Naruto: I, who fooled the ninja world, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 184 Orochimaru, whoever invades the virtual world will die!
At this very moment, on another island across the sea, a ruined palace lies deep underground.

The air was thick with the dust and decay of time, and massive stone pillars supported the towering dome, their surfaces adorned with indistinct, intricate patterns.

This is a magnificent palace buried deep underground, forgotten by time, its scale far exceeding imagination.

"That's it! That's it! This is the place!"

Several figures appeared in the palace, the one in the lead being none other than Orochimaru, who had been missing for a long time.

They looked around and saw that the palace walls were covered with huge and exquisite murals, their vibrant colors and flowing lines silently telling the story of the rise and fall of an ancient empire.

This group of people are descendants of this ancient empire. They have guarded the secrets of this place for generations. They were originally a caravan that was forcibly gathered here by Orochimaru.

Orochimaru ignored the surprise of the others, staring intently at the murals, his eyes burning with an almost overflowing intensity.

In the first mural, a towering figure with an obscured face stands in the air, looking down at a frail person below, who is prostrating himself in worship.

To others, this was akin to the legend of 'divine right of kings,' a means by which the ruler who established this ancient empire legitimized his rule.

However, in Orochimaru's view...

“That’s, ‘Lord of the Void Realm’, and ‘Grell’?” Orochimaru’s throat bobbed as he looked at the second mural.

The second mural depicts a bare-chested, muscular king holding aloft a radiant stone, illuminating the thousands of worshipping subjects below.

Beneath his feet lay a desolate land, and behind him stood a magnificent city in its nascent stages, revealing that 'Greel' had established this nation with the help of the 'Lord of the Void'.

The third mural depicts a colossal city rising from the ground, crisscrossing farmland, tamed rivers nourishing the fertile land, and people dressed in magnificent attire, as the empire reaches its zenith.

The fourth mural depicts people in splendid attire arguing, with the sky turning gloomy, signifying internal divisions and strife within the nation.

The fourth mural depicts a catastrophe: the earth cracks open, floods rage, and people are filled with fear and despair, struggling and fleeing like ants before a mighty force.

The fifth mural depicts an empire in ruins, with only a handful of survivors amidst the crumbling walls, their clothes tattered. The main color scheme has turned somber, filled with an atmosphere of decay and death.

The sixth and final mural occupies the most prominent position. It contains no figures, no scenes, no colors, only a pure, bottomless blackness.

This pitch blackness filled the entire scene, cold, deathly, and desperate, symbolizing utter annihilation and end, with the empire reduced to darkness.

"Was it destruction caused by forgetting the 'gods'?" Orochimaru pondered to himself.

What does the final black mural represent? Could it represent the 'virtual world'?
Boom! !

Just as Orochimaru was analyzing the murals, the entire underground palace suddenly began to tremble violently.

A dull, loud noise came from all directions. Spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the surface of the stone pillars. The dome began to crumble and collapse, and large chunks of rock fell to the ground, raising clouds of dust!
However, as the dome peeled away, the scene hidden above it gradually revealed itself to them!
That's a mineral vein!
Like agate and jade, it emitted a pale green light, or like fluorescent spring water embedded in the rock strata. A vibrant aura quickly permeated the palace.

The originally dim underground palace was now bright and clear!
"Hyde!"

"What are you doing!"

A startled and angry scream rang out, and Orochimaru frowned and turned around to look.

Suddenly, a burly man dressed as a businessman walked up to a strangely shaped stone sculpture and smashed it.

It was clearly his actions that caused this place to begin to collapse.

"Hahaha! I felt it! I felt it!"

The man known as "Hyde" laughed maniacally, greedily inhaling the rich energy in the air, and shouted, "A continuous stream of power is flowing into my body!"

"The Grell Stone! This is the true source of the Grell Stone!"

After saying that, he suddenly looked at Orochimaru, a smug smile spreading across his face, and said, "Foolish ninja, if you hadn't brought me here, it would probably have taken me years to find this place on my own!"

