Things were getting more and more complicated.
At this point, Akashi had to wonder if this world truly was made out of genjutsu; if Madara was intending to make him think as such, he did a great job creating this world.
However, that didn't mean anything changed.
Nagato's rinnegans were stolen by the masked Uchiha, who is affiliated with Uchiha Madara.
Konan was trapped within this genjutsu. Akashi was glad that he was the one who entered this genjutsu to save her, for he was now certain that no one else would be capable of breaking through this trap.
Having exited Tsunade's tent, Akashi, as he stood aside Orochimaru, felt the watchful gazes of civilians and ninjas on him. They were wary. Their eyes expressed panic.
It was evident what his alternate self did to them. Blood. Tears. Ruination.
In a way, it was ironic. Akashi was labelled as the S-ranked criminal, even though all that he did was retaliate against the death threats. In this genjutsu world, his other self was hailed as the hero and ruler in Amegakure, yet he committed atrocious massacres.
'What was it that you lacked?'
In a way, Akashi couldn't understand his alternate self.
Stability, comfort, safety—the alternate self had everything that he never had.
It could be said that they were the opposite of one another in many ways.
Unaware of Akashi's thoughts, Chakka freely flew, not as bothered by the cautious people of Konoha.
"What could the reason be? Time to time, I wonder what made him the monster he is today."
On the other hand, Orochimaru muttered, thinking about the alternate Akashi as well.
"I hold the belief that no human is born evil. There must have been consequences. Compared to the damages that the other villages suffered, the ones done to Konoha was several times worse. It was as if he held a grievance against the village."
"Who knows? There are things that I can understand, and things that I cannot."
Akashi replied with a stoic expression as he looked around, at the villagers who winced or avoided eye contact as he looked back at them.
"This, the destruction of civilians who aren't related to the ninjas' affairs, is something that I cannot and will not understand."
Doing so would make Akashi no different from those whom he despised.
"..."
Parting his eye from the surroundings, Akashi turned to Orochimaru.
"Realistically speaking, what is my chance of victory against my other self?"
Orochimaru grimaced. He opened his mouth as if about to respond, then closed it shut. He then furrowed his brows, seemingly deep in thought.
"...It is true that you hold the highest chance of winning among anyone whom I have come across thus far. This is the reason why I am betting on you... not that I have any other choice at this point, heh."
Orochimaru finally spoke.
"Your mastery over a sword is something that he doesn't possess. However, he instead has the power of rinnegans, and..."
"And?"
"The infamous salamander summons of his—and your—grandfather, Hattori Hanzo."
"Therefore?"
"One to nine."
Orochimaru wetted his lips, feeling them dry.
"In other words, I'd say that you have a ten percent chance of pulling a victory against him. Of course. This number is nothing but my effort to answer your question in the most tangible way possible. Just think of it as 'I don't really have high hopes in you either.'"
"What if I manage to learn and master senjutsu?"
Orochimaru chuckled at that before he too turned to stare back at Akashi.
"Look. Your learning of the senjutsu was the baseline of my calculation."
Akashi's eye narrowed.
"You mean..."
"Yes."
Orochimaru nodded in a darkened expression.
"The leader already knows how to perform senjutsu. He is the salamander sage."
"Senjutsu? Sage? There you are, talking about the stuff that I don't know once again!"
Chakka then spoke up, breaking the serious atmosphere.
"The ninja summons are generically the animals that gained intellect through the absorption of the nature energy around them. Therefore, they are bound to be familiar with the concept of senjutsu..."
Orochimaru gazed at Chakka suspiciously.
"I've never heard of a moth summon. I've certainly never heard of a ninja summon without an ounce of knowledge in senjutsu."
"Well, here's the first then!"
Upon Chakka's carefree remark, Orochimaru sighed. He then shook his head,
"...I suppose it is."
Akashi let out a chuckle, amused by Chakka's antics rather than feeling intrigued by its origin, for now.
__________
Away from the village, they ventured through the barren land for days.
Akashi was initially curious about why they visited Konohagakure in the first place, but quickly realized that the village was simply in the way. They were travelling through the quickest possible route.
This also meant Orochimaru expected Akashi to pursue senjutsu. Akashi learned that Orochimaru was a master of information gathering, for he was able to draw and deduce information out of the little bits of conversations that they had.
...Bizarrely, this world's Orochimaru reminded him of Jiraiya.
'Is it that everyone's personality is flipped? To be the opposite of what they are like in the original world?'
