As Ye Zi and his companions left, he destroyed the laboratory. The commotion it caused immediately drew the attention of the people in the castle of the Land of Grass. Soon after, the news of the daimyo's death in his bedroom spread throughout the castle.
In the silent night, the castle became as turbulent as boiling water.
The castle's guards gathered quickly, surrounding Ye Zi, Nanako, and Sakana. Though there were many of them, most were just strong ordinary men with some ninjas mixed in, but their abilities were mediocre.
Seeing so many people, Yu, whose chakra reserves were low, grew nervous. Instinctively, she moved to protect Nanako.
The sound of clashing weapons and heavy breathing filled the air, creating a tense atmosphere.
At that moment, Ye Zi stepped forward, and in the blink of an eye, appeared 50 meters away. The crowd stirred, and the solemn atmosphere quickly turned into one of deadly tension.
The weak can never truly comprehend the vast gap between themselves and the strong—a chasm that can never be crossed.
Summoning Jutsu.
Ye Zi slammed his hand onto the ground, and a burst of white smoke erupted. From within the smoke, the voice of Shokui could be heard. His large figure became visible as the smoke dispersed.
Amidst the terrified stares of the crowd, a massive yellow arm swung through the smoke, splitting it in two and revealing part of his form.
"That's... a monster!" someone cried out, collapsing to the ground in fear, while others fled in panic.
How could they possibly fight such a giant creature?
"Take care of them," Ye Zi said as he led the shocked Nanako and Sakana forward, leaving the situation behind.
"They're just trash," Shokui muttered, glancing at the fleeing humans. He was dissatisfied, sensing only negligible energy from them.
It was rare for Ye Zi to allow him to devour living humans, yet these were just insignificant people—barely enough to fill his stomach, if that.
As Ye Zi and his companions exited the castle, Shokui wreaked havoc behind them, destroying the buildings. The terrified people ran, but none could escape his grasp.
Under the heavy moonlight, the crashing of collapsing structures and the screams of despair echoed through the night. The ordinary residents of the city, watching from afar, were so stunned they nearly stopped breathing. Overwhelmed by fear, they scrambled to flee.
Ye Zi, Nanako, and Sakana walked calmly through the chaos, as if they belonged to a different world entirely.
"Was all this necessary?" Nanako couldn't help but ask.
Ye Zi gazed ahead, his dark eyes devoid of any compassion for the fleeing civilians. The cries and shouts around him did not reach his ears. His eyes remained fixed on the path before him, calm and indifferent.
"Remember, this is nothing more than... a trivial matter to me."
His cold voice carried a tone that seemed foreign to the person Nanako once knew.
Ye Zi quickened his pace slightly, but still walked slowly, only to accommodate Nanako and Sakana. Otherwise, he would have had no reason to linger in this chaotic scene.
Nanako felt a chill in her heart and hurried to follow. She suddenly realized that during their time apart, something had changed in Ye Zi—something she couldn't quite understand.
She couldn't pinpoint what had changed, but if walking alongside him meant following him down this path, then it didn't matter.
Suppressing the unease in her heart, Nanako forced herself to ignore the cries and the crashing of collapsing buildings.
Once they had left the capital of the Land of Grass, Ye Zi dismissed Shokui back to the other dimension, without concern for Shokui's dissatisfaction.
As the chaos in the Land of Grass's capital began to subside, it grew smaller and smaller behind them.
From this moment, subtle changes had begun...
.....
The Land of Fire, Konoha Village, Root's Headquarters.
The dark and quiet base was lit only by weak candlelight, the cold stone walls amplifying the silence.
Footsteps echoed through the corridors, multiplying in volume, while shadows moved in and out of the darkness.
The maze-like passageways led to various rooms, with one leading to a particularly secluded and heavily-guarded chamber—Orochimaru's hidden underground lair, far from the sunlight.
Orochimaru passed through the corridor, stopping in front of a heavy iron door. Pressing his hand against it, he pushed, and with a low creak, the door opened. A faint smell of blood wafted out.
Inside, the room was brightly lit.
On the right side of the room was a row of torture racks, each holding a lifeless corpse. There were more than fifty bodies, each beneath a pool of dried blood, indicating that the corpses had been dead for some time. Oddly, none had decayed.
On the left side of the room were various instruments, tools, and shelves filled with containers. In the center, several tanks filled with liquid, similar to those in Nanako's lab, lined the walls.
On one of the tables lay a boy around ten years old, his breathing weak, as if he were in a deep coma.
Orochimaru, expressionless, approached the table and picked up a scalpel and forceps. His snake-like eyes glinted coldly.
The sharp blade of the scalpel pressed against the boy's chest and sliced downward. Blood splattered onto Orochimaru's face, and he licked the closest drops with his long tongue before continuing the dissection without a hint of emotion.
To uncover the mysteries of the human body, one must collect data from all kinds of subjects, covering all age ranges. This painstaking work required immense time and effort.
The reason Nanako believed working with Orochimaru would speed up their research was precisely because a single person's time and energy were limited. Likewise, Orochimaru had once considered making Nanako his assistant, but due to Danzo's involvement, he had abandoned the idea.
Now, however, Orochimaru had found a promising child, though the boy was still far from becoming his assistant.
Bang.
The iron door opened again.
Orochimaru didn't look up, continuing his dissection with deft hands.
Danzo entered the room, approaching Orochimaru from behind. "Hiruzen has taken notice of you," Danzo said flatly.
"Oh?" Orochimaru's hands didn't falter. His lips curled into a faint, cold smile. "That old man can't seem to stay quiet, even after stepping down."
Danzo glanced at the numerous corpses in the room, his voice cold. "After all, some things can't be entirely hidden in the village. It's best to find a hidden place outside the village. If you had become Hokage, you wouldn't need to worry about such things."
Orochimaru's reputation was solid, but he lacked popular support. Even just a little more could have made a difference.
Danzo's eyes flashed with resentment. If it weren't for Orochimaru's lack of widespread support, he might have become Hokage.
In reality, the reason Orochimaru wasn't chosen as Hokage was simple—Hiruzen had recognized his ambition long ago. Even if Orochimaru had gained more support, he would never have been made Hokage.
Orochimaru scoffed at Danzo's words, his hands pausing for a moment. His tone was laced with sarcasm. "Since you can't cover for me, I'll set up a hidden base outside the village."
Danzo ignored the sarcasm in Orochimaru's voice, nodding slightly. His left hand brushed over his bandaged right arm as he said, "That would be best. Stop your actions for now."
The "actions" Danzo referred to were the abductions of ninjas for live experimentation.
"Alright," Orochimaru responded coldly.
With that, Danzo turned and left the room.
The iron door shut again, sealing off the room from the outside world.
"An outside base?" Orochimaru let out a cold, silent laugh, his snake-like eyes gleaming with malice.
He had already established a secret base outside the village that no one knew about. Even in his dealings with Danzo, he had hidden much from him.
All of this was just preparation for opening the gates to true knowledge. His ultimate goal was always what lay beyond those gates.
As for the village, comrades, humanity—compared to the truth, they were insignificant, like dust.
For a moment, the images of Ye Zi and Orochimaru seemed to overlap.
Some had said that Ye Zi and Orochimaru were very similar.
And they were right.
Those people were Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Tsunade...
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Currently on Chapter 276 - Surrounded by The Enemy