After being hit by a flurry of sealing jutsu, Orochimaru was quickly forced to cancel the Eight Branches Technique. All ninjutsu need chakra to sustain them—the Eight Branches is no exception.
With his chakra sealed, he couldn't maintain the serpent form. Luckily for them, a sealing jutsu doesn't fail just because the target shrinks back down.
"How is this possible?"
"Orochimaru-sama—the invincible—actually lost?"
"What do we do now?"
The Sound ninja stared at their captured leader, faces cycling through shock and confusion. A moment later, many of Orochimaru's die-hard followers reflexively rushed forward to rescue him, led by Guren and Kaguya Kimimaro.
"If you don't want him to die, then stand still and behave."
Kitazawa leveled Zangetsu at Orochimaru and spoke calmly.
Guren, Kimimaro, and the others froze with sour expressions.
"Orochimaru, let's talk," Tsunade said as she stepped up to her former teammate.
Orochimaru met her eyes and let out a small chuckle. He had expected it to come to this.
"Cat got your tongue?" Tsunade arched a brow.
"…"
Orochimaru opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
"Someone sealed his voice," Kitazawa said after a polite cough. "I'll undo it."
The Sealing Team glanced at each other, wanting to speak up. Obviously, he was the "someone." But no one dared call out Kitazawa, so they kept quiet.
"Go restrain the Sound shinobi," Tsunade waved. There were things she needed to discuss with Orochimaru that weren't for other ears.
"Yes, Hokage-sama," came the chorus. They weren't idiots; they caught the subtext. Everyone except Kitazawa filed out to secure the Sound ninja. With Orochimaru captured, Guren and Kimimaro didn't resist. Everything proceeded smoothly.
"Do we really have anything left to talk about?" Orochimaru said evenly. "Why not just kill me."
"With your personality, you wouldn't say that unless you had a way to come back," Tsunade replied after a beat.
"Tsunade, did becoming Hokage not cure you of sentimentality?" Orochimaru countered. "I'm a Konoha defector. By the rules, you should kill me."
"You've got a resurrection trick. Killing you would be letting you off easy," Tsunade said, unmoved.
Orochimaru fell silent. Dealing with someone who knew you too well was a pain; Tsunade had pierced straight to his real intent.
"You can't keep me locked up forever," he said, licking his lips, confident. "Give me enough time and I'll undo the seals on me."
"I can throw you in a prison covered in seals and have the Sealing Team reinforce them every day," Tsunade snorted. "Think you can still escape?"
"I could just kill myself and be gone," Orochimaru said flatly.
"The Cursed Seal of Heaven," Kitazawa cut in.
Orochimaru's heart jolted, though his face barely changed.
"What's that?" Tsunade asked.
"Sensei, you've seen it—the mark on Anko," Kitazawa answered.
Mitarashi Anko was Orochimaru's second student, and the first to survive the Cursed Seal of Heaven. After Orochimaru defected, Anbu brought Anko back to Konoha and ran all kinds of tests. He had erased her related memories, so she passed. In the original story she even became a chief proctor of the Chūnin Exams. Naturally, Anbu also discovered the cursed mark on her.
"I remember," Tsunade mused. "It lets Anko power up temporarily, but it puts a heavy strain on her body."
"It's not just a power-up. It's also Orochimaru's medium for resurrection," Kitazawa said, unhurried.
"What?" Tsunade's eyes widened.
"How do you know that?" Orochimaru's expression darkened. He was genuinely puzzled; the Cursed Seal being a revival medium was a secret known only to him, and he'd never been forced to use it yet.
"I specialize in Yin Release," Kitazawa improvised. "I sensed an unusual trace within the seal and guessed it was a fragment of your soul."
"Even if you know, so what?" Orochimaru said after two seconds of silence. "You think I have only one bearer of the Cursed Seal of Heaven?"
Tsunade frowned. Anko had been inside Konoha all this time; Orochimaru wouldn't pin everything on her alone. And Konoha couldn't scour the entire world for every bearer.
"Anbu and the Sealing Team are already watching Anko," Kitazawa went on. "If you revive through her, you'll be sealed on the spot."
He lifted Zangetsu.
"Kitazawa, what are you doing?" Tsunade asked.
"Only a genius among geniuses can endure the Cursed Seal of Heaven, plus a decent dose of luck," Kitazawa said with certainty. "I'm confident he hasn't found a second successful bearer."
Tsunade was taken aback. By his ability alone, Orochimaru should have more than one bearer—but Kitazawa had said it, and she trusted him.
