[A wave of panic washed over Matsu Takame. His fear wasn't for Orochimaru's safety against the Third Hokage; it was a far more personal, selfish terror that his master would abandon him, leaving him behind in the ruins of Konoha.]
[To your overwhelming relief, Orochimaru took him.]
[The fact that Orochimaru had brought no one else—not even Anko Mitarashi, who still called him 'sensei'—made Matsu feel uniquely chosen, special.]
[Their flight led them to a small, neutral nation known as the Land of Rice Fields. It was here, Orochimaru declared, that they would build their new foundation.]
'No... is this for real?' Yuta thought, watching the simulation unfold with growing astonishment. 'Orochimaru, having nearly been killed by his own teacher, still chose to bring Matsu Takame with him?'
While the simulation had shown Orochimaru's high regard for Matsu multiple times, Yuta never truly believed the notoriously self-serving Sannin would form such an attachment. This level of sentiment was uncharacteristic.
[The founding of Otogakure was a monumental task. During the process, Orochimaru took a detour to Kirigakure, the Village Hidden in the Mist. There, they found a boy who reminded Matsu of his own past self: Kimimaro.]
[Just as he had done with Matsu years prior, Orochimaru extended his hand, offering the lost boy a new purpose and bringing him into their fold.]
[Through their collective efforts, the Hidden Sound Village began to take shape. It was during this period that Orochimaru's research entered its most critical and dangerous phase: the perfection of the Cursed Seal.]
[Driven by a desire to witness Orochimaru's success and an unshakeable trust in his master, Matsu intervened when Kimimaro volunteered to be the first test subject. He insisted on receiving the seal himself.]
[The Heaven Cursed Seal was implanted into his body.]
[But the technique was incomplete. During the implantation, the volatile natural energy contained within the seal spiraled out of control. Matsu's body contorted, his mind was submerged in a torrent of agony, and he transformed into a berserk, monstrous entity.]
[Orochimaru acted swiftly, containing the disaster, but he could not reverse its effects. All he could do was place Matsu in a state of suspended animation, sealing him within a special containment unit, vowing to one day find a cure.]
[Without Matsu's assistance, Orochimaru's research stalled, though Kimimaro quickly stepped up to fill the void. In his rare moments of lucidity within the glass prison, Matsu felt a pang of relief seeing this, and a gratitude that Lord Orochimaru had not given up on him.]
[Yet, a solution remained elusive.]
The Cursed Seal had run amok. Matsu Takame's transformation was a catastrophic failure. The outcome seemed set in stone.
'So, the reward for this life simulation... it can't be this failed Cursed Seal ability, can it?' Yuta groaned internally. 'Oh, no. Knowing how these simulations work, I'll probably get the out-of-control, monstrous version. This entire run is a waste.'
Then again, the simulation wasn't over. Matsu wasn't technically dead. If he kept watching, perhaps... a twist was still possible.
[Years bled together. From his crystalline prison, Matsu became a silent spectator to the events unfolding in the base.]
[He watched Orochimaru finally perfect the Cursed Seal. He observed the planning of the Konoha Crush invasion. He saw the ailing Kimimaro depart on a final mission, never to return. And he witnessed the arrival of a new, brooding boy: Uchiha Sasuke.]
[He knew this boy was to be Lord Orochimaru's new vessel.]
[He despised Sasuke's arrogant, dismissive attitude toward his master, but with only fleeting moments of sanity each day, he was powerless to intervene.]
[Sometimes, Sasuke would ask about the "thing" in the glass container. Orochimaru never answered, his silence a heavy, unspoken weight. Matsu liked to believe it was a silence born of grief.]
[Though he yearned to communicate, all he could do was watch as Sasuke grew in power under Orochimaru's tutelage.]
[Then came the day of the Reincarnation Ritual. Matsu watched with joyous anticipation, only for his world to shatter as the god he worshipped was slain by his own chosen vessel.]
[Uchiha Sasuke had killed Orochimaru.]
[The reality was too horrific to accept, yet he had no choice. But he did not hate him, saw sasuke's survival as him winning a battle.]
[Unbeknownst to him, the periods of lucidity were growing longer. His monstrous form was undergoing a subtle, gradual metamorphosis.]
Matsu Takame, trapped within the experience, failed to notice the changes in his own body. But Yuta, observing from his god-like perspective, spotted the crucial detail everyone had missed.
The Cursed Seal was, at its core, a crude imitation of Sage Mode, derived from Jugo's unique Sage Transformation.
Matsu's initial rampage was caused by two factors: the imperfection of the early seal, and his body's innate inability to handle the influx of wild natural energy.
A logical mind would have disposed of such a failed experiment.
But Orochimaru had not. He had preserved Matsu, using advanced sealing techniques to sustain him. And during this long, forced stasis, a miracle of adaptation was occurring.
Matsu's body was slowly, painfully, being remade. It was learning to withstand the power that had once destroyed it, potentially evolving toward a state of being that even Orochimaru had never envisioned.
It was a process that demanded an immense, almost unimaginable amount of time.
[He continued his silent vigil over the base.]
[He saw Kabuto Yakushi, lost in an identity crisis, begin to absorb Orochimaru's remains and the powers of the Sound Five, striving to become a new version of his master.]
[The more Kabuto resembled Orochimaru, the more profound Matsu's disgust grew.]
[He felt a burning need to stop this charade, and in that moment of intense will, he realized something: he could move. His body had reverted to its human form, no longer a monster. And within him surged a power he had never dared to dream of possessing.]
[Orochimaru had worked for years to save him. And now that he was finally free, he could not share this victory with the one person who mattered most. A deep, hollow loss settled in his heart.]
[Nevertheless, he rallied his resolve. To confront Kabuto, he followed the traitorous medic, tracking him all the way to the legendary Ryūchi Cave.]
[Kabuto seemed unsurprised by his appearance and ignored him, focusing solely on his own goal: mastering Sage Mode.]
[Enraged, Matsu moved to attack, but then he stopped. A strange, irresistible pull emanated from the cave itself, a siren's call that resonated with the power now thrumming in his veins.]
[It was then that the White Snake Sage manifested before him. He had only heard Orochimaru speak of her in hushed, reverent tones. Now, her ancient eyes were upon him.]
[Compelled by her words, he found himself sitting, his body moving of its own accord as he began the arduous training for Sage Mode.]
'Things have taken a... bizarre turn,' Yuta thought, his mind reeling.
He could just about accept Matsu surviving and breaking free. But to then follow Kabuto to Ryūchi Cave and casually begin training for Snake Sage Mode? What kind of absurd plot development was this?
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