After dealing with the Will of the Six Paths embedded in the bodies and Chakra of the three, Hyuga Shin began clearing away the portions of the Will of the Six Paths lodged in their soul spaces.
The soul space was a very strange place. The Will of the Six Paths had much greater autonomy there.
When Hyuga Shin's consciousness entered Orochimaru's soul space, it transformed into his own likeness of its own accord.
Hyuga Shin looked across the empty soul space. At its very center stood a spirit body identical to Orochimaru, staring blankly into space.
The spirit's forehead and eyelids had already begun to turn white, much like Kabuto Yakushi later on.
It was a sign that the Will of the Six Paths was corrupting him.
And the process was rapidly accelerating!
The Will of the Six Paths had sensed the danger, too.
Hyuga Shin immediately stopped wasting time. He flew to Orochimaru's spirit body and pressed a finger against its forehead.
An immense force of spirit surged forth like a mighty river, rushing toward the core of Orochimaru's spirit.
The consciousness of the Sage of Six Paths embedded within it was instantly suppressed.
Unless the Six Paths himself appeared in person, there was no way this fragment could withstand Hyuga Shin's powerful spiritual force.
Before long, Hyuga Shin drove a white figure out of Orochimaru's spirit body.
Orochimaru's spirit body gradually came to its senses, emerging from its blank stupor.
"You again, you wretched remnant! You deserve to die, Hyuga Shin!"
The Will of the Six Paths gathered into the form of a spirit and cursed Hyuga Shin furiously!
The Six Paths had originally thought he could sneak back in under Hyuga Shin's watch. He had even slowed the corruption deliberately, hoping not to draw Hyuga Shin's attention.
He hadn't expected Hyuga Shin to notice anyway.
Not only had Hyuga Shin wiped out nearly all the will he had embedded in them, he had also driven him out of Orochimaru's soul space.
His entire scheme had fallen apart, and he had lost almost every safeguard he had planted in Orochimaru since childhood.
"Sage of Six Paths, you really are a sneaky, underhanded bastard. You were trying to pull a fast one?"
"If I hadn't caught you in time, Orochimaru and the others would probably have ended up like Hashirama and the rest, dragged back onto the path of their original fates."
Hyuga Shin showed the Sage of Six Paths no courtesy whatsoever. His words were full of contempt.
"The fate of the Shinobi World cannot be changed by just anyone. You're no exception!"
"Don't think that learning a few truths means you can reshape the world. You'll only bring about your own destruction!"
"You're nothing but a slightly stronger ant among the teeming masses!"
"If not for me—" The Six Paths' voice was icy, brimming with murderous intent, but he stopped himself at the crucial moment.
"If not for what?"
"If you weren't trapped, or temporarily unable to get away?"
Hyuga Shin finished the Sage of Six Paths' sentence for him.
"Hmph! Young fool, the waters of the Shinobi World run far deeper than you can imagine!"
"You'd better stop struggling for nothing! Be careful you don't get burned!"
"How many years do you have left to live? You've enjoyed decades of peace. Aren't you afraid you'll die without a proper burial?"
Seeing that Hyuga Shin had seen through him, the Six Paths' spirit threatened him again, hoping he would recognize the situation and stop before it was too late.
"How deep can they run? Could anything be more deeply hidden than you, Six Paths?"
"Not only have you used this so-called fate to interfere with the Shinobi World's history and development, turning its strongest into your puppets..."
"You've treated shinobi like crops to cultivate and mines to exploit. You've got some nerve, Sage of Six Paths!"
"Does changing fate scare you that much?"
Hyuga Shin's words struck one nerve after another, slapping the Six Paths across the face.
The tirade left the Sage of Six Paths seething. He truly hated Hyuga Shin now.
Hyuga Shin had nearly exposed everything he had hidden. The Six Paths had no idea how he had learned those secrets.
Nor did he know how much Hyuga Shin might know about the other secrets he had kept concealed.
"Young fool! Don't test my patience. One day, you will answer for this!" the Sage of Six Paths threatened again.
"Yes, one day we'll settle this. And that day is coming soon!"
"Are you ready, Sage of Six Paths?"
Without waiting for the Six Paths' spirit to respond, Hyuga Shin turned his powerful spiritual consciousness into a grinding wheel and completely ground the Sage of Six Paths' will away!
Orochimaru's spirit, now fully conscious, wore a troubled expression.
He had just seen Hyuga Shin grind away the Will of the Six Paths.
He hadn't expected such a grave threat to be hiding in his soul!
No wonder he'd felt something was off these past two days. Thoughts that went against his own beliefs kept popping into his head.
Now he finally understood why Hyuga Shin had used a Sealing Technique on him back then.
He also understood the deeper meaning behind the things Hyuga Shin had told him.
"Had Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara been influenced, too?"
Orochimaru already knew the answer.
"Who exactly is that man?"
He seemed to have heard only the word "Sage" as he came to.
Orochimaru's horizons had widened once more, and he was even more eager to learn the truth about the Shinobi World.
"Now that you're awake, ask whatever you want."
"I might as well use this opportunity to answer some of the questions on your mind."
Hyuga Shin glanced at Orochimaru's troubled face. He was ready to serve him up a bitter dose of reality.
He wanted Orochimaru to understand just how dark this world was!
"Didn't you always say you hoped we would discover the truth for ourselves? Why have you changed your mind now?"
Orochimaru gathered his scattered thoughts and voiced his confusion.
"There isn't enough time. Things have gone beyond what I expected, and my research is still incomplete."
"If I don't act now, everything may fall back into the path he wants."
"My plan was for you to discover the truth yourself, but plans never keep pace with change."
Hyuga Shin answered calmly.
"Who is the one hiding deep in my soul?" Orochimaru asked, his expression troubled.
"The Sage of Six Paths! His will was embedded in your bodies."
Hyuga Shin didn't bother hiding anything. He laid it all out.
"The Sage of Six Paths! He's still alive?"
"Why did he embed his will in my body and soul? What was his purpose?"
"How did he do it without my knowing?"
"When you say 'your,' do you mean Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara were affected, too?"
"Was he the one who targeted you back then?"
After learning the truth, Orochimaru fired off a string of questions.
"He is indeed still alive, and doing just fine."
"He was the one who targeted me back then."
"As for why he embedded himself in you, why you didn't notice, and whether Hashirama and Madara were affected..."
"We can answer all of that with one explanation."
"The Will of the Six Paths isn't just inside you. It's inside every shinobi!"
Hyuga Shin gave Orochimaru an answer that left him stunned.
"How is that possible?"
"Even the Sage of Six Paths couldn't embed his will in every shinobi!"
Orochimaru still found it hard to believe.
"Then you should know who passed down the Chakra system, right?"
Hyuga Shin ignored Orochimaru's shock and simply asked a question.
"Chakra originated with the Sage of Six Paths!" Orochimaru suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
He knew that much. It had always been recorded in the Shinobi World.
"Was all of this a conspiracy?" Orochimaru gave a bitter laugh.
He was too clever not to piece it together immediately.
"Save any other questions for later. Tsunade and Nawaki's side is taken care of, too."
With that, Hyuga Shin's consciousness vanished completely from Orochimaru's soul space.
Before you continue