Chapter 47

Title:

...

"Alright, take the boy to the hotel and wait for me there. I'll be back in a few." I said and teleported Karin and Sai back to my hotel before I then reasoned what I just said.

Damn. If I was going to send them there, why did I tell her to take him there?

'Whatever.' Taking one last glance at the squabbling Naruto and Sasuke, I smiled and teleported to the roof where Orochimaru was assassinating his teacher.

'What an unfilial student...' I snickered, causing the Anbu around to take notice of me.

"Who are you!?"

"Hey, hey. Let's all be calm now, we wouldn't want more blood on our hands right?" I said with my hands raised in surrender.

"Shun? What are you doing here?" One of the Anbu wearing a rat mask asked before putting away her sword. "Stand down, he shouldn't be an enemy."

Hearing her, the Anbus glanced at each other before putting away their weapons.

"We're already in a stressful situation, you being here isn't helpful at all." She continued as she walked up to me.

"That's to be expected. With the head of the chain of command restricted, you're all like a bunch of headless chickens." I said with a smile.

"It's been sometime, eh, Yu-chan?" I said, tearing my eyes away from the purple Barrier to the Anbu in front of me.

"I'm on official duties right now, so call me Rat." She said, "But yes, it's been sometime, and you're still as blunt as ever."

"I'm just being honest. The Jounin commander, Anbu commander, village elders... Where are they when they're needed? The Jounin commander is understandable, he's currently protecting the civilians as we speak, but where's your Anbu commander?" I asked her before walking up to the barrier.

"I'm actually the Anbu commander." She said, making me pause on my feet and turn.

"What?!"

"I'm the Anbu commander. What? You thought I was still weak?"

"What? No, your chakra is already quite commendable but commander? That's quite the leap. Congrats."

"I feel like he's making fun of the commander." I heard one of the Anbu whispers but didn't pay him any mind.

"As the commander, what are you doing here then?" I asked Yugao as I continued my walk towards the barrier, however, I immediately regretted asking. Why? Because...

"We're here for the Hokage." She replied.

That's right. The Anbu is the Hokage's personal squad. I had forgotten due to how the Black OPS and the Assassination Squad from Hanagakure operate.

"I see." I said and made to place my hand on the barrier.

"DONT!!"

Yugao screamed and tried to stop me but my hand already landed, however a scorching heat made me retrieve my hand. I looked at it only to see it smoking.

Damn, did I just have my Urahara and Gojo moment with Barriers?

And to top it off, I'm actually looking at my hand even when I'm blindfolded. Damn.

"Y-You... you're not dead?" I heard Yugao stutter, making me look at her incredulously.

"You want me to die?"

"Wha- No. I just... The guy who just touched this barrier was burnt alive by the heat."

"Oh, that's normal, did you take me to be your average person? Please." I snorted and looked at the barrier with acknowledgement.

"This is a pretty decent barrier. I'm afraid your Hokage will die here today."

"What?"

"You!"

"Preposterous."

The Anbus on the roof rebuked me as though I was the one doing the killing.

"Hey, I'm just stating the facts here. Ask your sensory nins to check how many chakra signatures are in there."

Anbu who had been silent asked.

"Can you break this barrier?"

I snorted and said. "Easy."

"Then-"

"But!" I interrupted. "It'll take some time, which your Kage doesn't have. He's currently fighting against two humongous chakra signatures. And from their faces, the first and second Hokage."

"What?"

"That's impossible!"

"Hey, hey. You're making me out to be a liar. Call a Hyūga over here to verify. I'm Tengen, my eyes can see through this barrier. Stop interrupting me." I said with a little displeasure

One idiot seemed to be displeased with me and made to attack me only for me to immediately erase the distance between us both.

In the next moment, his neck was firmly held by my hand, a little more force and his throat would be crushed.

"Shun! Take down your Domain." Yugao ordered, seeing the sudden change, but knowing her place, she held her hand up to stop her subordinates.

"Humph. What use do I have to lie to you? Know your place weakling." I said to the man I was holding before flinging him away.

"Oh, and my Domain has been activated since the invasion started. Removing it now would mean giving up on the potential civilians about to be harmed...which I am conveniently saving."

She looked at me for a long while before sighing and saying. "Can't you bring the Hokage out of there with your domain?"

