The roar gradually subsided, and sawdust and ice shards fell from the sky.
The once smooth glacier has now been transformed into a bottomless giant sinkhole.
Uchiha Xin stood atop the Buddha statue's head and slowly withdrew his hands.
His powerful senses swept across the ruins below, and his brow furrowed slightly.
In the instant he defeated Orochimaru, he clearly sensed a fleeting, unique spatial fluctuation.
"Looks like that old fox isn't dead." Uchiha Xin stroked his chin, thinking quickly.
He suddenly remembered Chimera Technique, which required the fusion of five Kekkei Genkai Hiruko potential.
However, Orochimaru only displayed four techniques in this battle: Shikotsumyaku, Wood Release, Sharingan, and Jūgo's Sage Transformation.
"I see." Uchiha Xin smiled knowingly.
"The missing fifth Kekkei Genkai was precisely a life-saving contingency he deliberately left behind."
He wasn't annoyed; on the contrary, he found the game more interesting.
Orochimaru, a relentless adversary, always manages to bring unexpected twists and turns.
You can hide for a while, but you can't hide forever.
Uchiha Xin chuckled lightly, awaiting his next duel with Orochimaru.
In the dimly lit underground chamber, the stench of blood mingled with the pungent smell of medicine, permeating the surroundings.
Orochimaru sat up abruptly, panting heavily.
His pale face was covered in cold sweat, followed by a hoarse, shrill laugh.
Laughter echoed through the empty room, a sound masking the relief of escaping death.
He didn't die.
Relying on the Attack of the Twin Demons Kekkei Genkai of Sakon and Ukon, he had already laid out a perfect backup plan.
Over the years, he secretly cultivated a unique body that integrates five Kekkei Genkai using the Chimera Technique.
The two bodies share a common origin and coexist, sharing a soul and life force, with no distinction between primary and secondary.
What Uchiha Xin had previously defeated was merely one of his clones' bodies.
Even though he miraculously survived, he lost half of his original Chakra, was severely weakened, and extremely frail.
"Hehe... Uchiha Xin, you've really given me a huge surprise."
Orochimaru extended his long tongue and licked his chapped lips, his eyes filled with fanaticism.
This fierce battle did not instill fear in him.
This only strengthened his conviction that the bodies of the Uchiha Clan held a shocking secret.
Whether it's the extremely domineering Lightning Release or the heaven-defying Wood Release, both have brought his thirst for power to its peak.
He secretly resolved that he must seize Sasuke's body as soon as possible.
Only a perfect Uchiha body could allow him to touch the ultimate power of a god.
Just as Orochimaru was plotting against Sasuke.
Sizzle!
A blinding blue bolt of lightning pierced through the heavy steel door in an instant.
The sturdy iron gate collapsed with a crash, raising a cloud of dust.
Sasuke, holding the Kusanagi Sword, strode in expressionlessly.
The blade was wrapped around a raging Chidori, whose piercing cries echoed endlessly.
" Sasuke, what do you want to do?"
Orochimaru's expression changed drastically as he stared intently at the boy, a strong sense of foreboding rising in his heart.
Sasuke's eyes were cold, as if he were staring at a lifeless corpse.
You are no longer of any use to me.
His voice was icy cold, devoid of any emotion.
Orochimaru instantly understood everything.
"Arrogant brat! You think you can kill me?"
He suppressed his weakness, roared fiercely, and rapidly Hand Seals.
Several venomous snakes, each as thick as a wrist, darted out from Sasuke's sleeve, their fangs gleaming coldly, lunging straight Sasuke his neck.
Sasuke neither dodged nor evaded, casually swinging his sword.
With a flash of lightning, all the venomous snakes were severed and fell to the ground, turning into a pool of blood.
The already weakened Orochimaru was powerless to resist and could only watch helplessly as the lightning blade rapidly enlarged in his pupils.
Pfft!
The Kusanagi Sword pierced Orochimaru's chest with pinpoint accuracy.
Orochimaru's eyes widened, his face filled with resentment and disbelief.
He escaped Uchiha Xin's deadly attack, but ultimately perished at the hands of another Uchiha clansman.
His body collapsed to the ground, utterly lifeless.
Sasuke withdrew his Kusanagi Sword, shook off the blood, and strode away.
After that, he traveled to Orochimaru's various strongholds, recruited Suigetsu, Karin, and Jūgo, and officially formed the Team Taka.
Lake Three-Tails Lake, on the border of the Land of Lightning.
Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura, and their group arrived quickly.
The moment everyone rushed out of the forest and saw the scene before them, they all froze on the spot, their faces filled with shock.
The once vast and expansive lake is now completely frozen.
The dense forests stretching for dozens of miles have all been transformed into a desolate glacial landscape.
Sunlight shone on the ice, refracting a blinding white light.
"What level of Ice Release is this?"
Kakashi stared wide-eyed, his breathing rapid, utterly incredulous.
Having roamed the Shinobi World for many years, he had never seen such a vast and terrifying amount of Chakra.
Naruto pointed to the center of the lake and shouted loudly.
" Kakashi-sensei, look over there!"
In the center of the thick ice layer, a huge ice cave has been broken open.
The Isobu, who was supposed to be causing trouble in the lake, has vanished without a trace.
" The Three-Tails has been captured!" Sakura exclaimed in shock.
Kakashi frowned, thinking rapidly.
The ability to freeze a ten-mile-long lake in an instant and silently abduct Tailed Beast is terrifying.
Unbeknownst to everyone, Uchiha Xin only took the Three-Tails ' original Chakra.
As for the Three-Tails' true form, it was taken away by Obito, who arrived later.
In the shadows, Obito stared intently at the glacial ruins through his orange Spiral Mask.
The deaths of Hidan and Kakuzu had delayed Akatsuki's plan to capture Hidan and Kakuzu.
He used his Kamui to rush to the scene, and the sight before him filled him with doubt.
"Who exactly took action against the Three-Tails?"
Obito was deeply shaken, utterly perplexed.
The opponent possessed the strength to easily defeat the Three-Tails with one hand, but only extracted special Chakra, abandoning the massive Tailed Beast body.
"Is there a third-party force in the Shinobi World secretly collecting the power of the Tailed Beast?"
Upon realizing this, Obito felt a chill run down his spine.
He dared not linger and immediately used Kamui to absorb the Three-Tails' true form into another dimension, returning to the Akatsuki base.
The instigator of this incident Uchiha Xin, had already quietly left using the Flying Thunder God before Obito arrived.
He watched the entire event from the shadows without intervening in the Akatsuki.
His ultimate goal is to Rinne Sharingan between Otsutsuki Kaguya's forehead.
Kaguya will only descend upon the Shinobi World if the Akatsuki can gather the Nine-Tails and revive the Ten-Tails.
Konoha, Hokage Building.
Uchiha Xin pushed open the door to the Hokage's office, put his hands in his pockets, and walked in with a relaxed expression.
Tsunade was looking at the documents with a troubled expression when she saw him return, and immediately asked him what was wrong.
"You're back! How are Naruto and the others? Did they capture the Three-Tails?"
Uchiha Xin shrugged slightly and made up an excuse on the spot.
"When I arrived, the entire lake was completely frozen over, the temperature was extremely low, and the Three-Tails was nowhere to be seen; someone must have gotten there first."
He paused briefly, then continued.
" Naruto and his group are safe and sound and will be back soon."
Upon hearing Tsunade breathed a long sigh of relief.
As long as Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, is alright, everything is not so bad.
She raised her hand, gesturing for Uchiha Xin to step back.