I, Uchiha, will not be whitewashed!

Orochimaru's laboratory is hidden in an abandoned mine on the southwestern border of the Land of Fire.

Shuoge stood at the cave entrance, his three-tomoe Sharingan slowly rotating behind his mask.

The camouflage of the cave entrance had been destroyed—rocks were shattered, vines were torn, and there were trails of blood on the ground, not from humans, but from experimental subjects.

He squatted down, dipped his finger in the water, and smelled it.

The smell was putrid, mixed with formaldehyde and some kind of pungent medicinal odor.

He has been dead for at least three days.

"These were left behind by Orochimaru when he left," Karasu's voice came from behind. "The marks are fresh; he must have left not long ago."

"Not necessarily." Shuoge stood up. "It could be a trap."

The fox circled around from the left side of the cave entrance, holding a kunai in its hand.

"There were no explosives or sealing arrays at the entrance. But I could sense residual chakra—it was chaotic, like many different types of chakra mixed together."

Shuoge nodded and went inside.

The mine was very deep, with luminous pearls embedded in the walls. The pale light shone on the damp rock walls, reflecting a dark green glow.

The further in you go, the colder the air becomes, and the stronger the smell of decay grows.

Scattered documents, overturned containers, and broken test tubes began to appear on the ground.

Shuoge picked up a piece of paper with Orochimaru's handwriting on it—"Thirty-second culture experiment, failure. Cell rejection reaction cannot be suppressed."

He folded the paper and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Here," came the voice of a crow from ahead.

Shuoge walked over quickly.

At the end of the mine is a huge circular space, like a natural cave that has been artificially enlarged.

The room was filled with culture tanks, and the glass walls were covered with a thick layer of water vapor, making it impossible to see what was inside.

Broken fragments of the culture tank were scattered on the ground, and viscous culture medium was spilled everywhere, mixed with dark red blood clots. The air was filled with the pungent smell of formaldehyde.

"These things—" the fox's voice was tense. "They're all alive."

Sakugo's Sharingan caught it.

Something was moving in the shadows of the cave.

It wasn't human chakra; it was a twisted, mixed chakra, like countless snakes coiled together. Orochimaru didn't take everything from the cultivation tank.

Some are still alive.

"Watch out." Shuoge drew his sword.

Something rushed out of the shadows.

It was neither human nor beast—it had four arms, two legs, and its body seemed to have been pieced together. Its skin was grayish-white, and it had no hair, no facial features, only a huge mouth that stretched across its entire face, filled with jagged teeth.

Its speed is fast, and its chakra fluctuations are chaotic, like a pot of boiling porridge.

The crow went to greet it.

The kunai flew from his hand and embedded itself in the thing's chest.

It didn't stop, or even slow down, and all four arms reached out to grab the crow at the same time.

The crow dodged to the side, its two arms brushing past his clothes, and a third arm grabbed his arm—the claws dug into the flesh, and blood seeped from the wound.

The crow let out a muffled groan and pierced the thing's eye with a kunai.

It hissed and released the crow, but another arm swept across from the side and slammed into the crow's chest.

The crow flew out and crashed into the rock wall, blood spilling from its beak.

The fox charged from the side, unleashing a flurry of dagger strikes, each aimed at a joint of the creature. The creature was a fraction of a second too slow, and the fox's dagger severed one of its arms.

Black blood spurted out and splattered on the fox's face.

The thing roared, and its remaining three arms slammed down on the fox at the same time.

The fox dodged two, but the third struck his leg. The sound of bone cracking was crisp. The fox knelt on one knee, his short knife braced against the ground, and did not fall.

Shuoge's knife has arrived.

It's not a slash, it's a stab.

With a soft "poof!"

The knife tip pierced its gaping mouth and emerged from the back of its head. The creature froze, its four arms flailing twice in mid-air before going limp.

Shuoge pulled out his knife, and black blood gushed from the wound, mixed with bits of flesh and bone fragments.

The body fell to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

The crow leaned against the rock wall, clutching its injured arm, blood seeping from between its fingers.

The fox knelt on the ground, unable to stand up, still clutching the dagger in its hand.

Shuoge walked up to them, squatted down, and examined the crow's wound—it wasn't deep, but it needed stitches.

The fox's leg bone was fractured, not broken, but it needed a cast.

"Can you walk?" Shuoge asked.

"Yes." Crow gritted his teeth and stood up. "You continue. We're retreating."

Shuoge glanced at him and nodded. He turned and walked deeper into the cave. Behind him, Crow, supporting Fox, limped out.

