"…"
Orochimaru was startled.
It was understandable that Uchiha Sasuke could sense he wasn't an ordinary person, but to call out his name so plainly was quite surprising!
"Really..."
"This is unexpected."
Orochimaru was somewhat taken aback. Smiling slightly, he reached out to remove his hat and pulled it down over his face: "There are still people in Konoha who remember my name..."
"What's more surprising is..."
"No one in Konoha detected my presence, yet you could recognize me at a glance. This is not something a twelve-year-old kid should be able to do..."
"What surprises me the most..."
"You even knew about my collusion with Kabuto and took the initiative to ask him to see me. This is quite astonishing, don't you think?"
Rip!
Orochimaru's face was torn off in an instant!
Because that face was just a disguise made from human skin, used by Orochimaru to avoid detection by Konoha ninjas. Orochimaru had deceived many, but he didn't expect to be discovered by a kid like Uchiha Sasuke!
Fortunately...
Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura had escaped to another place.
If those two kids saw this scene, they would probably be a bit scared.
However, for Uchiha Sasuke, Orochimaru tearing off his human skin mask was just a small appetizer. He had seen more gruesome scenes...
"Sasuke-kun."
After tearing off the mask, Orochimaru revealed a handsome yet sinister face. His complexion appeared pale, but his snake-like eyes were sharp.
"How exactly did you know my identity?"
Orochimaru smiled, stretching out a finger to push aside Sasuke's blade: "Can you give me an answer to my confusion?"
"..."
Sasuke's eyes widened.
Wait...
What's going on?
It seems like something is wrong!
The person he mentioned to Kabuto was clearly Akihara Kagura, so why did Kabuto bring Orochimaru? Why would he need to meet Orochimaru?
Is Kabuto pretending to be ignorant...
Or...
Has this world's Kabuto never met Akihara Kagura either?
Sasuke's mind was in turmoil. He didn't want to deal with Orochimaru here; he just wanted to find this world's Kabuto immediately!
If this world's Kabuto had never met Akihara Kagura, then Akihara Kagura truly couldn't exist in this world!
Because in the real world, Kabuto and Akihara Kagura were very close, and Kabuto and Karin were the two people Akihara Kagura trusted the most...
"Your mind is in disarray."
Orochimaru's smile broadened, seeing the black-haired boy's unease: "No need to worry. You don't have to answer these questions. Just showing me your excellence is enough, Sasuke-kun..."
"But I'm no longer interested in you."
Sasuke spun his sword in his hand, sheathing it as his Sharingan eyes met Orochimaru's gaze!
In the next moment!
Orochimaru felt his body shrink instantaneously, as if he were in a vast shadow world!
In this immense shadow world, a pair of scarlet eyes rose, watching him from the darkness, making him feel insignificant!
Another genjutsu!
This kid's genjutsu is so strong!
This reminded Orochimaru of the fear he felt when dominated by Uchiha Itachi's Sharingan years ago. But Itachi was the one who massacred his clan, while Sasuke was just a twelve-year-old kid...
And yet...
He still had no way to fight back!
Had he become weaker, or was the Uchiha clan's Sharingan inherently this powerful? Just a mere twelve-year-old kid!
"Orochimaru."
"Can you sense the gap between us?"
Sasuke's voice echoed in the illusionary shadows, coldly saying: "Your power is insignificant in front of the Uchiha clan's Sharingan..."
Along with Sasuke's voice, a giant figure emerged behind the scarlet eyes in the illusion, towering over the tiny Orochimaru like an ant, making Orochimaru's heart race!
"This chakra..."
"This level of spiritual power..."
Orochimaru's mind was filled with immense fear.
He couldn't move his body, only feeling himself being suppressed by a terrifying spiritual force, his soul unable to budge!
Sweat...
Slowly soaked Orochimaru's body...
This kid named Uchiha Sasuke was stronger than his brother Uchiha Itachi, with an even more frightening talent than his brother!
Orochimaru felt his brain becoming chaotic, unable to concentrate, only sensing the oppressive power from his soul!
If Sasuke wanted, he could kill Orochimaru's soul with the Sharingan. Orochimaru's greatest fear was having his life and death out of his control!
But...
This has now become a reality!
The suffocating feeling...
