Shen Mo watched Orochimaru don the armband, a thought crossing his mind, but he took no action.
The moment it was worn…
"Ah—!"
Orochimaru let out a pained cry.
From the armband, a chilling aura spread across his skin, like cracks creeping over his body.
As if draining all his warmth.
No—not just warmth.
A faint writhing sound came from Orochimaru's body as the armband tightened, the nearby muscles and bones trembling.
Then, as if his flesh and blood were being devoured by the armband, blood and tissue surged toward it in a horrifying manner.
"Lord Orochimaru!"
Kabuto cried out, his pupils shaking.
He could sense…
An intensely evil aura erupting from Orochimaru.
And more…
His face and skin began to wither and dry at a visible rate. His pained cries turned to murmurs of pleasure. His skin grew deathly gray, but his eyes gleamed brighter, radiating an eerie, heart-pounding excitement.
Because—
He felt immense power.
He even shoved Kabuto aside. A light push, yet Kabuto flew back as if struck by a massive force, crashing into a tree and spitting blood.
"How is this possible…?"
Kabuto's eyes were wide with shock.
He knew Orochimaru's prior state—near death, no exaggeration.
But now…
This decayed, corpse-like state wielded such immense power!
Shen Mo maintained his faint smile, watching Orochimaru stand, muttering incoherently, his soul ablaze with fervor.
Mordiggian's Armband.
An evil piece of equipment.
Humans who wore it forged a dark pact with Mordiggian, trading flesh and life for unholy power.
Orochimaru had become a ghoul-like being.
After a long moment…
Orochimaru ceased his murmurs.
He gazed at his gray, skeletal hands, his eyes drunk with fascination.
Then…
He swung a fist at a nearby tree.
Boom—!
A tree thick enough for two to embrace snapped, its debris exploding like bomb fragments, tearing through surrounding trees with terrifying speed. The small grove was devastated by this single punch, as if hit by hundreds of explosive tags!
Hiss—
Kabuto gasped.
He looked at his right shoulder.
A finger-thick splinter had pierced through him, pinning him to the tree behind.
Such terrifying force!
No, more than that.
Kabuto felt a chilling cold sweep over him. The splinter and trees began to frost over strangely.
As if heat and vitality were greedily drained by an unseen void.
"This is the power of an evil god!"
Orochimaru twisted his body, feeling stronger than ever.
His body surged with boundless power.
Even—
Immortality!
He felt he'd transcended death, achieved eternity, as if his lifelong pursuit was now in his grasp.
He snapped his head toward Shen Mo.
His lips split into a twisted, gleeful grin.
"Now, am I qualified to be a merchant?"
His voice was eerie, like it came from an underground tomb—dark, hollow, laced with madness.
Shen Mo observed his soul, now mostly consumed by black mist, steeped in chaos.
Indeed…
Orochimaru was intoxicated by power, inflated with arrogance.
But like this…
A thought flashed through Shen Mo's mind. He smiled, "At this level? Let alone a merchant, you're not even qualified to be an assistant. You're still too weak."
"Is that so?" Orochimaru's grin widened, tinged with clear anger. "Even destroying the world is effortless for an evil god. This power isn't enough?"
"I said, you're far from qualified," Shen Mo repeated.
His tone was flat, devoid of emotion or embellishment, as if stating an undeniable truth.
Those words were like a fuse, igniting the already unhinged Orochimaru.
"Then let me see!" he roared hoarsely. "What kind of power a so-called merchant has!"
He stomped forward.
His withered fist, carrying a vortex of chilling aura, reached Shen Mo in an instant.
He struck fiercely at Shen Mo's body.
Boom—!
An explosion, like compressed gas, erupted where they met, unleashing terrifying shockwaves that uprooted trees.
Kabuto clung to the ground.
He felt like he was in a typhoon's eye.
The ferocious shockwaves tore at his body.
His gaze was filled with horror.
What kind of power was this?! Even steel would be pulverized under such an attack.
The shockwaves spread in rings, coming and going quickly. As the dust settled, Kabuto strained to see.
Two figures remained.
Orochimaru, gaunt and corpse-like, held his punching stance, his clothes shredded by the shockwaves.
Yet…
Shen Mo stood unmoved.
Truly unmoved—his hair untouched, clothes pristine, not a wrinkle where Orochimaru's fist landed.
The punch was like a sponge hitting stone.
Orochimaru's arm was severely fractured.
Gulp.
Kabuto swallowed hard.
He'd sensed Orochimaru's instability.
But now…
This self-proclaimed otherworldly merchant was utterly terrifying!
Was he even human?
Orochimaru, too, was stunned.
His gray, bloodshot eyes widened, as if in disbelief.
The inherited knowledge he'd gained spoke of the evil god's fearsome power.
Such beings were cosmic truths.
But…
"Attacking a merchant? Not wise," Shen Mo said, his smile unchanged, making no move. Yet a terrifying, invisible force slowly pressed on Orochimaru.
"Ah—!"
Orochimaru roared with all his might, the veins in his eyes bursting, blood streaming down.
But against this force, he was like a droplet facing the ocean. All his struggles sank into the abyss, ineffective, unable to budge it even slightly.