The moment that voice rang out, Orochimaru felt the ground fall away beneath his feet.
At some point, the entire sewer had collapsed, revealing a bottomless abyss below.
Orochimaru plummeted straight down into the abyss, all manner of voices ringing in his ears.
"You killed your friend with your own hands."
"You forgot what you set out to do."
"You faced the most humiliating battle of your life, yet still had no idea how to overcome it."
"Everything you took pride in, everything you lost—none of it meant anything."
"Orochimaru, the things you pursue are worthless."
"Learn what pain means all over again."
Just as Orochimaru had put on an act before Jiraiya and the others earlier, this familiar voice echoed around his ears without its owner revealing himself.
Was he using my own methods against me?
Orochimaru's eyes turned cold at the thought.
"Do you really think something like this will work on me?"
"I have never regretted anything I've done, nor do I need anyone's understanding."
"I discarded such tiresome emotions as friendship and familial affection long ago."
As he spoke, Orochimaru straightened up in the empty abyss, then began walking forward through the air, one step at a time.
"Genjutsu cannot affect me as I am now, not even the Rinnegan's dojutsu!"
Orochimaru raised his head. A fierce gale suddenly erupted around him, and cracks spread through the bottomless abyss before it began shattering, piece by piece.
Pop.
With a sharp crack, the entire world shattered, and Orochimaru found himself back in the sewer where he had started.
There was no one around him. Neither the walls nor the floor were broken, and Jiraiya and Tsunade were nowhere to be seen.
"That was unexpected... so I was caught in genjutsu from the very beginning." Orochimaru sneered. "What,