Chapter 20: Infiltrating Otogakure
In a secret room deep within Otogakure, only a small oil lamp flickered in the corner.
The dim light fell on Kimimaro's pale face, illuminating his sunken eye sockets.
"Cough... cough, cough..."
Every cough brought up fine traces of blood.
This was already the third time this month he had collapsed on this cold bed, all because of that damned Kekkei Genkai illness.
The door was gently pushed open. An Oto-nin in a white lab coat walked in, carrying a medicine bowl. His steps were feather-light, as if afraid of disturbing him.
"Lord Kimimaro, it's time for your medicine," the Oto-nin said cautiously, holding the bowl out. He'd even wrapped his sleeve around the edge, so it wouldn't be too hot.
Kimimaro didn't take it immediately. He just turned his head, staring at the dark brown liquid in the bowl.
The medicine had a pungent, acrid smell. Lord Orochimaru had it specially prepared, claiming it could temporarily suppress the deterioration from his bloodline disease.
But he knew in his heart, it was just a placebo to delay the inevitable.
Last month, he could still barely sit up to drink it. Now, he barely had the strength to lift his hand.
"Is... Lord Orochimaru... still busy?" Kimimaro forced himself to ask, a flicker of hope in his eyes.
In the past, whenever he was sick, Lord Orochimaru would always come to see him. Even if he just stood by the bed and said, "Rest well, you are still useful," it was enough to make him feel that his existence wasn't meaningless.
The Oto-nin paused, thought for a moment, and finally replied, "Lord Orochimaru has been very busy since yesterday. He was organizing data all night and hasn't slept."
"Is that so? Good... as long as he's busy..." Kimimaro comforted himself. He knew, deep down, that as his body deteriorated day by day, Lord Orochimaru's concern lessened with it.
When was the last time he'd seen him? Two weeks ago? Three? That time, his master had only stood at the doorway, glanced at him, and left without a word.
But he felt no hatred.
When he had been abandoned by his clan, starving to death in a cage, it was Lord Orochimaru who brought him out. It was he who told him that a person's value wasn't in the purity of their blood, but in their "usefulness."
It was Lord Orochimaru who taught him to control his Shikotsumyaku, who showed him he wasn't a monster, but a shinobi with a special power.
Even if that "usefulness" was part of a cold calculation, even if he knew this illness would eventually devour him, he accepted it all gladly.
At least he had found someone worthy of his life's loyalty.
"I understand." Kimimaro slowly raised a trembling hand and took the bowl.
The medicine was foul and reeked, but he didn't even frown. He just gulped it down in big swallows, as if drinking his last hope.
Finished, he lay back down and closed his eyes. An image of his last mission flashed in his mind.
He had pierced the enemy's heart with a bone needle. As he watched them fall, he'd seen the flash of approval in Lord Orochimaru's eyes. That was the warmest light he had ever seen in his life.
After Kimimaro finished, the Oto-nin took the bowl, quietly closed the door, and left.
"Truly pathetic..."
In the shadows of the hallway, the Oto-nin's expression was now completely different.
"A boy from the Kaguya clan, abandoned by Orochimaru?"
His shadow rippled unnaturally on the ground. Jiraiya was hidden within it, using his secret technique, "Toad Flat-Shadow Control Jutsu," to completely control the Oto-nin's body.
Ten minutes earlier, Jiraiya had spotted this Oto-nin preparing to deliver the medicine into the secret base. Years of experience told him that following this hurried ninja would lead to a major discovery.
He had already inspected all the surface buildings of Otogakure. Although the village had grown under Orochimaru's leadership, it was still constrained by its population and couldn't shake a strange, unsettling feeling. Beneath the prosperous-looking streets, there was an air of decay.
"Just as I thought..." Jiraiya thought from within the shadow. "Orochimaru hid all his real secrets underground."
The controlled Oto-nin moved mechanically through one hidden door after another. With every corner he turned, Jiraiya could sense the fluctuations of hidden chakra deep within the walls.
They were traps. Some were mechanisms that would spray poison needles. Some were barriers designed to bind intruders. A few of the fluctuations felt... familiar, making his brow furrow.
"Is this... Uzumaki clan sealing jutsu?"
He remembered visiting the Uzumaki clan with Sarutobi-sensei as a child. Mito Uzumaki was still alive then. She had smiled as she taught them to recognize the patterns of sealing formulas, saying, "Our clan's jutsu are for protecting, not for harming."
And now, Orochimaru had twisted those same seals into lethal traps.
"You even learned the Uzumaki's secret techniques?"
Orochimaru's greed truly had no bounds. From Konoha's secret jutsu, to the Kaguya's Shikotsumyaku, and now to the Uzumaki's sealing arts. He was like an insatiable glutton, constantly devouring the heritage of every clan to satisfy his obsession with immortality.
The Oto-nin's steps didn't falter, continuing deeper and deeper underground.
The light in the hallway grew dimmer, with only faint candles flickering every ten meters, stretching the shadows into bizarre shapes.
An eerie cry echoed in the empty hall. It wasn't a beast's roar, nor a human scream, but rather... the sound of some non-human creature, painfully mimicking a human voice.
Jiraiya was warily sensing the chakra fluctuations when, suddenly, the large stone door in front of him, covered in cursed seals, gave a low creak. The heavy door slowly swung inward, and a faint scent of medicinal herbs washed over him.
A round-faced girl walked out from the doorway.
She wore a clean, maroon-colored robe, free of any stains. A thick shimenawa rope was wrapped around her waist, hanging to her knees, with two small bells at the knot that chimed softly as she moved.
Her hair was in a simple bun, with choppy bangs that reached her eyebrows. Her round face was expressionless, but her eyes were exceptionally bright.
Jiraiya, hidden in the shadow, tensed instantly. This girl's aura was too different. She seemed completely out of place in this secret base.
"Medicine delivery?" The girl stopped. Her voice was clear but cold. Her gaze fell on the empty medicine bowl in the "Oto-nin's" hand.
Jiraiya, afraid any hesitation would arouse suspicion, immediately controlled the Oto-nin to nod. "Yes, on Lord Orochimaru's orders. I was delivering medicine to Lord Kimimaro."
"Oh? If you're done, follow me. I have other things for you to do."
The girl left him with those words and turned, heading deeper into the base.
Jiraiya quickly followed. This was a perfect, legitimate opportunity to explore this secret base.