Stay Steady-Don't Get Capsized in a Ditch Again
The Sound Village Underground Base, Orochimaru's Laboratory.
As Neji carried Ōnoki's corpse in, Orochimaru was preparing a vial of pale green medicine. He looked up, his golden snake eyes sweeping over the corpse before settling on Neji's face.
"Oh my." Orochimaru put down the test tube, licked his lips, "This is truly... an unexpected bonus."
"Dust Release's Kekkei Tōta." Neji laid the corpse flat on the lab table. "The Chakra pathways have unusual mutations, likely an adaptive evolution resulting from long-term use of Dust Release. There are also abnormalities at the cellular level, possibly the effect of Kekkei Tōta on lifespan."
Orochimaru walked to the lab bench, his pale fingers gently stroking Ōnoki's face.
"The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki of Both Scales." His voice carried an almost poetic sigh, "The longest-lived person to master Dust Release, ruled Iwagakure for over forty years, and lived through three Shinobi World Wars... and finally died under a meteorite."
"He chose to die in battle," Neji said, "To protect the Allied forces' retreat."
"A noble choice," Orochimaru chuckled, "But nobility is meaningless in war. Victory is the only meaning."
He turned and took a scroll from the shelf.
"The preparations for the Impure World Reincarnation are halfway complete. The First Hokage, the Second Hokage, the Third Hokage, the Fourth Hokage... and now this Third Tsuchikage, we have more and more cards to play."
"Does Sasuke know?" Neji asked.
"I don't know yet." Orochimaru unfurled the scroll and began drawing a jutsu formula on it. "Right now, his mind is full of the Revolutionary Konoha, and he's not interested in the Impure World Reincarnation. But one day, he'll understand—the power of the dead is sometimes more useful than that of the living."
Neji watched Orochimaru work in silence.
Drawing the incantation, mixing the potion, preparing the offerings— Orochimaru had repeated these steps countless times, as practiced as breathing. But this time, his movements were exceptionally earnest and meticulous.
This is because it's the bloodline limit of Dust Release Kekkei Tōta.
Because this is one of the key pieces that could change the course of the war.
"What about Obito?" Orochimaru asked without looking up.
"The allied forces were defeated and retreated to Konoha. Obito gave them three days to regroup and prepare for the final battle in Konoha," Neji replied. "He told me to continue searching for Sasuke."
"Heh... He really trusts you." Orochimaru's snake eyes flashed with sarcasm. "Or rather, he desperately needs usable combat power. The White Zetsu army is vast in number but generally weak, the Jinchuriki's Six Paths Clones Jinchuriki his attention to control, and he himself needs to maintain the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and the Rinnegan... He needs a subordinate who can stand alone."
"So I will continue to play this role," Neji said, "Until the time I deem appropriate."
Orochimaru raised his head and gave Neji a deep look.
"Are you really sure? That means you'll be facing both Obito and Zetsu at the same time. Given Obito's current strength, the probability of success is no more than 10%."
Neji walked up to the mirror in the laboratory.
The mirror reflected "Jiu's" face. He reached out and removed the human skin mask and special lenses from his face.
A young face appeared in the mirror, with a blue Caged Bird Seal on its forehead, deeply imprinted beneath the skin and on the soul.
"From the moment I decided to break the Caged Bird Seal and join Lord Orochimaru, there was no turning back." Neji's voice was soft, but clear. "Either break free of the Caged Bird and gain true freedom, or die."
"Freedom..." Orochimaru repeated the word softly, his smile becoming meaningful. "What a fascinating concept. But do you really know what freedom is? When you untie the Caged Bird, when you break free from the Hyuga Main House, when you break free from all constraints... then what? Where will you go? What will you do?"
Neji remained silent for a long time.
The face he saw in the mirror was both familiar and strange. For over a year, he had grown accustomed to living as a drunkard, and sometimes he couldn't even tell which face was the real Neji Hyuga.
Is that the Branch House boy who was hailed as a genius in Konoha?
Is it that rogue missing-nin who trained under Orochimaru?
Is it that ruthless and efficient "sake" from the Akatsuki?
Or is it this man who now holds the Kotoamatsukami Shisui Uchiha Kotoamatsukami and harbors a plan to overturn the entire war effort?
"I don't know," he finally admitted honestly, "But I do know that I must live before I find the answer. And in order to live, in order to live freely, I must win this war."
Orochimaru smiled.
It wasn't a mocking laugh, nor a playful laugh, but rather... an appreciative laugh.
"Very well," he said. "Then let's win. With Dust Release Impure World Reincarnation, with Impure World Flying Thunder God, with Kotoamatsukami, with the Senjutsu from Ryūchi Cave, with the Wood Release from Hashirama Cells ... with every power at our disposal, let's win this war."
He walked over to Neji and stood side by side with the young man in the mirror.
"Then, see what kind of new world you will create, now that you've broken free of all constraints."
Neji put on the human skin mask and special lenses again.
The face of "wine" reappeared, indifferent, calm, and unfathomable.
"Before that," he said, "We still have a lot of preparations to do. Send Kabuto, Suigetsu, Jugo, and Karin to the vicinity of Konoha and capture as many White Zetsu alive as possible. We must make sure we have enough materials."
"Indeed, a living White Zetsu is an excellent vessel for the Impure World Reincarnation. What do you intend to do?"
"Let's go to Konoha first and Tsunade. If Tsunade gets discouraged, the later battles won't be easy!" Neji turned and walked towards the laboratory door. "Also, I need to give Zetsu, this intelligence expert, something to do, otherwise Obito will think I haven't been serious about helping him find Sasuke."
"Do you need any help?"
"I'm enough on my own. You focus on preparing for the Impure World Reincarnation; we don't have much time left."
Three days?
"Three days. When I get back, I'm going to learn the Kekkei Tōta - Dust Release."
Neji's figure disappeared at the end of the corridor. He felt his preparations were still insufficient. He wasn't the protagonist; he didn't have an invincible aura. As a supporting character, to successfully steal the Ten-Tails from Obito, the current pinnacle of the Shinobi World, no amount of preparation was excessive. So, wake up, Neji. Be a steady supporting character; don't let things go wrong. And whether or not to Impure World Reincarnation the Kinkaku and Ginkaku Brothers using the Impure World Reincarnation technique—he hadn't decided yet. Orochimaru definitely didn't have them, but Kabuto certainly did. When he searched for Kabuto, he discovered that Kabuto had thoroughly explored the graveyards of the Five Great Shinobi Villages' strongest members...
Orochimaru stood there, looking at Ōnoki's corpse on the lab table, then at his own pale face in the mirror.
"Three days..." he murmured to himself, his golden snake eyes gleaming with a deep, eerie light in the dim light, "Perhaps that's enough to change a lot of things."
He picked up his pen and continued drawing incantations on the scroll.
Each stroke, each character, is precise down to the millimeter.
Because this is war.
Because this is the last chance.
Because in three days, everything will be over in Konoha.
Perhaps, everything will start anew.
Countdown: Three days.
The remnants of the Allied Forces are retreating towards Konoha, Obito is gathering the White Zetsu army and marching towards Konoha, Zetsu is monitoring the entire Shinobi World, Orochimaru is preparing for the Impure World Reincarnation, Sasuke is training the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
Neji, however, became the "sake" of the Akatsuki, once again fading into the shadows.
The Kotoamatsukami Crow, trembled slightly in his arms.
In one eye, a windmill-shaped Mangekyo Sharingan pattern slowly rotates in the darkness.