The sun beat down relentlessly. In this high-altitude region, the intense light left the ground cracked and parched.
In the shadows of a towering peak on the deserted wilderness, Ren Uchiha walked alone. His body was beginning to wail in protest; after several days of continuous combat and barely two decent meals, his stomach rumbled in frustration. His organs, overextended by the repeated use of his Sage Form, felt heavy and sluggish in the sweltering heat.
Dizziness, blurred vision, nausea, exhaustion—it felt like a severe drop in blood pressure.
Finally, he reached a dilapidated, desolate park. He collapsed onto an old, dusty bench with a broken seat, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. He watched a trail of ants on the lifeless ground, struggling to carry the carcass of a beetle. Another swarm of ants, scenting food, rushed over aggressively. The two colonies were on the verge of war over the corpse.
Then—
A ninja boot came down, crushing the defenders, the attackers, and the beetle carcass into dust.
"Well..."
A raspy voice echoed in Ren's ear. "My disciple, you look rather lost."
The familiar rasp cleared the fog in Ren's mind. His vision refocused. "Orochimaru?"
A pale hand opened in front of him, and like a magic trick, a vibrant, red apple appeared in the palm.
"These are Land of Lightning apples, grown at an altitude of two thousand meters. Very high sugar content," the young man said. With his long black hair, purple eye markings extending to his nose, and blue magatama earrings, he looked down at Ren with narrow, golden serpentine slit pupils. "I quite like them."
Ren blinked, remembering that Orochimaru did indeed have a penchant for apples—and eggs—much like a real snake. He took the fruit and bit into it savagely. The sweet juice burst across his teeth, and as he swallowed, the feeling of something finally entering his stomach made him feel alive again.
"Is it good?" Orochimaru asked curiously.
"Not bad," Ren muttered through a mouthful of fruit.
"Hehe..." Orochimaru chuckled, tossing a second apple into Ren's lap. "Then let us begin. Feast well! All the components I prepared for you have been found; all conditions have been perfectly met. Now, let me see—once this sweet power is unleashed, just how far your 'wind' can blow!"
Ren looked up at his teacher, who was becoming increasingly cryptic. He swallowed and asked in plain terms, "Has the White Snake Sage been caught?"
He had come here because he saw Orochimaru's messenger snake back at the barbican.
During the battle at Hell Valley, the White Snake Sage had stolen Ren's heart and the Zero-Tails. However, Orochimaru had planted a "backdoor" inside the Zero-Tails beforehand. The Sage, the Zero-Tails, and Orochimaru had engaged in a three-way struggle for control before vanishing.
Ren knew that with the information he'd provided about the Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation and the Sage Art: Remote Phantom Transfer, a prepared Orochimaru could likely cause even a legendary ancestor of the Ryuchi Cave to trip up.
Ren had been waiting for this. Most of his abilities were chakra-hungry monsters. With his current "Uchiha-level" chakra reserves, he couldn't even use basic combinations like casting ninjutsu while inside a Susanoo without running dry.
The key to turning this weakness into his greatest strength was the White Snake Sage.
Whether it was the Ryaku veins the Sage coveted, the terrifying reservoir of Yin natural energy in Ryuchi Cave, or the "Moon Sage Arts" that rivaled Hashirama Senju's—Ren wanted it. Even if he couldn't get the arts, stuffing that old snake into his body to use as a "Tailed Beast Battery" would be a massive win.
"No," Orochimaru shook his head. "The power of the White Snake Sage exceeds our imagination. As long as those old fossils stay hidden in the Three Great Sage Regions, no one in the current world can touch them. But I must say, as a lure, Ren... you were perfect."
Orochimaru's lips curled into a dry smile. "She has taken the bait."
"How so?"
"In the struggle between the Zero-Tails, myself, and the White Snake Sage, all three parties gained something," Orochimaru explained. "The Zero-Tails obtained the Sage's senjutsu chakra. I obtained the Sage's forbidden knowledge. And the White Snake Sage... obtained control over the Zero-Tails' body."
"Furthermore," Orochimaru continued, "through the Sage's methods, that heart of yours—which was supposedly impossible to fuse with Senju cells—has been sublimated. Using Tsunade's necklace as a medium, she gave it life through Inorganic Reincarnation, then seized control of Hashirama's chakra within it via Remote Phantom Transfer. In doing so, she successfully forced your heart to merge with the Hashirama cells!"
