Otogakure.
Orochimaru sat in meditation on the futon, cultivating.
"Su Mu had mentioned before that the origin of this world possesses two kinds of power."
"Therefore, the senjutsu of natural energy can be cultivated using spiritual energy."
"The effect is simply wondrous."
Slightly opening his eyes, Orochimaru suddenly noticed a layer of dry, cracked patterns appearing on the skin of his wrist.
Estimating the time, today was the day for shedding his skin.
Cultivating the senjutsu of Ryūchi Cave, Orochimaru's body now stored spiritual energy.
Thus, without the aid of chakra, he had to completely complete a snake skin shedding to truly begin his training.
"Thanks to Su Mu's Qi Refining Technique, I won't have to transfer bodies anymore from now on."
"It's about time, let's enter the shedding state."
With that said, Orochimaru gently circulated his spiritual energy, and a faint blue light instantly appeared around him.
Crack... crack... crack...
A series of crisp cracking sounds were heard, and then dense fissures began to appear all over Orochimaru's body.
Outside the window.
Uchiha Sasuke, hidden by the crack, observed the situation inside with intense focus.
"It's already this late, why isn't he here yet?"
Sasuke turned to look into the distance; not a single shadow was in sight.
Orochimaru's skin shedding had already begun. If they were any later, Orochimaru might successfully shed his skin.
Just then, a vortex appeared in the air.
The masked man, along with Jūgo, Karin, and Suigetsu, slowly emerged.
"Orochimaru seems to treat you quite well. Are you really willing to kill him?"
The masked man teased Sasuke as soon as they met.
"What time is it? He's currently inside shedding his skin!"
Sasuke spoke to the four of them in a low voice.
"Alright, I understand. But be careful of Orochimaru's final counterattack. After all, he's not like ordinary ninjas."
With that, the masked man walked directly towards Orochimaru's room.
The door was not opened, but the masked man passed through it as if it weren't there.
At this moment, Orochimaru suddenly smelled the scent of a living person.
He abruptly opened his eyes and looked forward.
Sasuke and the others pushed the door open and entered.
Upon seeing them, Orochimaru's face instantly turned extremely grim: "Sasuke, what are you doing?!"
"Doing what? Hand over the Kusanagi blade."
Sasuke's king-like demeanor once again manifested, making the masked man beside him want to chuckle.
Orochimaru's brow furrowed slightly. His skin shedding was only halfway complete, and interrupting it abruptly carried the risk of regression.
"The Kusanagi blade is not with me. Besides, even if you get the Kusanagi blade, you won't be able to defeat Uchiha Itachi."
Hearing Uchiha Itachi's name, Sasuke's face contorted with anger once more: "Are you saying I'm inferior to him?"
"Then just watch! I will personally kill him, and then present his head to pay respects to all the deceased Uchiha clan members!"
"You're irredeemable! I will not let you succeed today!"
Orochimaru declared and instantly transformed into a giant monstrous snake.
The masked man let out a sneer: "A dying struggle."
Clenching the chain in his hands, the masked man passed through Orochimaru's body, severely piercing his shoulder blades.
Orochimaru let out a pained cry, his power completely unable to be unleashed.
His strength had already been greatly reduced by the skin shedding.
One had to admit, these people really chose their timing well.
"Sasuke!"
The masked man yanked hard on the chain, restraining Orochimaru tightly.
"Understood!"
Sasuke drew the long sword from his waist and rapidly charged towards Orochimaru.
"You never expected this, did you? That this day would come for you!"
*Swoosh.*
The sharp long sword effortlessly pierced Orochimaru's body.
Sasuke, watching the blood drip from the tip of the blade, felt a sense of comfort.
"Be careful, he won't die that easily!"
The masked man finished his warning.
Sasuke was sent flying by a slap from Orochimaru's shed skin.
"Sasuke!"
Karin quickly ran to catch Sasuke.
Orochimaru, transformed back into human form, landed with a thud and immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Shedding failed..."
"Cultivation greatly diminished..."
"You... why did you provoke me?"
Orochimaru roared towards the sky, his body flickering faintly, and eight snake heads now breached the heavens.
The masked man and the others quickly ran out of the collapsing building.
"Yamata no Orochi?"
"I didn't expect him to hold on this far."
"I underestimated him."
Sasuke, clutching his chest, walked over: "What now?"
"Is there no way?"
The masked man immediately made a shushing gesture: "Wait."
Orochimaru was already injured from the failed shedding.
Furthermore, he had just been besieged by the group.
Even transformed into the Yamata no Orochi, he was merely showing his last vestiges of strength.
As expected.
Without the masked man and the others needing to act, Orochimaru soon suffered a backlash.
A miserable, agonizing scream echoed from above Otogakure.
The villagers' scalps tingled at the sound.
The Yamata no Orochi began to attack the surroundings wildly.
Under the moonlight, the villagers fled in all directions.
"Attention, the opportunity has come, Jūgo."
The masked man had just spoken when Jūgo was already fully prepared.
The surrounding air was filled with immense natural energy.
This was due to Orochimaru's rampage, which caused the senjutsu spiritual energy stored in his body to diffuse severely.
After absorbing this energy, Jūgo immediately entered Sage Mode.
He began to laugh maniacally, activating his Cursed Seal Stage Two, and his cursed right arm instantly propped up the ground.
His barnacle-like body, under extreme compression, had now condensed numerous chakra cannons.
A round of moonlight reflected Jūgo's silhouette.
He leaped into the air and instantly pierced through the chest of the Yamata no Orochi.
The chakra cannons exploded at this moment.
The entire Otogakure was engulfed in a powerful gale.
Day and night were illuminated by a white light at this instant.
It was as if daytime had arrived.
Many villages in the ninja world heard such a commotion and promptly dispatched personnel to investigate the situation.
The white light dissipated.
Jūgo heavily crashed into the ground from mid-air.
The Yamata no Orochi had been blown into a bloody, mangled mess.
The eight snake heads lay in various corners, lifeless.
In the central crater, lay the near-death Orochimaru.
"Sasuke, it's up to you."
Picking up the long sword stuck in the ground, Sasuke slowly walked towards Orochimaru.
"Where is the Kusanagi blade."
Sasuke pointed the sword at Orochimaru's neck and asked in a faint voice.
"Heh, in the Eight Treasures Glazed Pavilion, with Su Mu."
"If you have the guts, go and snatch it, Hahahahaha."
Orochimaru let out a ghastly, heart-wrenching laugh.
Sasuke asked no further questions and fiercely dragged the long sword across Orochimaru's throat.
Blood immediately bloomed like a flower.
The operatives sent by the surrounding great nations happened to witness the scene of Orochimaru's death.
And the boy who killed him had a red and white fan emblem printed on the back of his clothes.
As Sasuke looked back, his third tomoe finally appeared...