Chapter 44: Snake and Scorpion (Part 1)

Chapter 44: Snake and Scorpion (Part 1)

In a dim, shadowy chamber, four figures draped in black cloaks with red cloud patterns gathered in conversation.

The four were Obito, Zetsu, Konan, and Nagato—the true core of the Akatsuki organization.

Since Yahiko's death, the Akatsuki had undergone a complete restructuring. Not only had the uniforms changed, but the organization's ideology and goals had been completely overhauled.

Nagato no longer attended meetings in person. Instead, he had transformed Yahiko's corpse into the Deva Path of Pain and now operated through that body.

Back during the ambush orchestrated by Hanzō and Danzō in the Hidden Rain Village, Nagato had lost the use of his legs. And the overexertion from summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had drained him of so much chakra that he now depended on a life-support system to survive. With his mobility all but gone, his external activities were handled entirely through his Six Paths of Pain.

While Obito could use Hashirama's cells and White Zetsu's tissue to repair Nagato's legs and even restore his vitality, doing so would bring Nagato's strength back to its peak—or beyond—which would make him harder to control. For that reason, Obito chose not to help him recover.

"How's the recruitment going?" asked Obito, his voice muffled behind a orange spiral-patterned mask. He still operated under the name Uchiha Madara, and both Nagato and Konan continued to believe that the man behind the mask was the legendary Uchiha.

"We've found a few promising candidates," Konan replied flatly. "Kakuzu, a rogue from Takigakure; Jūzō Biwa, a defector from Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen; and most recently, Sasori of the Red Sand."

Since Yahiko's death, Konan had changed completely. Once gentle and compassionate, she had become emotionally distant—her face always cold, as if her heart had frozen over.

Obito frowned beneath his mask. "Progress is too slow. We're still far from our target—we need at least ten full members."

"We want to move faster too," said Pain, his voice emotionless through the Deva Path. "But powerful rogues not tied to any village are rare. The intel on the few we've found came from you. Do you have any new leads?"

Before collecting the Tailed Beasts, the Akatsuki needed to amass significant funding. Pain had already begun deploying members to take on high-paying bounty missions to raise capital.

"Not long ago, Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, defected from Konoha. We've recently tracked down his hideout," Black Zetsu reported. "He's a tricky one—there's a risk in approaching him. But you're the leader, so the decision is yours. Should we try to recruit him?"

"Orochimaru isn't easy to deal with," Obito added. "Among the Sannin, he's likely the strongest right now."

Pain wasn't concerned. "With the Rinnegan in my possession, there's nothing Orochimaru can do."

"Give me his location," he ordered. "I'll take Sasori with me. If Orochimaru agrees to join, we'll pair him with Sasori. If not—I'll kill him myself."

—

A few days later, deep within a gloomy underground cavern, Orochimaru had just completed the sealing of Shukaku the One-Tail's Yin chakra into his body using the Dual Polarity Cursed Seal.

"Perfect… I've never felt power like this before." A twisted grin crept across his pale face, exhilarated by his newfound strength.

Anyone familiar with him might have noticed that Orochimaru now stood slightly shorter than before. The reason? He had successfully performed his first Living Corpse Reincarnation.

He had purposely delayed sealing Shukaku's chakra until after the body transfer—so he could embed the Yin chakra into his new vessel from the start.

Thanks to his scholarly alliance with Yusuke, Orochimaru's technical prowess had vastly surpassed what it was in the original timeline. The reincarnation technique—originally years from completion—had been perfected early. Even the glaring flaw of weakened mental stability post-transfer had been temporarily patched using the Dual Polarity Cursed Seal.

Now, as he stared down at the halved, shrunken form of Shukaku—Orochimaru found himself momentarily conflicted…

At the moment, he had no suitable vessel capable of sealing Shukaku. If he wanted to turn someone into a Jinchūriki and seal Shukaku within them, it would require not only an individual with the right physical constitution, but also access to complex sealing techniques.

Unfortunately, the method of creating a Jinchūriki was something only Sunagakure had studied in detail, and Orochimaru hadn't yet acquired the necessary resources or knowledge to replicate it.

Keeping Shukaku around meant Orochimaru would need to personally watch over it—and the One-Tail's temperament was volatile and its constant chatter maddening. But releasing it would be a waste of precious chakra.

In this way, what remained of Shukaku had become a burden—too valuable to discard, too troublesome to keep.

