"Ugh!" Sasuke grunted. The strength of an unweakened Orochimaru exceeded his expectations. Even though he knew Orochimaru's jutsu well, with Orochimaru's soul intact and his body in good condition, the power gap between them was evident. Even when Orochimaru hesitated to go all out on Sasuke due to their shared body, Sasuke still got injured in their fight.
"It's over," both Orochimaru and Sasuke said simultaneously. Orochimaru said it aloud because he was about to take over Sasuke's body, while Sasuke thought it inside because he saw the opportunity for victory arriving. Once they entered Orochimaru's created dimensional space, seizing control of the body would depend not on their physical strength but on their mental energy and soul strength.
Thus, without the gap in their powers, despite Orochimaru's soul being strengthened through multiple reincarnations, Sasuke, with over a 90% chance, could counterattack and devour Orochimaru's soul, not only eliminating Orochimaru but also gaining his power. This would enable Sasuke to reach the level of a pseudo-Kage, although becoming a full-fledged Kage was not something he could achieve. If he had the strength of a Kage after devouring Orochimaru, he wouldn't have to rely on his Mangekyo Sharingan to fight and wouldn't be as badly beaten. However, even with Orochimaru's power, his body and spirit couldn't handle everything a Kage-level opponent could dish out, so reaching the level of a quasi-Kage was the best outcome.
(In addition, even if he devoured Orochimaru, he wouldn't fully absorb him. He would suppress Orochimaru's soul within his body, gaining some of his power but not all. If Orochimaru's soul were to die, any power Sasuke hadn't absorbed yet would also disappear. The power he already obtained would remain.)
However, it was already enough. Once he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, he would have quasi-Kage-level power, combined with the power he gained from Orochimaru and his own abilities, along with the coordination of his Mangekyo Sharingan. He would be able to hold his own against most Kage-level opponents.
Of course, it was only enough for a single battle. If his Mangekyo Sharingan failed to hit or kill the opponent, then facing a Kage-level opponent, even a relatively average one, would mean being rescued, fleeing, or waiting to be killed.
"So, this is your jutsu?" Sasuke knew this was his chance to win. No matter how strong Orochimaru was, as long as his soul had defects and he tried to use the reincarnation technique on himself, that would be Orochimaru's downfall. Sasuke had been waiting for this opportunity.
"Great, one step closer to achieving my ultimate goal of obtaining the perfect body. As long as I have your eyes…" Orochimaru was surrounded by a disgusting and repulsive mass of flesh that continuously wriggled around him. It was really nauseating to watch.
The masses of flesh from both of them finally connected, and Orochimaru showed excitement. Although this body wasn't his current most desired one, it had been his most desired one in the past. It was a goal he had fulfilled.
"No matter what jutsu you use, it's useless before my eyes," Sasuke said, seemingly feeling that victory was close at hand. Even though his own eyes were just average, the problem was that the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan possessed the ability to counter techniques like the reincarnation technique.
As a result, the cursed seal marks appeared on Sasuke's body, and a deep red light emerged. The surrounding masses of flesh began turning pitch-black at a visible speed, as if they were being constantly corroded by the power of the eyes. In reality, all the strength and jutsu here were redundant. Only the collision of pure mental energy and the clash of souls mattered. Whoever's mental strength couldn't hold on would be defeated.
Although Orochimaru had undergone multiple reincarnations and wasn't as weak and pitiful as in the original story, his soul was still damaged. On the other hand, Sasuke possessed the three tomoe Sharingan and already had a strong mental energy. With the power amplification from the three tomoe, the black light quickly corroded the nauseating red masses of flesh.
"Even though it's just the three tomoe Sharingan, it's truly powerful. If my soul, which was sealed by the Dead Demon, hadn't been recovered and then resurrected, maybe you could have overwhelmed me with your counterattack. But now, it's not that simple," Orochimaru said. At this moment, Orochimaru wasn't as weak as in the original story. As they say, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse, and Orochimaru had slimmed down, but not to the exaggerated extent as in the original story.
As a result, the red and black masses of flesh began tearing at each other, indicating that the two of them were in close mental combat with no distance between them.
"How can this be?" Sasuke's face changed slightly. It was impossible. With the power of his Sharingan and his mental energy, he should have an overwhelming advantage in this space that ignored their physical strength. How could they be evenly matched?
"It's a pity you are still a little lacking. If your strength were greater, or your mental energy stronger, or if I had resurrected one more time, then I would have been in real trouble. But now, victory is still mine."
Orochimaru was extremely relieved at this moment. If he hadn't desperately convinced Tsunade to help him recover the soul sealed by the Dead Demon and avoided another reincarnation, his current self would have been either devoured or suppressed by Sasuke within his body, with no chance to fight back.
"Darn it!" Sasuke realized for the first time that things were not as easy as he had imagined. Despite knowing Orochimaru so well and trying to control Orochimaru's damaged soul, with the influence of this space that ignored the power gap, Orochimaru was still an old-school Kage-level powerhouse, with a strong mental energy even with a damaged soul.
Sasuke had the Sharingan, and Orochimaru had this space as his home ground. At this moment, the two of them were evenly matched, fighting on equal terms. However, Orochimaru, with the advantage of the home ground, began to gradually press Sasuke, making the previously indifferent expression on Sasuke's face disappear, replaced by an ugly and grimacing look.