Deadly danger at the border

At the Land of Rice Fields' border, dusk fell.

Lin Ye's five-person squad moved through the dense forest. Otogakure was still fifteen kilometers away, but the chakra in the air had already grown thick and sinister-the distinctive aura of Orochimaru's experimental base, a mixture of blood, decay, and the Cursed Seal's dark energy.

"Stop." Lin Ye raised a hand, the Mangekyo slowly spinning in his eyes. Through the Transparent World, he saw five chakra sources lurking in the woods five hundred meters ahead, arranged in a perfect encirclement.

"The Sound Five," Lin Ye said quietly. "Kidomaru on the left, Jirobo on the right, Sakon and Ukon in front, Tayuya behind, and Kimimaro in the middle. A standard kill formation. They'll attack once we step into the center."

"They knew we were coming?" Sasuke frowned.

"Orochimaru's sensory network covers a vast area. They might have been watching us since we left Konoha," Lin Ye said. "But this is also an opportunity. If they're showing themselves, Fū must be held nearby. They want to finish us here and keep us from reaching Otogakure."

"So what do we do? Fight through or go around?" Naruto asked.

"Split up." Lin Ye quickly laid out their tactics. "Sasuke and I will handle Kimimaro. He's the strongest of the five. Karin, use Sealing Jutsu to tie down Sakon and Ukon. They're twins with strong chakra resonance, so use your seals to sever their connection. Sakura, you take Tayuya. Her genjutsu and summoned creatures are troublesome, but your Monster Strength Fist can overpower her tricks. Naruto, Kidomaru and Jirobo are yours. Use shadow clones and Rasengan. Finish them quickly."

"Understood!" All four nodded.

"Tenzo will support us from the shadows. If anything unexpected happens, he'll intervene. Remember, our goal is to break through, not wipe them out. Once we breach the encirclement, head northeast immediately. There's a valley there that serves as Otogakure's back entrance."

With their tactics settled, the five spread out and approached the encirclement from different directions.

Lin Ye and Sasuke advanced head-on. The moment they stepped into the center, countless bone spikes erupted from the ground.

"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Bracken!"

Kimimaro rose from underground, his entire body covered in white bone as though clad in skeletal armor. He looked expressionlessly at Lin Ye and Sasuke. "Lord Orochimaru's orders are to capture Uchiha Ye alive. Sasuke Uchiha may be killed."

"You think you can?" Sasuke sneered, activating his two-tomoe Sharingan and throwing shuriken. Kimimaro neither dodged nor ducked. His bone armor deflected the shuriken, and he flicked both hands, firing his ten fingers as bone projectiles.

"Careful. His bones are harder than steel." Lin Ye parried with a kunai, the bone projectiles striking sparks against it. He activated the Transparent World and saw inside Kimimaro's body. Chakra gathered in his spine, the heart of his Shikotsumyaku, but Lin Ye also saw that his lungs were dying and his life force was draining away.

"He's seriously ill. He can't last long," Lin Ye told Sasuke. "Stall and wear him down."

"Understood."

The two separated and attacked from both sides. Kimimaro turned his hands into bone blades, swinging them in an impenetrable defense. He blocked Sasuke's Fire Release and shuriken, while Lin Ye's Lightning Release could only leave scorch marks on his bone armor.

"He's too tough..." Sasuke panted.

"Use Combined Ninjutsu." Lin Ye formed hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball!"

Sasuke formed hand seals at the same time. "Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Fire!"

The two fire techniques merged into a larger wave of flame. Kimimaro defended with a bone wall, but the intense heat turned the bones red and brittle. Seizing his chance, Lin Ye used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind Kimimaro, lightning gathering in his hand.

"Lightning Release: Chidori!"

Chidori pierced the bone armor and stabbed into Kimimaro's back. Kimimaro grunted, then swung a fist backward, bone spikes jutting from his knuckles toward Lin Ye's chest. Lin Ye hurriedly phased with Kamui. The spikes passed through his body without harming him.

"Space-Time Ninjutsu?" Kimimaro froze.

"Amaterasu!"

Blood streamed from Lin Ye's left eye as black flames ignited on Kimimaro's body. Amaterasu's flames would not die until their target was consumed. Kimimaro screamed as his bone armor melted in the fire. But he was ruthless enough to tear off the burning bones outright, exposing the unharmed body beneath.

"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Camellia!"

New bones grew from within his body, forming even thicker armor. Kimimaro's aura surged, but Lin Ye saw the decay in his lungs accelerate-he was burning through his remaining life.

"Sasuke, one final strike!"

