puzzled. Hmm? This is a Material Sealing Scroll. What is he planning?
Orochimaru quickly wove a few hand signs. Bang— A puff of white smoke rose from the scroll.
After the smoke dissipated, a man was revealed lying on the ground, face-up and unconscious, with his eyes closed. The man wore a condemned prisoner's uniform and was breathing evenly, as if asleep.
Looking at the material—a body acquired through trade from another country's death row—Orochimaru silently continued to weave hand signs.
His hands moved like butterflies through flowers, creating streams of afterimages.
Suddenly, Orochimaru sat cross-legged on the floor, adopting the posture of his final hand sign, and instantly froze, as if petrified.
The condemned prisoner's body, however, abruptly erupted with intense chakra fluctuations—a cold, menacing chakra that was exactly identical to Orochimaru's.
The previously peaceful, sleeping-like condemned prisoner began to tremble violently. His closed eyelids twitched uncontrollably.
After a long time, Katō Ryūya and Hatake Sakumo suddenly noticed that the life force in the condemned prisoner's body instantly vanished; he was dead.
Immediately following, to the surprise of the two onlookers, the corpse of the condemned prisoner on the floor transformed into the appearance of Orochimaru. It opened a pair of dark-golden eyes and slowly stood up.
The "Orochimaru" clone stood up, clenched his fists, and assessed the strength and chakra intensity of the host body.
He then nodded faintly. This secret technique, acquired from the Akatsuki in his previous life, was indeed brilliant. Using a Chūnin-level condemned prisoner as a host could grant a body with about two-thirds of the main body's total power. While the intensity was only at the Chūnin level, overall, it was quite satisfactory.
After checking the vessel's strength, the "Orochimaru" clone spoke to the two astonished men: "I will use this vessel to 'visit' Hanzō of the Salamander in Amegakure. Sakumo, guard my main body outside the door. Ryūya, don't panic, go and take care of your tasks first. We'll discuss the rest after I return!"
Having witnessed Orochimaru's ingenious secret technique, the two had no objection.
The "Orochimaru" clone picked up the inky-black Muramasa. After a moment's thought, he placed it back next to the main body. Then, he wove a hand sign, and his entire form dissolved into threads of black shadow, quickly vanishing from the spot.
Katō Ryūya glanced at Orochimaru's main body, sitting motionless on the floor, and then walked out with Sakumo.
Closing the door, Sakumo immediately stood straight outside Orochimaru's door like a strong pine tree, or an unsheathed treasure sword, faithfully taking up his guard duty.
Katō Ryūya didn't linger. As he took his leave from the now-alert Sakumo, a trace of madness flickered in his golden eyes. He muttered in a low voice: "An endless supply of forbidden secret techniques. From an ordinary Konoha ninja to the master, in just three years. What will happen next? Heh heh, I am truly curious! Just how far can that mysterious man go?"
Inside Orochimaru's office, in a dark corner, a figure slowly materialized. It walked slowly behind Orochimaru and merged into his shadow.
🗒️NOTE:
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
Explore the Finished Work in advance!