Fortunately, There Is Still a Way Out

Hoo!

The scenery along the way blurred as it receded. Orochimaru moved through the forest like a phantom.

It was currently high noon; the weather was clear and cloudless, and everything appeared perfectly normal.

That is, if not for the bizarre domain standing before him.

Dead silence, bone-chilling cold, and dimness. Despite the bright daylight, there was no warmth to be felt as he approached. Even though the sunlight shone directly upon him, those rays felt like nothing more than false illusions, failing to provide Orochimaru with even a shred of warmth.

Even standing at the edge, one could see faint snowflakes drifting slowly within that Dead Silence Domain, which looked as if it were separated by a layer of frosted glass.

From large animals to tiny insects, and even the plants, all had been drained of every ounce of energy within. They stood there like statues; rotting? No, they would never rot again, because even bacteria could not survive in such a desperate environment and were forced toward death.

At the edge of the Dead Silence Domain, Orochimaru stood with a grim expression. After seeing this domain, he knew that Nagato and the others were not exaggerating. This world might truly be on the verge of destruction. The reason this place looked so blurred, as if separated by frosted glass, could be explained scientifically.

It was because the light within this domain was being absorbed by something, preventing refraction and making it impossible for outsiders to see the situation inside, effectively forming a black body. The only reason they could still vaguely and barely make out the edges and the environment a short distance inside was that the light at the periphery had not been completely absorbed, allowing some residual rays to escape.

If this domain could truly expand without limit, Orochimaru could already foresee the future of this planet: an ultimate hell of total silence where no living thing could survive.

Even organisms capable of enduring the harshest and most brutal environments could not survive in such a desperate place, because it wasn't just a matter of cold—it was as if something were latched onto you, draining your blood.

Fortunately, it hasn't reached the state of an absolute black body yet, otherwise, it would be truly troublesome. With a domain this large, if it reached the level of an absolute black body, I fear that even if the legendary Sage of Six Paths were resurrected, he wouldn't be able to break in to see Uchiha Yue.

Orochimaru shook his head, a flash of relief in his eyes. He didn't know if the legendary Sage of Six Paths truly existed or how strong he was, but he knew that Nagato possessed the Rinnegan, and at the very least, the Rinnegan was real.

Yet, even Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan and styled himself as the Kami of the new world, a super-powerhouse, had no way to deal with Uchiha Yue. He even wanted to hide and rely on slumber, like a turtle god, to wait until Uchiha Yue withered away. Who said that those who live long aren't heroes? Who said a turtle couldn't be a god?

Mangekyo Sharingan... well, Uchiha Yue's strength was terrifyingly immense. Orochimaru had originally intended to say that the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan was terrifying, but after thinking about Uchiha Madara, who also had no way to deal with Uchiha Yue, he decided to let it go.

What Orochimaru didn't know was that when Uchiha Yue first awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan, this so-called domain didn't even exist around him. This domain was less of a domain and more of Uchiha Yue's predatory range; all energy within this area would be absorbed by him.

Moreover, in the beginning, it hadn't been this dim or dark. When Nagato and the others were instantly defeated by Uchiha Yue, they could at least barely see Uchiha Yue's blurred figure.

Now, they could only stand at the edge and stare blankly into the darkness.

"Let me see the energy absorption rate of this domain."

Orochimaru pondered. He certainly wouldn't risk himself; Jiraiya's fate was a cautionary tale. He directly created a Shadow Clone and sent it in to test the waters.

The Shadow Clone walked into the Dead Silence Domain and dissipated within seconds. That's right, it dissipated, it didn't just dispel. This wasn't an attack, but a draining of Chakra. If the normal dissipation of a Shadow Clone was a structural collapse, then this absorption was like drinking a beverage—draining it dry without destroying the overall structure of the clone, until the remaining Chakra could no longer sustain a human form.

Because the Chakra constituting the Shadow Clone had been completely absorbed, Orochimaru didn't even receive the clone's memories. Helpless, he had to create another Shadow Clone to go in. This time, the clone only lingered at the edge for a moment before leaping out just as it was about to dissipate, allowing Orochimaru to receive the memories.

After processing the memories, a look of extreme wariness appeared in Orochimaru's eyes. In those memories, after the clone entered, the Chakra within its body flowed out like a rushing river, impossible to stop in the slightest.

Following this, Orochimaru cautiously reached one of his hands inside.

After comparing the two, he discovered that entering with his physical body caused his Chakra to drain at a slower rate, but it was only slightly slower. No matter what methods Orochimaru used, he could not stop the loss of Chakra from within his body.

"It seems what the leader and the others said is true. The Ninja World is in big trouble. Damn Shimura Danzō, that damned old bastard. Of all the people he could have provoked, he had to go and mess with the Uchiha Clan. Now look at what's happened—he threw his own life away, nearly got Konoha destroyed, and now he's dragging the entire world down to the grave with him."

Orochimaru looked at this Dead Silence Domain, which was still slowly expanding, and felt truly miserable. He had been doing his research just fine; he wasn't even part of Konoha anymore, he had already defected. And yet, here was Shimura Danzō causing such a catastrophe for him. What a "final word" this turned out to be.

"At least the organization has a way out. Otherwise, even I would have no choice but to wait in despair for death, or hope that Uchiha Yue hasn't managed to shroud the entire planet in that power of destruction."

Admittedly, it seemed somewhat impossible for a mere pair of Mangekyo Sharingan to destroy the Ninja World, but they didn't dare to gamble. As long as this domain continued to expand and grow, they wouldn't dare take that risk.

It was like going to a comic convention, only to have news break the next day that a bio-hazard carrier had been present at the event you attended. Even if you had seen their medical clearance certificate yesterday, would you dare to gamble that you hadn't been infected? Wouldn't you still go to the hospital and get checked out obediently?

Who would dare to gamble with something that threatened their life?