The Ultimate Unlucky Bastard

Opposite Orochimaru, Itachi remained calm, his body slightly lowered as he assumed a fighting stance.

His green vest was covered in scattered, deep red bloodstains, and the long sword in his hand was dripping with blood.

That was the blood of Sunagakure, Sound Ninja, and a large number of unidentified attackers.

As a disciple of the Hokage, he was assigned by Shuichi to command and guard a key defensive line. Unexpectedly, just after defeating the enemy, his younger brother Sasuke was "accidentally" kidnapped.

Orochimaru even sent a snake as a signal, clearly indicating that he wanted Orochimaru to track the enemy alone.

And now... he has indeed arrived!

"On the surface, you seem to be one of the masterminds behind the attack on Konoha. But in reality, your true purpose in this operation is to Sharingan of our Uchiha Clan!" Itachi flicked the blood off his sword, his Three-Tomoe fixed on Orochimaru.

Orochimaru licked his lips and chuckled, "You're quite perceptive, Itachi-kun!"

"I was very uncertain at first, but now I can tell that you are more outstanding than Uchiha Shisui, and have greater potential!"

"I noticed you many years ago..." Orochimaru's expression was excited, with a hint of fanaticism and longing on his face:

"Within the Uchiha Clan, you are the perfect candidate!"

A pale white snake slowly swam out, wrapped its tail around the unconscious Sasuke, and leisurely left Orochimaru's side.

Itachi saw this but said nothing; even though his younger brother had been captured, his mind remained completely undisturbed.

If he's right, Sasuke is Orochimaru's backup plan, at least for the time being, so he won't be in any immediate danger.

"When the powers of the Senju and Uchiha combine, they can achieve yin and yang unity and obtain everything in the world..." Itachi thought to himself.

"This is what is recorded on the Stone Tablet in Naka Shrine."

Orochimaru had been researching Hashirama Cells for a long time, and given his involvement with that mysterious organization using the Rinnegan, it's not surprising that he had some suspicions.

Itachi happens to be the most unique member of the Uchiha.

He is both a disciple of the Hokage and the eldest son of the Uchiha Clan Head, almost certainly destined to become the next clan head, and also possesses the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Due to a combination of factors, he knew far more information and secrets than his father, Shisui, and others.

For example, the two ultimate Forbidden Jutsu, Izanagi and Izanami, are only known to Itachi and Fugaku within the clan. They are secret techniques passed down from the clan head's lineage, but only Itachi can actually use them.

"The first person to mix blue and yellow together will name the new color green..." Orochimaru raised his hands slightly, his snake-like eyes fixed on Itachi's figure, looking at them with a greedy glint in his eyes.

Only those who have mastered all knowledge in the world and understood all truths are qualified to be called the Ultimate Individual!

Itachi-kun, give me your body!

Call out!

Orochimaru transformed into a blur as he charged toward Itachi, completely indistinct in the sight of ordinary people, demonstrating his astonishing speed.

In Itachi's eyes, his opponent's body exploded like a hedgehog's quills.

White bone spurs covered the plant, resembling a Thorn Flower, yet it charged headlong into itself with a brutal force.

"The Shikotsumyaku and the Modified Soft Body? Looks like we must finish this quickly!"

Click!

The two collided in the blink of an eye, and red chakra erupted from Itachi's body, forming an indestructible armor.

The immense impact caused the bone spurs to break.

He stood firmly in place, without retreating an inch, and blocked Orochimaru's attack head-on.

Susanoo!

"As expected, you..."

Boom--

The solidified red chakra surged rapidly, and a nearly two-meter-wide chakra fist slammed down like a giant hammer from above, directly pressing Orochimaru into the ground.

The attack blasted a crater several meters in diameter into the ground, sending dirt and debris flying everywhere.

Amidst the choking dust, the white body struck by the bullet was riddled with cracks, then softened instantly.

Shedding its outer skin, a lump of flesh of unknown origin appeared, quickly putting some distance between itself and the Itachi.

