Izumi's shadow clone moved swiftly toward the barrier surrounding Konoha Ninja Village. She paused just before reaching it, a flicker of concern crossing her face. "I can't let the barrier squad detect me," she murmured. "I need to find a way to safely bypass the Village's barrier without using the main entrance."
With a focused breath, Izumi summoned the Black Divine Ink Chakra to her hand, its dark energy swirling in intricate patterns. Carefully, she reached out and gently touched the shimmering barrier. The moment her chakra made contact, it connected with the barrier's complex jutsu formula. In an instant, she began weaving her own ink seals into the structure, subtly altering its composition.
As her Divine Ink merged seamlessly with the barrier's magic, Izumi felt herself becoming part of the barrier itself.
"Hmph, a piece of cake," she said softly, stepping forward. To any observers, she simply vanished, passing through as if the barrier weren't there at all. The protective jutsu around Konoha gave no indication of intrusion.
Satisfied, Izumi drew a deep breath and bolted toward the laboratory located just outside the village. According to the scroll Orochimaru had given her, the entrance was hidden and protected by several layers of seals.
Upon arriving, Izumi found the large stone mentioned in the scroll. Its surface was weathered but bore a depression matching the shape of a handprint. She pressed her palm firmly into the indentation. Immediately, the ground before her shifted, revealing a hidden underground entrance.
The air smelled faintly of damp earth and old magic as Izumi peered into the darkness. She stepped inside cautiously.
Her eyes quickly caught the complex sealing array guarding the interior. Following the instructions on the scroll, she began unsealing the barrier piece by piece until the path was clear.
The underground chamber was vast. Shelves lined the walls, cluttered with strange vials, scrolls, and arcane instruments. Tables were covered in experimental equipment that hummed faintly with latent chakra.
Izumi's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Wow! So much equipment," she breathed out loud, unable to hide her enthusiasm. "This is truly amazing, Orochimaru-sama."
From the shadows emerged a familiar figure — Orochimaru himself. His pale skin seemed almost luminescent in the dim light. He stretched his long tongue, licking his lips with a mixture of curiosity and amusement.
"Oh my, Uchiha Izumi," Orochimaru said smoothly, his voice dripping with praise. "You have grown tremendously since we last met."
Izumi bowed politely. "Orochimaru-sama, it has been a long time."
"Yes, far too long," he replied with a subtle smile. "I left too hastily before and didn't have the chance to guide you properly. That has always weighed on my conscience."
Izumi smiled in return. "There's no need to worry anymore. I'm managing quite well on my own now. If there's ever something you require, I'll consider helping you — after all, I do owe you a favor. But don't expect me to put myself in unnecessary danger."
She tilted her head playfully, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
Orochimaru chuckled softly. "To speak to me so boldly… it seems you have indeed made great progress. Well then, let me test just how much you've improved, hehehe…"
Without warning, Orochimaru stretched his serpentine neck forward and lunged toward Izumi with a sinister bite.
"Hmph!" Izumi's body was instantly enveloped in a soft, electric blue glow. Sparks of lightning crackled across her skin, illuminating her figure.
"Is this the Nin-Taijutsu she's mastered?" Orochimaru whispered excitedly. He bared his fangs, ready to strike her neck.
Izumi's cold eyes locked onto his. In the blink of an eye, she vanished from sight.
"What?! So fast! This is bad!" Orochimaru gasped, his expression tightening with alarm. Suddenly, a sharp pain seared through his chest.
He looked down in shock to see a deep, bleeding wound where Izumi's left hand had pierced him.
His body crumpled to the ground, and then his elongated neck and head collapsed beside it.
"Impossible!" Orochimaru exclaimed, disbelief coloring his voice. "Nin-Taijutsu isn't supposed to be that fast… and it doesn't work like this!"
Standing tall beside the fallen Orochimaru, Izumi's tone was cold and commanding.
"Orochimaru-sama," she said, "when facing a speed-type ninja like me, it's unwise to stretch your neck so far. You become inflexible, your body's defenses weaken, and you lose sight of what's behind your head. That leaves your body vulnerable."