Gradually overwhelmed him...
Orochimaru even had an illusion...
That this twelve-year-old kid could kill him with just a glance from the Sharingan...
No...
This wasn't an illusion!
It was a sharp intuition between life and death!
How enormous must this kid's yin chakra be!
"Take me to Kabuto."
Sasuke's spiritual pressure receded like a tide.
"..."
Orochimaru finally felt the control over his body returning, an illusion of his soul reentering his body!
He raised his hand to steady himself against a nearby tree, instinctively taking deep breaths, savoring the joy of still being alive...
That suffocating helplessness...
Made Orochimaru feel physically drained!
This was an unprecedented feeling!
Orochimaru had fought against the most terrifying leader of the Akatsuki, Pain, and had never felt such an overwhelming helplessness as he just did!
"Just a twelve-year-old kid..."
Orochimaru's breath was weak as he stared at the black-haired boy before him, unwilling to believe what he had just witnessed: "How could he reach such a level..."
"Orochimaru."
"You'd better hurry."
Sasuke raised his hand, casually revealing a hint of killing intent: "Although you're famous in Konoha, killing you is no different from killing an insect in the forest..."
As he finished speaking, a half-meter-long caterpillar fell from the tree, and Sasuke's hand flashed with electricity. A Chidori Senbon formed of lightning instantly pinned the caterpillar to the tree!
"..."
Orochimaru gritted his teeth.
This kid...
Was he threatening him?
Did this kid think winning a genjutsu battle meant winning a ninja fight?
Orochimaru's eyes shifted slightly, and a smile quickly spread across his face, as if the previous fight meant nothing to him, and he leisurely said: "I didn't expect you to want to see Kabuto, but I think finding him in this forest won't be easy..."
"Then you have no value..."
The black-haired boy reached for the sword behind him.
"Young people are so impatient…"
Orochimaru chuckled softly and shook his head, waving a hand at Uchiha Sasuke. "It just takes a little time..."
As Orochimaru spoke, he reached out towards a nearby tree. Small white snakes slithered out of his sleeves, quickly dispersing throughout the Forest of Death.
These snakes moved at a remarkable speed and vanished almost instantly, clearly serving as Orochimaru's tools for locating someone.
"They'll return shortly."
Retracting his hand, Orochimaru looked at Uchiha Sasuke with a smile. "In the meantime, I'm curious, Sasuke-kun, why do you wish to see Kabuto?"
"I have a few questions for him."
Sasuke glanced at Orochimaru, indifferent to revealing his intentions because he knew this man was discreet and only explored secrets on his own.
Looking up, Sasuke gazed at the clear blue sky through the forest canopy. "I thought Yakushi Kabuto would introduce me to a dragon that could only be admired from afar, but instead, he showed me a snake crawling on the ground..."
"Seems I've disappointed you, Sasuke-kun..."
Orochimaru shook his head, his smile bright but subtly dangerous. "However, sometimes, a snake can be more dangerous than a dragon!"
The next moment, Orochimaru's head suddenly elongated!
His neck twisted like a snake, and he bit Sasuke's neck, injecting a mass of dark chakra that formed a tomoe-shaped curse mark on Sasuke's neck. The attack was so unexpected!
Sasuke's eyes widened in shock. He didn't have time to react to Orochimaru's sneak attack, only feeling a burning sensation on his neck.
"You!"
The moment the curse mark was injected, Sasuke's chakra seemed to become unbalanced, paralyzing his body.
"Hiss..."
Orochimaru retracted his head, his smile becoming sinister and slightly pleased. "Don't be afraid, Sasuke-kun. I've simply gifted you a new power..."
"The curse mark."
"This is another power I have developed."
Orochimaru watched Sasuke, who was touching the mark on his neck, and squinted his eyes, making his snake-like pupils even more menacing. "You may not be able to use chakra now, but if you can harness the power of the curse mark, you will become much stronger..."
Of course.
Orochimaru wouldn't tell Sasuke the true purpose of the curse mark, which was to implant a part of his soul and chakra into Sasuke's body. The soul within the curse mark would eventually take over Sasuke's body...
Most importantly, if Orochimaru ever died, he could use the curse mark on Sasuke's neck to resurrect himself.
This was truly a win-win situation.