At one point, the forest appeared.
Going through the forest, they came across a small gap that was hidden so well that no one would be able to tell without an astute observation.
"This is one of many paths to our destination."
"And the name of our destination is?"
"Ryuchi Cave. The home to the snakes with whom I formed a contract."
Through the gap, they began to pass through the narrow underground passage.
The deeper they went, the number of passages in front of them increased. It was akin to a maze, and combined with the darkness that enveloped them, it would've been nigh impossible to navigate through without Orochimaru's guidance.
"Uhh..."
Chakka expressed discomfort, choosing to stay in Akashi's clothes rather than flap wings by the side.
"Interesting."
Orochimaru commented as he saw such a reaction out of Chakka,
"Moths tend to be nocturnal. They, in fact, welcome the dark and humid environment such as this cave. You don't seem to be the same."
"Quit comparing me with other moths, okay?! I'm the super moth!"
"Shh... don't raise your voice too much. It will startle the snakes."
"I don't like you..."
Although grumbling, Chakka did remain silent afterward.
With the back hunched due to the ceiling getting lower and lower, Akashi placed his hands on the humid walls to push his tall frame through the path.
Before it got to the point where he would've considered the use of the Transformation jutsu to reduce his size, the area suddenly enlarged as they entered a surprisingly huge underground space.
Interestingly, there were dim rays of light entering from above, even though they were very deep in the underground. Akashi assumed that the light-passing holes were artificially made by the snakes.
The area was overall mossy and humid. Judging by the sound of water flowing, Akashi deduced that it was an environment suitable enough to call a habitat for particular animal species.
"Normally, it is unlikely that you would reach this site at this pace. A complex array of fuinjutsu challenges the entry of the unwelcomed ones, such that they get lost in the maze-like paths. Thankfully, you were with me."
Orochimaru turned and introduced,
"Welcome to the Ryuchi Cave."
Before Akashi and Chakka could make any statement, a hissing noise was heard from Orochimaru's back.
"You entered through the hidden entrance without prior notification, Orochimaru... with foreigners at that."
Akashi saw that there was a huge shadow behind Orochimaru. As it neared, its long body covered in purple scales was shown.
Upon revealing its appearance, Akashi got to see how big the creature truly was—at least a hundred times greater than himself.
"Manda. It's been a while."
With that of familiarity, Orochimaru turned.
"I apologize for the unannounced entrance. However, you know the situation in the overworld. It is very dire."
"Yesss... and I see that the foreigner whom you brought looks almost the same as the Doombringer... save the eyes."
"Doombringer?"
Akashi raised an eyebrow.
"Doombringer is the name that was given to your other self following his forceful subjugation of the salamander tribe."
"Forceful subjugation, you say."
Akashi, not having known this, expressed interest, although he quickly masked it, knowing that now wasn't the time for an explanation.
The gigantic snake, named Manda, hissed as its slitted eyes flashed in rage.
"The destroyer of nature... and the bane of our kind!"
"We came here to discuss this matter. Soon or later, Konoha will fall. This will be the beginning of the end, where one by one, all the villages and ninjas fall by Amegakure."
Orochimaru calmly stated.
"We need to see the White Snake Sage."
Manda's eyes narrowed.
"Explain."
"This man here is our only hope of victory."
"How come?"
Orochimaru looked at Akashi as if seeking approval. As Akashi nodded slightly, he spoke,
"He is Hattori Akashi himself, from another world parallel to ours."
Orochimaru, looking straightforward into Manda, stated firmly.
"Namikaze Minato lost. Sarutobi Hiruzen lost. Hell, even Jiraiya, that traitor, lost in the end. Was that the end? No. Raikage, Kazekage, Mizukage, and Tsuchikage all lost. The jinchurikis here and there lost and had their tailed beasts extracted. All the famed ninjas of the world fell into his hands. It is proven at this point that there is no one in this world who can kill that man... except himself."
Manda snorted.
"Parallel world? Never did I imagine that you, Orochimaru, would speak of unrealistic words as such."
"It was long proven that the Six Paths Sage really existed in the past. If a god-like figure is real, then why not an individual from a different world?"
"..."
Manda stared at Akashi, Orochimaru, and Chakka, who was peeking from Akashi's clothes, intently. They could see that Manda couldn't find itself believing what Orochimaru stated.
Yet, Manda, although with reluctance, eventually opened a way.
"If what you said is true..."
It closed its eyes as if turning blind to Akashi and Orochimaru.