A sly smile spread across Orochimaru's severed head as its mouth opened wide. From inside, a pair of slimy hands emerged. The head forced its mouth apart, revealing a wet, writhing form inside.
"Oh my," Orochimaru hissed with a sinister laugh, "I did not expect you to be so fast. It seems you concealed your true strength from the Third Hokage and the others."
Izumi smiled confidently. "I am a member of the Uchiha clan. Given the tense relationship between the Village and our clan, it's only natural to hide some cards."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, licking his lips. "Is that so? Izumi, it seems I can no longer treat you as a mere pawn. You are… something far more valuable now, hehehe…"
She canceled the lightning mode surrounding her body and smirked.
"Isn't that better, Orochimaru-sama? You are my idol, after all. Don't do things unbecoming of a star in front of your fans."
Orochimaru's hoarse laughter echoed through the lab.
"Interesting," he croaked. "Very well. This laboratory is yours. I will inform you if anything happens in the future. We should stay in contact more often."
Izumi nodded politely.
"If you need anything, I'll help — as long as it's not too troublesome."
"Excellent," Orochimaru said with a final chuckle as his form began fading underground.
"Goodbye," Izumi called after him with a smile.
Outside the forest, Orochimaru clenched his fist against a tree trunk, fury flickering in his eyes.
"I never expected her to be so powerful… and yet she is still just a child," he muttered.
Licking his lips, he added thoughtfully, "Is this truly the power of the Uchiha bloodline? It seems I must have this power. Uchiha Izumi is troublesome, but I still need you, Uchiha Itachi. Since you are male, you remain my primary choice."
With that, Orochimaru vanished into the shadows.
Back in the laboratory, Izumi's attention turned to piles of experiment reports scattered on a desk.
"Oh… so these are Orochimaru's experiment records," she said softly, scanning the documents. "Wood Release human experimentation… forbidden ninjutsu like the Eight Branches Technique. Not bad. So Senju Hashirama's cells were used here?"
She searched the lab thoroughly but found no trace of them.
Her eyes then landed on a massive cultivation tank filled with murky nutrient solution.
After examining several controls, she pointed to a green button that looked different from the rest.
"Which one is it? This must be the one."
With a click, Izumi pressed the button. Part of the glass enclosure slowly lowered, allowing the nutrient solution to drain out.
Inside the tank, an adult corpse slipped out, its skin mottled and decayed. Strange patches of tissue in an unnatural color clung to the body.
Izumi pressed the unfamiliar tissue and gasped in surprise.
"Wow, even though he's been dead for so long, these Senju cells are still alive. That's incredible."
Despite her scientific curiosity, a wave of disgust passed over her.
Still, she carefully cut off a portion of the tissue and preserved it for further study.
Satisfied that none of the instruments had been tampered with, Izumi sealed all the useful equipment and data into a scroll. She planned to transfer everything to a safer base.
Knowing Orochimaru might show up unexpectedly, she left behind broken experimental samples and discarded equipment as decoys.
Once outside, Izumi returned to her training grounds, invigorated by the discoveries she had made.
With Orochimaru's scrolls and knowledge at her disposal, her enthusiasm for mastering ninjutsu soared.
Among the techniques she found, the Eight Branches Technique caught her eye. It allowed the user to transform into a gigantic snake monster with eight heads — a creature almost impossible to defeat by conventional means.
Izumi recalled the tale of Itachi battling the Eight Branches Technique, overpowering it with his Amaterasu flames and Totsuka Blade.
Though dangerous, Izumi decided to record the technique for potential future study. The more knowledge she possessed, the greater her chances of survival.
"I suppose I'll have to visit Ryuchi Cave sometime," Izumi mused aloud, "to learn their Sage Mode and develop these snake-based Sage Arts into my own powerful ninjutsu."
Her gaze turned to the horizon, determination burning bright in her eyes.
Füll bōøk àvàilàble óñ pàtreøn (Gk31)