Deep inside the cave, there is an iron gate, half-open.

Shuoge pushed open the door, revealing a small archive room inside.

The bookshelves were filled with scrolls and notebooks, and a map lay open on the table, with several points marked in red.

Shuoge picked up the map and glanced at it—the southwest of the Land of Fire, the border of the Land of Rain, and the Land of Grass.

Orochimaru's next laboratory is in the Land of Rain.

He put away the map and began searching through the documents on the table.

Most of them are Orochimaru's research notes, about the First Hokage's cells, Sharingan, and cursed seal.

Shuoge didn't look closely and stuffed the important scroll into his backpack.

In a hidden compartment of the drawer, he found a special document—the cover of which read "Report on the Fusion Experiment of Sharingan and First Hokage's Cells".

He flipped through it and saw that it contained detailed records of Danzo's surgery to transplant Sharingan and Hashirama cells into his right arm, as well as the postoperative reactions and side effects.

Orochimaru used Danzo as a test subject.

Shuoge stuffed the documents into his backpack. These materials couldn't be given to the Dark Division. He walked out of the archives, preparing to leave.

A person was standing outside the iron gate.

Not an experimental subject.

are people.

He had fair skin, long black hair, and golden eyes. He leaned against the rock wall, his hands in his pockets, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Orochimaru?" Shuoge held his sword horizontally in front of him.

"Sakugo-kun." Orochimaru's voice was very soft, as soft as a snake flicking its tongue. "Long time no see. You've grown quite a bit since we parted ways on the Eastern Front."

Sakugo remained silent. His Sharingan stared at Orochimaru—this man's chakra was incredibly stable, as still as a stagnant pool. It wasn't his true form, but a clone.

"Your eyes—" Orochimaru tilted his head. "The Uchiha clan's three-tomoe Sharingan, quite impressive power!"

Shuoge slashed his knife upwards.

The speed wasn't particularly fast.

But the angle is tricky.

Orochimaru's clone didn't dodge; the blade sliced ​​across his neck. No blood. The clone's body turned into a wisp of white smoke and vanished. But Orochimaru's voice still echoed in the air.

"Next time we meet, let me see your potential, Mr. Shuoge."

The smoke dissipated. Silence returned to the cave.

"Just a shadow clone?"

Shuoge sheathed his sword and turned to walk towards the cave entrance. The documents in his backpack were heavy, pressing down on his shoulder.

He knew that Orochimaru would not let him go.

How could a madman obsessed with the Sharingan to the point of transplanting it onto Danzo's arm possibly let go of a living Uchiha Jonin who had awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan?

He walked out of the mine. It was already dark outside, and the moonlight shone a pale white on the gravel road.

The crow and the fox are gone; there is a pool of blood on the ground, left by the crow.

Shuoge walked back along the path he had come from, his pace neither fast nor slow, his knife behind his back and his hands hanging at his sides.

It was already past midnight when they returned to the secret service's base. Captain Eagle Mask was still in the operations room; he looked up when he saw Shogo return.

"Mission complete." Shuoge placed his backpack on the table. "The lab has been cleaned. Orochimaru's whereabouts are unknown, but we found a map of his next experimental site."

The captain opened his backpack and looked through the scrolls and notes. His finger paused on the report on "The Fusion Experiment of Sharingan and First Hokage's Cells" for a moment, then continued flipping through the pages.

"The Anbu will handle these things." He closed his backpack. "Are you injured?"

"no."

"Crow and Fox are in the hospital. Your report is due tomorrow." The captain stood up and walked towards the door. After a few steps, he stopped without looking back.

"Have you ever crossed paths with Orochimaru?"

Shuoge was silent for a moment. "On the Eastern Front, he was the commander."

The captain didn't ask any more questions. He left.

Shuoge walked out of the operations room and took off his mask.

The moonlight shone palely on the corridor. He tucked his mask into his waistband, hung his knife on his back, and walked towards home.

The courtyard was quiet; Zhi Shui was already asleep.

He went inside, leaned the knife against the wall, and sat down.

He pulled out a copy of the "Sharingan and First Hokage Cell Fusion Experiment" from his pocket—he had copied it on the way.

He folded it neatly and tucked it into the deepest part of the drawer.

He closed his eyes, his chakra flowing slowly through his meridians. Orochimaru's voice still echoed in his mind—"Next time we meet, let me see your potential."

It won't be long. He knew it.

……

……

……

Six months ago, on the border of the Land of Rain.

