https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-227-Orochimaru-s-Demise-A-Fatal-Weakness/12553569/
Chapter 228: Patience is Key When Capturing Snakes
Chapter 228: Patience is Key When Capturing Snakes
At the training grounds of Lock Front Village, Sasuke found himself perplexed as he watched a figure, Hagoromo Otsutsuki, appear out of thin air beside him. With a pat on the shoulder, meant to encourage his training, the figure vanished as mysteriously as it had appeared.
"What was that about?" Sasuke wondered, a bit dazed.
Shaking his head, he could only assume that Hagoromo had appeared to spur him on in his training.
Back to training, then, he thought.
[Ding!]
Main Mission: The Long-Awaited S-Rank Mission (Completed)
Sasuke, in a moment of impulsiveness, disregarded all consequences and pursued Gaara, the Jinchuriki of One-Tail. Continuing from their previous battle, Kakashi dispatched the host, Naruto, Sakura, and the others on an S-rank mission to "Retrieve Sasuke." After a thrilling chase, the host successfully caught up to Sasuke and restrained him, thus completing the mission.
Mission Rewards: Two random A-rank ninjutsu
Hagoromo felt that bringing Sasuke back was undoubtedly a wise decision. Not only did it ensure that the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan would be on his side, but it also facilitated the swift completion of multiple system missions.
Many of the previous main missions had been related to Sasuke, and Hagoromo expected that the upcoming ones would likely involve Sasuke's departure from the village again.
"A simple pat on the shoulder would suffice to complete those missions. How convenient," Hagoromo mused.
He randomly selected the mission rewards, which turned out to be the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique and the Earth Release: Camouflage Jutsu.
"Not bad at all," Hagoromo thought. He had already mastered the Camouflage Technique, but this was his first time acquiring the Third Hokage's jutsu, adding to his growing arsenal of ninjutsu.
With everything in order, Hagoromo flashed and soon appeared before the aerial elevator.
Ali, dressed in a ninja outfit and with a large scroll strapped to her back, awaited him there.
Their mission this time was to kill Orochimaru and nip a potential threat in the bud. However, considering Orochimaru's reputation as a great scientist, Hagoromo anticipated that, similar to the Danzo incident, there might be a trove of "coins" to uncover. Thus, he had brought Ali along.
After all, two pairs of hands were better than one.
Without delay, Hagoromo joined Ali, and with a wave of his hand, he said, "Let's go."
The duo set off immediately.
Meanwhile, Konoha had assembled a team, sending Kakashi and Team 8 as the vanguard to investigate Orochimaru's base.
On the other side, Orochimaru's forces, led by Kabuto Yakushi, were also in motion. They had with them Yukimaru, who could influence the Three-Tails, as well as Hozuki Mangetsu, a master of the Crystal Release kekkei genkai, and a group of cursed seal bearers. Their objective was to capture the Three-Tails.
Thus, the three parties, each with their own agenda, embarked on their journeys, their paths destined to intertwine.
A vortex of events was about to unfold.
Similar to their departure for Mount Katsuragi, as time passed, the grand search spearheaded by the Five Great Shinobi Villages did not slow down; instead, it intensified.
However, this had little impact on Hagoromo and Ali.
Though they were the farthest from Orochimaru's base according to the intelligence, their speed was unmatched.
In just one day, they traversed the Land of Fire and the Land of Fields, arriving at a remote and little-known country within the ninja world.
"This is the address mentioned in the intelligence," Ali confirmed, frowning slightly as she surveyed the area. "It seems that the entrance, which was once hidden, has completely collapsed. Moreover, there's a strong scent of blood coming from within."
Ali, with her small and delicate nose, sniffed the air.
Trained as a spy, her prowess in information gathering and intelligence collection was exceptional, even if her frontline combat abilities were not the focus of the moment.
Hagoromo was not surprised by her observation. "If Orochimaru were that easy to capture, he wouldn't be the Orochimaru we know."
As chakra was channeled, the once impenetrable entrance softened, and the mud and stones rushed away in all directions.
Soon, a passageway about two meters tall, leading directly into the interior, appeared before the duo.
The steady footsteps echoed loudly in the silent cave.
Ali looked around and saw numerous severed limbs and bodies buried in the mud.
This was not even the most shocking part.
As she followed Yuyi Xuan Yue to the deepest part of the cave, he waved his hand, and a ball of fire rose into the air, illuminating the area.
What she saw then truly shocked her—a massive coliseum filled with layers upon layers of bodies. There were too many to count.
What troubled her even more was the grotesque appearance of these corpses. Some had bone wings growing from their backs, others had tentacles instead of right hands, and some had spider-like legs for their lower body, looking like horrific amalgamations of monsters and humans.
As a spy, Ali had witnessed her fair share of darkness, but the brutality and grotesqueness before her were beyond anything she had ever seen.
"Orochimaru," she whispered.
Unlike the textual descriptions she had read before, Ali now had a deep and chilling understanding of this man, once one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha.
Yuyi Xuan Yue's expression remained unchanged as he already knew the kind of person Orochimaru was.
If he were a conventional scientist, Orochimaru would be the wild and unscrupulous type who ventured into forbidden and unethical territories.
Countless people had perished in Orochimaru's experiments over the years, and yet, ironically, he had managed to redeem himself in the end.
Yuyi Xuan Yue surveyed the coliseum.
This was likely one of Orochimaru's human experimentation bases.
The prisoners here had been implanted with cursed seals, but the results fell far short of the Sound Four's level, making them defective products.
Recently, there had been an internal slaughter within these walls.
It seemed less like a riot and more like a selection process to gather minions.
This was consistent with Orochimaru's usual style.
"He needs more manpower. For what purpose?"
This place wasn't Orochimaru's hideout as per the intelligence, but Yuyi Xuan Yue wasn't disappointed. Instead, he continued to track Orochimaru down, following the clues he had discovered.
He was patient when it came to capturing snakes, especially one as cunning and experienced as Orochimaru.
Just then, Yuyi Xuan Yue noticed something and walked over to a pile of bodies. He stomped his foot, causing the corpses to roll away, revealing a man underneath. This man's skin was ashen, his body was covered in cursed seal symbols, and his hands and feet had transformed into beastly claws.
"Save me," the man whispered, his eyes filled with desperate hope as he gazed at Yuyi Xuan Yue.
Yuyi Xuan Yue glanced at him indifferently.
The cursed seal was raging out of control, his body was on the verge of collapse, and he was merely clinging to his last breath. There was no saving him.
No point in wasting effort.
Their eyes met.
Yuyi Xuan Yue quickly scanned the man's memories, confirming his earlier judgment.
This was indeed a human experimentation base.
The day before, under the order of the base's leader, Benihisago, a slaughter had commenced within these walls. After deciding on a handful of winners, Benihisago had left with them to serve Orochimaru.
Yuyi Xuan Yue retracted his gaze and looked one last time at the man who had now fallen silent, his body melting like an ice pop. After ensuring he was laid to rest, Yuyi Xuan Yue and Ali continued their pursuit, following the direction in which Benihisago and the others had left.
(End of Chapter)
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