"Understood! Chidori Stream!"

Lightning erupted over Sasuke's entire body as he launched into a Lightning Flash Thrust. At the same time, Lin Ye used Kamui to distort the space around Kimimaro, slowing him for an instant. In that single instant, Chidori Stream pierced Kimimaro's chest.

"Cough..." Kimimaro sank to his knees, staring at the bloody hole in his chest. "I lost... Lord Orochimaru, I'm sorry..."

He collapsed, his breathing gone.

"Go!" Lin Ye pulled Sasuke up and rushed northeast.

Elsewhere, Karin faced Sakon and Ukon.

Sakon and Ukon were twins who could merge into one body or fight separately. They were merged now, with four arms and two heads, attacking from treacherous angles.

"Sealing Jutsu: Four Symbols Seal!" Karin wrapped chakra chains around them, but Sakon and Ukon separated, leaving the chains grasping empty air. Ukon ambushed her from behind. Karin blocked him with Healing Chain, but Sakon's fist was already in front of her face.

"Human Bullet Tank!"

Choji suddenly appeared and knocked Sakon away. Shikamaru had immobilized Ukon with Shadow Imitation Technique, creating an opening for Choji.

"Karin, go! Leave this to us!" Shikamaru said.

"But Lord Ye said..."

"The plan's changed. There are more than five Sound Ninja. They have reinforcements. Tenzo's already gone to help Naruto. Find Ye and tell him this is a trap. Orochimaru's real body isn't here!"

Karin's expression changed, and she turned and ran. Sakon and Ukon tried to pursue her, but Shikamaru and Choji kept them occupied.

Sakura faced Tayuya.

Tayuya played her flute, spreading waves of genjutsu through its sound. Sakura punctured her eardrums with Chakra Scalpel, temporarily deafening herself and making herself immune to the genjutsu. Then she shattered Tayuya's flute with a punch.

"My flute!" Furious, Tayuya summoned three giant puppets. Sakura did not dodge. She unleashed consecutive Monster Strength Fists-three punches, three shattered puppets.

"Is that all you've got?" Sakura rushed up to Tayuya and punched her. Tayuya flew back, coughing blood, and lost consciousness.

Naruto faced Kidomaru and Jirobo.

Kidomaru laid an inescapable web of spider silk through the trees while Jirobo used Earth Release to create a swamp below. Naruto used shadow clones to scout the way, but the silk was poisonous, and his clones vanished one after another.

"Rasengan!" Naruto's real body charged forward, but Jirobo trapped him inside an Earth Prison Dome.

"We caught the Nine-Tails brat!" Kidomaru laughed.

But a second later, the earthen prison shattered. Tenzo emerged from underground and used Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence, binding both enemies.

"Naruto, go!"

"Tenzo!"

"Hurry! Meet up with Ye!"

Naruto nodded and rushed after Lin Ye.

Ten minutes later, the five regrouped in the northeastern valley. Aside from minor injuries to Lin Ye and Sasuke, everyone was unharmed. But the news Shikamaru brought made the mood grim.

"Orochimaru's real body isn't here?" Lin Ye frowned.

"Tenzo captured someone and questioned him," Shikamaru said. "Orochimaru's at a place called the Ryūchi Cave Entrance. That's where his real laboratory is. Fū is being held there too. Otogakure is just a decoy."

"The Ryūchi Cave Entrance... one of the Three Great Sage Lands." Lin Ye remembered Jiraiya saying that Orochimaru had signed a contract with Ryūchi Cave. "It'll definitely be heavily guarded, and there may be summoned creatures."

"Are we still going?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," Lin Ye answered without hesitation. "But we need to adjust our tactics. Tenzo, take Shikamaru, Choji, Naruto, and Sakura and launch a feint against Otogakure from the front. Create chaos. Sasuke, Karin, and I will infiltrate the Ryūchi Cave Entrance. Orochimaru's target is me. Once I show myself, he'll focus his attention on me, giving you a chance to rescue Fū."

"That's too dangerous!" Naruto said. "Ye, I'm going with you!"

"No. You need to stay at the front and use Multiple Shadow Clone Technique to make it look like a huge army is attacking. Orochimaru fears your Nine-Tails chakra, so he'll split his forces to defend," Lin Ye said. "This is our best strategy."

After thinking it over, Shikamaru nodded. "It could work. But Ye, can the three of you handle Orochimaru?"

"We can't beat him, but we can buy enough time. Once you rescue Fū, send the signal immediately, and we'll retreat."

"What's the signal?"

"Amaterasu's black flames. You'll be able to see them."

