Chapter 73
Orochimaru looked at his missing arm. Well, it wasn't that high a price to pay for what he managed to get. Looking at the vial of blood he got from the Fourth Kazekage, he felt more than happy as he returned to his hideout just outside the Land of the Wind.
He already had blood samples from those two girls, and now another joined his collection. Three powerful Kekkei Genkai were within his hands. He couldn't wait to see what kind of secrets he would be able to uncover from them.
But it was just a start. He still needed to analyze them further and collect far more to truly learn the secrets that lay within them. This lab was enough for now, even if it was abandoned for quite a bit, and the equipment was outdated.
The first thing he probably should do is check on his condition. A few broken bones, his arm being ripped off, damaged lungs, and a few stab and cut wounds. And yet, he would rather focus on his work than on his body.
Well, the damage was within his expectations. He knew that the Fourth Kazekage wasn't going to be an easy opponent. But neither was he anything special. What made him truly strong was his sand manipulation.
Aside from that, his speed, intelligence, and strength were lacking compared to someone like the Third Hokage. That man, even without any special abilities, could easily destroy any shinobi in the world with only his intelligence.
Though it wasn't the time to think about him yet. The Third Hokage would have to wait until Orochimaru was prepared. For now, he needed to continue his work. To learn the secrets of ninjutsu itself. What was behind all these powers of the bloodlines?
He needed to know. Not only because of his obsessive curiosity, but also to leave his immortal legacy behind. His will be his life's work, worthy of being passed down for generations to come, for thousands of years in the future. Even when his body turns to dust, his name will remain with this research.
However, to achieve that, he would need funds that no one could provide. He needed backing from a whole country. And only the Land of the Rice Fields would provide him with that as of now. He only needed to get rid of the pest that threatened them in exchange.
Then, he would truly be able to begin his work. His eyes were already set on the Land of Water, where countless shinobi clans resided with various Kekkei Genkai, even those not known to the rest of the world.
But that was going to wait. There were already clans near him that would provide him with enough examples. But this time, he wouldn't just take their blood. No, he needed manpower, too. So, it was time to unite all those shinobi without masters and form a proper village to serve him.
Everything was falling into place. He only needed more time. There was simply not much of it, though. He didn't wait for his body to recover; Orochimaru's mind worked still fine, so he began his work by analyzing the special attributes of the blood he had just collected.
One thing quickly came up: Konan's blood was different from the other two. It wasn't a Kekkei Genkai that she possessed, but a combination of her chakra nature and the teachings she must have received from Jiraiya.
But it was still a one-of-a-kind ability. Which meant that although it couldn't be passed directly from blood relatives, it still could continue through generations as any other Kekkei Genkai.
If her descendant possessed the same chakra nature as her, then it could be taught to them as the same ability. Just like Nara shadow jutsu. It was already fascinating how similar yet different it was from Kekkei Genkai.
It made him think that if the same jutsu was taught through generations, wouldn't at some point a person be born that possessed a perfect body for such a jutsu? And then wouldn't it make that person not a user of the jutsu but rather a user of the Kekkei Genkai?
"I commend you for coming so close to me without me even noticing you," Orochimaru turned to the guest who came to see him. "And you even caught me when I am not at my fullest strength. How unlucky for me."
"Why did you interfere with the Fourth Kazekage?"
"What a loaded question, that answers things for me more than for you." Orochimaru looked carefully at the guest, but couldn't see through him at all. "Was it your doing? Well, it matters little. I don't know what plans of yours I disturbed, but it wasn't my intention. I simply did what I wanted to do, and got out of it what I needed to get out of it."
Before Orochimaru could do anything, his body moved on its own. He was pulled to the uninvited guest, and before long, his neck was held by a strong hand. But rather than panic, he was fascinated by the jutsu used. Was it gravity-based, like that of the Third Tsuchikage? No, it felt different.
