The Face Beneath the Disguise

Katsuo's threat at that moment was utterly powerless and laughable...

Orochimaru even began to brazenly mock Katsuo's ignorance and stupidity.

Of course, in Orochimaru's eyes, this behavior only fit the image of an ignorant, fearless, wild, and unruly solitary child. That unfathomable impression Katsuo had given him before had simply been him overthinking things!

Although these matters fell apart under closer scrutiny and were full of holes, Orochimaru had no patience to keep playing this guessing game with him...

If he could not get anything else out of him, Orochimaru would not hesitate to strangle this brat!

But before Orochimaru could question him again, the boy before him lowered his head and laughed. His low chuckle was brimming with mockery!

"Heh heh, hahahaha!"

Orochimaru's expression darkened slightly. He controlled the snakes in his hand to tighten their coils, then stared at Katsuo's face and coldly demanded:

"What are you laughing at?"

"Heh heh, I'm laughing at your ignorance and stupidity. You think ninjutsu of this level can defeat me? Before these eyes of mine, everything you do is nothing more than futile effort!"

Katsuo's voice drifted into Orochimaru's ears. Orochimaru glared viciously at the crazed brat submerged beneath the snakes, with only his head exposed!

Just as murderous intent rose within him, a terrifying sight that shattered his composure appeared before him!

The brat in his field of vision suddenly raised his head. A pair of scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan radiating an eerie aura stared fixedly at him...

He could even see the three tomoe focusing on him before slowly beginning to rotate!

The instant he saw this, Orochimaru did not have time to be shocked. Realizing something was wrong, he hurriedly averted his gaze!

Unfortunately, it was already too late!

Katsuo's ocular technique had successfully activated!

The moment Orochimaru saw those Sharingan, his mind jolted violently... When he came back to his senses, he found that his consciousness had been dragged into a genjutsu space!

"What is this?!"

Seeing strange wedges driven into his limbs and feeling waves of pain radiate from them... Orochimaru's face grew increasingly grim!

He could not sense his Chakra!

And his limbs could not move at all!

He could not even bite his tongue to stimulate himself and break the genjutsu!

"What kind of genjutsu is this?!"

Orochimaru's surprise had completely turned into horror!

He discovered that the vast array of ninjutsu he had mastered throughout his life, his secret techniques that he had been so proud of, and even his summoning techniques had all become useless decorations!

This genjutsu space was incredibly stable... That meant the other party's spiritual power vastly surpassed his own!

"I told you, your pride is utterly worthless before these eyes of mine!"

"If I wanted to kill you, all I would need to do is lightly draw a Kunai across your throat outside, and your life would end there!"

Looking at Uchiha Katsuo standing before him completely unharmed, fear appeared in Orochimaru's eyes for the first time!

At this point, he was still somewhat immature. He lacked the cunning and scheming he would possess decades later, and even more so the calm composure he would show in a crisis!

After trying for quite some time, Orochimaru knew that he could not break free from this genjutsu by himself!

The helpless feeling of being at another's mercy filled him with despair, turning his face pale, especially when he saw the expressionless boy before him shake his head!

"Wait, we can work together. I can solve the problem with your body!"

Orochimaru hurriedly spoke up. He did not want to truly be killed here!

At heart, he was still someone afraid of death. To delay aging and death, he had not hesitated to abandon his own body. Even at the risk of damaging his soul, he continuously used the Living Corpse Reincarnation Technique, all so he could cling to life and continue researching all manner of Forbidden Techniques!

Katsuo saw Orochimaru's panic, but he remained unmoved. His blood-red Sharingan continued to stare intently at Orochimaru.

Seeing those eerily tranquil eyes, Orochimaru's heart skipped a beat, and then he truly panicked!

Just as he was about to offer even more concessions, Katsuo's cold voice sounded before he could speak:

"Remember what you said!"

As the words fell, Orochimaru's vision blurred, and he returned to the real world.

Uchiha Katsuo had already broken free from the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands. The sharp Kunai in his hand withdrew from Orochimaru's neck. Feeling a warm drop of blood trickle out, every fact proved that Katsuo truly had the ability to kill him!

Looking at the retreating figure, Orochimaru forced a pale smile.

"A nine-year-old with Three-Tomoe Sharingan... No, perhaps even earlier... Unbelievable!"

"How exactly did you obtain Three-Tomoe Sharingan? And why did you hide your strength and feign weakness? In the entire history of the shinobi world, there has never been anyone under ten with Three-Tomoe Sharingan... Who exactly are you? What do you want?"

"I see an ambition in you that is suffocating!"

Youth and simple-mindedness were merely this person's outward appearance and disguise. Thinking of how the other party had earned the trust of his teacher, the Third Hokage, and Tsunade, Orochimaru could not help but feel a chill run down his spine...

Even Orochimaru himself had misjudged the person before him!

He did not believe someone with such schemes was only nine years old. This was a child whose body had been taken over. Orochimaru firmly believed it!

After this incident, Orochimaru's true body-stealing technique—Living Corpse Reincarnation—would be brought into existence ahead of time because of him!

"Fulfill what you promised, and I will give you a pair of Sharingan as the reward you deserve."

Katsuo spoke in a low voice with his back to Orochimaru.

Katsuo's words visibly startled Orochimaru, and his face instantly filled with delight. After all, Sharingan were priceless and impossible to buy. Every pair was immensely precious, and it was not easy to seize them through ordinary assassination methods!

The difficulty was extremely high, and there were countless complications. One careless mistake could expose him. After all, when members of the Uchiha Clan who had awakened their eyes left the village for missions, Jonin would accompany them for protection. Trying to seize their eyes meant fighting Jonin, and especially in a one-on-one situation, it was difficult to stop the other party from escaping!

Although the Uchiha Clan did not have the Hyuga Clan's Caged Bird Seal, the Uchiha Clan had many Jonin. One Jonin leading several clan members on missions was entirely feasible. This was also one of the important reasons why the Uchiha Clan was becoming increasingly unable to integrate into Konoha: the clan was highly exclusionary!

In the Original Work, Obito could mingle with Kakashi because he had no value in the early days—a dead last. A clan member without awakened eyes had no value, and was free to go wherever he pleased. But after awakening his eyes, especially Double Tomoe, leaving the village required reporting to the clan and gaining its approval!

Just as Konoha ninja had to report when leaving the village, Uchiha Clan members with awakened eyes, except Jonin, also had to report to the clan before leaving. Those who had awakened their eyes but were not Jonin also had the right to apply for protection when leaving the village—meaning protection from a Jonin when the mission was particularly dangerous.

These measures were all meant to protect the Sharingan. Even Konoha would not interfere with such decisions by the Uchiha Clan, because the Sharingan was the core of the Uchiha Clan's power. Providing a certain degree of protection was the duty and responsibility of the clan!

"I don't want a third person to know about tonight."

Katsuo did not explain Orochimaru's doubts. After leaving those words behind, he vanished from the spot!

Watching Katsuo leave, Orochimaru's snake-like pupils contracted sharply once more.

"Body Flicker Technique!"