Before Orochimaru could even speak, he retreated using his exclusive Regeneration Substitution Jutsu, and Itachi's Mangekyo was already firmly locked onto him, the triangular windmills spinning in his eyes.

Black Flames ignited, relentlessly scorching Orochimaru's entire body. The unbearable heat and pain were so intense that even his Shikotsumyaku) couldn't withstand it, causing him to groan, "Ughhh..."

Splash splash--

Just as the offensive was going smoothly, Orochimaru's body exploded completely.

The tiny white body multiplied and expanded, growing taller at an astonishing rate.

A monster, comparable in size to Tailed Beast and composed of eight giant snakes, appeared in the forest— Orochimaru's Eight Branches Technique!

"Itachi, I'm here. Become one with me..." The giant snake head roared, its hoarse voice echoing through the forest.

The Eight-Branched Giant Snake Susanoo tightly enveloped Susanoo, and terrifying amounts of chakra clashed together.

Time in the real world seemed to stand still. The scene before Itachi changed, and he arrived in a mental space composed of countless white, slippery, fleshy snakes.

Soon, a strange, somewhat ugly snake emerged from the "clouds and mist".

Upon closer inspection, one can't help but get goosebumps; the snake's body is actually composed of countless tiny white snakes.

If we were to describe it in a general way, we could only use the phrase "snake plus snake plus snake".

"Hiss~~" Orochimaru laughed confidently.

The fact that Uchiha Itachi was able to defeat Sasori suggests that Sasori likely possesses the Mangekyō Sharingan, and that this eye is only one step away from becoming the Rinnegan. Today, I will obtain it completely!

"This is Mental Alternate Space I've been preparing for a long time. The chakra reserves of the Eight Branches Technique are comparable to those of Tailed Beast, and even more than ten times greater than yours..."

Orochimaru quickly swam towards Itachi, saying, "It's about to begin. Don't worry, the fusion will be over in a split second."

Your thoughts will remain in my heart, becoming truly eternal!

Knock knock!

The crimson eyes opened, and the snakes in the alternate dimension instantly froze.

Orochimaru was incredulous; he was completely immobilized, his will being overwhelmed and suppressed by the opponent.

"How is this possible! This is my home turf, how can someone possess such powerful Dojutsu..."

Itachi looked at him indifferently, the windmills in his eyes continuing to spin, "No matter what technique you use, it will have no effect in front of my eyes."

The alternate dimension filled with snakes and flesh instantly vanished, the sky turned blood red, and the world became only black, white, and red.

Orochimaru's eyes widened as he looked around. The ground nearby was covered with lines of "himself"!

Before he could amuse himself, a ninja shoe descended from the sky, crushing countless White Snake into a bloody pulp, their screams echoing endlessly.

Orochimaru looked up at the sky in shock. Itachi's body was like a terrifying giant, crushing the swarm of snakes with a body hundreds of times larger.

The scene was probably similar to an ordinary person stepping on a cockroach or rat.

"It's over. Within my Genjutsu, everything about you is at my disposal!" Itachi said casually.

Beneath the forest waterfall, the red warrior stands proudly.

He held a huge gourd in his right hand, opened the mouth of the bottle, and a beam of energy pierced a certain part of the Eight-Branched Giant Snake. The huge serpent's body immediately melted, and all its flesh was sucked into the gourd. Soon, the previous noise was gone.

Itachi looked around, immediately released his Susanoo, and set off in a certain direction to pursue the snake. Before long, he found the snake that had kidnapped Sasuke earlier, which was now twisting and turning and frantically trying to escape.

Pfft!

Reddish-purple splattered as a sharp blade pierced the head of the giant White Snake from top to bottom. Its tenacious will to live allowed it to thrash wildly before its death.

Its struggles abruptly ceased when its body was severed into several pieces with a few quick "whoosh" sounds.

Swoosh.

As Itachi helped the unconscious Sasuke up, a figure suddenly appeared behind him.

Itachi turned his head alertly, then immediately relaxed, "Sensei..."

