The Resolve Beyond Life and Death

"Just you wait!" I was furious, retracing my path based on memory. As I ran, more fragments began to surface in my mind—

The first glimpse was of that person, covered in wounds, emerging from the water.

The second glimpse was of him hunched on the ground, coughing and vomiting blood.

I came to a halt, my heart pounding, a sliver of worry rising within me.

It was strange.

Why was that person, covered in such wounds, staying in the pool? He looked so weak, and even...

Even constantly vomiting blood, looking as if he were about to die?

Those things, they didn't look fake at all...

"Who on earth is he?"

I thought of that precise pressure-point technique. Searching through all the knowledge in my mind, I only knew that it seemed to be the specialty of the Hyuga Clan in Konoha.

"But people from the Hyuga Clan don't have those blue-green eyes..."

"Huh, found it!"

At this moment, I had walked to a familiar corner, my eyes lighting up!

I tapped on the wall, and it emitted a hollow thud-thud-thud. I was certain this was the place! I carefully reached out and gave it a gentle push; the wall rotated inward, revealing a narrow, dark entrance!

"There really was a mechanism!"

I looked around, and finding nothing suitable to prop it open, I simply drew Murasame, jammed the blade into the entrance, and twisted my body to squeeze inside!

Murasame was wedged in the doorway at an exaggerated angle, displaying its unyielding quality! It made my heart ache just looking at it!

My precious Murasame, you have to hold on, don't you dare snap!

I clenched my fists and headed downward, feeling my heart beat faster and faster, until I reached that iron door.

This time, the secret passage wasn't entirely dark. Through the light from outside, I vaguely saw a few characters on the door, though they were very blurry. It seemed to say—

"Ob...ser...va...tion... Room...?"

What the hell? Are the people inside lab rats, needing an observation room?

Listening to the sound of water inside, I pressed my hand against the door, intending to push it straight open.

The moment I touched the iron door, I suddenly felt a chill.

It was as if something massive was lurking inside, quietly melting into the darkness, watching me in silence, waiting for the moment I stepped in.

What was going on? Why did I have this feeling?

Sweat beaded on my back, but listening to the water inside, I steadied my nerves and shoved the door open!

As the door swung wide, a foul stench rushed out to meet me!

The smell was like a pile of rotting corpses that had been left to fester for days, emitting a sky-high stench!

I was blown back by the odor and immediately retched a few times. It took a long while for me to recover, and only then, suppressing my dread, did I crawl back to the door.

When I saw the situation inside, I was too shocked to speak.

"How could it be like this?"

Before me, the once clear blue pool had turned a brilliant, vivid red! It was like a pool of blood, radiating a fishy, putrid scent!

"What is going on?"

I covered my nose and slowly approached the water's edge.

I saw some strange things floating on the bloody water; they looked like human skin, or perhaps the scales of some animal, shimmering with an eerie luster.

I swallowed hard and looked around, but I didn't see the boy's figure. The unease in my heart grew even more intense.

He—he couldn't have died, could he!

I leaned over to observe the blood pool and happened to see a scale floating by. Enduring my nausea, I fixed my gaze on it and reached out, wanting to touch it.

Just as I was about to make contact, a set of footsteps suddenly sounded behind me!

Then, someone grabbed the back of my collar and yanked me upward!

Who was it!?

I was startled and went to draw my blade, but grabbed nothing but air. I remembered that Murasame was still jammed in the wall! My face turned pale instantly!

"Why are you here?"

The voice from behind was completely unfamiliar; it was definitely not Orochimaru-sensei's voice!

I turned my head and saw a man staring at me with a deep frown. He wore an eyepatch over his left eye, leaving him with only one. A fierce, murderous light shone from that eye, and his expression was terrifying.

"How did you get in?"

The man asked repeatedly, dragging me along as he walked out. After exiting the wall, he dropped me, but he didn't let me go.

Looking closely, his face seemed somewhat familiar; he appeared to be one of Orochimaru's subordinates, though I had never interacted with him.

"Speak, why are you here, and how did you get in?" he asked again, already growing impatient.

"Who are you?" I was thrown against the wall, my back and elbows aching from the impact, and I whispered, "Where is Master Orochimaru?"

"Hmph, still calling him Master? If Lord Orochimaru were standing here, you wouldn't even have the chance to speak."

Hearing him say that, my heart skipped a beat, and I immediately grew vigilant.

There was no one else around, and I sensed that the situation was turning dire. After weighing my options, I whispered an explanation: "I... I got lost. When I touched this wall, it opened. I thought it was an exit, so I used Murasame to wedge the wall open and walked inside."

The man stared at me intensely, seemingly weighing the truth of my words, before asking, "Then what did you see?"

I blinked and answered honestly, "A pool of blood."

"Only a pool of blood?"

I was nearly driven mad by his questioning.

Damn it, what do you mean only a pool of blood? Isn't a pool of blood enough? That was already terrifying enough, okay!

Seeing the man fall silent, I swallowed hard and asked, "Senior, what exactly is this place?"

The man looked at me, sizing me up as if he had realized something, and sneered, "This place was previously used to treat the wounded. The pool water has certain healing properties; soaking in it can alleviate pain and treat injuries."

