Chapter 128: Orochimaru Gets Counter-Stolen

[Check Out My P4treon For +50 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!! And get chapters before publishing them here for free on my p4treon][https://p4treon.com/roooaaa]

===

Sasame didn't know how to enter Orochimaru's secret base.

But he had his own methods.

Sage Art: Water Release: Water Severing Wave!

Forming hand seals, Sasame spat out a high-pressure water jet from his mouth.

Compressed to an extreme degree, the water cut sharper than any blade, piercing through the ground like tofu and carving out a tunnel in seconds.

"What was that noise?"

Jūgo instinctively turned his head.

In the original timeline, he had met Hōzuki Kimimaro first before joining Orochimaru's faction.

But due to Sasame's interference, he'd been recruited earlier—missing out on that friendship.

As for Kimimaro, Sasame had once spent Fate Points to locate him.

Surprisingly, he was in the Land of Whirlpools.

When Sasame had told Mei they should take that country, Kimimaro had been part of the reason.

"I'll check it out."

Jūgo glanced at the massive glass-walled structure behind him before speaking.

"Go ahead."

Guren nodded.

Though young, Jūgo was a natural prodigy.

His body innately adapted to Sage Transformation.

Under Orochimaru's guidance, his control had stabilized, and his power had skyrocketed.

As for Guren, she possessed the rare Crystal Release.

Having lost her home and family as a child, she'd only survived after meeting Orochimaru.

Thus, she was his fanatically loyal follower—even willing to become a vessel for his Living Corpse Reincarnation.

In the original story, Guren had been jealous of Uchiha Sasuke because his arrival had demoted her from Orochimaru's first-choice vessel.

The two were stationed here to guard the secret base.

Especially the dozens of children inside.

Expressionless, the orange-haired Jūgo walked toward the source of the noise.

The moment he spotted Sasame—

"Guh—?!"

He suddenly clutched his head as his skin rapidly darkened.

His face, back, and arms morphed grotesquely, sprouting unnatural protrusions.

He no longer looked human.

Jūgo's pupils shrank in alarm.

Due to his unstable constitution, he couldn't control his cursed seal. In areas with dense natural energy, he automatically entered Sage Transformation.

Which meant the man before him radiated immense senjutsu chakra.

"Huh. A freakshow."

Sasame blinked.

Damn, that's ugly.

The cursed seal's only flaw was its aesthetics.

With his last shreds of reason devoured, Jūgo snarled and lunged.

Sasame clenched his fist.

Sage Art: Monster Strength!

BOOM!

Jūgo was sent flying faster than he'd come.

He crashed through half the hall, smashing into the glass wall behind him.

"Wha— Jūgo?!"

Guren's face paled.

Jūgo in Sage Mode… defeated in under a minute?!

She rushed forward.

Jūgo collapsed, blood streaking the glass. He coughed violently, chunks of organs mixed in the crimson.

"Run…! Take Shin and go!"

He shoved Guren away, shouting, "Get Orochimaru-sama's most important test subject out of here!"

Too strong.

This guy's on another level!

There was no winning. Their only hope was escaping with Uchiha Shin—Orochimaru's prized experiment.

"Sorry. Everyone else can leave, but Shin stays."

Sasame stepped into the glass hall.

Ahead was an arena-like structure.

Inside, faint whimpers of trapped children echoed.

Guren's hands flew into seals.

Crystal Release: Crystal Prison!

Translucent pink crystals erupted around Sasame, encasing him instantly.

Seeing him trapped, Guren exhaled in relief—

CRACK!

The crystal shattered like cheap glass.

"Impossible!"

No one had ever brute-forced their way out before.

Crystal Release: One Light Arrow!

Guren poured every drop of her chakra into this next technique.

A massive crystal shielded her and Jūgo—but defense alone wouldn't save them.

A searing laser shot from the crystal's core.

(In the original story, this move had blinded the Three-Tails.)

Sasame blurred—reappearing behind them.

No need to tank it head-on.

Sage Art: Water Release: Water Severing Wave!

The pressurized stream sliced the crystal apart.

Guren barely registered the attack before Sasame's kick sent her crashing into the wall.

"Where's Shin?"

Sasame loomed over the battered kunoichi.

"Kill me! I'll never talk!"

Defiant to the end, her loyalty to Orochimaru was absolute.

Hmm. Infiltration. Interrogation. Captured female ninja.

Combine these three elements, and things get… risky.

Sasame shook off the degenerate thoughts.

He was a respectable man.

None of that nonsense.

Ahem.

Crouching, Sasame activated his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

Guren's eyes glazed over.

"He's in Room 1 of the arena."

"Thanks. But you'll need to forget this little chat."

Underworld Bringer!

This ocular jutsu erased specific memories for a set duration.

The length depended on how much chakra Sasame poured in—here, he set it for one year.

(With the Eternal Mangekyō, side effects like blindness were gone. He could spam this stuff freely now.)

"Guren! What are you doing?!"

Facing away, Jūgo hadn't seen the Sharingan—but he'd heard her betrayal.

"Traitor! You sold out Orochimaru-sama?!"

"N-No! I didn't—!"

Guren snapped back to reality, horrified. "What did you do to me?!"

Sasame ignored her.

Should I take Guren with me?

But her loyalty was too ingrained. Short of Kotoamatsukami, she'd never switch sides.

Meh. Not worth wasting Shisui's eye on her.

Besides, he already had Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Shisui, and Uchiha Izumi. No shortage of manpower.

…Also, Guren wasn't really his type.

Ahem.

Turning, Sasame studied the glass wall.

Orochimaru had clearly reinforced it—but everything had limits.

Sage Art: Monster Strength!

His fist shattered the barrier.

Standing before Room 1, Sasame narrowed his eyes—

Flicker.

A figure materialized behind him, kunai aimed at his spine.

Sasame turned, meeting a pair of three-tomoe Sharingan.

He casually caught the attacker's wrist—then drove a sage-enhanced kick into his gut, sending him flying.

"DIE!"

Uchiha Shin (fake) snarled through the pain, his Sharingan locking onto Sasame.

Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!

"Three tomoe? Cute."

Sasame dispelled the genjutsu with a thought.

"HOW?!"

Shin looked ready to short-circuit.

Sasame almost laughed.

This guy wasn't even a real Uchiha—just a hardcore fanboy obsessed with Itachi.

Breaking his illusions so easily had shattered his ego.

Pathetic.

A quick chop to the neck knocked Shin out cold.

With his prize secured, Sasame strolled out of the base.

No Flying Thunder God this time.

Let Orochimaru try to track him.

Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 185 on my patreon, go check it out and remember that if we reach the goal of 30 power stones I will publish the next chapter.

https://patreon.com/roooaaa

(Give me all your power stones)