Sasuke lazily stretched, letting out a big yawn as he slowly climbed out of bed.
With sleepy eyes, he dragged his heavy steps, swaying slightly as he walked into the washroom.
After entering, Sasuke casually picked up a toothbrush, squeezed on some toothpaste, and began brushing his teeth in a mechanical way.
Then he turned on the tap, scooped up some water, and splashed it onto his face, planning to wake himself up a bit.
However, the moment he lifted his head and looked at the mirror, his entire body seemed to be hit by a paralysis jutsu, freezing instantly in place.
Because on his face and neck, the turtle drawings were still clearly there.
This kind of paint was originally used as disguise during missions, and it basically wouldn't come off easily.
On his way back yesterday, quite a few clan members had already seen him.
Naturally, he received quite a few strange smiles.
Even though there were many Mangekyo Sharingan users in Sasuke's family, the odd smiles from the clan members still made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
At his age, Sasuke still cared a lot about his appearance. With a face full of turtles, forget about acting cool.
He couldn't even bring himself to go outside.
"Ahhhh!"
Sasuke let out a few frustrated shouts, then headed to the dining room.
———
Mikoto and Fugaku were already at the table.
Fugaku had already known about this since yesterday, so he wasn't particularly surprised when he saw Sasuke's appearance.
Mikoto said in surprise, "Sasuke, why haven't you wiped off the drawings on your face yet?"
Sasuke sat down gloomily, "Shishou said I can only wipe them off after I beat my opponent."
Seeing so many turtles on her son's face up close, Mikoto couldn't help but smile.
"Since it was the clan head who said it, then you'll just have to work hard, son."
Although Fugaku's eyesight wasn't very good anymore, with glasses he could still see clearly.
Even though he usually kept a stern expression, there was a faint smile at the corner of his mouth today.
He didn't often get to see Sasuke in such an embarrassing state.
Even though Fugaku and Mikoto didn't say much, Sasuke still felt like he was being stared at from all sides.
———
With a face full of ridiculous turtle drawings, Sasuke arrived at Orochimaru's laboratory.
With his status, he could come and go freely, but he still felt like everyone around him was laughing at him.
When Sasuke arrived, there were quite a few people already there.
Aside from Rengoku and Orochimaru, Itachi was there too.
"Shishou, Lord Orochimaru, Nii-san…"
Sasuke lowered his head awkwardly, not daring to look at Itachi.
Although Itachi already knew about the turtle drawings, seeing them in person today still made the corner of his mouth lift slightly.
Since this was Sasuke's engraving, Itachi was somewhat nervous.
This experiment was also related to collecting a lot of data.
If Sasuke succeeded, gathering more data would gradually lower the difficulty of the engraving method, and in the future, the threshold for cultivating Sage Arts would also be reduced.
Rengoku crossed his arms, his expression serious.
"I've already told you before, the engraving method currently carries a high level of risk."
"But since you have the resolve, Orochimaru and I will help you achieve it."
"Remember, life and death are up to fate!"
Sasuke seemed to be affected by Rengoku's serious tone, but his face still carried a confident smile.
"Yes, Shishou! Please don't worry, I will definitely survive!"
Rengoku gave Orochimaru a look, "I'll leave it to you."
Orochimaru looked Sasuke up and down, a playful expression appearing on his face.
"Wipe off what's on your face first."
The confidence Sasuke had just built up was immediately replaced by embarrassment.
Rengoku laughed outright, "Wipe it off today. The engraving is more important."
Kabuto quickly brought makeup remover and wiped away all the turtle drawings from Sasuke's face and neck.
Orochimaru led Sasuke into an inner room, "Strip."
Sasuke paused for a moment, but still did as he was told and took off all his clothes.
"In a moment, I'll use a modified curse mark to carve a Sage Art imprint onto your body, forming a circuit that can absorb natural energy."
"You need to endure the pain while I'm engraving it. You cannot pass out."
"If you lose consciousness, the imprint will become disordered, and you will die."
At this point, Sasuke had no way out, "I'll leave it to you, Lord Orochimaru."
Orochimaru's hands moved rapidly, forming seals one after another, as a large number of symbols gathered in his palms.
He grabbed the prepared material beside him and pulled it outward.
The black symbols turned into straight lines, both horizontal and vertical, appearing in midair.
In the end, they formed a mass of black ink that adhered to Orochimaru's hand.
Orochimaru pressed his finger onto Sasuke's body. Sasuke's body jerked as intense pain shot straight into his nerves.
"Ahhh!"
Even though he tried his best to hold it in, Sasuke still forced out a cry of pain through clenched teeth, veins bulging.
A smile appeared on Orochimaru's face, "Little Sasuke, this is only the beginning…"
Outside, hearing Sasuke's continuous screams, Itachi's expression visibly shifted.
Rengoku glanced at him, "You're worried?"
Itachi coughed lightly, "With you here, senpai, I'm not worried."
That was because Sasuke truly had no talent for Sage Arts.
And the most critical part of the engraving method was transforming the curse mark into a Sage imprint capable of absorbing natural energy.
Although in the original timeline Sasuke had once received a curse mark, that one burned his life force. It was completely different from the current Sage imprint.
As for why Anko could successfully bear it, it was because her curse mark had been with her for many years.
Orochimaru was also thoroughly familiar with her body, but Sasuke's situation was different.
After all, something unfamiliar suddenly entering the body would definitely cause rejection.
The risk of this attempt wasn't just talk. Sasuke could really die.
Seeing Itachi putting on a brave front, Rengoku didn't expose him.
At that moment, a figure suddenly appeared behind Rengoku.
Rengoku turned his head, somewhat surprised to see Minato, "What is it?"
Minato gave an apologetic smile, "People from the Fire Temple, including Chiriku, along with others from different temples, have come together."
Rengoku raised an eyebrow, not quite understanding how these monks thought, "What do they want?"
Minato shook his head, "They're just here to plead."
Rengoku let out a scoff, "These monks can't stop the tide of the times. Turning the land into Konoha's territory is an inevitable trend."
"No one can be an exception."
"Just carry out the original plan."
This was something Minato could have decided on his own, but since it was Rengoku's plan, he still had to inform him.
Understanding Rengoku's stance, Minato didn't stay long, "Got it."
He then directly used the Flying Thunder God Technique to leave.
Rengoku didn't take the matter seriously and quickly put it out of his mind.
Inside the room, Sasuke's screams were still continuing.
Since the engraving would take several hours, Rengoku greeted Itachi:
"You stay here. I'll go take a walk."
Then he left a dojutsu clone in Itachi's shadow and slipped out.
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