Fortunately, There Was Still a Way Out

Whoosh!

The scenery raced past as Orochimaru flitted through the forest like a phantom.

It was midday. The sky was clear and cloudless, and everything looked perfectly normal.

If not for the bizarre domain before him.

Silence. Cold. Darkness. Though it was a bright, sunny day, he felt no warmth as he approached. The sunlight clearly shone upon him, yet those rays seemed like false illusions, bringing Orochimaru not even a trace of warmth.

Even from the edge, he could see snowflakes drifting slowly down within the Dead Silence Domain, which looked as though it lay behind a layer of frosted glass.

From animals to insects, even the plants—everything within had been drained of all energy, frozen in place like sculptures. Rot? No, they would never rot again. Even bacteria could not survive in such a hopeless environment and could only die.

At the edge of the Dead Silence Domain, Orochimaru stood with an ugly expression. The moment he saw this domain, he knew Nagato and the others had not been exaggerating. This world truly might be destroyed. The reason this place looked so hazy, as though separated by a layer of frosted glass, was, in scientific terms—

The light within this domain had been absorbed by something, preventing it from refracting and making it impossible for those outside to see what was happening inside. It had formed a black body. The only reason they could still vaguely make out the edge and the nearby interior was that the light at the boundary had not been completely absorbed. Some light still managed to escape.

If this domain could truly expand without limit, Orochimaru could already see this planet's future. It would become an ultimate hell of utter silence, where no living thing could survive.

Even organisms capable of surviving the coldest and most brutal environments would not be able to endure such a despairing place. This was not merely a matter of cold; it was as though something was clinging to you and sucking your blood.

"Fortunately, it hasn't reached the level of an Absolute Black Body yet. Otherwise, this would be real trouble. With such a vast domain, if it reached the level of an Absolute Black Body, even if the legendary Sage of Six Paths came back to life, he probably wouldn't be able to force his way in and meet Uchiha Yue."

Orochimaru shook his head, a hint of relief flashing through his eyes. He did not know whether the legendary Sage of Six Paths truly existed, nor how strong he was, but he knew Nagato possessed the Rinnegan. At the very least, the Rinnegan was real.

Yet even Nagato, a supreme powerhouse with the Rinnegan who called himself the Kami-sama of the new world, could do nothing to Uchiha Yue. He had even wanted to hide away and rely on slumber, like some turtle deity, to outlast Uchiha Yue. Who said living a long life meant you weren't a hero? Who said a turtle couldn't become a god?

Mangekyō Sharingan... well, Uchiha Yue's strength was utterly terrifying. Originally, Orochimaru had wanted to say the Mangekyō Sharingan's power was utterly terrifying, but then he thought of Uchiha Madara, who likewise could do absolutely nothing to Uchiha Yue. Well, never mind.

What Orochimaru did not know was that when Uchiha Yue had first awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, there had not even been this so-called domain around him. Rather than a domain, it was more accurately Uchiha Yue's feeding range. All energy within it would be absorbed by him.

And at the beginning, it had not been so dim and dark. When Nagato and the others had been instantly defeated by Uchiha Yue, they had at least been able to barely see his blurry figure.

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

"Let me see how quickly this domain absorbs energy."

As Orochimaru pondered, he naturally had no intention of going in himself. Jiraiya's fate was a warning enough. He directly created a Shadow Clone and had it conduct the test for him.

The Shadow Clone entered the Dead Silence Domain and dissipated after only a few seconds. Yes, dissipated, not dispelled. This was not an attack, but Chakra extraction. If an ordinary Shadow Clone's dispersal was the destruction of its structure, then this absorption was like drinking a beverage—without damaging the clone's overall structure, it drained it dry until the remaining Chakra could no longer maintain a human form.

Moreover, because all the Chakra making up the Shadow Clone had been absorbed, Orochimaru did not even receive its memories. Helpless, he created another Shadow Clone and sent it inside. This time, the clone only lingered at the edge for a moment before abruptly leaping out just as it was about to dissipate, allowing Orochimaru to receive its memories.

After receiving the Shadow Clone's memories, immense wariness appeared in Orochimaru's eyes. In those memories, after the clone entered, the Chakra in its body flowed away madly like running water. There was simply no way to stop it.

Then Orochimaru cautiously extended one of his hands inside.

After comparing the results, he found that when flesh entered, the rate of Chakra loss was slower—but only slightly slower. No matter what methods Orochimaru used, he could not stop the Chakra from leaking out of his body.

"It seems the leader and the others were telling the truth. The Ninja World is in deep trouble. Damn Shimura Danzō. That damned old bastard could have provoked anyone, but he just had to provoke the Uchiha Clan. Now look at this—he got himself killed, nearly got Konoha destroyed, and now he's dragging the whole world down with him."

Orochimaru looked at the Dead Silence Domain, which was still slowly expanding, and felt utterly miserable. He had been doing his research just fine. He was no longer part of Konoha; he had already defected. And now Shimura Danzō had created this massive disaster for him. What a cursed final act.

"Fortunately, the organization still has a way out. Otherwise, even I could only wait for death in despair, praying that Uchiha Yue's destructive power has not enveloped the entire planet."

Indeed, it seemed somewhat impossible for a mere pair of Mangekyō Sharingan to destroy the Ninja World, but they did not dare gamble on it. As long as this domain continued expanding and growing, they would not dare take that chance.

It was like going to a convention, then suddenly seeing news the next day that a biohazard source had appeared at the convention you attended yesterday. Even if you had seen their medical certificate yesterday, would you dare gamble that you hadn't been infected? Wouldn't you still obediently go to the hospital for an examination?

Who would dare gamble with something that threatened their life?