"...Have your way."
"Thank you, Manda."
Walking past Manda, Akashi, as he walked behind Orochimaru, saw that a stream of water appeared by the side of the wide space.
Going further down, Akashi eventually saw a large, underground lake that was enveloped in a thick mist that blinded the view.
The silhouettes of gigantic snakes appeared from here and there. Orochimaru motioned to follow him as closely as possible, and Akashi did just that, unable to feel fear from summons who are, objectively speaking, weaker than him and Orochimaru.
Yes, it wasn't that Akashi feared them. Instead, it was that they feared him for entering their home uninvited.
Some hissed in caution. Some backed away from fear.
The responses that Akashi was receiving from the snakes were no different from the ones that he received from humans.
...Everywhere he went, he wasn't welcomed.
Was it because of his strength? His status?
For seeking to survive and strive to live, the vast majority of people and intellectual creatures whom he met responded with hostility and fear.
Receiving such treatment over and over made him wonder, at one point, if there was a point in living, for it was as if his life would bring nothing but misery to others.
Even though he knew that these reactions were probably because of the actions of his other self in this world, Akashi sometimes felt a tingling feeling of depression. He, too, was a human, after all.
'Perhaps...'
Akashi thought to himself as they walked,
'Yes. If I were to successfully deal with all the matters...'
It was a thought that was within Akashi for quite some time.
Is there a world outside the Elemental Nation?
Akashi aimed to explore the world outside, should there be one.
To be free from the status of an S-ranked criminal. To be free from his close ones being exposed to dangers.
He always thought that he was free as a rogue ninja, but no. He was always shackled by something. Such was the reason why he never attained a true inner peace, the joy of life.
"Akashi..."
Then, Chakka spoke all of a sudden.
"You are going to disappear?"
Akashi's eye twitched for a brief moment, although he quickly masked his surprise.
'Chakka managed to read my thought?'
He checked the seal that existed as the contract between the two.
It was the ordinary seal with no special trait that allowed Chakka to read his mind.
'No... that isn't it. An astute observation... but still.'
Chakka read his thoughts based on the slightest movements of his facial muscles. It was a feat that even Orochimaru wasn't capable of.
Was it that Chakka grew very familiar with him in such a quick period?
"...What are you talking about? Disappear? Me?"
"I don't know. You just looked like you were going to disappear just a moment ago."
"Hm?"
Orochimaru, who was observing their interaction, commented,
"He looked exactly the same as always to me."
"You missed it just a second ago!"
"Well, we keep that for later. Now isn't the time to chit-chat."
At the edge of the ground where nothing but water lied ahead, they came to a stop.
Mystically, the mist around cleared.
A white snake of gigantic size rose from the water and bowed its head respectfully.
"Is this the White Snake Sage?"
"No, one of her descendants."
As Orochimaru answered Chakka's question, the white snake spoke,
"The great White Snake Sage told me to escort you to her throne."
"It would be our pleasure, Shiroki."
The snake named Shiroki lowered its head. Orochimaru motioned Akashi and Chakka to get on said snake's head.
Thus, they complied.
Shiroki carried them over the lake with surprising stability. Akashi didn't feel any shake atop its head.
"...Usually, a newcomer must pass all the trials to meet the great White Snake Sage."
Shiroki spoke as it continued to travel across the water.
"A failure to pass all the trials would mean death. Consider yourself lucky that the great White Snake Sage recognized the direness of the situation."
"Yes, of course."
A few minutes after Orochimaru's response, they finally saw the land. Shiroki lowered its head, allowing the group to disembark from its head.
Ahead, there was darkness. However, it wasn't entirely silent, for the subtle noises of something sliding over the ground could be heard.
"Orochimaru. It's been a while."
As a cigar was lit up by the owner of the voice, the dim light provided Akashi with the vision to take a look at the snake that sat within the darkness, atop a gigantic throne.
This snake, white in color, was not only gigantic but also extremely lengthy. Its body was so long that it flowed out of the throne and formed numerous coils all around the area.
Its mouth was holding onto a cigar just as huge. A twinkle of wisdom could be seen in its eyes; anyone would be able to tell that this was the White Snake Sage whom Orochimaru was aiming to visit.
"Yes, White Snake Sage-sama. It's been years since I last visited."
"Why have you visited us?"
"Because of this man."
Upon Orochimaru's introduction, White Snake Sage gazed upon Akashi.
Stepping up, Akashi boldly spoke,
"I need to learn senjutsu."