Despite Hyde's mockery and smugness, Orochimaru's expression remained unchanged. He ignored the "Grell Stone" above his head and stared intently at the ground in the center of the palace.

"Fool, the so-called 'Grell's Stone' is nothing but garbage bestowed by the gods..."

His golden serpentine eyes flashed with a cold yet fanatical light as he looked at the complex and mysterious magic array patterns that emitted a ghostly glow, and said in a hoarse voice, "This is what I want!"

The ground in the very center of the palace was not a flat stone slab, but a huge circular magic circle composed of complex patterns, faintly emanating a kind of spatial distortion.

The magic circle for communicating with the 'Space-Time Cave'...

The contents recorded in that scroll and ancient book were indeed true!
A coordinate gate set up to summon an unknown entity using ancient necromancy!

"According to that scroll, the 'Space-Time Cave' connects to the 'Virtual Realm'!"

Orochimaru suddenly turned his head, his snake-like eyes sweeping over the boy beside him, whose face still showed confusion and fear. This boy truly possessed the bloodline of the nobles of that ancient empire.

These people were all people he had gone to great lengths to find.

This is the day we've been waiting for!
Without the slightest hesitation, Orochimaru appeared beside the boy like a ghost and grabbed his wrist!
"You, what are you going to do?"

The boy was startled and struggled in terror.

"What are we doing?" Orochimaru gave a chilling smile. "To open the door to a new world, of course!"

Before he could finish speaking, a flash of cold light passed through his hand, instantly slicing open the boy's palm, and scalding blood gushed out like a spring!

The moment the blood touched the magic circle beneath their feet, a blinding, eerie blue light suddenly erupted, and an unimaginable suction force burst forth!

Boom! !

The "Greel Stone" vein above, flowing with boundless vitality, was drawn in, and its pale green liquid essence was frantically torn apart and devoured like a river bursting its banks!
The light of the ore vein began to dim and shrink, and the rich life force was greedily converted into the energy to activate the magic array!
"Damn it, Orochimaru! What have you done?!"

Seeing this, Hyde, who was absorbing that life energy, looked at Orochimaru with eyes wide with rage and roared furiously.

He never expected Orochimaru to destroy the Grell Stone mine directly.

In his view, Orochimaru's reason for searching for the ruins of the empire was also for the "Grell Stone," which contains powerful life energy and can strengthen the body with just one piece.

At worst, we can fight it out and decide the final outcome.

As it turned out, this madman had no intention of stealing it at all; he was going to destroy it!
"Fool! What does physical strength matter?"

Orochimaru stood at the edge of the magic circle with his arms outstretched, his face filled with extreme fervor for the unknown, the wind making his long hair and robes flutter wildly.

"What I have opened is a door to a completely new world! A door to a virtual realm that transcends life and death, transcends reincarnation, and is full of infinite possibilities!"

Click! !
A deafening roar that sent chills down one's spine seemed to tear space itself apart.

The space at the center of the magic circle beneath Orochimaru's feet shattered completely like fragile glass!

A huge, deep, dark, bottomless crack suddenly opened!

The portal to time and space has been opened!
With all the points modified by Hinata Kumokawa, it no longer connects to the original void, but to the virtual world!

"Get out of the way!"

Someone screamed in terror, and the few survivors scrambled and crawled towards the floating rubble around them.

The moment the 'Time-Space Hole' opened, a chilling wind surged out from the depths of the crack.

Immediately afterwards, countless twisted, blurry black figures, exuding an aura of death, surged wildly out from the deep crack.

"Ugh!"

"No! What is this... Pfft!"

A dark figure appeared behind one of them, its sharp claws easily tearing through his armor and piercing his chest before beginning to devour his soul.

Another shadowy figure lunged at another person, opening its mask to forcibly devour their soul.

The other shadowy figures ignored the screams of terror from the others and instantly locked their gazes on Orochimaru, whose soul was the strongest.

"What kind of monster is this?!"

Hyde, who had been so arrogant and smug, was now filled with fear; the powerful force within him still couldn't bring him a sense of security.

Virtual!
Monsters from the 'Virtual Realm'!

