"What the hell are these things? Did they just stitch people and fish together?"
Zabuza could not help but voice his complaint as he looked at the enemies before them.
Indeed, the monsters that had just appeared looked exactly like humans whose hands and legs had been replaced with fish fins and scales. They looked utterly bizarre, without the slightest sense of beauty—even the strange Fishmen from Pirate King looked far better by comparison.
Looks like this really is still too early. With results like these, it's not even as good as the incomplete secret technique, [Falsehood from Nature], that Mizuki obtained.
Araki silently assessed Orochimaru's experimental progress.
"Even if something went wrong in a laboratory that could practically be called trash, Orochimaru probably would not care. Right?"
Roar!
Aah!
Hiss!
Though they looked unimpressive and did not seem to possess much intelligence, those monsters certainly knew how to steal the spotlight.
Sure enough, a group of half-human, half-fish creatures, too numerous to count, roared and charged at them.
To be honest, Araki was reluctant to use his newly purchased [Wind Sword] to chop up those disgusting-looking things.
After all, cherishing one's sword was the instinct of any swordsman.
Fortunately, Kisame stepped forward. After a dazzling series of hand seals, he opened his mouth and spat out a massive spiraling torrent.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
Faced with the tremendous impact of the rushing water, the monsters were swept away without any chance to resist.
"Let's go. That technique might not kill them, but those monsters will not be coming after us again anytime soon. Let's use this chance to find the one behind all this!"
Kisame took the lead, running through the cave.
"Orochimaru-sama, shinobi from Kirigakure have invaded the research base. We are no match for them!"
Elsewhere, Amachi was sending a message to Orochimaru.
As the person in charge of an experimental base, Amachi was considered one of Orochimaru's trusted subordinates. Thus, he could use the Summoning Technique to quickly contact Orochimaru himself.
When the little snake before him turned into white smoke and vanished, Amachi let out a sigh of relief. He was about to ask about the experimental subjects' progress in intercepting the intruders when, the instant he stepped out the door, a long blade pierced his shoulder and nailed him directly to the wall.
"What?!"
Startled, Amachi followed the blade with his eyes. When he saw the appearance of the enemy standing before him, his dead-fish eyes suddenly widened.
"Th-this is... a perfect Fishman experimental subject!"
At that moment, Amachi even forgot to be afraid. He struggled to extend a hand, as though he wanted to touch Kisame's body, but his short arm did not support that ambition.
"Y-you, what is your name? No, that is not important. Can you tell me who created you? How could they make you so perfect?"
Amachi seemed possessed as he continued to mutter deliriously.
Meanwhile, Kisame stared at him with his round little eyes, his face full of question marks.
To be honest, because of his appearance, Kisame had not escaped ridicule or bullying when he was young. But this was the first time he had seen someone wear an expression like Amachi's.
For some reason, Kisame felt a chill run down his back. In Amachi's fanatical gaze, he seemed to see an endless desire to explore and dissect—and the target was himself.
Kisame quickly shook his head, dispelling the strange thought, then asked in a cold voice,
"You are the one running this base? You made those half-human, half-fish monsters?"
"That's right, but those are all failed products. If I can study your body, I will definitely be able to create perfect amphibious Fishman soldiers!" Amachi's tone brimmed with fervor.
"You want to study my body?"
A cold gleam flashed across Kisame's sharp teeth as he jostled Amachi with the longsword in his hand.
"That's a bold idea! But it seems your strength is not enough to support your ambitions!"
His shoulder had been pierced, and then he had been yanked around several times. The intense pain finally brought Amachi back to his senses, and he glared furiously at Kisame.
"Do not get cocky too soon. Once my lord arrives, all of you will become my experimental subjects!"
"My lord? With strength as pathetic as yours, how capable could the person behind you possibly be?"
Zabuza mocked.
With that bizarre eyebrowless face, his crooked forehead protector, and that disdainful expression, Zabuza Momochi instantly pulled aggro!
Amachi gave up staring at Kisame's round little eyes with his vacant large ones and instead met Zabuza's eyebrowless gaze.
"Kid, just you wait! You will pay for what you just said!"
Amachi's face twisted viciously.
As Orochimaru's die-hard fan, how could Amachi, who had yet to be abandoned by Orochimaru, tolerate someone speaking disrespectfully of him?
But pinned to the wall like a fly, his threats carried no weight at all.
Zabuza could not even be bothered to respond.
That disregard not only sent Amachi's blood pressure soaring once more, but also drew a sigh of amazement from Araki.
I never noticed it before, Zabuza. You actually have the potential to become an MT!
However, unlike the careless Kisame and Zabuza, Araki knew exactly who the man behind Amachi was. Rather than waste time on him, he turned and entered Amachi's laboratory.
Because
Even the early Orochimaru had been one of the finest scientists in the Shinobi World. Moreover, according to Araki's memories, this base in the Land of the Sea had been researching Cursed Seals.
Or rather, the Heaven Curse Mark that would one day be planted in Mitaraishi Anko had been developed here!
As one of Orochimaru's greatest early research achievements, the Heaven Curse Mark could also be called [False Sage Mode], or an inferior version of Sage Mode.
Unlike the Sage Mode passed down by the Three Great Sage Regions, which absorbed Natural Energy, the Cursed Seal was fundamentally very similar to obtaining Wood Release by implanting Senju Hashirama's cells.
The only difference was that what the Cursed Seal implanted was a special substance Orochimaru had developed from Jugo's cells, mixed with Orochimaru's own spiritual imprint.
And who exactly was Jugo?
Just as Jiraiya would encounter Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan, each of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, who had possessed the "protagonist's destiny" over the previous decade, had their own encounters.
Jugo, whose natural constitution was exceptionally compatible with Natural Energy, was Orochimaru's greatest discovery thus far.
After meeting Jugo, Orochimaru, who could not learn the Sage Mode of Ryūchi Cave, embarked upon a path of "scientific cultivation."
After carefully studying Jugo's Sage Body, he successfully found a method that allowed even unqualified "mortals" to absorb Natural Energy. That method was—the Heaven Curse Mark.
Of course, mortals had to pay a price for defying nature. Thus, in the Heaven Curse Mark implantation trials, the first person to successfully survive would be Mitaraishi Anko.
But that would happen after the Third Shinobi World War. At this point in time, Orochimaru's Heaven Curse Mark should still be under development.
But none of that mattered. Araki was not interested in that kind of [False Sage Mode]; he merely remembered that Amachi had also developed some rather remarkable things.
For example, the summoned beast whose entire body was made of water and could continuously repair itself—the Umi-bozu.
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