Eight Branches Technique and the Blood-Colored Kiss

In Uchiha Yuan's memories, Old Madara had been entangled with the two Senju brothers for half his life.

Madara's younger brother had died at Tobirama's hands. So what kind of feelings had Old Madara harbored when he added ninjutsu and forbidden techniques like the Flying Thunder God, Eight Branches Technique, Mutual Multiplying Exploding Tags, and Impure World Reincarnation to his collection?

If Tobirama were alive to see members of the Uchiha Clan wielding those ninjutsu and forbidden techniques so skillfully—

That scene... well, perhaps it was a twisted sense of humor that even Old Madara himself had never realized he possessed.

Still, Uchiha Yuan had genuinely benefited from it.

After teleporting away from the Tailed Beast Bomb, Uchiha Yuan had already formed a plan.

Over this period of observation, he had discovered that the Snow Woman version of Kurama Shion had inherited her combat experience from the substitute teacher. She excelled at genjutsu interference, but her ninjutsu and taijutsu were lacking. And because of her rage, she did not know how to seize the right moment.

Shukaku's combat ability in the Illusion Space was only slightly stronger than the Isobu Uchiha Yuan had seen before.

Tailed beasts were thick-skinned and sturdy, skilled at using their affinity for energy to unleash wide-ranging instinctive attacks.

Whenever words failed, they used Tailed Beast Bombs to settle things.

And once combat began, neither Shukaku nor Kurama Shion was capable of adapting flexibly.

Teleporting to the Flying Thunder God mark at the edge of the sandstorm vortex and evading Shukaku's Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet once more, Uchiha Yuan formed the cross-shaped hand seal.

As dozens of Shadow Clones charged toward Kurama Shion, Uchiha Yuan, who remained behind, unleashed the Eight Branches Technique.

Uchiha Yuan had already mastered this ninjutsu, which Orochimaru would later use as his trump card.

Enormous masses of crimson flesh rapidly surged from his body. The nine-headed monster with an ox body and dragon tail roared toward the sky, its nine fierce dragon heads lifting slightly as they looked down upon the One-Tail Shukaku, which was only waist-high in comparison.

Deep within its beady eyes, instinctive fear was beginning to brew.

Intelligent creatures always feared monsters larger than themselves.

Just as ninja instinctively feared tailed beasts, the One-Tail Shukaku now felt a long-forgotten primal terror before this gigantic monster.

Its first instinct was actually to burrow beneath the sand.

Uchiha Yuan would not give Shukaku the chance to flee. Two ferocious dragon heads shot forward and bit down on Shukaku's shoulders.

With the massive body exerting force, the tailed beast, dozens of meters tall, was lifted high into the air and thrown backward into the heart of the sandfall vortex.

With a thunderous crash, flowing sand surged into the sky like ocean waves, turning into sand-snow that drifted down. The all-devouring sandfall vortex collapsed.

Just one simple Uchiha Suplex had been enough to destroy a natural phenomenon. Its power was only somewhat inferior to a Tailed Beast Bomb.

Uchiha Yuan was fairly satisfied with that.

But compared to Orochimaru's later methods of "snakes spitting out people, people spitting out swords," or even being able to use ninjutsu with both hands intact—

Uchiha Yuan believed that this developmental version of the Eight Branches Technique still had enormous room for improvement.

Still, that said.

The principle of the Eight Branches Technique was to use ninjutsu to control the body's cells, making them rapidly divide and multiply until one transformed into a gigantic monster. It was a crude imitation of tailed beast transformation.

Orochimaru's mutation had taken the form of the magical beast Eight-Headed Serpent. If Jiraiya or Tsunade, fellow members of the Sannin, had mastered this technique, their mutations would likely have taken the form of a giant toad or slug.

Yet when Uchiha Yuan used the Eight Branches Technique for the first time, transforming into a Dragon-Tailed Ox-Bodied Dragon-Headed monster, it truly came as a surprise.

Still, the monster's brute strength could not be underestimated.

Two dragon heads tore away the shield and spear fixed in Shukaku's hands, while the remaining seven heads turned into fists and pounded Shukaku like a torrential downpour.

This poor little weasel—or perhaps tanuki—had lost its trump card and had no ability to resist at all.

Its vaunted defense and offense, even the sand itself, could no longer be controlled freely.

Before long, under the storm-like assault of dragon-head fists, Shukaku's body slowly crumbled and dispersed.

Uchiha Yuan did not know how much of the real Shukaku's strength this Illusion Space version possessed.

But with sufficient Chakra, the Eight Branches Technique truly had the potential to confront tailed beasts head-on.

Slowly returning to human form, Uchiha Yuan's face pale, he turned to look at Kurama Shion, who had already lost to the Shadow Clones.