"That's them!"

Upon seeing the appearance of those black figures, their white masks, and the empty voids in front of them, Orochimaru didn't hesitate to raise his hand and form hand seals. *Whoosh!*

A powerful burst of chakra suddenly erupted from Orochimaru's body, and the shockwave spread outward from him, causing his robes to flutter wildly.

Layers of fine, smooth white scales appeared on his skin, and the scales twitched slightly as if they were alive, covering his cheeks, neck, and arms!
Two purple marks, resembling eyeshadow, appeared at the corners of her eyes, extending sharply backward along her cheekbones, adding an inhuman and eerie quality to her already pale face!
Moreover, a single horn slowly grew on his forehead, and several snake-shaped transparent chakra appeared around his body, making his aura wild and cold like that of a snake.

This is precisely the Sage Mode of Ryūchi-dong!

"Orochimaru, you're using my power again."

A soft, alluring female voice rang out from behind Orochimaru. A woman's head appeared at the end of Orochimaru's tail, slowly extending to Orochimaru's shoulder before flicking out its tongue.

"Is this... some ancient ruin?" Princess Tanshin smiled as she looked at the surrounding scenery. "Orochimaru, I knew that following you would always lead to interesting things."

Orochimaru's eyes darkened slightly, but he ignored Tashin-hime and instead opened his mouth slightly to let out a hiss.

Kusanagi Sword: Sky Blade!

呲!
A faint yet piercing sound rang out, and a cold, sharp light, like a venomous snake's tongue, shot out from Orochimaru's mouth in an instant.

It precisely locked onto a 'Void' that had devoured one person and was about to pounce on another!
However, the sword tip was not pointing at the virtual body, but at the pale, bony mask on the face!

Click!

The tip of the Kusanagi sword pierced and shattered the 'Hollow' mask as easily as piercing through a thin layer of ice!

"Roar!"

The moment the mask shattered, the 'Void' let out a shriek, its massive body swelled up, and then suddenly exploded, turning into countless tiny black dust particles that dissipated into the air!
That resentful and unwilling spiritual energy did not dissipate into the air, but instead surged wildly toward the Kusanagi sword that pierced the mask, as if drawn by a force!

The blade of the Kusanagi sword suddenly trembled violently, even emitting a deep, satisfied hum!
The entire process, from Orochimaru drawing his sword to shattering the mask, to the collapse of the Hollow, and the Kusanagi sword devouring the soul, all happened in the blink of an eye.

"hiss!"

A surge of pure, icy, and immense spiritual energy flowed into Orochimaru's body through the Kusanagi Sword, causing him to tremble with an unprecedented sense of spiritual pleasure.

"Haha! Hahaha!!"

After a brief moment of disorientation came an uncontrollable, almost manic ecstasy!

Orochimaru's maniacal laughter echoed through the chaotic and bloody palace, filled with the excitement of discovering a new world and a greed for power.

"what is this?"

Upon seeing this scene, the already slender snake eyes of the goddess Tianxin, who had merged with her, suddenly shrank.

A creature I've never seen before, with that chilling aura...

Not only that, she seemed to feel a piece of her soul being cut off and flowing into the Kusanagi sword.

Thinking of this, Princess Tianxin's expression changed slightly, and she questioned, "Orochimaru, what are you planning to do now?"

"……laugh."

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru, who had been laughing wildly, suddenly stopped, gave a soft chuckle, and said in an icy tone, "You'll soon find out what I want to do."

Having said that, he looked at the 'voids' rampaging through the palace. At this moment, in his eyes, these hideous monsters exuding an aura of death were no longer a threat.

Rather, it is a walking treasure, a ladder to higher levels of power, and a key to freedom!
"Come on, more, give me more!"

Orochimaru let out a hiss like a snake, and his figure disappeared instantly. The speed granted by Sage Mode made him as fast as a ghost!

