Sasuke has followed Linto for a long time, facing many strong enemies. If he had to pick one he wanted to defeat himself, it would be Orochimaru.
Back then, Orochimaru was an incredibly powerful and unreachable opponent for Sasuke.
Standing before him, Sasuke couldn't even put up a fight and was just branded with the curse mark.
If it weren't for Linto, Sasuke would have died long ago.
It's a shame Orochimaru is already dead. Even if Sasuke wants revenge, he has no target.
And now—
Click.
Sasuke pushed the hilt of his sword with his thumb.
The blade slid out of its sheath.
He lowered his body, his whole being rippling with energy. Waves of golden light, like lightning, surrounded him. He held the sword hilt loosely in his right hand, his gaze fixed on the "Orochimaru" before him, and took a step.
"Two-Sword Style - Divine Speed!"
Thunder boomed.
Unlike Linto's immense power, this strike was sharper, a true lightning bolt that struck the soul, instantly crossing dozens of meters.
By the time Yakushi Kabuto reacted, the blade was already upon him.
Orochimaru clapped his hands together.
"Sage Art - Manda's Formation!"
The second stored Senjutsu Chakra in his body was heavily consumed. Orochimaru opened his mouth, and countless snakes surged forward like a tide, blocking Sasuke's charge.
Yakushi Kabuto used the momentum to have Orochimaru pull away, preparing to use Senjutsu again.
Sizzle—
Sasuke threw the lightning-infused long sword he held, his hands forming hand seals at lightning speed.
"Fire Release - Great Fire Annihilation!"
Flames, no less powerful than Sage Art, erupted and engulfed the attacking snakes.
The flames obscured Yakushi Kabuto's vision. He stared intently ahead, waiting for the long sword he'd thrown earlier.
Hidan's single eye, embedded in Orochimaru's face, spun rapidly and detected the danger immediately.
"Watch out!"
The long sword didn't come from the front but from the right, from Yakushi Kabuto's blind spot, piercing through the flames and aiming for Orochimaru's heart.
Hidan noticed the thin rope tied to the end of the sword and spat,
"Sneaky Uchiha brat!"
Yakushi Kabuto consumed more Senjutsu Chakra, and under the guidance of White Snake Sage - Number One from the side, he clapped his hands and stammered out:
"Sage Art - Inorganic Reincarnation!"
The earth bulged, forming countless spikes.
Clang!
With the impact, the long sword was flung high into the air.
A figure burst out of the flames, catching the sword.
It was Sasuke, who had broken through the snake blockade.
Under the intense heat of the flames, the ceiling's sprinkler system activated, spraying water downwards.
Sasuke held the sword in one hand, the other completing hand seals again. He raised his hand and pointed at Orochimaru.
"Lightning Release - Black Madara Strike!"
Streams of black lightning gathered in his hand, forming a leopard that pounced on Orochimaru.
This was a Ninjutsu developed by the Third Raikage of Kumogakure.
Now that Kumogakure and Kirigakure were jointly developing weapons, their Ninjutsu was shared.
Yakushi Kabuto still wanted to have Orochimaru dodge, but he suddenly realized and looked up at the downpour of water.
"This was also part of your plan, wasn't it, Sasuke!"
The black lightning followed the water, crawling onto Orochimaru's body.
These back-and-forth exchanges were making Hidan numb.
His mouth was numb from the electric shocks.
He stammered, "Yakushi Kabuto, couldn't you have... couldn't you have summoned mosquitoes and bats for me first, you jerk who wastes Senjutsu Chakra, you slo—"
Hidan stuttered "slo—" for a long time but couldn't finish the word.
His entire mouth, including his tongue, had gone rigid from the electric shocks.
Hidden in the base behind them, Hidan was using his backside to slap Yakushi Kabuto's face, expressing his dissatisfaction.
Yakushi Kabuto kicked away Hidan's attacking rear.
If they hadn't summoned the snakes and used Inorganic Reincarnation just now, Orochimaru would have been finished off directly!
But Yakushi Kabuto had to admit, even though Sasuke was young, he had learned a lot of underhanded tactics from following Linto for so many years. With Yakushi Kabuto's combat skills, remotely controlling a body...
Yakushi Kabuto was no match for Sasuke.
"And he's still got 'Ninjutsu Nullification'!"
In just over ten seconds, blades and Ninjutsu had fallen alternately, and Yakushi Kabuto had no power to resist. He was being suppressed, and even more troublesome, his Senjutsu Chakra was rapidly being depleted.
White Snake Sage - Number One said, "That's enough, switch."
Switch?
Yakushi Kabuto suddenly realized.
He took Orochimaru's memory disc from his waist pack, opened his mouth, and shoved it in.
