Orochimaru Comes Hunting

"Trash."

Black Zetsu cursed inwardly, though its face remained as calm as a stagnant pool.

Yet, those cold, dead eyes could not help but constrict ever so slightly.

Even it—Black Zetsu—had felt a chill seep deep into its soul at that very moment.

The gaze of Uchiha Yoru was frigid and sinister, like a blade piercing through the spirit; it felt as if he could see through its very essence, laying bare thousands of years of conspiracy.

Black Zetsu's heart sank.

This youth was even more dangerous than it had imagined.

It had assumed that even if Uchiha Obito was trash, he could at least stall Uchiha Yoru for a while.

The result... had once again redefined its lower limit for the word "trash."

A few dozen minutes.

He had lasted only a few dozen minutes before being defeated.

"Hmph."

Black Zetsu let out a soft snort, a flash of killing intent vanishing from its eyes as quickly as it had appeared.

But soon, it returned to its state of absolute, icy composure.

It never bet on just a single piece.

A dead pawn was merely a trade for a larger position on the board.

Uchiha Yoru... in the end, you are nothing more than a piece in the game.

A strange, devious smile curled at the corner of Black Zetsu's mouth.

The next second.

"Hehehehe..."

A low, chilling laugh echoed through the shattered battlefield, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue against one's ear, sending shivers down the spine.

"It really is... lively here."

Before the voice had even faded, a grey shadow lunged out from the darkness!

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!!!"

Several pale, hideous snake forms shot out from wide sleeves, hissing and writhing like living creatures as they lunged straight for Uchiha Yoru!

However, facing this sudden assault, Uchiha Yoru's expression remained unmoved; he merely flicked his right hand.

"--Shinra Tensei."

An invisible, colossal force erupted, the air itself seeming to warp as the snake forms shattered instantly, turning into a mist of blood and gore that splattered across the ground.

Orochimaru stood at the edge of the battlefield, his pupils constricting before he licked his lips, the smile in his eyes growing increasingly pathological.

"Perfect... truly a perfect prey."

Logically speaking, this battle did not fall under the established missions of the Akatsuki organization.

The orders issued by the organization were simple: recruit new members and scout for combat power.

The other members were currently busy all across the Ninja World, running in groups and diligently headhunting.

But to Orochimaru, such tasks were utterly meaningless.

--Uchiha Itachi had died early on the Night of Clan Extermination and had failed to join Akatsuki.

That experimental subject he had long anticipated had already turned to dust (his corpse having been burned to nothing by Uchiha Yoru).

Coupled with the mysterious disappearance of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, Pain was so overwhelmed that he had no energy left to manage his most unruly "colleague."

Thus, he was happy to be idle, acting alone and holing up in a secret base near Amegakure, immersing himself in endless research and experiments.

Until a few days ago—

Zetsu had arrived.

That night, the rain poured down like a deluge, and from the shadows, that half-white, half-black monster had quietly emerged, bypassing layers of barriers as if it had appeared out of thin air.

It handed Orochimaru a container.

Inside lay a mass of tissue, pulsing silently and emitting an ancient, highly oppressive chakra fluctuation.

Black Zetsu's voice was low and seductive:

"Uchiha Madara's cells, plus—the true secret of the Rinnegan."

In addition, there were cells from the corpses of several rare ninjas, as well as a large number of White Zetsu samples as a "gift."

Orochimaru soon discovered during his experiments that the bodies of the White Zetsu could only be described in two words: incredible!

With an extremely high survival rate and perfect chakra compatibility, they were a match made in heaven for the Impure World Reincarnation, as if they were containers tailor-made for this technique.

Had he not already known that Zetsu was not human, he would have almost suspected this was a gift sent by some god.

With the assistance of White Zetsu, he even successfully optimized the formula for the Impure World Reincarnation.

Had his own physical body not been far from its expiration date, he might have even considered using White Zetsu as a biological backup.

However—

He remained perpetually vigilant regarding Zetsu's proposition.

Why would a mere "informant" possess forbidden arts of this caliber?

The origins, motives, and very existence of Black Zetsu were all steeped in strangeness.

Yet, compared to these doubts, another name excited him far more—

Uchiha Yoru.

As he delved into the combat records of Uchiha Yoru, his fingers trembled slightly.

The Night of Clan Extermination, the Sharingan.

And now, reappearing before him, the Rinnegan!

Did this mean that the Sharingan could evolve even further?

Those eyes, that power, the possibilities contained within that mysterious bloodline... to Orochimaru, who harbored a pathological obsession with Kekkei Genkai—

This was a temptation he could not refuse.

As a researcher, Orochimaru had long since deduced from subtle clues that Pain was merely a puppet corpse controlled by Nagato.

He had never made this discovery public, partly because there was no need, and partly to keep it as a bargaining chip for future negotiations with Nagato.

Now, there were two points that truly puzzled him:

First, the Rinnegan in Pain's sockets clearly belonged to Nagato—but Nagato was a pure-blooded member of the Uzumaki Clan. If the Rinnegan were indeed a superior Kekkei Genkai to the Sharingan, it would be impossible for Nagato to awaken such a bloodline on his own.

Second, why was Black Zetsu so well-versed in the secrets of the Rinnegan? Was it not Nagato's confidant? Where had it obtained such information?

Orochimaru pondered for a long time, and several possibilities gradually emerged in his mind:

—Perhaps Nagato's Rinnegan was not innate, but transplanted.

—And Black Zetsu had been involved in this long-laid conspiracy from the very beginning.

"This mysterious Black Zetsu... perhaps it is more worthy of 'dissection' than I imagined."

At this thought, a flicker of fanaticism crossed Orochimaru's narrow, serpentine pupils.

He had not come to assist anyone.

He had come to hunt.

To hunt Yoru, to hunt Zetsu—to hunt everything unknown that he wished to study.

And at this moment, Uchiha Yoru's gaze was also fixed upon him.

It was a calm, cold, yet curious look, like a scientist observing an unopened specimen.

This man—

Like the disciples he had taken in, he was a genius in every sense of the word.

He was arguably the most dangerous scientist in the Ninja World.

"...Orochimaru."

The voice was low and oppressive, like thunder rolling beneath the earth.

Upon hearing it, Orochimaru wore a look of intoxicated delight, as if he had heard the most beautiful melody in the world.

"Hehehe... you are even stronger than I anticipated, and even more—tempting."

"The Sharingan... the Rinnegan... just how did you achieve it?"

Uchiha Yoru lowered his head slightly, his eyes flashing: "Do you want to know?"

"Of course I want to know." Orochimaru licked his lips, his voice low and excited, "I have even... prepared the 'experimental tools'."

As his voice fell, his hands moved in a blur of seals.

"--Impure World Reincarnation!"

As the incantation was cast, the ground suddenly trembled, and a chilling wind whipped up the dust.

The earth cracked, and four ancient coffins slowly rose from the depths, their surfaces covered in runes and sealing marks.

"Bang, bang, bang—!"

The coffin lids fell away simultaneously, and accompanied by an ancient aura, three figures were revealed.

They were—

The First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.

The Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

For a moment, the world turned grim, and the very air seemed to congeal.

The smile on Orochimaru's face grew increasingly unbridled, his voice hissing like a viper, murmuring with madness and excitement:

"Come now, let me witness... the legendary 'Uchiha Yoru'."