Those 'hollow' claws grazed the body, leaving streaks of blood that quickly healed, while the Kusanagi sword transformed into deadly streaks of cold light, piercing towards the pale masks!
Click!Click!
Orochimaru's figure darted wildly through the Hollows, each movement accompanied by the shattering of a mask and the demise of a Hollow, the crisp cracking sounds like popping beans ringing out one after another.

The Kusanagi sword was like an insatiable glutton, frantically devouring the surging soul energy. The eerie blue light on the sword grew stronger and stronger, and even faintly revealed a trace of eerie blood color!
"What's going on with this feeling?!"

Feeling her soul continuously flowing into the Kusanagi sword, Princess Tashin's expression grew increasingly horrified, and she couldn't help but scream, "Orochimaru, stop!"

"Without me, you can't even use Sage Mode!"

Although she didn't know how Orochimaru did it, she guessed what Orochimaru wanted to do.

This guy stuffed her soul into this Kusanagi sword!

Yes, Orochimaru wanted to feed her soul, along with the souls of those 'Hollows,' to his Kusanagi sword.

The scroll stated that to forge a Zanpakuto, one must use their own soul to devour the souls within the sword.

Now that Princess Tianxin's soul has merged with his, it is difficult to break free. In that case, he will send his soul and Princess Tianxin's soul into it together!

Orochimaru's snake eyes burned with an almost insane flame, and his attacks became even more ferocious and aggressive.

"You madman! Orochimaru, you're a madman!"

As the Kusanagi Sword's suction power grew increasingly terrifying, fear appeared on Tashin Shinhime's face.

According to the plan that the White Snake Sage originally gave, whenever Orochimaru used Sage Mode, her soul and Orochimaru's soul would merge slightly.

Until the very end, when the two become completely inseparable, Ryuji Cave will gain a loyal pawn.

But now it seems that Orochimaru, that madman, is determined to sever her soul, even at the cost of sacrificing the parts of his own soul that have already been fused with hers!
Princess Tashin couldn't understand where Orochimaru got the confidence to do this, nor could she understand how he had managed to do all of this!

"Just a little bit more, just a little bit more, why is it taking so long!"

Looking at these Hollows who weren't even lower-level Hollows, Orochimaru's eyes revealed a hint of insatiable dissatisfaction.

Even though it was just an ordinary Hollow, its spiritual energy was stronger than that of most ninjas, but he still felt that his progress was too slow.

These 'illusory' powers were much weaker than he had anticipated.

Orochimaru then turned his gaze to the rift in the 'Space-Time Hole'.

That's what connects to the 'virtual world'.

There must be an even stronger 'void' there.

Thinking of this, a greedy look appeared in Orochimaru's eyes. He ignored the 'Hollows' that kept pouring out and stepped towards the rift.

However, the moment he stepped into the crack...

A hand reached out from the deep crevice.

Bang! !

Orochimaru didn't even see who was in front of him before a suffocating chill suddenly appeared.

The explosive shockwave swept across the surroundings, and a hand violently gripped Orochimaru's throat, sending him crashing through a broken pillar and flying backward!

Click! Click!
As he was pressed against the wall behind him, blood trickled from the corners of Orochimaru's mouth, and a crisp cracking sound came from his slender neck.

"Ho ho..."

Orochimaru, lifted into the air, stared wide-eyed, blood seeping from the torn corners of his eyes. His golden snake pupils, which had shrunk in fear, were stained a terrifying red by the blood.

So fast!

How can it be so fast? !
This guy……

Looking at the face wearing the pale mask, at the indifference in those scarlet eyes, and feeling the increasing pressure on his neck, Orochimaru's eyes showed a hint of fear.

Daxu!

And it's not just subordinates!
At least a mid-level Hollow recorded in the scroll!
It exists on a completely different level from those "illusory" things!
"Human? Snake?"

White Fang looked at Orochimaru's strange appearance and aura, tilted his head in confusion, but tightened his grip on Orochimaru's neck inch by inch, gradually crushing it.

Click! Click!
"It doesn't matter." His voice was hoarse and low. "Those who invade the Void Realm, die!"

(Finished 10,000 words, my eyes are dry and sore, humbly asking for monthly votes QAQ)

(End of this chapter)