Chiya took a step forward. Black ash crumbled beneath the soles of his military boots with a faint scraping sound. Those scattered particles were all that remained of Orochimaru in the Shinobi World. A hot gust swept through the breach in the shattered Four Violet Flames Formation, lifting the powder off the ground and carrying it toward the allied forces' positions.
Tsunade stared fixedly at the black ash strewn across the ground. Her breathing grew rapid, her chest heaving. Orochimaru was dead. The man who had grown up alongside her, survived countless brushes with death with her, and earned the title of Sannin with her had not even left an intact corpse behind.
Jiraiya held his hands in a hand seal, his nails digging into his flesh. Blood dripped between his fingers onto the cracked earth. After Orochimaru defected from Konoha, Jiraiya had pursued him for decades. They had fought countless times, and Jiraiya knew just how many ways Orochimaru had to keep himself alive. Orochimaru could shed his skin, split himself apart, and even plant cursed seals inside other people as a contingency for resurrection.
Now, Jiraiya could no longer sense Orochimaru's chakra. Across the entire Shinobi World, every cursed seal bearing Orochimaru's chakra stopped working at the same instant. In a distant underground base, the marks on the test subjects turned into ordinary scars. The core of Orochimaru's soul had been burned away, rendering every contingency attached to it useless.
Chiya stood where he was, making no move to attack. A translucent system panel automatically appeared at the edge of his vision. Pale blue characters scrolled rapidly.
[Calculation complete.] [Target killed/devoured: Orochimaru (one of the Sannin).] [Reward one acquired: Forbidden technique-Living Corpse Reincarnation (system-improved version).]
A complex stream of information poured into Chiya's brain. He half-closed