"Jūgo," Orochimaru said, revealing a name Anko couldn't figure out no matter how hard she thought.
Kagetsu, on the other hand, glanced at Orochimaru with a strange expression. Even though his memory wasn't entirely clear, he still remembered some key people and events.
Jūgo—that was the foundation of Orochimaru's research!
Almost all of Orochimaru's later experiments started with Jūgo. Thanks to him, Orochimaru was able to create the incomplete Curse Mark, improve his Reanimation Jutsu, and take a big step toward immortality.
In Kagetsu's view, the Curse Mark and Reanimation Jutsu were basically a weaker version of the Otsutsuki clan's Kāma, which they used to resurrect themselves. The only thing limiting Orochimaru was his body and chakra, which weren't quite up to the task yet.
This showed just how brilliant Orochimaru's research talent was.
The only problem was that his vision was still too limited, which made him overly obsessed with the power of the Sharingan later on.
As for how Orochimaru, who had been in the village, knew about what was happening in the outside world, Kagetsu didn't even bother to think about it.
A ninja of Orochimaru's level was bound to have underlings who handled dirty work for him or loyal followers who gathered and reported all sorts of information.
What surprised Kagetsu, though, was that Orochimaru had already surpassed Jiraiya and was well on his way to becoming the kage-level powerhouse of a new generation of shinobi.
Too bad he eventually missed out on the most valuable thing in the Land of Rain.
Ninjas can travel quickly, and if it weren't for Orochimaru having to accommodate Kagetsu and Anko, he could've gone even faster. After several days of travel, they finally reached their destination.
"This place…" Anko shifted uncomfortably as they stopped in front of a rundown village. Suddenly, she glanced toward the dense forest to her left.
"I've found you!" Anko pulled out a kunai from her pouch, and with a swift motion, threw it into a specific spot in the forest.
Clang!
The kunai hit something hard in the forest and bounced away. A shadow, riding the wind, leaped out from the trees.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Orochimaru, having anticipated this, used the Body Flicker Technique, and the three of them instantly vanished from their spot. In the next second, the ground where they had just stood was smashed by a heavy force, leaving a large crater.
"That looks a lot like Lady Tsunade's chakra enhanced strength," Anko muttered, her eyes twitching as she saw the damage. If that hit her, even if she had mastered the Armor Mode, she wasn't sure she'd survive—let alone now, when she hadn't yet mastered it.
She turned her gaze to the shadow that emerged as the dust settled. She wanted to see who dared to attack the three of them head-on.
"Die, all of you!"
A violent roar filled the air. The young man, half of his body already transformed with strange limbs, looked at Kagetsu and the others with eyes full of madness.
Swoosh!
The young man's figure vanished from where he stood, then came crashing down towards Kagetsu and her group like a cannonball.
Another huge crater formed. At the center stood the young man, eyes scanning them like a wolf searching for its prey.
"Don't run! Let me kill you! If I kill you, I can finally find peace!" the young man muttered incoherently, looking for the three of them.
Blood Mode: Activate.
Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!
From the shadows, a scorching column of fire erupted, hitting the young man before he could dodge. The flames spread wildly, turning the area around him into a sea of fire.
The fire raged for a full ten seconds before it finally died down.
Anko, breathing heavily, stared at the still-burning ground and muttered, "Is he... dead?"
"Unfortunately, no," Kagetsu and Orochimaru exchanged a glance, stepping forward to shield Anko behind them.
"Damn it, that hurts!"
The young man's furious shout scattered the surrounding flames, revealing him once again. His body bore signs of severe burns, but strangely, he was rapidly healing his wounds by consuming an immense amount of chakra.
At the same time, his body was transforming even further, almost completely.
If he still resembled a human before, now he looked more like a wild beast. His skin had thickened into a protective layer, both insulating him from heat and increasing his defense.
As he spoke, steam began to shoot out from the holes on his body, dispersing the heat.
"What... is that?" Anko couldn't believe what she was seeing. She had never encountered or even heard of anything like this.
Could it be some kind of unknown Kekkei Genkai (Bloodline Limit)?
Anko couldn't help but wonder. From what she knew, the most logical explanation was that this was some sort of unique Kekkei Genkai.
"More power!"
The mutated boy attacked again.
Suddenly, a giant golden snake, as thick as an adult's thigh, sprang out from Orochimaru's sleeve. It coiled around the mutated boy rapidly, wrapping him up in layers and lifting him into the air.
"It seems his mental state has been deeply affected; communication is impossible now," Orochimaru said, looking at the boy, whose body and even golden eyes were filled with madness and bloodthirst.
Orochimaru seemed a bit bored.
"A beast with no intelligence, no matter how strong, is still just a beast. Besides, it's not as powerful as expected."
Genjutsu Binding!
Pulling the mutated boy closer, Orochimaru immediately used a genjutsu on him.
Genjutsu Binding, although a D-rank genjutsu, forces the target to confront their deepest fears, manifesting their inner terror. The stronger the fear within the target, the more intense the impact of Genjutsu Binding.
Under the effect of Orochimaru's genjutsu, the mutated boy had almost no resistance and fell into a mental breakdown, eventually losing consciousness due to the overwhelming shock.
At the same time, the mutated parts of his body began to slowly fade away, revealing a face that seemed somewhat youthful.
"It looks like he's quite lucky," Orochimaru said with interest, observing the unconscious boy, his long tongue licking his lips.
"He's been found right away."
"Eh?" Anko poked her head out from behind, looking at the boy lying on the ground in surprise. "Is he the person you were looking for, Sensei, the one named Jugo? Why is he like this? Is it some kind of bloodline limit?"
"No, his body has mutated from prolonged exposure to a high concentration of natural energy. His loss of control is due to the natural energy surging and affecting his mind." Orochimaru clearly had enough information.
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