Naruto's civilian cannon fodder starts with the three-body technique

Chapter 260 Orochimaru's Collapse

A chilling murderous intent filled the air, and the temperature inside the tent plummeted.

In his entire life, he only took in three disciples, but all of them perished at the hands of this white blood demon, leaving none alive.

The elite puppet army, painstakingly cultivated with countless efforts, was also wiped out by this damned white blood demon, twice.

In the first half of his life, he was full of wisdom and resourcefulness, and his reputation was ruined. In the second half of his life, he will probably be shrouded in the huge shadow of this white blood demon.

All of this is because of this white blood demon. This hatred is irreconcilable!
Just as Ebizo was in a fit of impotent rage and nearly lost control, Sasuke Umino, far away at the Konoha camp, had already finished treating the last wounded soldier.

He finally unleashed the Flying Thunder God Technique, causing ripples in space as he silently arrived outside Laboratory No. 7 in the Land of Waves, pushing open the door and entering.

"Sasuke-kun, you've arrived."

A hoarse voice came from the shadows of the laboratory. Orochimaru's signature golden vertical pupils gleamed in the shadows, exuding an increasingly chilling and inhuman aura.

"Orochimaru, you really are here."

With his keen perception through the Spirit Transformation Technique, Umino Sasuke clearly sensed that Orochimaru's chakra aura, and even his soul, had undergone a tremendous change. The human aura was diminishing, replaced by a cold, serpentine quality.

Inside the laboratory, dozens of cold culture tanks were neatly arranged, filled with biological tissues of various shapes and sizes. The metal and glass reflected a cold, eerie light, making the already gloomy space even colder.

Scrolls and precision instruments were scattered on the experimental table. A small, pure white snake emerged from the shadows and affectionately coiled around Orochimaru's pale arm.

"Sasuke-kun, your antidote research is very successful."

Orochimaru gently tapped the little white snake's head with his slender fingers, but his gaze remained fixed on Umino Sasuke. "You snatched more than three hundred lives from the hands of death. That's a remarkable achievement. It seems that Sasuke-kun's talent in research and development is equally astonishing."

Sasuke Umino's gaze swept over the culture jars, finally settling on a container clearly labeled "Purple Scorpion": "Compared to your research into the true essence of ninjutsu and the nature of life, what I've done is nothing more than some emergency, trivial tricks."

"Hmm." Orochimaru remained noncommittal, his expression devoid of any emotion.

He walked to the purple scorpion container, his pale fingers pressing against the cold glass surface: "Life is so fragile, it's despairing."

"Orochimaru, Nawaki has written to you again."

Sasuke Umino timely took out a letter and handed it to Orochimaru.

Upon hearing the name Nawaki, Orochimaru's face showed a rare warmth, even a hint of relief.

Orochimaru read the short greeting letter for a long time. Sasuke Umino did not disturb him, but waited quietly. In the end, Orochimaru carefully kept the letter, thinking, "Having gone through a life-or-death ordeal, Nawaki is still so vibrant and full of energy."

There was a hint of barely perceptible emotion in his words.

The lights on the lab ceiling seemed to flicker for a moment, and Umino Sasuke keenly caught a fleeting, complex emotion in Orochimaru's eyes. "Sasuke-kun."

Orochimaru's voice rang out again, carrying a strange, probing tone, "You say that if death is no longer the inevitable, inescapable end of life, but merely a flaw that can be overcome, does that prove that life itself can be intervened upon, saved, or even redefined?"

"Uh?" Sasuke Umino was speechless, unsure how to respond.

"Nawaki, who was already on the verge of death, was miraculously saved by you. This in itself proves that life can be prolonged by external forces. If we have enough knowledge and master the true essence of ninjutsu, we might be able to overcome even greater death, never grow old, forever remain at our strongest peak, and forever protect our original, purest, and most powerful beliefs, never fading!"

Orochimaru's words were pointed at something, as if he were referring to Nawaki, or perhaps something else entirely.

A brief silence fell over the laboratory, broken only by the monotonous sound of liquid dripping in the distance, like the passing of time.

Orochimaru seemed to snap out of his thoughts and walked to a wooden shelf, taking down a scroll from it.

"This is the Spirit Transformation Technique that was given to me. Sasuke, you also practiced this forbidden technique, so you must have made some discoveries as well."

Orochimaru's question was somewhat ambiguous, seemingly implying something, whether it referred to the deceased Kato Dan himself or the secret of the Spirit Transformation Technique.

Faced with such a sensitive topic, Umino Sasuke chose to pretend not to hear and expanded on the Spirit Transformation Technique, avoiding Kato Dan and focusing the conversation entirely on the Spirit Transformation Technique itself.

"If one can preserve the soul and then develop a reincarnation technique that can seize the physical body based on the art of spiritualization, it is indeed possible to achieve the dual immortality of the soul and the body, thus achieving a kind of eternal life."

"Is that so?" Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils stared directly at Umino Sasuke, as if they could see through a person's soul.

Unno Sasuke remained unfazed, his expression calm and composed, continuing to feign deafness and muteness, only discussing ninjutsu and refusing to mention anything else.

Orochimaru finally withdrew his piercing gaze, a trace of indescribable loneliness creeping up his brow, as if he were talking to himself, "Sometimes I wonder, if a person never grows old, never dies, could he forever maintain that initial, powerful belief? Like those heroes in the legends of the ninja world, forever remaining in their most glorious moment?"

Orochimaru's gaze involuntarily drifted to the old wooden photo frame on the writing desk.

In the faded photograph, a middle-aged man wearing a straw hat and armor, with a hearty smile, is holding a black-haired boy's shoulder with one hand. The boy's lips are curved in a smile. On either side of him are a white-haired boy and a blonde girl. They are none other than a young Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Sannin in their youth.

"Orochimaru, I have delivered Nawaki's letter. It's getting late."

Sasuke Umino felt a slight unease, but he didn't say anything. He simply made an excuse to leave, pausing briefly as he left the room, and whispered, "Take care, Orochimaru."

Emerging from the cold, dark underground laboratory and seeing the light of day again, Sasuke Umino's mood was far from light. Orochimaru's last words and that photograph lingered in his mind.

It was thought that saving Senju Nawaki would change Orochimaru's pursuit of immortality. However, due to the powerful inertia of history, although Orochimaru's views on immortality changed significantly, his pursuit of immortality remained unchanged.

One can't help but wonder whether Orochimaru's motivation for pursuing immortality stemmed from the deaths of his family and friends, which made him realize the fragility of life, or from the collapse of the image of Oshio, whom he regarded as a father, which ultimately led to his twisted personality and the motivation to pursue immortality.

(End of this chapter)