"As for the blood... it is only because there were too many wounded and we haven't had time to clean it up yet."

"..."

"So that's... how it is..."

I thought back to the way the youth had emerged from the water, and I believed him a little.

If the water didn't have healing properties, who would go soak in it while covered in wounds?

The man saw my reaction and grew suspicious again.

"You, did you really see nothing else?" He took a step closer, trying to read something in my eyes.

"Nothing, Senior."

I shook my head honestly, looking him straight in the eye without the slightest evasion.

Because the moment I was about to look closely last time, I was damn well knocked unconscious!

"Hmph, better that you didn't." Seeing me calm and composed, the man seemed to believe my words. He took Murasame out from where it was wedged in the wall and handed it to me.

"Do not come to this place again."

"Also, you had best not tell Lord Orochimaru that you were here." The man narrowed his eyes, looking extremely serious. "Because one of the things he hates most is subordinates trespassing in his secret chambers. Don't say I didn't warn you."

It sounded like a threat, and in reality, it was a threat!

I frowned as I took Murasame and replied, "Understood, Senior."

However, if this really is a place to treat the wounded, why not let me enter?

I held Murasame in my hand. Fortunately, after a brief bend, it returned to its normal shape—the quality was top-notch! I touched it with a pang of heartache, and only after confirming there wasn't a single scratch on it did I carefully slide it back into its sheath.

Truly worthy of being a steel blade produced by the Uchiha; it would rather bend than break!

"Using a blade to wedge a wall—I have to hand it to you for coming up with that." The man watched my actions, seemingly finding it amusing, and offered a compliment. It seemed he was letting me off the hook.

"Alright, I came here for a real task."

Then, he stood still and spoke to me as if issuing an order: "My name is Shiyan, a subordinate of Lord Orochimaru. The reason I came to find you is that Lord Orochimaru told me to inform you that you have a new mission to carry out."

"A new mission?" I was stunned, my eyes widening instantly.

"Yes," Shiyan said in a flat tone, carrying a condescending attitude. "This is a long-distance mission with a long itinerary. I have already brought your belongings. You have five minutes to change your clothes and pack your supplies, then we will head to the surface together."

!!!!

"A long-distance mission?"

Upon hearing those four words, my first reaction wasn't fear, but a small spark of excitement!

A long-distance mission! Could it be that we are going to travel to a far-off country?

"Senior Shiyan, what exactly do you mean by the long-distance mission you just mentioned?"

In the dim corridor, I followed the man closely, buttoning my clothes and sliding Murasame into my sword belt as I asked.

"Once we reach the surface, Lord Orochimaru will tell you," Shiyan said.

"Alright."

After the brief excitement, I began to worry again.

If this mission involves working with people from the Military Headquarters again, it's hard to say if I can even make it to the destination!

If I get left behind halfway, wouldn't that be humiliating?

Wait, I can still use Nintaijutsu, can't I? Thinking of this, my eyes lit up!

It would be the perfect chance to test the endurance of my Nintaijutsu and see how long my chakra can hold out!

"Are we all going together this time, Senior?"

"No need to ask, Lord Orochimaru will tell you." He repeated himself, not even looking at me directly.

Listening to him call Orochimaru "Lord" over and over, I suddenly felt a bit strange.

Why did everyone here insist on addressing Orochimaru as "Lord"?

Wasn't that title a bit too respectful?

In the organization, people usually addressed each other directly by their rank.

I thought about it; in Konoha, the only ones who could be called "Lord" were the top-tier leaders, such as the Third Hokage or Danzo. Even Fugaku wasn't addressed as "Lord" when out in public.

Meanwhile, his contemporaries who were just as famous as Orochimaru—Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Namikaze Minato—were never addressed as "Lord" by anyone.

Yet here, regardless of rank, everyone called Orochimaru "Lord," as if they didn't belong to the Konoha Military Headquarters, but were Orochimaru's private subordinates, showing him absolute reverence!

This place was so strange!

I didn't know how long we had been walking down the long corridor, but I still couldn't see any stairs leading upward.

When we reached a spacious hall, I looked at the rows of locked rooms lining the walls and couldn't help but ask, "Senior, what are these for?"

"This is where the wounded stay," Shiyan replied, his footsteps never faltering.

"But... there's no one in here."

I stood on my tiptoes to peek inside, only to find every room empty, without a single trace of human presence.

Shiyan stopped walking, his tone turning somber as he answered.

"Because they are all dead."

My heart skipped a beat; even though I had already considered that possibility, hearing it confirmed was an entirely different experience.

"They were already severely injured when they were brought here. Although Lord Orochimaru tried his best to save them, he couldn't preserve their lives." Shiyan shook his head, then offered a hint of consolation: "However, being able to contribute to medical research before they died, one could say they died for a worthy cause."

I suddenly felt a wave of panic, but Shiyan continued, "To be able to assist Lord Orochimaru and sacrifice themselves for science—they themselves would surely feel it was a great honor."

"That is why there are always people coming to the Military Headquarters one after another, becoming the fresh blood of this place."

"They have long since attained the resolve to transcend life and death."