Orochimaru stood amidst the ruins, rain streaming down his long hair.

The golden snake eyes stared intently at the orange-haired man in front of him, the pupils reflecting the purple ripples—the Rinnegan.

He had spent half his life studying forbidden techniques and collecting bloodline limits, but this was the first time he had ever seen the legendary eye.

—The Rinnegan of the Sage of Six Paths!

It wasn't the eerie red of the Sharingan, nor the empty white of the Byakugan; it was a deeper, more profound purple, as if it could suck one's soul in.

He quickly formed hand seals.

Spiritual Communication: Rashomon

A massive iron gate rose from the ground, blocking his way.

"Shinra Tensei"

Payne raised a hand.

Silently.

An invisible force was released from the palm—Rashomon was flung away like paper, the three iron doors tumbling in the air before crashing into the distant ruins.

Orochimaru's body was also thrown back. He tumbled several times in the air and landed with his left shoulder dislocated, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth.

He looked up, and Payne was still standing there, without having moved an inch.

Those purple eyes looked at him, without contempt or smugness, just watching.

Like looking at a stone, a tree, or something insignificant.

Orochimaru's lips curled up.

It wasn't a wry smile, it was excitement.

That power—that overwhelming, incomprehensible, godlike power—was something he had never seen before.

He stood up, the pain in his left shoulder making his arm numb, but his eyes shone even brighter.

He formed the hand seal again.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hand"

Countless venomous snakes surged from his sleeves and lunged at Payne.

Payne raised his other hand.

suction.

The venomous snake was sucked in front of Payne and torn apart by an invisible force, its flesh and blood flying everywhere.

Orochimaru's body was also sucked in, his feet left the ground, and his whole body felt as if it were being grabbed by an invisible giant hand.

"This force—"

Orochimaru's pupils lit up, first in shock, then in joy.

In the end, it turned into an overwhelming longing.

-

With a soft "pfft".

The excruciating pain pulled Orochimaru back to reality. Pain reached out, and a black rod pierced through Orochimaru's right shoulder, pinning him to the ground.

Orochimaru lay in the mud and water, rainwater pouring into his mouth, cold and hard.

He looked down at the black rod on his right shoulder—it was black, not metal, not bone, but some kind of substance he had never seen before.

Chakra flowed from the black rod, sealing his meridians and rendering him unable to move.

Payne walked up to him and looked down at him.

Those purple eyes held no emotion; they simply watched.

Then he turned around and left.

Orochimaru lay in the rain, watching the orange figure disappear into the rain. Blood was flowing from his right shoulder, his meridians were sealed, and his body was pinned to the ground.

-

Six months later.

The underground karst cave in Yuren Village.

The pale light of the luminous pearl shone on the rock wall, reflecting a dark green light.

Orochimaru stood below the platform, while Pain stood on the platform, looking down at him. Their eyes met for a moment. Orochimaru's lips curled into a slight smile, while Pain's face remained expressionless.

"You've come." Payne's voice descended from above, calm and even. "Akatsuki needs your power."

Orochimaru remained silent. He looked down at the brand-new ring on his right ring finger—the character "空" (empty) gleamed coldly in the pale light.

This was given to him by Payne.

Join Akatsuki, become "Ku," and accept the organization's protection and intelligence network. The price is to obey orders and complete missions.

Orochimaru didn't care about any of that. What he cared about were those eyes. Only by joining Akatsuki could he get close to Pain, study the Rinnegan, and find an opportunity to seize it.

"Your partner is Scorpion," Payne said calmly.

Sasori jumped off the puppet, walked up to Orochimaru, and looked up at him. Their eyes met for a moment. Orochimaru's smile deepened, while Sasori's expression remained hidden behind his mask.

Pain walked down from the platform and paused as he passed Orochimaru.

He didn't speak, but just glanced at Orochimaru.

Those purple eyes held no warning, no expectation, only one thing—indifference.

Before absolute power, schemes and tricks are nothing but a joke. Orochimaru knew what Pain was thinking—try to use the Rinnegan, but you can't.

Payne left. Nan followed behind him, her paper umbrella swirling in the rain.

Orochimaru stood there, watching Pain's figure disappear into the depths of the cave.

He looked down at the ring on his right ring finger, clenched his fist, then relaxed it. He would wait. Until the day those eyes revealed their weakness.

Before that, he will be a qualified "Akatsuki no Sora".

He turned and walked towards the scorpion.

Inside the cave, rainwater dripped from the cracks overhead, hitting the stone surface and making a crisp sound.

……