The Tomb in the Karst Cave

The dark cave was very quiet, so quiet that you could hear the soft sound of water droplets falling from the tips of stalactites.

Kou and Itachi walked silently, one in front of the other, through the cave tunnel whose destination was unknown.

They had walked for an unknown amount of time; the faint light from the cave entrance behind them had long since vanished, leaving only an endless darkness all around them.

Itachi calmly sensed his surroundings, trying hard to find Orochimaru's whereabouts, but no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find anything suspicious.

Having confirmed this reality, Itachi fell into deep thought.

The journey was far too quiet.

Orochimaru has not been seen since he entered this cave.

Their journey was almost unbelievably smooth, without even a single obstacle that could be described as a trap.

"What exactly is Orochimaru planning to do?"

As Itachi fell into deep thought, Koko, who was walking ahead, was also observing him silently.

The senses of knocking silently spread throughout the darkness, taking in Itachi's current state completely.

Itachi was very cautiously searching for Orochimaru's whereabouts, as he was clearly unfamiliar with the place.

"It seems Itachi didn't have any prior information about the exact location of this tomb."

He silently confirmed this judgment in his heart, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

This will make my next move—no, my next operation—much easier.

As he pondered these thoughts, his gaze drifted wistfully towards the deeper darkness ahead.

Not far away, at the end of this dark road, stands a tall stone wall that blends perfectly into this natural cave.

Behind this stone wall lay one of the most important goals of his trip to the Land of Lightning.

--The final resting place of the Uchiha ancestor from the mid- Warring States Period, the first powerful figure in the official history of the Uchiha Clan to awaken Susanoo.

Orochimaru's Shadow Clone was quietly lurking in the shadows near the stone wall, having been waiting for some time.

Knock sensed Orochimaru's current location, and a silent smile curved his lips in the darkness.

They... have arrived.

The next step of the plan can begin.

A subtle glint flashed in his eyes, and then he slowly stopped.

Hearing the footsteps ahead suddenly stop, Itachi temporarily suppressed his doubts and subconsciously wanted to ask.

But before he could speak, a sharp whistling sound shattered the silence of the darkness.

Amidst the whooshing sound, there was a faint hissing sound, like that of a snake.

"It's Orochimaru's Hidden Shadow Snake Hands."

The sound of knocking reached Itachi's ears at the same instant, "thoughtfully" conveying the perceived "information":

"That guy is on your right now, don't let him get his hands on you."

As Itachi determined the direction from which the sound came, he nodded subconsciously.

Even without relying on sight, he could accurately determine the direction of Orochimaru's attack from the sound of the snakes cutting through the air.

With the location information provided by his companion, locating Orochimaru's position became much easier...

Itachi quickly thought to himself, and with both hands, he swiftly drew several Shuriken from his ninja tool pouch.

The instant the Shuriken, he took a deep breath, rapidly Hand Seals, gathering the refined Fire Release Chakra in his throat, and then forcefully exhaling it towards the direction of the sound of air being torn apart:

"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Fire Crimson!"

Countless thin flames shot out from the weasel's mouth, precisely attaching to each Shuriken that was spinning rapidly in mid-air.

Enveloped in flames, the Shuriken simultaneously pierced the swarm of snakes from all angles, instantly illuminating the dark space.

In the Kakkō, the venomous snakes that were lunging at him were precisely sliced into several pieces by the flaming Shuriken. Their charred bodies had already lost all life before they even hit the ground.

At the very instant the Shuriken pierced the snake's body, Itachi used the remaining light of the Fire Release to shift his gaze, past the dissipating flames, and locked onto the pale figure that had turned away and was quickly moving away from the source of light.

As Itachi watched Orochimaru's retreating figure, the Three Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes spun rapidly, instantly transforming into the Mangekyō Sharingan!

He watched Orochimaru's hastily fleeing figure, a hint of killing intent flashing in his eyes.

However, the moment the Mangekyo pattern took shape in Itachi's eyes, the pale figure that had just appeared in his field of vision accelerated without hesitation, quickly escaping his gaze and disappearing back into the darkness.

Itachi watched Orochimaru figure, which moved with the speed of a "snowball," his brows furrowing slightly, but his eyes showed no particular surprise.

After all, the opponent was Orochimaru; it would be extremely difficult to use the same technique on that man a second time.

Once bitten by a snake, twice shy.

What's more, Orochimaru had just recently suffered a historically humiliating defeat right before these very eyes...

Itachi's ears caught the whooshing sound of Orochimaru as he fled at top speed.

He quickly calculated his approximate location in his mind, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.

Should I use Amaterasu here to permanently capture Orochimaru...?

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Itachi hesitated for a moment.

Of his two Mangekyo Dōjutsu, only Tsukuyomi has been revealed to the world so far.

As for Amaterasu hailed as the "strongest physical attack" and an inextinguishable jet-black flame, he has never used it in battle.

