Chapter 63: The Serpent's Death
Susanoo, wielding the Ten-Fist Sword, swung down, and in less than ten seconds, seven of the eight heads of the Eight-Branched Technique were severed. Only one head remained.
The remaining white phosphorus great serpent raised its head high, its mouth wide open, and a figure crawled out from within the serpent's mouth—it was a completely naked Orochimaru.
Orochimaru lay inside the serpent's mouth, covered in saliva. As soon as he appeared, he let out a sinister laugh, opened his mouth wide, and spat out a sword.
"This guy always likes to spit things out of his mouth. Disgusting."
White Zetsu frowned, seemingly quite nauseated by Orochimaru.
"What needed to appear has finally appeared."
Itachi, enveloped in Susanoo, had a smile on his face. Without wasting any words on Orochimaru, he directly pierced Orochimaru's body with the Ten-Fist Sword.
*Pfft.*
Blood splattered. Orochimaru's chest was pierced by the Ten-Fist Sword, but he didn't seem to care.
"An attack of this level thinks it can—what?!"
Orochimaru's smile froze. As the Ten-Fist Sword retracted into its hilt, his soul was gradually drawn into the sword.
Twenty seconds after Orochimaru's appearance, he was honorably sealed by the Ten-Fist Sword.
If anyone had paid close attention to the sealing scene, they would have noticed that Orochimaru wasn't actually sealed. Before the white phosphorus great serpent was sealed, it split off a small white snake. The small snake hid among the rubble—that was the Orochimaru who had escaped.
At this moment, Orochimaru was extremely weak. Even a Jonin could easily kill him.
After Itachi 'sealed' Orochimaru, he began coughing up large amounts of blood. Although Sasuke had very little chakra left, his body was vastly different. Orochimaru inside him had been removed, and the curse mark had been stripped away. In other words, Sasuke now had nothing to do with Orochimaru. Orochimaru had wasted three years training Sasuke, and all the benefits had been obtained by Sasuke.
After coughing up several mouthfuls of blood, Itachi's Susanoo could barely be maintained, reduced to just a skeletal frame.
Itachi, with Susanoo active, slowly approached Sasuke. Sasuke didn't back down; he drew his sword and charged forward.
But Sasuke wasn't Su Xiao. He couldn't fight Itachi with just a sword. He leaped up and stabbed at Susanoo, but as expected, he couldn't even break through Susanoo's defense and was sent flying.
The Kusanagi sword stuck into the ground. Sasuke rolled several times before crashing into a ruined wall.
When Sasuke stood up, Itachi was already in front of him. Three blood-covered fingers reached out, making a motion as if to gouge out his eyes.
At that moment, Sasuke's legs trembled uncontrollably, and his eyes widened. He was afraid.
Itachi's eyes narrowed, and a faint smile appeared on his lips. His life force was growing weaker and weaker, almost reaching the brink of death.
Itachi's mouth opened and closed, seemingly saying something, but Sasuke didn't catch it.
Itachi's two fingers tapped Sasuke's forehead. His Mangekyo Sharingan began to spin, consuming a large amount of chakra.
Susanoo suddenly dissipated. Itachi's body leaned forward, his forehead hitting the ruined wall Sasuke was leaning against. With a dull thud, Itachi's body slowly slid to the ground.
Sasuke stood frozen in place. He seemed to have heard what Itachi said before he died, yet also seemed not to have.
"Forgive me, Sasuke. This is the last time."
Those were the words Itachi said before his death. Sasuke couldn't believe Itachi would say such a thing, so he suspected he had misheard.
"The battle between the two brothers is over. It's time for us to step in."
Su Xiao jumped down from a tree and walked toward the battlefield.
At this moment, Sasuke had also reached his limit. He vaguely saw someone approaching him. Before he could make out the person's face, darkness enveloped him, and he collapsed. He faintly heard two people talking.
"I'll handle Itachi's corpse. I'll take Sasuke with me as well."
"Alright. I'll take that snake."
"Oh? It seems Orochimaru is going to fall into your hands."
"I just want to get some information from him. Killing him is difficult. Even if I kill this snake, Orochimaru isn't someone who dies so easily."
"Makes sense..."
Before completely losing consciousness, Sasuke vaguely felt someone hoisting him up.
Obito, carrying Sasuke on his shoulder, placed one hand on the back of Itachi's corpse.
"If everything goes smoothly, Sasuke will be our new member. I'll meet you at the agreed-upon location. I'll tell this kid the truth. Don't you want to come see his expression?"
"Not interested."
The space around Obito twisted, and he disappeared.