"Unfortunately, I can't. This barrier creates an independent and larger space than we see from the outside. I may have it in my domain, but the best I can do is relocate the barrier and everyone within. I can't bring anyone out of the barrier."

I must say once again. Orochimaru was a genius just creating this barrier technique.

If I'm not wrong, he may have learnt some Fuinjutsu from the village library during his stay there.

It'd be a true pity for someone like him to die prematurely.

"Ah! I can do you lot a favor however."

"A favor?"

I nodded and began drawing a seal circle in the air. "I may be able to let you see what's going on in there."

As soon as I said that, I pushed the complete circle that looked like a magic circle to the barrier.

The barrier trembled for a few seconds before it became transparent, allowing everyone to see what was going on in the sealed space.

"That...!"

"How is this possible?!"

"Impossible!"

The various Anbu exclaimed as they saw the three Shinobi standing against their beloved Hokage.

"How are they alive?" Yugao asked with equal shock. I may have said it, but hearing and seeing were two different things altogether.

"Lord First and Lord Second are fighting against Lord Third?" She asked and I nodded.

"Seems like it, but from the looks of things, they're being controlled by that guy over there." I said pointing to the spot behind Hashirama and Tobirama.

Standing there with a relaxed gait was Orochimaru supporting himself with a Kusanagi sword as he was sneering at his teacher.

"My, my, how we've aged. I've never seen you struggling this much before." Orochimaru said with a smile which turned into a small laugh.

"What's so funny." Hiruzen asked as he brought his hands together. Seems like he's about to use the reaper death seal, and with that, his death would be sealed.

Unfortunately, bypassing Hashirama and Tobirama to get to Orochimaru was an impossible endeavor, hence his course of action.

"It's so pitiful isn't it? That even you, who has been hailed as the God of Shinobi, are vulnerable to the passage of time..."

"What's he talking about?" One of the Anbu asked and his question was immediately answered as Orochimaru ripped off his face to reveal a younger face.

This greatly alarmed everyone around except me as despite the change in appearance, his lifespan was still at a fixed level, he may have delayed his aging process, but it'll catch up to him soon.

He's yet to fully break past the limits of the human body.

"Huh?"

"What the...? What's going on?"

"Who the heck is that kid?"

Seems like I'll be tuning these idiots off very soon. For crying out loud, you're all Anbus. Being calm should be your strongest suit.

"Who in the world are you?" Hiruzen asked with equal shock as his Anbu as he even brought his hands down to get a better look at Orochimaru.

"Hehehe, was it too sudden for you to comprehend? It is still I, Orochimaru."

...

"What the hell? As one of the legendary Sannin, he should be well over 50 years old. This guy is too young... Plus, that is not the Orochimaru's face we know." Yugao reasoned.

"It isn't..." I answered perfunctorily as I continued watching the interesting scene play out.

What Orochimaru has done was a near perfect manipulation of his cell structure. With that, changing one's facial structure was a walk in the park.

After all, my Divine Transformation Jutsu could even give the Bijuu human body according to their thoughts.

"You... Don't tell me you've perfected that forbidden Jutsu."

"Forbidden Jutsu? Hehehe, the fact that you deem it incomprehensible means it's forbidden? Since it's forbidden, why was it recorded in the forbidden scrolls?" Orochimaru asked.

"Because it's inhumane. Lord Second knew it wasn't achievable and would go against one's human nature to master that technique." Hiruzen chastised.

"But someone created it...right? In the last decade since I left the village, I've struggled..." Orochimaru began his monologue.

"You terrible, inhuman fellow." Hiruzen said with a glare that could kill if he had my eyes.

"This is the very reason I didn't select you as the Hokage. It's because of your warped thinking!"

"Warped thinking? You're a coward Hiruzen, you know it, I know it, everyone who knows you well enough knows it. You're only just lucky enough to have the strength to back your cowardliness up." Orochimaru said calmly but the amount of anger I felt was enough to show how disciplined he was in not showing it.

"That day, in that laboratory...those humans...you killed them, and for what? To understand how the body works?" Hiruzen asked.

"To achieve immortality, yes. I lacked the knowledge the Creator of the technique possessed. Who knows how many died when he created this technique?" Orochimaru asked.

Hey. No one died when I created my Art of Immortality.

I did it all through observation of how the cells work to regulate the various parts of the body.

And to top it off, I used my own body. I only observed others to check if my physique had any differences with theirs.

