Yamata no Orochi's massive body was gradually engulfed by the flames. To speed up the process, Makiya condensed two flaming longswords and sliced the carcass into sixteen smaller pieces.
The chakra within the flesh desperately resisted the scorching fire, but it was all in vain. Under Makiya's continuous output, the golden flames finally reduced the giant serpent's body to nothing but black ash, which was slowly swallowed by the flowing pool of lava.
As the final trace of its soul dissipated into the world, Makiya was certain that Orochimaru was indeed dead.
At least this specific Orochimaru he had encountered was dead as a doornail.
As for whether Orochimaru was lingering in some obscure corner of the ninja world, Makiya couldn't be sure. That guy loved to split his soul and plant resurrection points everywhere, making him incredibly difficult to kill permanently.
Makiya manipulated the flames to expand their reach, melting all the nearby barren mountains into lava to prevent any small snakes from hiding in rock crevices. From high above, the bright red lava spreading across the land looked like a pimple on Mother Earth's face.
Makiya rubbed his hands together, his face alight with excitement. As everyone knows, defeating a boss is always followed by opening the treasure chests. The base addresses Orochimaru left behind were his treasure chests, and a massive haul was waiting for him.
Stepping onto his flying sword, he soared into the sky. After orienting himself, Makiya flew straight toward the Land of Rice Fields, his figure vanishing into the clouds, leaving only a faint trail behind.
Before long, two scouting teams appeared near the battlefield. Based on their clothing and headbands, they were clearly Konoha shinobi.
"It's so hot. Did we stumble into a volcanic crater?" one ninja remarked, his lip twitching.
The slowly flowing lava was constantly releasing heat, and the air was thick with a complex, foul stench. The scorching air seared their lungs as it entered their chests.
"A scale of destruction like this..." another Konoha ninja looked at the 'sea of lava' and said solemnly, "this is no longer something we can handle. We must report this to Lord Minato immediately."
"Agreed," a member of the Hyuga clan added. "The amount of residual chakra in the lava is immense. I suspect that Jinchuriki from the Stone Village snuck over and had a massive battle with someone."
The three of them had just been transferred as reinforcements from the front lines between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. They weren't familiar with Makiya's fighting style and didn't know much about him. After all, Makiya had spent most of his recent time in the hospital expanding his knowledge base and rarely showed off on the battlefield.
However, the Uchiha clan members nearby were all too familiar. Almost the moment they saw the battlefield, they concluded that these were the marks left by Makiya in combat.
With the three Uchiha members boasting back and forth, Makiya was described as the greatest shinobi beneath the Hokage, with Fire Style so advanced it was divine. They even claimed that even the current commander, Minato Namikaze, would find him hard to withstand.
The Hyuga member immediately voiced his disapproval, thinking they were exaggerating. He retorted, "That's hilarious. What's the point of an ocular jutsu clan practicing ordinary ninjutsu? The Hyuga clan is the strongest in Konoha. This Makiya Uchiha of yours is far behind our Lord Hizashi."
The grudge between the two clans was long-standing. The Hyuga had long been annoyed by the Uchiha's 'I'm number one and God is number two' attitude and couldn't help but snap back.
Although he hadn't personally seen Hizashi Hyuga in action, he wasn't about to lose face in an argument. In a shouting match, you boast first and worry about the truth later.
Of course, the group didn't forget their duty. A companion quickly recorded the intel, and they began running back toward the camp while continuing to bicker.
An Uchiha retorted, "Our Master Makiya defeated a Jinchuriki!"
The Hyuga didn't back down for a second. "Our Lord Hizashi's Gentle Fist is unrivaled! One palm strike and your Makiya wouldn't even be able to release a drop of chakra!"
"Our Master Makiya dared to fight two Jinchuriki!"
"Our Lord Hizashi can fight two Raikages!"
"Our Master Makiya can fight two Hokages!"
"Our Lord Hizashi is brave enough to chew on glass!"