"For someone not interested, you came to interfere with us too many times." Orochimaru ignored his throat being crushed as he looked into the eyes of his attacker. "A hand was extended for you to join us, yet you refused, and now your actions came across as antagonizing us personally. Tell me why I shouldn't get rid of a pest like you right now?"
"A foolish question," Orochimaru replied by stabbing his kunai at the arm that held him. Even as he drew blood, there was no reaction from the man. "You should have done that while you had a chance, rather than try to question me."
Orochimaru's jaw unhinged as his throat swelled up even against the hold of the tight grip. First came an arm from his mouth. And without any hesitation, it reached for those legendary eyes of the Rinnegan presented before him.
Of course, his hand didn't reach them as it was caught. But it would have been more disappointing if that were this easy. For now, Orochimaru was satisfied to shed his old skin and escape the grip of this man.
"I can kill you any time, don't be mistaken," the man calmly stated. "But to get answers from you doesn't seem to be as simple."
"But I have told you everything truthfully," Orochimaru replied as he flexed his new arm. "The question that lingers is what your role is in all of this? I don't think you were responsible for the Fourth Kazekage's actions; otherwise, you would have been with him. But you knew of them, and you were betting on him, weren't you? In the end, you are just a bunch of mercenaries that need money. And the only way for your kind to earn money was through conflict. But I unknowingly stopped it, and now, after defying you one time too many, you decided that it would be safer to just get rid of me."
The silence was all the answer Orochimaru needed. He confirmed a lot with it. Among them was a member who could gather any information by being able to infiltrate anywhere. And they weren't just some mercenaries.
No, the powerful members, the collection of funds, and the strong reaction once their plans were interfered with meant they had something grand as the end goal. Though Orochimaru only needed to see the Rinnegan to tell that much.
A person possessing those eyes and keeping himself hidden wasn't someone who would be satisfied with only a few deaths. But in the end, it had nothing to do with him. Whatever their plans were, Orochimaru had his own to accomplish; it just so happens that they interfered with each other this time.
"You won't let me be, will you?" Orochimaru was worried; the unknown shinobi before him showed that he had incredible power, and Orochimaru had already exhausted quite a bit of strength beforehand.
Without knowing his opponent and without being able to rest, recuperate, and prepare, his chances of victory were low. But when did his chances of victory ever seem high? Since running seemed to be futile, he could only do his best.
"No, but I will give you a chance to join us; that way, you can keep your interests intact without us needing to face each other."
He was different from those two girls. From the moment Orochimaru saw them, he could see his victory. But not with him. He had never seen this man, nor had he heard of him. But just one look was enough to tell that he was on a whole different level than anyone else. Probably at the same level as Orochimaru's sensei. Maybe just a bit weaker.
Though Orochimaru never expected to be so popular. It wasn't hard to tell why. They needed him for something to the extent that they would overlook most of the things he would do. But too bad for them. Orochimaru was never taught how to back away from a fight, no matter how hopeless the situation might seem.
…
The Third Hokage must have seen it. No, a better term would be that he sensed it. Otherwise, there would be no reason for him to stop everything from escalating. Hiashi looked up at the stands to see the Third Hokage being treated by Tsunade in secret as the next match was about to begin.
That black thing didn't escape Hiashi's eyes. The moment the Third Hokage moved, Hiashi had activated his Byakugan and observed the situation. He was initially surprised by the speed shown by the Third Hokage, but the surprise disappeared when he saw that black thing.
It was within the culprit, but once the Hokage interfered, it quickly escaped and disappeared into the ground. Even his eyes couldn't follow its movements. And yet, the Third Hokage could sense that being and realize that nothing was as simple as it was.
So, he made a decision that would have cost his life just to make sure things didn't go as they probably would have. Those senses were truly extraordinary, worthy to belong to the God of Shinobi. And already seeing through the enemy plans with just a glance wasn't something many could do.
Hiashi wasn't too concerned about the Hokage, as he knew that everything was under his control, but he was worried about that being and what it was doing here. And how it managed to escape Hiashi's eyes all along.
