Orochimaru stood in the still-smoldering air, holding a small culture jar in one hand, a faint smile playing on his lips.
From his body, he pulled out the black Yin-Yang chakra rods one by one. Blood and muscle squirmed and knit back together around the wounds, healing at a pace visible to the naked eye.
Though a Six Paths-level powerhouse, Orochimaru knew he was far from perfect. His offensive capabilities were still limited—especially when facing opponents of similar caliber. When physical techniques were all that remained, there were no shortcuts, no hidden tricks.
But defense and survival? There, he was confident.
With his newly acquired Truth-Seeking Orbs, he could negate almost any ninjutsu—and even if struck directly, he could recover. His regeneration wasn't as monstrous as the Little White Snake's, but his arsenal of techniques made up for it.
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki had gambled on a mutual kill.
It was a mistake.
"The next step," Orochimaru murmured, sliding the culture jar into a scroll, "is to pull this problem out by the root."
That Isshiki would try to trade his life wasn't surprising. Orochimaru had been stoking his rage throughout the battle—breaking down his arrogance, driving him into madness.
To the Ōtsutsuki, sacrificing a body wasn't the same as dying. With a backup prepared, they only lost time, not existence.
Sure enough, Orochimaru could feel it: the dormant Karma Seal in his body beginning to stir, trying to hijack his form and bring Isshiki back. But the gap in strength was too wide—it couldn't even begin to move.
Still, so long as any of Isshiki's Karma Seals survived, he wasn't truly gone.
But for Orochimaru, that was secondary.
He floated for a moment longer, then glanced downward. Hashirama and the others had just emerged from underground. Orochimaru gave a brief nod—then turned and flew toward the other battlefield.
The fight there had already calmed. Its climax had passed.
When Orochimaru arrived, the ten-tailed larva was barely recognizable—its once bulbous, chubby form now burned thin and long under the sun's relentless energy. Its limbs had all but disappeared, and its ten tails were fused into a single appendage, with only faint bifurcations at the end.
Djinn, floating nearby, let out a long sigh. "That little monster… is brutal."
He recalled when Orochimaru had used natural energy in Roran to force a snake body to revert to human. But this—this was beyond even him. The Little White Snake, born from Orochimaru's own body, had surpassed him.
To smelt a Ten-Tails larva—one of infinite potential—into a vessel, and do it through self-destruction? Not even the Ōtsutsuki dared to try such madness.
If anything had gone wrong, it would've ignited like a flare on the sun's surface.
"..." Orochimaru hovered in silence, conflicted.
He could intervene now—interfere and crush this fragile rebirth.
But… he didn't feel like it.
Not out of kindness, but curiosity. He wanted to see what would emerge.
Djinn smirked. "You're hesitating? At this moment?"
"Not hesitating," Orochimaru said calmly. "Just… embracing biological diversity. That's the term, right?"
He watched the Ten-Tails slowly transform. "I harvested the bacteria last time. Now it's combining with the Ten-Tails. I want to see what new life it produces."
With natural energy dwindling across the world, many adaptive species had gone extinct. Only the slugs, toads, and snakes remained. The possibilities that lay in this fusion were limitless.
He already had ideas on how to apply the bacteria. All he needed now was raw material—and this creature might provide both.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, studying the larva through the smoke.
This body, a clone of the original 'God Corpse', lacked complete consciousness. And that mattered.
Countless forces had tried to clone Hashirama. Even with his cells, not one had succeeded in creating a proper replacement. The result was always the same: a powerful but mindless husk.
So too with this larva. The will inside it was incomplete, disordered. Strong, but unfocused. Any mind that tried to claim it would need overwhelming dominance—or be reduced to primal ignorance, battling with the beast's own fragmented soul.
The Little White Snake's method? Total destruction. Reduce both spirit and flesh to ash, then take the throne in rebirth.
And now… that rebirth was nearly complete.
"Hssss…"
A sharp snake's cry rang out through the burning battlefield—clear and high-pitched, but not shrill. It held a resonance that struck deep into the soul. Even those nearby with weak willpower found their faces unconsciously curling into smiles.
