It had to be said, Orochimaru was a shady bastard through and through, but the perks that came with it were pretty good. No wonder he could be the Prisoner Great of Otogakure.
It wasn't that he lacked the ability, either. Josuke figured his own standing with Orochimaru was probably that of a high-ranking member.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to come and go freely in Orochimaru's ninjutsu archive. Of course, even if Josuke wanted to get in, nobody could stop him.
Come to think of it, his decision to learn Sealing Techniques had been purely a spur-of-the-moment idea. Well, not entirely. After somehow awakening the Mangekyo, Josuke had started feeling a little uneasy about what the future held.
The Mangekyo was great, but using it meant he'd have to replace his eyes.
Eternal Mangekyo?
What a joke. Could he even get that? And whose eyes would he use—Shisui's? By then, his own eyes would probably be burned out.
He'd probably be stuck at this level for the rest of his life: the Mangekyo Sharingan.
As for that Eternal Light?
Josuke didn't dare hope for that much. Actually, from the start, his goal hadn't been the Mangekyo at all. It was to transplant Hashirama Cells and develop them to their fullest potential.
To become another Hashirama!!!
It was a beautiful idea. Reality was even more beautiful—cough, cough, spit, spit. Reality was harsh.
But if he went blind later, it seemed like Six Paths Naruto could just donate him a pair of eyes. That wouldn't be a bad deal. Even without the Mangekyo, he could still rely on Wood Release to run roughshod over the Shinobi World.
With that thought, Josuke cheered up again and continued searching for Sealing Technique scrolls.
What Josuke didn't know was that his closest loved ones had already placed the Eternal Light in his hands. All it needed was the right moment. He only had to wait for the flower to bloom.
But that was beside the point.
Why did Josuke want to learn Sealing Techniques?
Josuke wasn't an ambitious person, but he'd had a goal ever since he was young. It wasn't a grand one. It was simply about you, me, and him. The far-reaching goal might mean making an enemy of the entire Shinobi World.
To protect the people dearest to him, in the name of the Uchiha.
That was why Josuke needed power—the power of the Tailed Beasts. It was also why he planned to defect. Staying in that lousy Konoha really wasn't going to get him anywhere.
He wasn't the Crown Prince, able to awaken powers and seal enemies as he leveled up along the way.
He was just a little Uchiha brat. If Konoha didn't openly discriminate against him, he'd already be satisfied. If the villagers ever invited him to a drinking party, he'd definitely be seated at the same table as Naruto.
As for which Tailed Beast to capture, how to capture it, and where to find it, Josuke didn't have a clue. There was already a little Tailed Beast Chakra inside him, though not much,
but it had indeed made him stronger.
That was why Josuke wanted to capture a Tailed Beast and become a Jinchuriki.
Of course, all of this was just Josuke's fantasy. Still, learning Sealing Techniques wasn't a bad idea. It could even expand his arsenal.
So he decided to learn a few, just in case.
Sealing scrolls, sealing scrolls...
After some searching, Josuke finally found a thick scroll. It contained all kinds of Sealing Techniques, both large and small.
Some could only seal small ninja tools, while others could seal half a bridge. And, of course, it even included the main event: a Sealing Technique for capturing and subduing a Tailed Beast.
Most importantly, these Sealing Techniques had largely been left behind by Konoha's forbidden-technique expert, Tobirama Senju!!!
Damn, this was something else.
Back in those days, the tears wouldn't dry~
Ahem.
Why was there a BGM playing in his head again?
That wasn't the point. The point was what the scroll contained. There was one technique that suited Josuke perfectly: a solo Tailed Beast sealing technique. The connection could be severed at any time, with no pain or backlash, and it worked immediately.
Cough, cough.
Anyway, there was a Sealing Technique that was an excellent fit for Josuke. It was called Sealing: Heavenly World.
(I came up with it myself; there's no deeper meaning. The name comes from the Japanese mythological Takamagahara. The first time I heard of Takamagahara was when I played Honkai: Star Rail. How did you know I had E0S1 Acheron? Ahem, that's beside the point. Anyway, that's the name.)
It was a terrifying technique. Josuke drew a sharp breath. How had Orochimaru gotten his hands on a scroll like this? Had he dug up the Second Generation's grave?
It seemed he really had dug it up. In that case, having this scroll made sense. The Heavenly World had only two simple requirements for the caster. First, they had to withstand the power of a Tailed Beast. Second, they could only use it once on each kind of Tailed Beast in their lifetime.
Josuke didn't know the exact reason. The Second Generation couldn't have been lying to himself, could he?
But had the Second Generation even been a Jinchuriki? Developing a Sealing Technique to capture Tailed Beasts without being one seemed a little unreliable. Josuke thought it over, then decided that since he was already here, he couldn't leave empty-handed. So he might as well see it through and learn Sealing: Heavenly World.
The learning process was so tedious that we'll skip straight to today, when he had mastered it.
Today was also the day Orochimaru returned. Sasuke came back with him, and both of them looked battered and exhausted.
Their sorry state naturally caught Josuke's attention.
"What happened? Why do you both look so beat up?"
Orochimaru's expression was dark. His hatred for those Old Sixes had grown even stronger.
Neither of them answered. Kabuto appeared behind them and explained to Josuke,
"We had a shipment that was supposed to be brought back to the base. We'd kept it well hidden all this time, but today Ibiki and the others intercepted us on the way. There were several elite Konoha jonin in their group, and even Lord Orochimaru was injured."
Was that so?
Josuke thought it over. How had the Konoha ninjas gotten their intelligence? And not just any information, but details about their supply shipments? As far as he remembered, Orochimaru personally kept a close eye on procurement.
That left two possibilities: there was a mole, or someone had stolen the goods in a black-market deal. As for who was responsible, Josuke didn't need to say it. Surely the handsome male Tomato readers and the pretty Tomato girls already knew.
It was none other than our great 5.5th Generation Hokage!!!
A loyalist who carried the Will of Fire through to the end.
"Have you figured out who it was?"
After thinking for a moment, Josuke asked.
Orochimaru shook his head. He still had no idea, and besides, the time for Living Corpse Reincarnation was drawing near. He'd been suffering from headaches every day lately.
He urgently needed a new vessel.
As he spoke, his eyes drifted toward Sasuke.
"I can say with certainty that our people are trustworthy. But I think it's possible one of our partners betrayed us!"
Orochimaru's voice was so cold that Josuke felt there was no need to turn on the air conditioner.
If you crossed Orochimaru, he might not dare fight back while he was being humiliated to his face. But there were plenty of examples of him paying people back a hundredfold later.
So Orochimaru gave the order,
"..."
Before you continue