It came out from the Suna shinobi, but didn't seem to be part of his body. More like it was attached to him, and when things went as they did, it got away. The question was whether that thing was controlling the Suna shinobi, or was it just observing him.
So, rather than concentrating on the scene, he observed everyone else, trying to find clues or see something else suspicious, but it truly seemed that that thing just disappeared into the ground, leaving no traces.
Seeing how calm the Third Hokage was as he rested, Hiashi put his worries aside, too. Many things were lurking in the shadows in this world. He knew of it more than anyone else. But it was his first time realizing who kept those things in the shadows.
He almost laughed out loud. The idea that his clan would have rebelled against a man like him was just ridiculous now. No one ever considered even questioning the First and the Second Hokage, but the Third seemed to be a different matter. At least to his clan members, the Third seemed to be of a softer side.
How blind one has to be not to see that the Third inherited the best attributes of the First and the Second Hokage. He might not show it or say anything about it, but he saw every shadow around him, and he did everything to keep those shadows away from the rest of the village.
Now there was only one thing Hiashi could do, and that was to support the Third Hokage with his full trust. It seemed he had forgotten that he was a shinobi of Konoha first before he was a clan leader. He stayed blinded for far too long, and now he had an idea of how to completely reverse everything his clan had ever done.
…
"Ding!!! Congratulations. Due to your actions, the Hyuga clan's traditions have been broken, and the clan's fate has changed. Ding!!!"
"Ding!!! Congratulations. You have received a random fuinjutsu skill: Self-Cursing Seal. Ding!!!"
Was the system bugged? Hiruzen glanced at the messages before his eyes with suspicion. After all, he had done nothing yet about the Hyuga clan. What was this even about? Hiruzen was way too confused to understand any of it.
He looked up the skill he got out of nowhere, and it was a fuinjutsu that restricted the movements of the one affected by it. Nothing too special, but nothing to scoff at either. Well, anything was better than nothing, so he couldn't complain.
He was more concerned about what happened to the Hyuga clan for this message to appear. It was probably nothing in the end. The Hyuga clan had some trouble, but maybe they realized their wrongdoings and had given up on any plans they had.
As concerned as Hiruzen was with it, as long as it ended nicely, Hiruzen had no problem accepting it. He could only hope that it wouldn't bring more trouble, and he was quite disappointed that all his plans to counter the Hyuga clan were now quite useless.
All his work, countless sleepless hours worrying about them, and in the end, he didn't even need to do anything. He felt quite silly now; he should have trusted his shinobi's sensible thinking and left them to fix their problems alone. There was no need to be scared at all.
It sure was one less thing to worry about. So, he quickly dismissed the message and promised to check on the Hyuga clan later on. He should focus on the fight before him right now. Though he was quite sorry for Iruka.
The kid got wrapped up in this mess because of him. But there was nothing he could do to change the outcome. And even though he regretted his decision in involving him in his plans, there was nothing he could do to change anything right now.
Hiruzen taught Gekko one thing he knew, and it was speed. He did everything to prepare Gekko to win all the fights, so, sadly, Iruka stood no chance. And he would become a stepping stone for Gekko, who will win this tournament.
"What the hell?" Hiruzen only smirked at the Fourth Raikage's expression as he witnessed Gekko Hayate's speed. "A child should not have such capabilities."
The moment the match began, it was over. Not even Shisui with his sharingan could follow Gekko's movement right now. Iruka could only fall to the ground, clutching his stomach with Gekko's sword hilt embedded in.
A.N. Sorry for being absent for a while. Got a new job, so I had to move to another city. And now I had a problem with the internet for a few days. Can only use WIFI from my phone, and it is quite slow. Hopefully, next week I will have everything settled and fixed. Thanks for your patience.
As always. Thanks for reading and supporting me. If you want 7 more chapters of this story and 42 chapters in total with all my current stories, please consider supporting me on pa treon ironworlf852. Thanks in advance.