"Our Master Makiya is brave enough to..."
"
The others looked at each other and quietly shrugged. They couldn't afford to get involved in that mess.
In the Land of Rice Fields, across a vast grassland, the wild winds howled.
Makiya hid in the tall grass, which was higher than a man. Sensing with all his might, he detected numerous soul fluctuations below.
Orochimaru hadn't lied to him; this place really was his base, and it was quite large.
Makiya already viewed everything in the base as his personal property. Unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to destroy a thing. He planned to move the facilities of this base to his own valley intact.
The problem was how to deal with the ninjas inside.
The people stationed here by Orochimaru were either his die-hard loyalists or Danzo's Root operatives. Regardless of which side they belonged to, their vigilance was high.
Makiya wasn't afraid of a fight, but he was mainly worried about breaking his stuff. Although he didn't know exactly what was inside yet, he'd be heartbroken even if a single coffee machine got damaged.
Right now, Makiya felt like a master martial artist trying to fight in his own house; he was holding back because he didn't want to break the furniture.
Ninjas were different from ordinary people; even a minor ninjutsu could cause significant structural damage. Furthermore, he didn't know if Orochimaru had installed some 'self-destruct' button to wipe everything out, as they often do in movies.
It seemed he would have to play the role of a secret infiltration investigator.
Lying in wait on the prairie, Makiya became like a still stone, suppressing his breathing and presence to the absolute limit.
A fox trotted through the grass. Suddenly catching Makiya's scent, it tested the area cautiously for a long time. Finally concluding it was just a corpse, it stepped onto Makiya's back with its small paws and looked around.
Rumble!
A loud noise and vibration startled the fox away. The ground dipped, and a hidden stone door opened. Two ninjas stepped out from within.
Another tremor shook the ground as the hidden stone door vanished from sight.
"Phew! Finally, it's our turn to rest. The underground is no place for humans," one ninja said, stretching his arms.
The other was dismissive. "It is an honor to work for Lord Orochimaru. If you hate the underground environment so much, you can choose not to come."
"Hey now, I was just talking. Just talking," the ninja with dark circles under his eyes muttered. "Do you think our experiment will succeed?"
"How should I know? It feels like there's little hope..."
The two chatted as they walked away, completely failing to notice Makiya, who had completely concealed his presence.
An hour later, two different ninjas appeared on the plain. Judging by their attire, they weren't Root members but likely loyalists who followed Orochimaru willingly.
One of them slowly performed a series of hand signs to open the entrance to the underground passage.
Just as the ground vibrated and the soil receded, Makiya made his move!
"Hadō #11: Tsuziraiaden!"
Lightning snaked across the ground at high speed, instantly enveloping both men in a surge of electricity. The intense current surged through their bodies, causing them to stiffen instantly. Their expressions froze, eyes filling with terror and shock.
Immediately after, more current surged like a tidal wave, paralyzing them completely and rendering them unable to move.
"Wh..." One of them only managed to let out a single syllable before realizing he had lost control of his body. He watched helplessly as an unknown enemy stepped in front of them, his heart sinking.
The enemy's timing was perfect. The vibration of the door had masked all anomalies, and the stone door, which required a special seal to open, was already unlocked, allowing for a direct strike into the base's interior.
The enemy must have been lying in wait for a long time, knowing the base's entry and exit protocols by heart. Moreover, they were so well-hidden that neither of them had sensed anything wrong.
Just who was this? A Stone ninja? Or a Cloud ninja?
The two ninjas widened their eyes as a young figure appeared in their vision. Three-tomoe patterns spun incessantly, the crimson light of the Sharingan dominating their pupils.
'So it's an Uchiha,' one of them thought inwardly. 'Are they here to rescue someone? I knew this day would come. It doesn't matter; Lord Orochimaru will avenge me.'
With that final thought, the ninja's will was completely submerged under the control of a genjutsu, and information began to be extracted from his mind.
