"Orochimaru, do you have a dream?"
The abrupt question rang out in the desolate dungeon.
Yet the person inside the cage showed no reaction at all.
"Tsk, tsk. Don't tell me he's dead?"
The exaggerated, teasing remark carried a hint of mockery.
Still, there was no response.
Naruto could sense that there was still a Chakra reaction inside. Orochimaru should still be alive.
Naruto stepped forward.
His gaze passed through the uneven gaps and looked inside.
The man within hung his head weakly. His hair, soaked with blood and cold sweat, draped over his forehead in strands, concealing his expression.
His thin, bloodied upper body was almost bare.
Eight enormous iron hooks, sharp and gleaming with cold light, had been driven directly into his body. Most conspicuous of all were the two hooks piercing through his collarbones.
Naruto's gaze followed the hooks. Their other ends were connected to chains, and the chains were fastened to the surrounding walls.
The eight chains were pulled taut, suspending the man in the cell like pork hanging from a butcher's stall.
There was not a single uninjured spot left on Orochimaru's body. It was covered in wounds and blood scabs.
Looking carefully, Naruto could also see traces of Fuinjutsu on him.
After sensing him for a moment, Naruto discovered traces of Eight Trigrams Palm on several of his acupoints.
Tsk, tsk. What a miserable sight!
Naruto sighed inwardly.
He remembered how spirited Orochimaru had been in the Forest of Death, toying with Sasuke like a cat playing with a mouse.
When Orochimaru saw Naruto, he had looked at him as if he were nothing more than a chicken or a dog, beneath his contempt.
How arrogant had he been?
And now?
He had brought this upon himself!
If not for the fact that he