In other words, apart from Amaterasu herself, no one in the Ninja World currently knows anything about her.

Using Amaterasu here, while having a very high probability of eliminating Orochimaru —a potential threat to Sasuke in the future—also means he has to reveal this crucial trump card in front of Kokoro...

Thinking of this, Itachi glanced at Koko out of the corner of his eye, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes, which he quickly suppressed.

When he was alone with Kou, he deliberately avoided thinking about it in that way, but he knew better than anyone else what was going on—

Kou, currently a person with spots.

This is certain.

If Kō could pass on his information about Amaterasu to Madara, that dangerous man could be prepared in advance.

That's definitely not good news for me...

"Uchiha Style: Sun Halo Dance!!"

In the brief half-breath that Itachi was still weighing the pros and cons, a blazing Kakkō, as intense as the breaking of dawn, suddenly burst forth from in front of Itachi!

A blazing blade of fire flew from the Firebirth sword in Kou's hand, tracing a sharp arc in the darkness, and accurately struck Orochimaru's figure, which was fleeing at high speed deep within the darkness.

The flaming blade did not dissipate after hitting its target, but continued forward with terrifying force, slamming heavily into the stone wall beside Orochimaru!

"Boom--!!"

With a deafening roar, the wall collapsed suddenly under the immense force of the fire blade!

Broken rocks cascaded down the wall, raising thick clouds of dust that shrouded the entire area in a choking haze.

Itachi's pupils contracted sharply the instant he saw this scene!

Just moments before the deafening roar of the collapsing stone wall reached his ears, he heard a faint "bang" that was masked by the crashing sound.

That was the sound produced when the Shadow Clone was attacked and then dispelled.

"So it was Shadow Clone..."

Itachi murmured to himself, his eyes narrowing slightly:

"If what we are facing is a Shadow Clone, then where exactly is Orochimaru's real body?"

Were they waiting nearby for an opportunity, or had they already left the cave, or...?

Itachi quickly analyzed every possibility in his mind, his gaze unconsciously drifting towards the direction from which the Kakkō was coming.

The first thing that catches the eye is Kou, who is holding Firebirth tightly in his hand and staring intently ahead.

At this moment, Kouyi's usual relaxed and casual expression changed, and his face became extremely serious. His scarlet pupils were staring intently at the direction where Orochimaru had been hit.

The Firebirth in his hand still bore the embers of an unextinguished flame, and the crimson blade flickered in the darkness.

Knock on that handsome face, illuminated by the only source of light in this darkness, revealed a focused, cold gleam.

Kou turned his gaze, glanced sideways at Itachi behind him, and said expressionlessly:

"Uchiha Itachi, you've pooped."

"... Feel sorry."

Itachi realized that he hadn't acted decisively in time, and without hesitation, he apologized.

"Tsk."

Kou clicked his tongue slightly, feigning extreme displeasure.

He turned his gaze back to the collapsed wall where rubble was still falling, and said in an icy tone:

"Although I want to curse you a few more times, you are not Orochimaru's real body after all, but just a Shadow Clone."

There's no point in continuing.

Hearing the regretful tone in Koko's voice, Itachi's eyes flashed with surprise for the first time ever.

Knowing Kou as he does, he shouldn't have missed any opportunity to point his finger at him and hurl insults at him, right?

"... Don't get me wrong, I still really want to yell at you right now."

Looking at Itachi's slightly surprised expression, Koko clearly read his thoughts very accurately.

His lips curled down slightly, and his displeasure and disgust were almost palpable.

"But now is clearly not the time."

As he spoke, he turned his gaze back to the wall he had smashed, and his expression became serious.

He raised his finger, pointing to the ruins still illuminated by the embers of the flames, his voice carrying a perfectly feigned shock:

"Looks like we've 'coincidentally' found something incredible..."

Following the direction Kou was pointing, Itachi instinctively turned his gaze in that direction.

What he saw next caused his pupils to contract to their limit in an instant!

On the stone wall that had been shattered by the fiery attack, the embers of the Sun Halo Dance from just moments before still lingered.

Crimson flames burned quietly in the cracks of the broken rocks, illuminating the dark depths of the cave and what lay hidden behind the stone wall.

It was a secret room.

In the center of the secret chamber lay a coffin, weathered by countless centuries.

The coffin was dark in color, and although the lid was covered with a thick layer of dust, the solemnity of the coffin, which had been carefully polished when it was buried, was still evident.

Even the most oblivious person could probably tell at a glance that this is not a secret room at all.

This is... a mausoleum.

But what truly shocked Itachi was not the fact that they had discovered an ancient tomb deep within this desolate cave.

What truly shocked him was the Gunbai pattern on the stone wall directly behind the coffin, which flickered in and out of the Kakkō!

"That, that is..."

Itachi stared at the clan crest, which was dimly lit in the Kakkō, and suddenly his eyes widened:

"The Uchiha Clan's... clan crest?!"