"He says he has more than one? Then I'll gamble with him." Kitazawa smiled. "I'll kill him right now."
"…Fine." Tsunade hesitated, then agreed.
Orochimaru's face went pale. A moment ago he'd accused Tsunade of being emotional, and now she'd become ruthless. No—this wasn't on her. This Kitazawa was the outrageous one. Who takes a guess and then executes? He was Orochimaru—too valuable to waste.
But Kitazawa wasn't Tsunade, and he had no sentimental ties to Orochimaru.
Should he gamble?
As he debated, Kitazawa's blade suddenly came down. The edge bit the air, stinging Orochimaru's skin; another heartbeat and his head would be off.
"Wait!"
In the end, Orochimaru didn't dare wager his life. His greatest desire was to learn every jutsu, to study the forces within the human body, to grasp the truth of time. All of that required being alive. If he died, everything—dreams, ambitions—would go up in smoke.
"What do you want to discuss?" he asked, face ugly.
Tsunade's lips quirked. Her student really was exceptional; even Orochimaru could be cowed.
She knew Kitazawa wouldn't truly go for the kill. They had already discussed Orochimaru's disposition: if they didn't execute him, they would make him work for Konoha to repay his crimes. Orochimaru didn't know that—but his will to live outstripped just about anyone's.
"In a sense, this is cooperation," Tsunade said slowly. "Konoha will provide you with equipment and funding. You'll share your results with Konoha."
"The terms?" Orochimaru didn't believe Konoha had suddenly grown so charitable.
"First, you are not to harm Konoha shinobi or civilians, and you will not use them as test subjects," Tsunade said, holding up two fingers. "Second, I'll assign someone to watch you so you don't get any ideas."
"Who?"
"The old man," Tsunade said, voice low. "Someone you know very well."
"...?"
Orochimaru's face filled with question marks. "The old man" was, of course, Sarutobi Hiruzen. You want him babysitting me? Seriously?
Kitazawa couldn't help but grin. He'd thought he was the only one showing "respect" to Orochimaru by layering seals on him; apparently Tsunade was just as thorough.
Having Hiruzen monitor Orochimaru was a brilliant idea. Hiruzen was retired, only dropping by the Academy now and then—plenty of free time. More importantly, he was Orochimaru's teacher and knew him inside out.
Even a shadow clone tailing him would give Orochimaru a massive headache. And just in case, they could add Uchiha Itachi to the escort.
"Let's go. We're heading back to Konoha," Tsunade turned toward Konoha. "The old man will be thrilled to see you."
Orochimaru lapsed into silence. For some reason, the words "go back to Konoha" stirred a complicated feeling in him—part anticipation, part resistance. Maybe… going back wouldn't be so bad. Truthfully, a stable environment to run experiments was all he needed.
Everything he'd done was for his research. In the original story he helped Konoha multiple times during the Fourth Great Ninja War. In the end, Tsunade allowed him to continue his experiments so long as he didn't take lives, and he stayed in the village.
To Kitazawa, this was the butterfly effect arriving early. Whatever the process, the outcome matched, which was why he dared bring Orochimaru back—after all, in canon he behaved himself and even "made" a child of his own.
"Before we leave, there's one more thing," Tsunade said, remembering. "You need to give your Sound ninja an explanation."
"How do you plan to deal with them?" Orochimaru asked after a pause. "Many are talented—they can assist my research."
"Keep the village functioning normally," Tsunade decided. "As for those talented people, we'll bring them back to Konoha."
"I'll go tell them."
Orochimaru headed toward the detained Sound ninja.
"At last, that wraps this up," Tsunade said firmly. "But if he defects again, I won't be gentle."
In truth, handling Orochimaru this way wasn't by-the-book for Konoha. In the original story he earned merit first. Here, his research could be that merit—like the cursed seals. If they could field a Cursed Seal unit, Konoha's power would spike—terrifyingly so. The prerequisite was to raise the success rate and lower mortality.
"With the Third watching him, he won't step out of line," Kitazawa chuckled.
"True," Tsunade said, reassured.
"I've told them," Orochimaru soon returned. "They'll follow Konoha's orders."
"Kitazawa, I'm leaving the Sound Village to you. I'll take Orochimaru back to Konoha first," Tsunade instructed.
"Got it," Kitazawa said, then added, "Take Uchiha clan shinobi with you."
Even wrapped in seals, better to be safe. Tsunade didn't argue. She departed with Orochimaru, Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Itachi, and the others. The rest of Konoha forces stayed under Kitazawa's command.
He looked over the Sound ninja—many uneasy, some perfectly calm, like Kimimaro.