Ren was stunned. Back in Konoha, even with Tsunade's help and his own "Immortality" and "Body Reconstruction" techniques, the rejection from the Senju cells had been too violent to overcome. The only person known to successfully merge with them was Madara Uchiha, via White Zetsu.
But the White Snake Sage had used a "Remote Phantom" trick to effectively replicate the merging process. Remote Phantom Transfer was a technique designed to usurp a host's identity and power—a ultimate senjutsu developed over a thousand years to allow a snake to climb the ladder to becoming a Dragon.
"So the White Snake Sage has the Zero-Tails now?" Ren frowned. "She kicked you out of the body? Is that how you know all this—because your clone inside was destroyed?"
"Correct," Orochimaru nodded calmly. "But knowledge is power. I know exactly what she plans to do. I know the ritual and the technique she intends to use to leap across the Dragon's Gate."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. "On the night of the fifteenth day of the seventh month—the Ghost Festival—when the gates of hell open and the moon is eclipsed, the coldest night of the year... she will perform the ritual at the Ryaku Veins in Roran. She intends to steal the dragon's body and become a 'Dragon Sage'."
"And we," Orochimaru whispered, "only need to wait for the moment she swallows the Ryaku. We will have the Zero-Tails use Remote Phantom Transfer to swallow the White Snake Sage. And finally... you will swallow the Zero-Tails. You will take everything she has!"
Ren's lip twitched. "Wait, teacher... the Zero-Tails' IQ is... well..."
That stupid snake doesn't even know how to read. You want it to perform a high-level Sage Art? The window of opportunity would be seconds. How was he supposed to teach a brain-dead dark chakra monster to use complex senjutsu?
"Hehehe..." Orochimaru gave a low, raspy laugh. "That is a problem for you to solve. I am only responsible for providing the path. Seeking the truth always involves some danger."
Ren felt a bit speechless. This just meant Orochimaru hadn't figured out that part yet either. And even if they ignored that, how was he supposed to "swallow" the Zero-Tails? His sealing arts were okay, but nowhere near the level of a Four Symbols or Eight Trigrams Seal. Was he supposed to call Minato Namikaze over to help?
"Swallowing the White Snake Sage is only the first step," Orochimaru continued, ignoring Ren's plight. "To achieve a true Immortal Body, after seizing the Ryaku, you must go to Ryuchi Cave and steal the entirety of its natural energy right under the noses of the three remaining Snake Hime. Then, you combine the Yang of the Ryaku with the Yin of Ryuchi Cave. Only through the union of Yin and Yang can you reach perfection."
"Then, it may be possible to become a creature stronger than the dragons of old... stronger even than Otsu..."
Orochimaru looked up at the sky, where the moon had not yet risen. "Ren, the world we see is far more dangerous than we imagined."
Ren's heart skipped a beat. He was certain he heard the start of a name: Otsu.
There was only one "Goddess" that name could refer to—Otsutsuki Kaguya, the Rabbit Goddess.
It seemed that by stealing the "forbidden knowledge" from the White Snake Sage, Orochimaru had caught a glimpse of the deepest secrets of the shinobi world. He now knew about the clan that stood above gods, immortals, and ninjas.
Ren shook his head to clear the distant thoughts and focused on the immediate. "Union of Yin and Yang? How do I do that?"
"Hehe... Ren," Orochimaru smiled. "That is why I have prepared your Place of Ascension!"
Orochimaru's golden eyes gleamed. "Turtle Island!"
Ren's pupils constricted. Everything from Hell Valley until now suddenly clicked into place.
So that's why! That's why Orochimaru didn't respond to the distress signal at Hell Valley. That's why he attacked Kumogakure that night—to trigger the "Kumo Collapse." That's why the young A had suddenly retreated from the battle yesterday—to defend the village's secrets.
Orochimaru's target all along had been Turtle Island.
Turtle Island—a gargantuan ancient turtle the size of an island. It held independent ecosystems and the secret locations where Jinchuriki learned to become Perfect Jinchuriki. But if one looked further back, before ninjas even existed... who were those training grounds and spiritual realms built for?
The answer was clear. "Immortal Sages."
Ren took a deep breath. He could see the motes of natural energy, invisible to ordinary eyes, swirling into his palm. He looked at his teacher. "Orochimaru-sensei... do you already have Turtle Island?"
"I do," Orochimaru replied. "It's a bit early, but better to be prepared."
To Orochimaru, the island was currently useless without the union of Yin and Yang, but for Ren—who had lost his Tailed Beast—it represented a different kind of hope.
Ren's heart raced. "Can I... go to Turtle Island now?"
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