"That's… interesting."
A crooked smile tugged at Orochimaru's lips. "How impressive. A child like you… it makes me want to turn you into one of my experiments. What do you say?"
"It's not happening. If you have nothing else to say, Lord Orochimaru, my brother and I will be leaving."
Itachi drew in a slow breath and answered evenly.
"Rejected? What a pity." Orochimaru's voice cooled. "Wrong answer."
The instant the words fell, countless serpents burst from his sleeves and shot toward Itachi.
"Damn it!"
Itachi's right eye spun. The Sharingan flared to life, crimson light expanding outward from him like a rippling tide.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
A thunderous explosion tore through the clearing.
Flames devoured the charging snakes. Charred remains rained from the sky as smoke surged upward, cloaking the forest in heat and ash.
Itachi staggered back, breathing hard. Sweat beaded along his brow.
The technique had drained him heavily. At his age, forcing out such a large-scale Fire Release took a severe toll on his chakra.
Orochimaru's expression darkened.
He had intended to seize the boy in one clean strike. Instead, a child had produced destruction on this scale.
Troublesome.
The Uchiha compound was too close. Even with security loosened slightly because of tonight's celebration, an explosion like that would not go unnoticed for long.
Still… there was always another solution.
A cold smile spread across Orochimaru's face.
"If I cannot obtain it," he murmured, "I can destroy it. A corpse is just as useful."
Killing intent flooded the clearing.
He prepared to strike—
A breeze passed through the trees.
Then a calm voice sounded behind him.
"Orochimaru… do you have a death wish?"
Orochimaru turned sharply.
Not far away stood a man dressed in black, a wooden blade resting in his hand.
Shuoye Uchiha.
"Lord Shuoye!"
Relief flickered across Itachi's face. His shoulders eased.
With Shuoye here, they were safe.
"Oh?" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "So you're the new head of the Uchiha. Fugaku Uchiha actually allowed someone like you to take the position? How amusing."
But beneath his mocking tone lay something else.
Shuoye's arrival had been silent—too silent. Orochimaru hadn't sensed him at all.
Before he could speak again—
Shuoye moved.
A single step.
The wooden blade flashed green.
In the blink of an eye, it pierced through Orochimaru's clone and nailed it to the ground. Clean. Precise. No wasted motion.
The entire exchange lasted less than a breath.
"This… impossible!"
The pinned clone's pupils contracted as it struggled.
Itachi watched in silence. He knew firsthand how dangerous Orochimaru was. Yet Shuoye had subdued him effortlessly.
Sasuke stared, awe written plainly across his face.
"Lord Shuoye… he's incredible…"
Under the pale moonlight, Orochimaru's immobilized clone let out a low chuckle. The twisted smile never left his face.
"Well done, Uchiha. I didn't expect someone like you to emerge. How about cooperation?"
The tone carried reluctant admiration.
Shuoye's lips curved faintly. His eyes remained still.
"Orochimaru, your tongue is more impressive than your strength. If you truly wish to cooperate, come speak to me in person. These little tricks only waste my time."
A flash of anger crossed the clone's eyes before shifting into calculation.
"Interesting, Shuoye. But cooperation is not child's play. If I appear in person, how do you guarantee my safety? What if you cut me down the moment I arrive?"
Shuoye shook his head slightly.
The wooden blade in his hand vibrated with a low hum, as though something vast stirred within it.
"Safety?" he said quietly. "You think that if you don't come in person, I can't cut you down? As for your schemes… I'm not ignorant of them. Immortality is not as difficult as you believe."
Before the last word faded, Shuoye moved again.
The blade became a streak of green light, slicing toward the clone.
Orochimaru's pupils shrank.
That chill—
It wasn't physical. It came from the soul.
That blade… something is wrong.
Shuoye did not hold back.
Where the wooden blade passed, the air seemed to split apart, cleaved by invisible force.
But just before the strike could land, the clone dissolved on its own.
Silence returned to the clearing.
Sasuke swallowed.
"So… that's Lord Shuoye's true strength…"
In his chest, something burned.
I need to become stronger.
Itachi kept his eyes on Shuoye's back, thoughts racing.
Shuoye lowered the blade, a faint smile touching his expression.
"So perceptive."
Moments earlier, he had struck with the power of his Zanpakutō.
If that clone had taken the hit directly, it would not have killed Orochimaru outright—
But it would have been enough to make him suffer.
After all, wounds to the soul were not so easily healed.
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