After obtaining the key, Anyo left without a sound. Orochimaru had many hideouts, but there were four bases he had truly invested considerable effort into building. These bases contained extensive infrastructure, covered areas larger than many villages, and could support all kinds of experiments.
The Northern Base was one of them.
Anyo now appeared there.
The hideout lay in the northern Land of Fire, near the sea. Its interior looked desolate. Without attracting anyone's attention, Anyo slipped straight inside.
Quiet muttering occasionally came from a prison cell. Listening carefully, one could hear constant calculations about when to kill someone, while its occupant watched for the prison door to open.
This place had all but become a forbidden zone. No one dared approach it.
Anyo walked to the cell door and easily sensed the violent, extremely unstable aura within.
When he had first met Jūgo, this power had been unfamiliar to him. Now, he could not have been more familiar with it. This was natural energy.
He inserted the key into the heavy iron door's keyhole and gave it a gentle turn. The door opened.
"Hahaha, I'm going to kill you!" Sinister laughter came from behind the door. Jūgo's face was savage, like a wild beast's, and his skin was a lifeless gray. His towering, nearly two-meter frame surged toward Anyo like a war chariot, carrying berserk power.
Activating Mount Myōboku Senjutsu, Anyo neither dodged nor retreated. He raised his palm and took Jūgo's charging punch head-on.
Bang...
The tremendous impact of their collision sent ripples through the air. The surrounding walls cracked apart, and the ground beneath them sank into a large crater.
Seeing his attack blocked, Jūgo's eyes flared with murderous intent. Just as he was about to press his attack, a Three-Tomoe Sharingan appeared in his mind, and