Chapter 154: The Final Lesson! White-Scaled Serpent Wall!

Chapter 154: The Final Lesson! White-Scaled Serpent Wall!

On the desert sands bordering the Land of Wind and its vast expanse of wasteland, a peculiar scene unfolded.

Uchiha Ci lay sprawled on the ground, staring into the eyes of Orochimaru, who had just crawled out of a serpent's mouth. The two locked gazes—wide-eyed in disbelief.

For a brief moment, time seemed to stand still.

"Orochimaru-sensei?!"

Uchiha Ci couldn't believe his eyes. He had exhausted his chakra, placing his last hopes on the natural energy of Ryūchi Cave to ignite some miraculous transformation. Yet, just when he thought all was lost, an unexpected reinforcement appeared.

On reflection, though, it all made sense. The Curse Seal of Heaven, in essence, was a derivative of the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique—one of Orochimaru's many methods of achieving immortality. The seal contained a fragment of Orochimaru's soul.

Years later, during Sasuke and Itachi's climactic battle, Orochimaru would use this exact technique to emerge from the Cursed Seal when Sasuke fell into a weakened state, aiming to seize Sasuke's body.

But Uchiha Ci quickly realized something didn't add up. At this point in time, Orochimaru had no interest in taking over his body.

So why had Orochimaru appeared now?

At that moment, Orochimaru, having crawled out from the serpent's jaws, landed on the ground. His golden snake eyes narrowed sharply as he examined the half-dead Uchiha Ci. The boy lay on the ground, his body half-covered in the dark, intricate markings of the Curse Seal of Heaven, teetering on the edge of collapse from his reckless use of its power.

In truth, Orochimaru hadn't emerged of his own volition. He had been forcibly expelled by the natural energy surging within the seal. While Orochimaru's original body still lived, this manifestation was nothing more than a shadow clone-like existence, designed to prevent the paradox of multiple Orochimarus coexisting in the world.

This version of Orochimaru's memory stopped at the point when he had inscribed the Curse Seal of Heaven onto Uchiha Ci, dissected him, and decided to take him on as an apprentice.

From Orochimaru's perspective, it seemed only moments ago that he had marked the boy.

How, then, was he already on the verge of death?

And why did it feel like this wasn't the first time?

Orochimaru felt a chill crawl up his spine but quickly forced himself to calm down.

Placing one hand firmly on Uchiha Ci's shoulder, his snake-like eyes grew cold and analytical as he delved into the boy's internal state.

Moments later, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, muttering to himself:

"As I suspected... This brat has been using the Curse Seal of Heaven."

"How much time has passed? Six months? A year? It seems my theory was correct. With his help, I must have already mastered the Curse Seal of Heaven at this point."

"But it's still flawed—still unable to perfectly merge senjutsu chakra through the seal."

"Fortunately, this boy's body is resilient, durable enough to endure this. The natural energy hasn't managed to fully transform him into a serpent but is instead slowly restructuring his physical form."

"In other words, he's subduing the wild natural energy of Ryūchi Cave with sheer physical willpower."

"So then," Orochimaru mused, his snake-like pupils narrowing further, "the next challenge is how to harness this natural energy effectively."

Orochimaru's gaze lingered on Uchiha Ci, now filled with intrigue. His mind raced as if he had found a fascinating new experimental subject.

Suddenly, he let out a raspy laugh.

"Heh... how interesting."

Orochimaru glanced upward at the night sky, where countless Wind Release: Thousand-Faced Blades rained down, their deadly trajectory slashing through the air. His brow furrowed slightly.

"To wield Wind Release on this scale... Is this the handiwork of Ebizō from Sunagakure?"

At this moment, he only wanted to study the transformations brought about by the Cursed Seal.

But the endless rain of wind blades was disrupting his focus.

"Tch. How annoying. I'll leave the research to my original body."

With an impatient snort, Orochimaru drew a portion of natural energy from Uchiha Ci's Cursed Seal, exhaling deeply.

"Now then," Orochimaru rasped, "I need to ensure this brat survives."

With blinding speed, his hands formed seals before slamming them to the ground.

"Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation!"

"Secret Technique: Serpent Body Hardening!"

In an instant, the desert sands around them sank as an enormous pit formed beneath their feet. The displaced sand was drawn upward, reshaped by senjutsu into massive serpents that coiled together, forming a towering wall of writhing serpents encasing the area.

Under Orochimaru's precise control, the serpents' bodies hardened into steel-like constructs, creating an impenetrable fortress.

This compound jutsu, completed in a matter of seconds, showcased an extreme transformation in both nature and form.

Though Orochimaru could not fully enter Sage Mode, his mastery of Ryūchi Cave senjutsu was unparalleled. Unlike Kabuto, whose Inorganic Reincarnation was more akin to a clumsy Earth Release, Orochimaru's application brought true inorganic matter to life—a feat demonstrating his mastery of the technique.

From Uchiha Ci's perspective, all he could do was watch in stunned silence as Orochimaru executed these feats with the precision of a top-tier shinobi.

Amidst the chaos of the steel serpents spiraling toward the heavens, Uchiha Ci couldn't help but wonder:

What was going on?

He wasn't playing Death God vs. Ninja! He hadn't pressed 'O' to summon a support character!

Why had things escalated to this point?

Orochimaru, standing amidst the tempest of descending wind blades, clasped his hands behind his back and rose to his feet.

Uchiha Ci's snake-like pupils contracted sharply as he noticed Orochimaru's body beginning to wither at an alarming rate. Chakra drained rapidly as the sand transformed into steel serpents. Orochimaru's once robust frame now resembled a skeletal husk.

Fear gripped Uchiha Ci.

"Wait, Orochimaru! What are you doing?!"

"Heh..." Orochimaru's raspy laughter echoed.

Looking up at the sky, his dim golden eyes glinted faintly.

"Uchiha Ci," he began, his tone eerily calm, "I don't know what has transpired in the future."

"But," he continued, glancing over his shoulder with a faint smirk, "that title you just used... 'sensei'... I quite liked it."

Turning away, he added softly:

"So, allow me to give you one final lesson."

Uchiha Ci stared in stunned disbelief, a tightening sensation gripping his chest. He was at a loss for words.

The sight reminded him of being shielded by Uchiha Setsuna amidst the boiling sea of lava years ago.

Orochimaru took a deep breath, his voice returning to its cold, analytical tone.

"Listen carefully."

"The Curse Seal of Heaven is imperfect. I didn't leave enough chakra within it to kill the enemy outside."

"But to reach the edge of our shared dream..." Orochimaru's voice softened.

"You must save yourself."

With those parting words, Orochimaru's body disintegrated further, now little more than a thin shell of skin and bone.

But even in the face of death, he stood unmoving, resolute.

Raising his hands to form a final seal, Orochimaru unleashed one last act of defiance.

From his mouth surged a massive white-scaled serpent, coiling upward into the heavens.

The serpent's body formed an indomitable wall above Uchiha Ci, shielding him from the onslaught of wind blades.

Despite the deep gashes carved into its body and the blood spraying into the air, the serpent remained unwavering, its gaze locked on Uchiha Ci.

Opening its maw, it rasped out Orochimaru's final message:

"Remember, pure natural energy is not unusable."

"Follow your body—"

"And find the answer!"