Chapter 330: Orochimaru's Ambition! To Seize Uchiha Akira's Body
Deep within a subterranean cavern, the air hung heavy with the stench of damp earth and rotting spores. Water dripped rhythmically from the stalactites, echoing in the oppressive gloom.
Orochimaru stood in the center of the darkness, his pale face twisted into a mask of morbid fanaticism.
At his feet lay the twisted, pale remains of several White Zetsu. These bizarre, artificial lifeforms had served their purpose, their potent cellular structure making them the absolute perfect sacrifices for his most flawless iteration of the Edo Tensei to date.
Before the Sannin, the cavern floor trembled. Dirt and rock gave way as three massive, brass-bound coffins slowly breached the surface, rising like monoliths of death.
Carved into the heavy wooden lid of each casket were three stark, blood-red kanji:
"First."
"Second."
"Third."
"Heh heh... Heh heh heh heh..."
A raspy, guttural chuckle spilled from Orochimaru's throat. His unnaturally long tongue slithered out, dragging across his chapped lips. His golden, slit-pupiled eyes gleamed with a feverish, unmatched excitement.
"Uchiha Akira... your perfect body... is finally about to become mine!"
He spread his arms wide, embracing the cold air of the cave. "This time, I have prepared the most exquisite feast for you! I want to see how you cope when facing these three Hokage—when facing their power, restored almost to its absolute peak!"
At this moment, Orochimaru's confidence swelled to the point of absolute arrogance.
The White Zetsu specimens provided by Obito were no ordinary sacrifices. They brimmed with boundless life energy and a cellular vitality that far eclipsed that of any normal human. By using them as the foundational vessels, the reincarnated souls would possess strength infinitely close to their prime during life.
This was his magnum opus. Orochimaru's most perfect creation to date.
His hands blurred through a sequence of hand seals, slamming his palms together.
"Come forth!" he hissed, his voice echoing off the damp walls. "My most revered teacher, and the legendary founders of Konoha!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three deafening crashes shattered the silence as the heavy coffin lids slammed forward onto the stone floor, kicking up clouds of dust.
Within the shadows of the caskets, three figures stood as motionless as statues. Swarms of paper-like debris swirled around them, binding ash and dust into flesh and armor.
Senju Tobirama's crimson eyes snapped open.
'Again...'His consciousness violently tore itself from the peaceful, chaotic void of death. It was a sickeningly familiar sensation—the forceful, unnatural drag of his soul being yanked from the slumber of the Pure Land and shoved back into the mortal realm.'Damn Edo Tensei!'
Tobirama cursed inwardly, a deep wave of disgust washing over him for the very forbidden jutsu he had personally engineered.
The disorienting darkness of the void receded, replaced by the dim, flickering light of the cavern. His vision sharpened, taking in the damp stone walls and the stagnant air.
Then, he registered the presence of the others.
Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him were two other men who had just stepped out of their respective coffins.
One was his elder brother, Senju Hashirama.
The other was his former disciple, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Tobirama's right eye twitched. A deep, heavy sigh of sheer helplessness threatened to escape his lips.
'Why is it this exact lineup again...?'
Hadn't it been just a short while ago that he and his elder brother were summoned by Hiruzen to deal with that monstrous brat named Uchiha Akira?
At the thought of that battle, Tobirama instinctively flared his chakra, testing the limits of his new vessel.
His cold expression instantly shifted.
This was completely different from the hasty, flawed summoning Hiruzen had performed last time. The sheer density of the chakra coursing through his artificial veins... the physical weight of his muscles... the boundless vitality echoing within the vessel. The power of this body was almost identical to his absolute peak state during his lifetime.
'This time... perhaps it will be different.'
Tobirama slowly clenched his gauntleted fists. The leather creaked under the pressure. He savored that long-lost, intoxicating surge of absolute power.
Beside him, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally shook off the lingering daze of reincarnation.
The Third Hokage's aged eyes focused, locking onto the pale, snake-like man standing just a few paces away, wearing a sickeningly evil grin.
"Orochimaru!"
Hiruzen's chest heaved violently, his spectral breath hitching.
"You ungrateful disciple!!!"
The roar tore from his throat, echoing like thunder through the confined space.
"You actually... you actually dared to commit such a rebellious act!!" Hiruzen pointed a trembling finger at the Sannin. "Playing with the souls of the dead, desecrating the peace of the departed! You have completely fallen into evil! You are beyond redemption!"
His voice shook violently, thick with a mixture of rage and deep sorrow. He had never imagined that his most beloved, brilliant student would stoop so low as to use the Second Hokage's forbidden jutsu to drag him and his predecessors back from the Pure Land.
Watching Hiruzen's heartbroken, fiercely righteous display, Tobirama slowly turned his head. His crimson eyes narrowed, shooting his former student a look of absolute, freezing disdain.
"You old monkey. Now you decide to put on an act of moral righteousness."
Hiruzen choked on his words, glancing at his master.
Tobirama scoffed, his voice dripping with venom. "Last time, to deal with that Uchiha brat, didn't you also drag me and my elder brother out of the Pure Land by force?"
He took a deliberate step forward, towering over the aged Third Hokage. "What? Is it only permissible for you, Hiruzen Sarutobi, to desecrate the dead? But when your disciple Orochimaru toys with spirits, it is suddenly an unforgivable sin?"
