"Are you afraid of me? Relax. I already have a new vessel. I changed bodies. For three years you're safe. Too bad this vessel isn't you…"
Orochimaru spoke slowly, walking into the room on his own. Kimimaro stirred at the sound, rubbing his eyes. "Who are you?"
"My name is Orochimaru. Do you know my goal? Unlike Shigeo, who only wants to live, my goal is immortality." He had been the one watching them last night.
His tone was steady, his eyes firm. Standing by the bed, he stroked Kimimaro's hair.
Shigeo lunged, pulling them apart. "Get out! You're not welcome here!"
"Welcome or not, it's not for you to say, right, Shikotsumyaku heir Kimimaro?" Orochimaru's gaze fixed on the child. If only he could take him along.
Kimimaro stared curiously. For once, the boy who always snapped back at others sat quiet as a lamb. "Can people really live forever?"
The words struck Shigeo. He recalled last night, when they had spoken of goals. He and Haku had answered, but Kimimaro had not. Was this his hidden desire? His poor health meant his true wish was simply to be well. Orochimaru's goal stood above his own.
"Of course. Look at me. I should have died earlier this year, but I changed bodies and lived again. Not only that, the man who gave me his body gained power through me. Once ordinary, now strong. Do you want power?" Orochimaru's neck stretched as his eyes bore down on him.
"Back off!" Shigeo formed seals, spewing Katon. Orochimaru dodged, his neck elongating, jaws gaping for Shigeo's shoulder. If he could mark him with a cursed seal today, there'd be no escape.
Shigeo sidestepped, grabbed his serpent head. "I told you—see you once, kill you once! Mokuton: Cutting Technique!"
Wood burst through Orochimaru's body. He stared in shock. He had heard of Shigeo's progress, how he killed the Grass ninja trio, but he hadn't expected this level of strength.
Not only that—he had been caught off guard, his serpent head seized, his body ruptured. For the first time, Orochimaru was killed outright.
"Your serpent mouth spawns new heads, right? Let's see." Shigeo froze the emerging head with Hyōton, pinning it to the ground.
His jaws were sealed, his new body suffocating.
"Shigeo, the stronger you become, the more I want you. I won't let you go. If I can't have you, others will. Push me, and I'll spread your secret to the world!" Orochimaru spat venomously.
If Akatsuki knew of him, the hidden Rinnegan, they would hunt him. Monsters surrounded Akatsuki, and crushing a child would be nothing.
But Orochimaru did not know Kakuzu had already fought Shigeo and been butchered, now stitching himself in a forest.
"Yōton: Direct Burn!" Shigeo incinerated him. Not a vessel anymore—this body was gone. Let him dare appear again.
Haku, hiding in the corner, nearly dropped his jaw. Kimimaro stared blankly. "Your jutsu is this strong? I thought you only ran fast."
"Enough. We're leaving," Shigeo said, packing clothes, scrolls, medicines.
Haku hurried to help. Kimimaro lingered, staring at Orochimaru's burning remains. "He said his goal is immortality. Do you think… even like this, he can live?"
Shigeo paused. He finally understood why, in the future, Kimimaro swore to follow Orochimaru—because his goal aligned.
"Yes. With a single cell, he can live. But one day I'll erase even that. Not one cell will remain. Let's go."
He led Haku out. Kimimaro followed.
At the docks there were no ships. Because of Orochimaru, they could not linger. They traveled north.
Now that Yagura was dead and Sanbi released, power shifted to the elder council. Shinobi were recalled. The persecution of kekkei genkai ended.
The northern ports were calmer. The children settled in one, where ships would depart in three days.
But the unexpected happened. One morning, Kimimaro was gone. Haku held a letter, troubled, and gave it to Shigeo.
Kimimaro had gone to Orochimaru. He wrote that his purpose was the same, that Orochimaru could cure him and help him achieve the impossible. He asked Shigeo not to look for him. This was his unrepentant choice.
Shigeo sighed, shaking his head. Some things could not be changed.
"Are you sad?" Haku asked.
"No. He found his goal. That's good. I only fear that when we meet again, it will be as enemies." Shigeo would never force his own path on others.
(End of Chapter)
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