After some deliberation, Orochimaru made his decision: he would destroy it. Regrettable, yes—but he didn't have the time or resources to babysit a half-powered tailed beast.

Of course, even if killed, Shukaku wouldn't be gone for good. It would eventually reform and resurrect somewhere in the Nara Desert.

"I wonder if Yusuke-kun has found the materials needed for the 'Reverse Dual Polarity Seal'..."

The thought of Yusuke surfaced in Orochimaru's mind. If only the seal was complete, the Yang chakra of Shukaku wouldn't have to go to waste like this.

Originally, the Dual Polarity Cursed Seal was Yusuke's idea—using Hashirama cells rich in Yang Release to suppress and seal Yin chakra, achieving balance through the interaction of opposing forces.

The Reverse Dual Polarity Seal worked on the same principle but flipped: by using a material infused with strong Yin chakra to suppress Yang. It could potentially store vast amounts of Yang-based chakra—like that of Shukaku.

"The Sharingan might work as a Yin-based sealing medium," Orochimaru mused, licking his lips with a snake-like tongue. "But not just any Sharingan… it would need to be a rare one, like the special pair Uchiha Shisui used when he fought Yusuke-kun."

"But to use such precious eyes as sealing material... what a waste."

"A poor trade. A terrible trade!"

Reluctantly shelving the idea of the Reverse Seal for now, a cold gleam flashed in Orochimaru's eyes as he turned toward Shukaku, preparing to finish it off.

Just then, two figures in black cloaks with red clouds approached the entrance to the cavern.

"This should be the place," said Sasori in a hoarse, distorted voice. He was concealed within his puppet body, Hiruko, which lay flat against the ground like a lurking predator.

"Seems like it," Pain replied. "We made no effort to hide our presence. Orochimaru should have noticed us by now."

As he spoke, Orochimaru emerged slowly from the cavern.

He had just killed what remained of Shukaku when he detected the approaching chakra signatures of Pain and Sasori.

Sensing potential hostility, Orochimaru decided to meet them head-on. He was also curious—this would be the perfect opportunity to test the limits of his new body, now fused with the Dual Polarity Seal.

In the original timeline, Orochimaru had joined the Akatsuki much later, with Kabuto already planted as a spy under Sasori's command. By then, Orochimaru was already familiar with the organization's inner workings.

But in this altered timeline, Kabuto had been swayed by Yusuke and taken off a different path. The Akatsuki, in turn, had approached Orochimaru much earlier. As a result, he knew little about them at this point.

As he looked at the figure of the Deva Path, Orochimaru didn't recognize him as one of the three orphans he and Jiraiya had encountered in the Rain Village long ago.

To Orochimaru, war orphans were far too common to remember.

His attention, instead, was entirely focused on those strange, ripple-patterned eyes.

"Those eyes… an extraordinary dōjutsu-based Kekkei Genkai," he thought, his forked tongue flicking out instinctively.

Though he didn't yet know the name "Rinnegan," he instinctively felt the power behind those eyes. Under their gaze, he felt like prey—completely exposed and being hunted.

"Orochimaru. Long time no see," Sasori greeted him first.

Shifting his gaze to the grotesque puppet, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and asked cautiously, "You're… Sasori of the Red Sand?"

They had met once before, back when Sasori had not yet joined the Akatsuki or hidden himself within Hiruko.

But with his sharp eyes, Orochimaru detected familiar traits—though he wasn't entirely certain.

"That's right," Sasori replied.

A slow, sinister smile crept across Orochimaru's pale face. "Well then, Sasori, to what do I owe the pleasure of such a strangely dressed visit?"

"Hmph," Sasori snorted. "Strangely dressed? Have you looked in a mirror lately? That ridiculous shimenawa doesn't suit you at all!"

Orochimaru's smile froze for a moment, recalling how Yusuke had made a similar comment the night they traded for Shukaku.

"Is this outfit really that bad…?" he wondered, doubt creeping in.

He was still wearing his signature outfit: the rope belt tied in a large bow at his lower back. In Japanese tradition, this type of ceremonial rope was called a shimenawa.

Pain, visibly annoyed, cut in coldly. "Enough, Sasori. We're not here to discuss fashion."

Despite his pride, Sasori still respected Pain's authority and turned back to the matter at hand.

"Our organization is currently recruiting powerful individuals. You qualify," Sasori stated bluntly. "You have two choices—join us… or die."