Feeling Pain

"Lord Orochimaru, the 'Wandering Miko' disappeared three years ago. Please address me by my current name, Yakushi Nonō."

The blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty smiled with narrowed eyes, projecting a sunny and gentle aura. Even Guo Wang and Orochimaru, who knew her true colors, could not detect any falseness in this smile, which sent a slight chill through their hearts.

This woman—if she could not be kept under control, it would be better to dispose of her.

In that instant, the two men shared the exact same thought.

"So, Elder Danzo, what is it you wish to tell me? I hardly believe this woman can demonstrate the mysteries of the world's origin."

Guo Wang glanced at Orochimaru beside him and applied a slight force to his hand. The long box he had retrieved from the tombstone of Kagami Uchiha shattered instantly, revealing its contents.

Inside was a block of ice, and frozen within it was a black flower. At the very center of the flower sat a Three Tomoe Sharingan.

"Uchiha Madara—have you heard this name?"

"Are you mocking me, Elder Danzo? How could I not know the strongest of the Uchiha, one of the two founders of Konoha and the only one capable of trading blows with the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju?"

Yakushi Nonō took the ice-sealed Sharingan from Guo Wang and placed it into a bowl of pre-prepared medicinal liquid to dissolve. On the other side, Danzo pulled an ancient booklet from a hidden compartment in the secret chamber and tossed it to Orochimaru.

"This is the Second Hokage's research record on the corpse of Uchiha Madara. I happen to need some time for the anesthesia to take effect, so you may read it."

Madara's... corpse!?

Upon hearing this term, Orochimaru's interest surged instantly. He was nearing the completion of a forbidden jutsu from the Scroll of Seals; if he could get his hands on the corpse of this strongest Uchiha, his arsenal of ninjutsu would become even more formidable.

Supported by Yakushi Nonō, Guo Wang lay down on a white bed prepared in the secret chamber. The bandages covering his right eye and half of his body were unwound, revealing his scarred flesh and the Three Tomoe Sharingan that remained permanently active.

"Oh, you are adapting quite well, Elder Danzo."

Orochimaru created a Shadow Clone to read the booklet while his main body stood by the wall, watching Yakushi Nonō inject Guo Wang with a special dark green serum. His dark golden snake-like pupils were filled with curiosity.

He had personally implanted that Sharingan, but he had never thought it was a good idea.

He had collected several Three Tomoe Sharingan on the battlefield, but he did not even hold the original elite Uchiha jonin in high regard, let alone the remnants left behind after their owners had died.

"Sarutobi Hiruzen must have told you about the ultimate mystery of the Sharingan, right?"

"Yes, the so-called Mangekyo. It is also the strongest Kekkei Genkai that allowed Uchiha Madara to control the Nine-Tails and battle the First Hokage at the Valley of the End."

Guo Wang recalled all the knowledge Danzo possessed regarding the Sharingan. Under the influence of the special serum, the Three Tomoe in his right eye began to spin frantically, evolving toward the mysterious pattern of the Mangekyo.

"I wouldn't call it the strongest; the First's Wood Release is the ultimate Kekkei Genkai. But compared to Wood Release, which only a god could master, the Mangekyo is far easier to obtain."

"Only a god can master it? That is not necessarily true. What do you think, Elder Danzo!"

Orochimaru's incredibly playful remark caused Guo Wang to furrow his brows, his gaze gradually turning icy.

"Kinoe is my property, not your prey. You would do well to learn to close your eyes when it comes to him."

The atmosphere in the secret chamber suddenly turned frigid. Yakushi Nonō felt the previously smiling Orochimaru transform into a man-eating snake in an instant. An invisible, oppressive aura descended upon her like a gaping maw, causing her legs—weak in ninjutsu—to buckle, nearly collapsing her to the floor.

"It seems it is time to let you experience the power of the Mangekyo."

Knowing Orochimaru's personality, Danzo was not surprised by the scene before him; or perhaps, this was the result of his own orchestration. He had intended to use this opportunity to deal with this snake that was growing increasingly cold.

"Then, let the ignorant me witness the legendary power of Uchiha Madara!"

Orochimaru's eyes widened sharply, his expression a mix of a smile and a snarl. He opened his mouth and spat out a sword as clear as water, which transformed into a beam of light and pierced toward Guo Wang—whose right eye had already shifted into the Mangekyo pattern—with lightning speed.

"Feel the authority of a god!"

He lifted his left hand, which was still pierced by a needle, and a wave of invisible repulsive force, as heavy as a million-ton mountain, erupted. After deflecting the Kusanagi Sword, it crushed the Shadow Clone that was reading the book and finally shattered the earthen wall Orochimaru had summoned with ninjutsu, slamming his main body heavily into the steel-reinforced wall of the chamber.

When Yakushi Nonō finally regained her senses, she saw a human-shaped crater embedded in several steel walls. At the end of her line of sight, she finally saw the "corpse" of Orochimaru, who had been crushed nearly to pieces.

"Lord Danzo, Lord Orochimaru is, after all, a hero of Konoha and a disciple of the Third Hokage. To execute him like this..."

"Execute!?"

Guo Wang looked at the blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman with a skeptical gaze, retracting his left hand with a hint of dissatisfaction.

"Although I would very much like to dispose of this fellow, unfortunately, he possesses a vitality like a snake and can continuously shed his skin to be reborn."

"Hehehe, Elder Danzo's praise leaves me flattered. I am actually quite interested in what you just said, Elder."

Orochimaru, who had used the Substitution Technique to crawl out from the mouth of his own corpse, wore a look of fanaticism in his dark golden pupils that made Yakushi Nonō instinctively retreat two steps and hide behind Guo Wang.

"Let the pain in your body serve as a reminder of this lesson. In the future, you will show reverence toward me, and toward the Mangekyo Sharingan!"

Seeing that his "Shinra Sei," used at full power, had failed to completely kill the young man despite Orochimaru being caught off guard, Guo Wang withdrew his killing intent and, pretending to be merely testing his blade, turned his head away.

"Is this the power of the Mangekyo? I truly underestimated the Sharingan before."

Although he had heard from Sarutobi Hiruzen that there was a higher level of Sharingan beyond the Three Tomoe, Orochimaru had always assumed it was merely a more flamboyant form of copying and observation. He had never expected a terrifying ocular jutsu like "Shinra Sei," which he had never even heard of.

"Even if I had used my summoning, Rashomon, I doubt I could have blocked that. This power... it is worthy of becoming a part of my philosophy."

The more he savored the taste of death he had just experienced, the more Orochimaru coveted the Mangekyo in Danzo's right eye.

"Do you need me to help you replace your left eye, Elder Danzo?"

"No, just sit there quietly. You haven't forgotten that Nonō's other identity is the Medical Corps Captain, have you? But rest assured, I still need your help to fully awaken the power of Kyōka Suigetsu."