The human brain is incredibly complex; a single mistake can turn someone into an idiot. Furthermore, this person's memories since birth were extensive, and the short time the door was open wasn't enough for a thorough interrogation.
Makiya created a shadow clone to take the man to a distant forest for a slow interrogation. Once valuable intel was gathered, the clone would simply dispel, sending the memories directly to the original. He had initially considered using Flying Raijin, but he wasn't sure about the level of barriers within the base or if space-time ninjutsu would be detected.
To be safe, the shadow clone method was more reliable. In any case, Makiya had a massive amount of chakra and could afford the consumption.
The other ninja was also placed under genjutsu. Makiya used the Transformation Jutsu to turn into his companion and then erased all traces from the surrounding area.
"Hmm?" The controlled ninja came to, scratched his head, and said, "What are you standing around for? Let's go in. I can't wait to see the experimental results!"
With that, he took the lead and entered through the base's stone door, with Makiya following closely behind.
The two paused briefly inside the entrance. The companion input chakra into switches on the inner walls of the passage in a specific order, and the stone door slowly closed.
Makiya followed him downward. Various rooms were set along both sides of the passage, clearly labeled with nameplates.
On the fourth floor underground, the two arrived at their designated workspace: a functioning laboratory. From the memories sent back by his shadow clone, Makiya knew this lab was conducting chakra mixing experiments.
As the name suggested, they were collecting special chakra from wild animals in nature that could naturally absorb natural energy. This chakra was then injected into humans to see if they could inherit the animals' abilities.
It was also somewhat related to Sage Mode.
The experiments had started long ago. Their job was to periodically inject nutrient solutions, observe the subjects' reactions, and record all valuable data.
The spacious hall was filled with various instruments, with complex wiring extending from the ceiling. The level of electrification here was high. In the corner of a metal workbench, there was actually a coffee machine. Makiya recognized the brand; apparently, one cost two hundred thousand ryo. It was practically highway robbery!
The reward for an A-rank mission usually ranges from 150,000 to 1,000,000 ryo, typically involving national movements, village strategic layouts, or pursuing enemies. This meant a single coffee machine was worth an A-rank mission, yet it was the cheapest thing here. Compared to the nearby instruments, it wasn't even worth a glance.
Makiya smelled the scent of money. No matter the world, equipment for cutting-edge research was expensive. Orochimaru's ability to secretly build so many branch bases was due not only to his secret alliance with Danzo—the ultimate sugar daddy—but also to his lucrative position managing front-line logistics.
Three giant glass containers stood in the center of the room, their emerald-green solution looking strangely eerie under the pale lights.
A human body was suspended inside each vat. Countless transparent tubes extended from above into the backs of their heads, continuously injecting some liquid. Judging by the bubbles they occasionally exhaled, they were still in stable condition.
One of the pipes was steadily pumping a strange energy into the subjects. Makiya was no stranger to this energy's fluctuations; it felt like natural energy mixed with chakra.
The companion dutifully began to work. Cameras in the corners of the ceiling were silently monitoring everything. To avoid detection, Makiya began to operate according to the images in the memories.
The three subjects in the glass containers were beyond saving. Makiya could feel that they had been too deeply eroded by natural energy—the same problem he had encountered initially.
As time passed, the three subjects began to struggle violently, and powerful, erratic chakra fluctuations spread within them.
Makiya's gaze pierced through the solution to look at the three. The one on the left had his hands around his own neck, his face turning bright red as if he were suffocating. The skin of the middle and right subjects looked like worms were crawling beneath it, and strands of blood seeped from their pores, staining the emerald-green culture medium red.
The ninja beside him had a burning look in his eyes, as if he were admiring a perfect work of art. To him, the agonizing screams of the three seemed like beautiful music. To be one of Orochimaru's trusted subordinates, one usually had to be a bit of a freak.
The physical human characteristics of the subjects were undergoing mutations. The natural energy was forcibly altering their genetic information, twisting normal human bodies into completely alien species.
The mutation had begun!
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