"Who's in charge now?" Kitazawa asked.
"I am," Guren stepped forward. "Orochimaru-sama has temporarily entrusted the Sound Village to me."
There was pride in her tone. For all his flaws, Orochimaru had no shortage of charisma. Many in the Sound were utterly devoted to him. To people like Guren and Kimimaro, being chosen as Orochimaru's vessel was an honor.
In the original story, Guren even grew jealous when Orochimaru picked Uchiha Sasuke as his vessel. Now that she'd been named acting leader, she felt entrusted—and a little happy.
"I need a roster of your ninja, especially the prodigies," Kitazawa said.
"The main building was destroyed. I need time to gather the files," Guren said after thinking. "I'll also need some manpower."
"Approved," Kitazawa said to everything. Without Orochimaru, the Sound wouldn't be kicking up any waves.
"What a waste," he muttered, eyeing the shattered leader's hall. Tsunade stomping a building had looked cool at the time; now it just felt unnecessary. The Sound was, for the moment, basically part of Konoha. Under Guren's lead, the released Sound ninja began rebuilding.
Kitazawa suddenly realized he'd forgotten something—he hadn't brought Yamato. With Wood Release, rebuilding would have been much faster.
[Current Mission: Capture Orochimaru alive.]
[Mission Reward: Eight Branches Technique.]
[Mission completed. Reward issued.]
Three lines flashed before Kitazawa's eyes, followed by a surge of information. In an instant he mastered the Eight Branches. Its capabilities matched Orochimaru's form: first, a kind of undying body; second, tremendous defense; third, terrifying offense from sheer size.
In short, against ordinary ninja it was practically unstoppable. Against those few who could suppress tailed beasts, it didn't mean much. Its biggest flaw was being unable to use jutsu while transformed.
If it could, it might really reach bijū-class—since bijū can fire Tailed Beast Bombs and the like. Kitazawa's mind itched with ideas for improvements, but he didn't have the time yet.
"Kitazawa-sama."
An hour later, Guren returned and handed him a scroll. Kitazawa nodded and unrolled it—the current roster of Sound ninja and their prodigies.
He skimmed it and spotted a familiar name: Tayuya—the red-haired girl from the Sound Five, adept at summoning and genjutsu. Notably, her genjutsu was sound-based, luring targets into illusions with her flute.
He closed the scroll. Of the Sound Five, only Kimimaro and Tayuya were listed. The other three weren't there. As for the rest, people like Sakon and Ukon and Kidōmaru were just ordinary chūnin—not worth special attention.
Jugo, though, was valuable—the source of the cursed seals, born able to enter Sage Transformation. Put simply, he went berserk where natural energy was dense. Because of that, he had a split personality—mild most of the time, a murderous rampager when saturated with nature energy.
"Bring Kimimaro, Tayuya, and Jugo here," Kitazawa told Guren.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sama," she said. Orochimaru had already told her to follow Kitazawa's orders, so her deference came naturally.
Moments later, Kimimaro, Tayuya, and Jugo stood before him. Kimimaro's face was impassive. Jugo was silent. Tayuya, on the other hand, glared at him, furious. Kitazawa recalled her canon temperament—combative, stubborn, sharp-tongued, a classic little gremlin. He was the man who felled Orochimaru; of course she wouldn't be friendly. That was fine. A good thrashing would clarify reality.
"Orochimaru told me you three have real talent. Staying in the Sound would only waste it, so you're transferring to Konoha's Ninja Academy," Kitazawa said with a smile. Orochimaru had said no such thing, but for Kimimaro, Jugo, and Tayuya, it would land.
"I'll go," Kimimaro answered at once.
Jugo nodded.
"Fine, I'll go too," Tayuya huffed. "I'm going to rescue Orochimaru-sama!"
"Just you? That'll never happen in your lifetime," Kitazawa said bluntly.
"I absolutely can!" Tayuya shot back, eyes blazing. "I'm a genius personally recognized by Orochimaru-sama!"
[You have received a challenge from the transfer student Tayuya.]
[Current Mission: Defeat Tayuya.]
[Mission Reward: Demonic Flute: Phantom Sound Chains.]
Kitazawa arched a brow. A system Mission trigger meant bringing her into the Advanced Class was the right move. If Tayuya passed muster, Kimimaro and Jugo certainly did.
"And you two?" He clenched his fist lightly. "She alone isn't my match. With you, you might have a shot."
"Kimimaro, don't you want to make him pay for Orochimaru-sama?" Tayuya piled on at just the right moment.
~~~
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