Sizzle—Click!
The disc slowly sank in. The next second.
Orochimaru's empty eyes suddenly lit up, and his entire demeanor transformed completely.
Cunning, calm, evil.
White Snake's disc removal could pull out both memory and Ninjutsu discs.
If it was only Ninjutsu without memory, it would be amnesia but still able to use Ninjutsu, like a weather reporter.
If it was only memory without Ninjutsu, it would fall into a coma due to lack of mental energy.
In the world of Stand users, this coma would be absolute.
One person corresponds to one Stand.
But in the ninja world, it was a bit different.
After all, anyone could learn Ninjutsu, and White Snake Sage and Orochimaru were essentially from the same lineage.
As long as White Snake Sage's residual Senjutsu Chakra hadn't been exhausted, Orochimaru, with the memory disc, could briefly regain consciousness.
Of course, it was only brief.
Since the Ninjutsu disc had been removed, Orochimaru couldn't condense Chakra on his own. Once the Senjutsu Chakra was depleted or the time limit expired, he would fall back into a coma.
But even if he only recovered for a few minutes, even if he could only use half his strength.
Orochimaru was Orochimaru.
His danger level was absolutely not comparable to Yakushi Kabuto's.
"Hee—looks like I'm alive again."
Orochimaru looked at the charging Sasuke, then at his surroundings, and the memory disc about to merge with him in his mouth. He suddenly understood everything.
The key was the memory disc.
With it, he was himself.
Without it, he ceased to exist.
Orochimaru raised his hand and thrust it forcefully into his own chest.
He wanted to kill himself!
Why?!
Not just Sasuke, but Yakushi Kabuto and Number One behind him were stunned.
But they quickly realized.
Right!
This was the correct answer!
Orochimaru had regained his memory. From this point on, Orochimaru, revived from the curse mark, would no longer be an empty shell but a coma patient with memories.
As long as Senjutsu Chakra was injected into his body again, like this time, Orochimaru could wake up.
Rather than gambling on the minuscule possibility of fighting his way out of the enemy's lair, it was better to cut his losses and choose suicide.
To prevent Orochimaru's body from falling into the hands of the research institute, White Snake Sage had sealed the "Evil Unsealing Art within the Four Symbols" in Orochimaru's heart before he left. Once activated, centered on him, all objects within a hundred-meter radius would be sealed and destroyed.
"Hey! Wait a minute!" Hidan's mouth said, "I'm still here."
Yakushi Kabuto clenched his fists excitedly.
"As expected of Orochimaru-sama!"
"Only by dying can one live."
"This is the true meaning of Orochimaru's way!"
Hidan panicked, "No, I'm still here! You guys fight again!"
Hidan wasn't afraid of death, but he didn't want his mouth to end up in the outside world.
His arms and legs were already gone. If his mouth was gone too, what was the point of living?
But just like a few minutes ago when no one heeded Number Two's suggestion to change his name, no one heeded Hidan's cry this time.
Yakushi Kabuto and Number One shouted excitedly:
"Die! Orochimaru, die quickly!"
Orochimaru's lips curled into an evil smile as he touched his chest and activated the sealing jutsu.
There was no reaction.
Not only the sealing jutsu, but all the Senjutsu Chakra in his body also solidified at that moment, as if it didn't exist at all.
Orochimaru stood there, unable to move even a finger.
Just then, Orochimaru sensed a blade-like sharp presence behind him.
Chii—
A sword pierced from the back of his neck, through his cervical spine and throat, finally emerging from his mouth.
On the tip of the sword hung the not-yet-fully-integrated memory disc.
Orochimaru's consciousness rapidly faded.
"I've waited a long time for this moment, Orochimaru. You were slower than I expected."
Sasuke's voice came from behind.
Orochimaru struggled to look behind him, catching a glimpse of Sasuke out of the corner of his eye.
Water was still dripping from his head. Seemingly thinking it was obstructing his vision, Sasuke swept the hair from his forehead with his left hand, revealing a cold, handsome face.
"Your ability... is petrification?" Orochimaru asked.
Orochimaru was indeed very smart, deducing from the disc and his surroundings that "dying with the memory disc" was the best escape route.
But he never dreamed there was an ability to nullify Ninjutsu in the world.
"If you want to know—"
He flicked the long sword. The memory disc on the tip was tossed high into the air, reflecting Orochimaru's terrified face and the lightning-fast flash of the sword in the air.
"When you get to hell, I'll burn some paper for you to tell you."
Click.
The memory disc landed on the ground, rolled a bit, and then clattered to the floor.
Falling with it was Orochimaru's riddled corpse.
Less than five seconds after being revived, Orochimaru...
Died again.