With the plan settled, they split up.

Night fell, and Lin Ye's group of three quietly infiltrated the Ryūchi Cave Entrance. It was an enormous underground cavern, its entrance concealed behind a waterfall. Inside, bright lights illuminated rows of experimental equipment and cultivation tanks containing bizarre creatures.

In a glass tank at the deepest part of the cavern, Fū floated unconscious in green liquid. The Seven-Tails' chakra was being drawn out through tubes and fed into another tank. Inside was a white-haired boy who bore a strong resemblance to Kimimaro, but was younger.

"That's..." Karin covered her mouth.

"Orochimaru's new vessel," Lin Ye said coldly. "Nurtured with the Seven-Tails' chakra, then controlled with the Sharingan... He wants to create the perfect Jinchūriki vessel."

"Then we..."

"Save Fū first."

The three crept closer. But when they came within ten meters of the glass tank, an alarm sounded.

"Welcome, Uchiha Orphan." Orochimaru's voice came from every direction. The lights blazed, and Orochimaru stepped out of the shadows, accompanied by four people-replacements for the Sound Four, along with... Kabuto Yakushi.

"I knew you would come." Orochimaru smiled. "I deliberately leaked information to lure you here. Because here, I have a gift prepared for you."

He clapped, and the cavern wall opened, revealing a hidden chamber. Inside were twelve cultivation tanks, each containing a "Lin Ye." They were clones, but none had eyes.

"I collected your cells and created these vessels," Orochimaru said. "If you agree, I can transfer your consciousness into the most perfect vessel and grant you eternal life. We can explore the truth of ninjutsu together, obtain the Rinnegan together, and together... become gods."

"A madman's delusions," Lin Ye said.

"Is that so?" Orochimaru's gaze turned cold. "Then let me show you a madman's power. Kabuto, activate 'that.'"

"Yes." Kabuto Yakushi formed hand seals, and the ground shook. An enormous coffin rose in the center of the cavern, three times larger than an Impure World Reincarnation coffin. Its lid slowly opened. Inside was...

"This is..." Lin Ye's pupils contracted.

Inside the coffin was a half-human, half-serpent monster. Its upper body was human, its lower body a snake's tail, with pale skin and long, loose hair. Most startling of all were the nine eyes on its forehead-three pairs of Sharingan and three pairs of Rinnegan.

"The culmination of my life's research, combining the Uchiha's Sharingan, Senju cells, Uzumaki seals, Ryūchi Cave's Senjutsu, and... fragments of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path," Orochimaru said feverishly. "I call him 'Eight-Headed Serpent: Complete Form.' Ye, become part of him, and you will attain true immortality!"

The monster opened his eyes, all eighteen fixing on Lin Ye at once. His terrifying pressure shook the cavern, and Karin and Sasuke could barely remain standing.

"Run..." Sasuke gritted his teeth. "We can't beat this thing..."

"We can't run." Lin Ye tightened his grip on his kunai. "Fū is still there. Besides, I have a gift for Orochimaru too."

He looked at the system panel. Last wishes: 410/1344. The battle just now had fulfilled another ten last wishes. He was still ninety away from the next milestone reward at five hundred, but now he had a special reward he could use.

[Ding! Host detected in a desperate situation. Activating the "Desperate Breakthrough" mission.]

[Mission: Defeat Orochimaru's Eight-Headed Serpent: Complete Form.]

[Rewards: Rinnegan Fragment ×100, Eye Power Crystal ×1, instructions for using the Forbidden Jutsu "Izanami."]

[Failure penalty: Death.]

[Accept?]

Accept, Lin Ye said silently.

[Mission accepted.]

[Temporary buff: Desperate Power (all attributes increased by 50%, duration: 10 minutes).]

[Hint: Eight-Headed Serpent: Complete Form's weakness is the "core" at his heart, where the source chakra of all his eyes is gathered.]

"Sasuke, Karin, follow my lead," Lin Ye said. "Sasuke, use Chidori Stream to attack the monster's eyes and draw his attention. Karin, bind Orochimaru and Kabuto with Adamantine Sealing Chains. Don't let them interfere. Leave the monster to me."

"Ye, by yourself..."

"Trust me."

The two exchanged a glance and nodded.

"Then let's begin!"

Sasuke charged first, Chidori Stream flaring as he lunged at the Eight-Headed Serpent. Karin formed hand seals, sending chakra chains shooting toward Orochimaru and Kabuto. Lin Ye took a deep breath and channeled all his desperate power into his Mangekyo.

The patterns in his eyes began evolving toward the Rinnegan.