Su Xiao held a glass test tube several dozen centimeters long, inside which was a white snake.
"Orochimaru, let's talk."
Su Xiao looked at the white snake in the test tube. Inside this snake resided Orochimaru's soul.
The white snake thought for a moment, its head enlarged slightly, and it actually spoke in human language.
"Fine. But don't think you can threaten me."
It was Orochimaru's voice.
The battle between Itachi and Sasuke was over. With Itachi holding back, Sasuke unsurprisingly won.
The Orochimaru in Su Xiao's hand was an unexpected gain. Even if he killed this white snake, Orochimaru wouldn't die. But if the white snake was killed, it would take some time for Orochimaru to revive.
Leaving the battlefield with Bubu Wang, Su Xiao followed Orochimaru's guidance and found a laboratory.
Inside the lab, Su Xiao sat on a wooden chair and placed the test tube on the experimental table. Bubu Wang curiously examined the 'rare creature' inside the test tube.
"What do you want to gain?"
Orochimaru's voice was low, and his snake eyes showed some dejection. At this point, even if he were stupid, he would realize this was a setup by Itachi. And Orochimaru wasn't stupid.
Whether it was using the Sharingan to instantly kill him, or later taking Sasuke away and training him, it was all a scheme by Itachi.
Itachi had originally entrusted Sasuke to the Third Hokage. But when the Third was killed by Orochimaru, Itachi immediately appeared in Konoha right after the Third's death. That was a warning to Danzo: he wasn't dead yet, and if Danzo dared to touch his brother, there would be consequences.
This was Itachi's delaying tactic. He knew about Danzo's greed for the Uchiha clan's power. He could suppress Danzo for a time, but not forever.
Moreover, Sasuke had no good teacher in Konoha. Itachi's original agreement with the Third Hokage was that when Sasuke reached a certain age and the Third had stepped down, the Third would take Sasuke as his disciple. The Third's character and teaching ability were trustworthy—the Three Sannin were the best example. But after the Third's death, only Kakashi could teach Sasuke. Itachi knew Kakashi's level well. He might be able to train Sasuke to Jonin level, but Kage level was absolutely impossible.
So Itachi pulled out a contingency plan he had prepared in advance: Orochimaru.
As one of the Three Sannin, Orochimaru was a top-tier teacher. Even Itachi had to admit his teaching ability was superior.
How could he ensure Orochimaru would wholeheartedly teach Sasuke without performing strange modifications on him? The identity of a new vessel was more than enough.
If Orochimaru trained Sasuke as his new vessel, the meaning was different. Who would be stingy with their own future body? So Sasuke received countless precious resources.
Thinking of this, Orochimaru flicked his tongue, his furious snake eyes almost spitting fire.
"Damn Itachi! Using me like this!"
After a long while, Orochimaru calmed down. His will wasn't so easily shaken.
In the Naruto world, some believed in ninjutsu, some in taijutsu, some in senjutsu. But Orochimaru was different—he believed in science!
"Itachi is dead. He died after accomplishing all his goals. Even if you want revenge, you have no chance. You lost, and that's that."
Su Xiao understood Itachi's intelligence, so he didn't involve himself in Itachi's plans. He only had brief contact with Itachi and only appeared at the final battle to avoid being used.
"Yes, I lost, and there's no excuse. Speaking of which, Bai Ye, what exactly do you want from me?"
Here came the main topic. Su Xiao stared at Orochimaru.
"I want information about Hashirama's cells. How to remove the Wood Release component from Hashirama's cells."
"Hashirama's cells? Heh, so that's what you're after. Telling you isn't a big deal. Removing the Wood Release component is simple..."
Su Xiao waved his hand.
"Not the cells after Hashirama's death. The original Hashirama cells from your records."
"What? You got that thing? That was just a concept."
"Yes, I got it."
Silence fell in the lab.
"Removing the Wood Release component from original Hashirama cells is very difficult, but not impossible. You have to agree to one condition."
"What condition? Helping you revive?"
"No, on the contrary. Announce to the outside world that I'm dead. The Akatsuki's plan should be starting soon, right? How many tailed beasts have you captured?"
Su Xiao hesitated for a moment, then wrote the number 7 on the experimental table.
"That many? Then I should definitely 'die.' Only by dying will no one pay attention to me. To become the final victor, this is the best method. Itachi, I won't lose this round."
After Orochimaru gave an address, the white snake exploded, and the test tube was filled with blood and flesh.
Kabuto had already inherited many of Orochimaru's things and become his best vessel. Training Kabuto was Orochimaru's wisest choice.
PS: (Only two chapters today. Only slept four hours. Going to sleep~)