"You took care of Orochimaru?" Shuichi eyebrow, his face full of curiosity.

"That should be it!" Itachi thought for a moment, then slowly spoke:

"It was sealed with the Totsuka Blade, and I didn't see any extra snake clones break free. Your perception is far superior to mine; I wonder if you've discovered anything?"

"Hmm... I really didn't feel anything, so it seems like it was a complete success. Well done!"

Shuichi felt a mix of emotions, then a strange urge to laugh.

Orochimaru never escaped the fear of being controlled by the Sharingan in this lifetime; fate is truly wondrous. This time, I, the Great Itagaki, will not betray my master, but only destroy my ancestor...

Shuichi knew Orochimaru had many resurrected clones, so he didn't pay much attention to it. Seeing that Sasuke was alright, he waved to Itachi: "Let's go. There are still many things in the village waiting for me to arrange. Tell me the details of the battle on the way."

"Yes!"

Swish--

As they neared the village, after Itachi's detailed explanation, Shuichi had to admit that Orochimaru's spirit of exploration was truly strong; he was only one step away from becoming a god.

However, the Shinobi World is extremely unfriendly to scientists. They were so close to getting rich, but their own rational judgment caused them to lose out. They were incredibly unlucky.

Based on Orochimaru's actions in this operation, Shuichi could easily deduce the cause and effect.

After the Akatsuki Organization came into contact with the Rinnegan, Orochimaru, who had the First Hokage Cells, may have realized that the Rinnegan was the ultimate evolution of the Sharingan.

However, directly seizing the property would be difficult to succeed, so he set his sights on the Uchiha Clan.

Logically speaking, with so many Uchiha members, it's unlikely that just anyone with Three-Tomoe could achieve the Rinnegan, right?

Without a God's-eye view, if Orochimaru used scientific reasoning, he would naturally target the person with the strongest talent.

Coincidentally, Uchiha Shisui awakened the Mangekyo, and Itachi's talent is also extremely strong; he recently defeated Sasori. Ultimately, it's just a matter of choosing one of the two.

At this point, Sasuke, who only had Two Tomoe, was probably just a backup plan to be taken back for research after Itachi's failed attempt to seize his body.

"What bad luck! Indra's Chakra was right on his lips, but he didn't even make a move." Shuichi said, both amused and exasperated. "Besides, with Orochimaru's endless tricks Mangekyō Sharingan."

But he just happened to run into the Totsuka Blade...

.

When the two of them brought Sasuke to the Chunin Ninja Exams venue, there were far fewer Konoha Ninja there than before, and most of the corpses from both sides had already been moved to the Medical Department.

"Lord Hokage!"

"Lord Hokage..." Kakashi and the others approached immediately upon seeing Shuichi and Itachi appear.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief when he found Sasuke lying quietly on Itachi's back.

After all, among the three members of Team 7, only Sasuke is a ninja with the same style as him. It's not easy to have a disciple who can completely inherit his mantle.

"Sakura just came over and told me that they were on a mission in the stands when they were suddenly attacked by an unknown expert," Kakashi reported. "The enemy took advantage of the chaos to ambush Sasuke and then disappeared. That was..."

"Yes, it was Orochimaru. It seems he was manipulating the Impure World Reincarnation from the stands the whole time." Shuichi stroked his chin and said, "Now that it's resolved, he won't be showing up again."

"I need to go to the Intelligence Department to check on the progress of the interrogation. You continue to direct the Jonin to clear the battlefield according to plan. We can discuss other matters once things have stabilized."

"... Okay." Upon hearing that Orochimaru was dead, Kakashi's heart stirred.

However, seeing that Shuichi didn't intend to bring it up again, he naturally didn't pry.

"So that <Iga Ninjutsu Scroll> also carries Shuichi's thoughts and will!" Kakashi imagined the scene of the master-disciple duel on Shuichi's side.

In the end Lord Hokage had no choice but to take drastic measures for the sake of the village; such resolve... truly remarkable!