The cry soon shifted, however. Joy gave way to wariness. The reborn creature was awakening… and assessing its threats.
Orochimaru, of course, was the greatest one.
But he made no move.
Instead, he stared at the enormous, elegant serpent emerging from the fire. Its long, lithe form floated midair—nearly two hundred meters in length, yet graceful and refined.
The serpent stared at him, then tilted its head to the sky. The sun was setting. It hissed once more.
"You want to leave?" Orochimaru asked, eyes narrowing.
The snake nodded slowly.
"…Not just this planet. Not even this solar system."
The realization clicked instantly. It had inherited something from the Ten-Tails. Just as Orochimaru had once touched the Outer Path Golem, so too had it gained access to power beyond Earth.
It was leaving for the stars.
The thought stirred something complicated within him. This creature—his own creation—was stepping ahead of him.
After a long silence, Orochimaru finally spoke. "Leave behind some of your cells in exchange, and I won't stop you."
It wasn't mercy. It was practicality.
He couldn't defeat the snake in its current form. Even summoning the White Snake Sage wouldn't help—she'd only be a casualty.
If he tried to force it, it would end badly for both.
If he let it go, he could still learn something.
If one day, it returned to kill him… and he wasn't strong enough to stop it, then perhaps he deserved it.
The Little White Snake locked eyes with him.
Then, without hesitation, bit into the tip of its tail and spat out a chunk of flesh—still pulsing with chakra.
An offering. A seed of inheritance.
Orochimaru nodded.
He backed away, watching closely.
How would it leave?
A portal? A wormhole?
Anything physical would be impossible. Lightyears were too vast.
"Hssss…"
The snake suddenly let out a long cry, and its body began to glow—white, hot light enveloping it.
Over the next fifteen minutes, its vast form shrank. From two hundred meters… to the size of a thread.
It became a single, hair-thin strand of living energy.
Then—it shot off.
Gone.
So fast even the Rinnegan couldn't track it.
"Whoa," Djinn said, blinking. "Not quite the speed of light—but close."
It had compressed itself into near-energy form and launched off like a bullet across the stars. For a creature with its lifespan, this method of travel was viable.
Orochimaru stayed silent, thoughtful.
"But it'll be lonely," he murmured. "Endless time in the void."
Dji shrugged. "Ninjas do the same. Long missions. Endless wandering. It's all the same."
"…True."
"If it's too primitive for your taste," Djinn added, "you could always invent something better. A tool. A ship. But that's your decision."
Orochimaru smiled faintly. "That's for another day. First, this chapter needs to end."
With that, he turned and flew to the spirit army, explained what had happened to Tobirama—then headed toward the far north.
---
Beneath a desolate plain, in a hidden underground lab, a middle-aged man was performing routine checks on the experimental subjects.
Suddenly, the boy in front of him—usually calm and gentle—changed.
Amado noticed the shift immediately. Cold. Emotionless. Something was wrong.
"Lord Jigen…?" he asked tentatively.
"You're quick, Amado." The boy's voice was not his own. It was deeper—steeled.
Isshiki had awakened within the vessel.
"It's not the ideal time, but we're advancing the plan. I will reincarnate using this body."
"…"
Amado remained silent, absorbing the weight of what was happening. He lacked information—but he understood enough.
"…As you command," he said finally.
"Prepare everything. We'll begin tonight. Unseal the first stage of the Karma."
The presence vanished.
The boy's eyes fluttered open—gentle once more.
"Mr. Amado… what's wrong with me?"
Amado didn't hesitate. "Lord Jigen's reincarnation is beginning."
He turned, retrieved a blue vial from a locked cabinet.
"Drink this."
"I see…"
The boy took the vial—but suddenly frowned, and smashed it to the floor.
"Amado. What are you trying to make me drink?"
"Just something to stabilize your body," Amado replied, calmly retrieving an identical vial. "You can check it yourself."
"Don't lie to me."
He inspected the contents carefully for several minutes, then glared at Amado.
"You can't hide everything from me."
"I know."
Amado lowered his gaze slightly.
After a moment, the boy lay back down again—silent.
_____________________
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