Orochimaru lay quietly inside a cramped underground cave dug out by hand.
But upon closer inspection, one would notice that this gloomy middle-aged man had vacant, lifeless eyes, and an appearance that was indescribably bizarre—
On Orochimaru's left cheek had grown an eye and a mouth. The flesh around his cervical vertebrae had split apart, and the tail of a white venomous snake was deeply embedded in his spine. Half its body was exposed, coiling around Orochimaru's neck like a scarf.
The ones arguing were the mouth on his left cheek and the white venomous snake hanging around his neck.
"Stop arguing."
"Orochimaru" spoke.
His voice was hoarse, no different from the real Orochimaru's, but his tone carried the immaturity of a young man.
It was none other than Orochimaru's former subordinate, Kabuto Yakushi.
The two arguing were naturally Hidan and the White Snake Sage... or, more accurately, one of the snakes carrying the White Snake Sage's memories.
As for how these three had ended up together, it was mainly because of the White Snake Sage.
Back when Orochimaru died, many forces had set their sights on his inheritance.
Forbidden techniques, biological research—taking out even a small portion of it would have been enough to live comfortably for a lifetime.
Thousands of shinobi and bounty hunters had stormed into Otogakure.
But when they arrived, all they saw was scorched earth.
Kabuto Yakushi took most of the inheritance, then set fire to everything he could not carry away.
He knew Orochimaru had left behind many contingencies. As long as he worked hard enough, he would surely find a way to revive Orochimaru.
For a long time afterward, Kabuto Yakushi conducted research alone.
Unlike the Serpent Sage Kabuto of the original story, who had mastered sage techniques and used Impure World Reincarnation