"Those were human lives."

"Heh. What a hypocrite. How many have died at your hands, Sensei? Those were war prisoners, orphans and others who would have died if they were left alone!!" Orochimaru said in visible anger.

"How far you've fallen, Orochimaru." Hiruzen shook his head in pity.

"Heh, I knew we'd go down this road...but one day, the world will understand this path I have taken isn't the wrong one. Unfortunately, you won't be around to witness it."

"The Art Of Immortality is a method of keeping one's mind and soul anchored in this world for eternity."

Nani!!

NO. NO. NO. It's the art of keeping one's mind and soul anchored to your physical body, then with the Eight Gate Formation Technique, one's body would transcend Death and be immortal with the steady supply of spiritual energy from your soul pool which is connected to the source of the universe's energy.

It was that simple. I wrote the explanation down. How did Tobirama copy it wrongly?

This is all Tobirama's fault. No wonder Orochimaru went down this route in this life.

Wait, I know he doesn't want to change his body, but what does he want then? Those serums... perhaps he's thinking of creating a serum that would make his body also achieve that level of immortality?

Interesting.

Orochimaru then went on to explain his various findings about life and immortality. How life is miniscule in the grand scheme of things.

'Since all life would come to an end eventually, I only brought it faster while also making their deaths useful to me.' He said.

What a psychopathic way of thinking, but...I like it. It's these type of guys that achieve great things.

Swiping his hand across his face, he regained his original appearance and said. "I think this face is better after all."

"Monster!" Yugao said and I could hear her grit her teeth in anger.

Poor girl. Even after living in the darkness for so long, she still has feelings for the life's Orochimaru has sacrificed for his own cause?

Sigh... The contradiction in this world is just so... mind boggling? I don't even know anymore.

...

Hashirama who was standing dully suddenly made a couple hand signs and the entire space within the barrier was covered with wood branches.

"Lord Hokage!!" The Anbus cried out as the branches ensnared Hiruzen and obscured him from their view.

"Hehe, you shouldn't really relax your guard, Sensei. You've always been so naive." Orochimaru said as the dust from the Jutsu settled to reveal an unharmed Hiruzen.

Surrounding him was a cage made from his monkey king staff. He was glaring at Orochimaru with a killing intent that made Orochimaru smirk instead.

"What's the matter? It's not like you..." The staff suddenly talked to which Hiruzen replied. "Sorry."

However, his eyes didn't leave Orochimaru for an instant. He's probably regretting even teaching Orochimaru in the first place.

The regrets in his eyes were so hidden but I felt it all.

I also knew Orochimaru wasn't anything good back when I met team Seven as Kuchiki.

As someone who was born as a Hydra, despite appearance, his nature wasn't one that could be so easily changed.

Due to his young age, he hadn't picked up a path to take. That was why he was always emotionless.

He was basically like a child of Destiny in a cultivation world.

Born to be a calamity, that even with a wonderful and happy upbringing, one Common death of his loved one would make him turn into a demonic being that'll bring about the end of the World, or Heavenly Law or something.

Basically, Orochimaru, no matter how loved he was, was meant to be what he was now.

The deaths he witnessed during the two wars went on to cement his psychopathic thinking process.

Still... Everyone has a role to play in the world. Whether good or bad. A role is a role.

"You were right, Orochimaru..."

"Hmm?"

"I was and am a coward. I couldn't kill you back then..." Hiruzen said and placed his hand on his staff.

"But I shall kill you and rectify the errors of the past. Right now!!" Hiruzen said with bloodshot eyes.

Orochimaru visibly twitched seeing this new Hiruzen, but with the two Kages beside him, he confidently said. "It's already too late."

"Humph!" Hiruzen snorted and made a cross hand sign.

[Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!]

"No...! Why Shadow Clones?!" Yugao cried out seeing this move. After all, this move shortens the original Chakra reserves.

"He's a war veteran. Be quiet and watch your Kage fight his last glorious battle." I said.

She looked at me in anger but didn't retort and continued watching.

"Heh. You really have lost your mind. To purposely shorten you life in your haste." Orochimaru ridiculed but Hiruzen began forming some hand signs.

"Y-You..! D-don't tell me you're...!" The staff screamed for reasons I was fully aware of.

"That order of signs... Sarutobi, you are performing THAT Jutsu...!!"