Tobirama's lip curled into a sneer. "What a ridiculous, pathetic double standard."
Ever since Tobirama had learned the truth—that Hiruzen's leadership had allowed the Senju Clan to be pushed to the brink of extinction—a deep, festering grudge had taken root in his soul. He had zero patience for Hiruzen's hypocrisy.
Dismissing the old man, Tobirama's thoughts immediately snapped back to Uchiha Akira.
During their last encounter, he had been far too weak. That Edo Tensei body, hastily prepared by Hiruzen in the heat of battle, had barely contained sixty percent of his living strength. He had been restricted, sluggish, unable to unleash his true arsenal.
But this time was different.
This time, he possessed the full, unbridled might of his prime.
'Let me meet you again on the battlefield...'Tobirama's jaw locked.'I will absolutely make you pay a bloody price for your sheer arrogance last time!'
The fighting spirit within the Second Hokage's eyes ignited into a fierce, burning inferno.
"Sigh..."
A loud, exaggerated sigh suddenly cut through the suffocating tension in the cave.
The First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, finally blinked away the last remnants of his confusion. He looked around, his face dropping into an expression of deep gloom.
"What's going on..."
Hashirama scratched the back of his head, looking utterly bewildered. "Didn't I die already? Why am I out here again?"
His shoulders slumped. "I finally got a chance to rest properly in the Pure Land, and now I'm working overtime..."
He grumbled under his breath for a moment before his head suddenly snapped to the side. He glared fiercely at his younger brother.
"Tobirama!!!"
The First Hokage's voice boomed with sudden, deafening vigor, shaking dust from the ceiling.
"I've told you a hundred times! Don't develop such chaotic, troublesome jutsu! Look at this! See! Now there's trouble again!"
Hashirama slapped his hands onto his hips, instantly entering his infamous nagging mode. He leaned in, unleashing a rapid-fire barrage of complaints at his stoic brother.
A thick vein instantly bulged on Tobirama's forehead, pulsing against his pale skin.
"Elder brother!"
Tobirama roared back, sweeping his icy gaze over the cavern. "Can you at least figure out what's going on first before you start yelling?! Don't just stand there arguing like an idiot!"
"Huh? You dare call your elder brother an idiot?!"
Hashirama's eyes widened in mock outrage. He rolled up his crimson armor sleeves, fully prepared to have a very serious, physical discussion with his younger sibling right then and there.
"Enough!"
Hiruzen let out a sorrowful, exhausted shout, desperately trying to interrupt the two brothers' usual bickering.
He turned his gaze back to Orochimaru, his aged eyes filled with an endless, crushing disappointment. "Orochimaru... are you really... going to continue to fall even further into the abyss?"
"Teacher, you are still so hopelessly naive."
Orochimaru licked his lips, the sinister smile on his face growing colder, sharper. He didn't even bother to maintain eye contact with Hiruzen, dismissing the old man entirely. Instead, his golden, predatory gaze shifted to the true prizes: the First and Second Hokage.
"Alright, elder brother. Stop messing around."
Tobirama held up a hand, cutting off Hashirama's rant. He turned his sharp, calculating eyes toward their summoner.
Sensing the shift in atmosphere, Hashirama immediately dropped his comedic, bickering facade. His face hardened into lines of stern authority. In an instant, the overwhelming, suffocating aura of the God of Shinobi naturally bled into the air, making the very stone beneath their feet groan under the pressure.
Looking down at Orochimaru, Hashirama spoke, his voice dropping into a deep, commanding baritone.
"Speak. What is your purpose in summoning the three of us from the Pure Land?"
Hearing the First Hokage's direct question, Orochimaru's smile stretched until it bordered on madness.
"My purpose is quite simple."
Orochimaru's raspy voice echoed off the damp walls, dripping with dark ambition.
"I need the supreme power of you three adults to help me acquire the most perfect vessel in the current Ninja World!"
He paused, letting the silence stretch for a fraction of a second before delivering the name.
"Konoha's Fifth Hokage..."
"Uchiha—Akira!"
The very moment those syllables left Orochimaru's mouth, the air inside the cavern seemed to freeze solid.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face instantly drained of color, twisting into a mask of absolute, unadulterated dread.
It was him again.
Orochimaru's target was him.
A wave of despair washed over the Third Hokage. This foolish, arrogant disciple had absolutely no idea what kind of terrifying, impossible monster he was trying to challenge.
But in stark contrast to Hiruzen's suffocating dread...
The moment the name "Uchiha Akira" registered in his mind, Senju Tobirama's body trembled violently.
It wasn't fear.
His crimson eyes instantly burst forth with a terrifying, bloodthirsty brilliance. The chakra around him flared, cracking the stone beneath his boots.
He had just been agonizing over whether he would ever get the chance to exact his revenge on that arrogant brat. And now, unexpectedly, the perfect opportunity had been hand-delivered straight to his doorstep.
"Uchiha Akira..."
Tobirama's lips curled into a feral, dangerous smirk.
"Very good!"
His fists clenched tighter, the air around him humming with lethal intent.
"Excellent!"
Senju Tobirama was already impatient for war.
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