Sasuke frowned, touching the mark on his neck and feeling the burning power. He casually said, "You didn't kill me. I thought you might take the chance to do so..."
"I couldn't bear to..."
A hint of greed flashed in Orochimaru's eyes as he stared at Sasuke's eyes, slowly licking his lips with his tongue.
How could he? How could he bear to kill such a perfect vessel!
Even if the chances were slim and it might take a very long time, Orochimaru couldn't bring himself to kill Sasuke!
"I just didn't expect..."
Orochimaru giggled, extending his hands, and pointed out Sasuke's flaw. "Sasuke-kun's vigilance is surprisingly low. Perhaps it's because you believe your power always keeps you above others, which made you so careless with me..."
"No."
Sasuke shook his head, casually closing his hands and calmly continued, "An elephant doesn't care if an ant bites its toe. It might even find the ant's efforts amusing..."
"!!!"
Orochimaru's pupils suddenly widened.
He recognized Sasuke's hand seals!
"I also want to show you the gap between us..."
Sasuke raised his eyes to Orochimaru and coldly continued, "To let you see clearly the difference between people from different worlds. Whether it's our full-scale battle or your stealth attacks, they are all trivial tricks to me..."
After completing his hand seals, Sasuke gently pressed his palm on his neck, soothing the burning sensation.
"Ninja Art: Evil Sealing Method!"
The next moment!
A snake's head suddenly emerged from Sasuke's neck!
Sasuke's hand grabbed the snake at its critical point, exerting force between his fingers, and directly strangled the snake that emerged from the curse mark!
In a second...
Sasuke eliminated the curse mark's threat!
This move completely eradicated the soul that Orochimaru had implanted in him!
"!!!"
Orochimaru's face instantly contorted with anger!
Impossible!
The curse mark he painstakingly developed was broken so easily?
"Furthermore..."
"Your power..."
"Is nothing special to me..."
"A power that can be easily replicated and controlled within seconds..."
Sasuke raised his fingers again, sensing the surrounding natural energy within his body. A dark stream of energy flowed down from his fingertips, spreading across his arm!
This was the sign of the curse mark transformation!
A sign of the fusion of natural energy and chakra!
For Sasuke, who once possessed the Six Paths Senjutsu, mastering the curse mark was no trouble, especially as the third-generation Root leader, he had access to all the forbidden techniques in the ninja world. He knew that converting natural energy into a curse mark was the simplest and most practical method!
Sasuke was still contemplating how to expose his hidden powers without arousing suspicion and causing future chaos. He had even considered showing a bit of interest in Orochimaru's curse mark during their continued interactions, but Orochimaru came to him instead...
This was truly...
Playing into his plans!
After all, for Sasuke, finding a way for the world to accept his hidden power without causing future chaos was a tricky matter...
But now...
It wasn't troublesome at all!
"How... can it be!"
Orochimaru was utterly shocked by Sasuke's talent!
If breaking the curse mark showed Sasuke's wisdom in solving complex forbidden techniques, then quickly mastering the curse mark transformation...
Such terrifying talent...
Made Orochimaru feel despair!
Years of his efforts paled in comparison to these geniuses in an instant!
Because his former teammate Jiraiya had mastered a power called Sage Mode, Orochimaru became interested in natural energy. It took him years to barely grasp a bit of using natural energy through the curse mark...
This kid...
Cracked the curse mark within seconds and even developed his own curse mark mode by condensing natural energy?
"Orochimaru, would you like to try?"
A look of contempt appeared in Sasuke's eyes as he coldly spoke to the shocked Orochimaru. "Curse Mark Mode, Second Stage, Activate!"
As he spoke...
Black wings suddenly spread out behind Sasuke!
These black wings shimmered with dark light, their feathers densely packed and radiating a black glow!
"Orochimaru."
Sasuke's body slowly floated up with the flapping of his black wings, allowing the black-haired boy to look down on the taller Orochimaru. "Let your narrow vision witness the true power of your curse mark and fully understand the vast gap between us!"
"To me..."
Sasuke spread his arms, looking down at Orochimaru with an impassive expression, a sign of ultimate contempt for the other person.
"A venomous snake and a worm in the soil are no different..."
"Because neither poses any threat to me."