Her white hair and red eyes made her look fierce, but with three Shadow Clones holding her down, the aggrieved expression on her face made her look somewhat pitiful.

After all, the substitute teacher only excelled at genjutsu; her taijutsu and ninjutsu were mediocre. Moreover, Uchiha Yuan also possessed authority over the Illusion Space.

It was only natural that he had won through sheer numbers.

"You've possessed the substitute teacher, haven't you?"

The battle in the Illusion Space had been intense. If Kurama Shion herself had been present, Uchiha Yuan would not have gone this long without seeing her.

The answer was simple.

From the very beginning, the Snow Woman version of Kurama Shion had fused with Kurama Shion to a certain degree.

"So what can you do about it, Uchiha? Can you kill me? This is an Illusion Space I created. Her injuries will manifest on her body in the real world as well."

Kurama Shion had become much more obedient now.

Though she was no longer cursing him, her words remained threatening.

Uchiha Yuan felt that this Snow Woman version of Kurama Shion might not be unable to contribute to the substitute teacher's future battles.

After all, she had always been targeting him and held no real malice toward the substitute teacher herself.

Besides, Uchiha Yuan was not certain whether killing her would truly free the substitute teacher.

The resonance between Susanoo and the Illusion Space had only granted him authority equal to hers. Uchiha Yuan could not completely control this Illusion Space.

"Interesting. I happen to be quite interested in the Illusion Space, but I don't know much about it. This is the perfect opportunity for an experiment."

"Then I'll use you as my test subject!"

"Your name is Snow Woman, right? A demon from the deep mountains who craves the cold, controls wind and snow, and enjoys killing men who break their vows..."

"Hmm, broken vows? What do other people's romances have to do with you? Sounds like jealousy to me!"

Watching Snow Woman panic for an instant before regaining her composure, Uchiha Yuan shook his head and laughed.

"Don't worry. I'm a professional experimenter with excellent professional ethics."

"After all, a test subject that gets played to ruin loses its value."

After the Snow Woman version of Kurama Shion had been captured, her authority over this space had already become slightly inferior to Uchiha Yuan's.

A miniature Uchiha Flame Formation quietly closed in, its blazing heat even more scorching than the desert itself.

The wind and snow surrounding Snow Woman silently melted away, while pain and resentment alternated across Kurama Shion's face.

And that was not all. Uchiha Yuan waved a hand.

Scenes of the Orochimaru Squad having snowball fights, conducting experiments, and carrying out their few missions outside appeared one after another.

In the flickering images, Kurama Shion smiled happily. That was how she should have been.

"I want to ask you something. Does it make you uncomfortable to see the substitute teacher get along so well with us?"

"Please describe it in precise terms. This is a formal experiment, after all, and you are my test subject!"

Uchiha Yuan spoke in a condescending tone.

"Bas...tard! Uchiha! I'll never let you go! I... will... return!"

The bloody color in her eyes silently scattered. Kurama Shion, her gaze restored to clarity, looked at Uchiha Yuan in surprise.

With a wave of his hand, the images vanished and the Flame Formation was dispelled.

Uchiha Yuan smiled. "Substitute teacher, we fell into an illusion world. You should be awake now."

"Is that so?"

Kurama Shion lowered her head slightly and rubbed her brow.

Her memories were hazy. The illusory voices by her ears had yet to fade completely, and she had no idea what had happened during this time.

"All right, substitute teacher, you can dispel the Illusion Space, right?"

The moment Uchiha Yuan finished speaking, Kurama Shion's brown hair instantly turned snow-white. She lunged at him with scarlet eyes.

The tenderness between their lips and teeth was like a mire, drawing one ever deeper into its depths.

Before Uchiha Yuan could react, the desert illusion shattered into fragments.

"If I can't destroy what she has, then I'll take it from her. I want her to suffer, to hurt. Then I won't die. One day, I'll become one with her."

The cold, crazed voice was unmistakably that of the Snow Woman version of Kurama Shion.

After a brief wave of dizziness, the scene before Uchiha Yuan's eyes became clear once more.

The softness between his lips and teeth, along with the faint taste of blood and salt, still lingered. Looking down, he saw the substitute teacher curled up in his arms.

He had returned to Laboratory Number Four in the real world and was currently seated in a leather swivel chair.

There was still blood at the corner of Kurama Shion's mouth, but the wound on Uchiha Yuan's tongue had already healed.

That left him rather embarrassed. How was he supposed to explain this when the substitute teacher woke up?

Just then, the laboratory door was pushed open.

Hyuga Ryo and Anko rushed in, while Scale Pill poked its head out from behind Ryo's shoulder.

"Yuan, how is it? I brought you some help!"