People in Demon Slayer: The Journey That Began with Demon Slayer

The Ten-Tails is the Divine Tree. When the Divine Tree descended, all life in this world became its nourishment. When the Divine Tree bore fruit, that fruit became the power of the world's rules.

Orochimaru asked, "What will happen after obtaining the power of the rules?"

"When you obtain the complete power of the rules, you will become the god of this world! I only obtained a part of the power of the rules, but I gained immortality and the power to control everything. However, I did not expect that Yosuke Ubuyashiki obtained another part of the power of the rules. In the end, I failed and escaped to this world."

Orochimaru murmured thoughtfully, "God?"

"Orochimaru, since I've laid everything out in the open, it means I believe in you. Even if you become the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki, you'll still be within the rules. You must and can only live according to the rules. But if you master the complete power of the rules, it will be completely different. You will become the ruler of the world, and you will be able to create all the rules yourself!"

Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with interest: "It seems pretty good."

The God Master said with an extremely serious expression, "Orochimaru, I will not treat you unfairly. I only want the power of the rules of my world, and I will give you the power of the rules of this world. We will both become gods in our respective worlds!"

The god extended his right hand to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru reached out and grasped the right hand of the God: "Of course, we are the closest partners, so let's go find Nagato and take the Rinnegan first."

The god returned to Orochimaru's body.

...

At this moment, Nagato was waiting for Obito to report on Madara Uchiha's situation.

Currently, only Obito knows Madara Uchiha's movements. When Madara Uchiha stops, that's when he will use the Rinnegan to share his vision with Madara Uchiha.

Suddenly, Nagato opened his eyes.

Orochimaru slowly rose from the ground.

Konan warily asked Orochimaru, "Orochimaru, what are you doing here?!"

Orochimaru sneered, "I've given up the army of demons and the army of reanimated demons. Now that I'm here, I'm obviously here to collect my reward."

Xiao Nan questioned, "The plan failed, what reward do you expect?"

Orochimaru said matter-of-factly, "Your plan failed. As a partner, I put in the work, so of course I deserve the corresponding compensation."

Nagato calmly asked, "What do you want?"

Orochimaru pointed at Nagato's eyes: "Of course, it's your Rinnegan!"

Konan suddenly waved her hand, and a large number of explosive tags flew out of her sleeve, sweeping towards Orochimaru.

Xiao Nan detonated the explosive tag directly.

In an instant, Orochimaru was surrounded by the explosion.

Konan knew perfectly well that this level of attack would have no effect on Orochimaru, and immediately prepared for the next wave of attacks.

As the smoke and dust from the explosion dissipated, a large number of trees appeared around Orochimaru's body, completely blocking the power of Konan's explosive tags.

"Isn't it unnecessary to start such a big fight? Nagato, what's your answer?"

Nagato said coldly, "Konan has already answered for me!"

"The Dance of Shikigami!"

Xiao Nan transformed her body into countless paper-like fragments, and a pair of wings made of paper fragments appeared on her back.

"Is that so? It seems you've chosen to break the contract."

Orochimaru formed a hand seal.

While in mid-air, Konan's body suddenly appeared covered in numerous incantations. Unable to control her body, she spontaneously dispelled the Shikigami Dance and fell to the ground.

"Nagato, then I'll give you another choice: the Rinnegan, or Konan's life!"

Chapter 381 Orochimaru and Nagato's Battle

Konan is wrapped in a cursed seal set by Orochimaru.

He was completely unable to move.

To prevent Nagato from being controlled by Orochimaru, Konan, despite her physical discomfort, said to Nagato, "I'm fine, Nagato! We can't give him the Rinnegan!"

Orochimaru chuckled sinisterly, "Really? Nagato, I heard that you, Yahiko, and Konan were childhood companions. When Yahiko died, your legs were crippled by the Exploding Flame Formation. You also overdraw your chakra to use the Rinnegan to summon the Gedo Mazo, saving Konan. After that, you were emaciated for many years and could only rely on mechanical assistance. You only recently recovered your body, right?"

Yahiko is dead, and now your only companion is Minami. Can you really abandon her?

Orochimaru kept provoking Nagato with his words.

Nagato crouched down and examined the cursed seal on Konan's body.

Orochimaru said confidently, "You can't remove this cursed seal. With just a flick of my finger, your Konan will die instantly, with no chance of recovery."

Konan urgently advised Nagato, "Nagato, think about Yahiko's wish. Yahiko and I firmly believe that you are the one who can bring peace, so you must not hand over the Rinnegan to Orochimaru!"

Nagato silently helped Konan up.

Orochimaru promised Nagato, "Do you have a choice, Nagato? If Konan dies, you will be all alone from now on. I can promise you that if you hand over the Rinnegan to me, I will let you and Konan leave. You should know that I am the most trustworthy person when it comes to contracts."

Nagato looked at Orochimaru expressionlessly: "You're right, Konan and Yahiko are the most important people to me. I don't want to abandon Konan..."

Upon hearing Nagato's words, Orochimaru excitedly licked his lips.

Nagato continued, "But now too many people have died. All their suffering has made me grow. Even ignorant and foolish children know that they can only grow into adults after suffering. I have grown beyond mortals in the midst of endless suffering, transforming from a mortal into a god!"

God is rational, devoid of any emotion. Even if He is unwilling, He can relinquish anything or anyone that threatens Him!

Orochimaru's face gradually darkened: "You want to give up on Konan?"

Nagato didn't answer Orochimaru, but looked at Konan, whom he was holding in his arms: "Konan, you are my only weakness, but for Yahiko's dream, and in order to make it a reality, please forgive me, Konan!"

Nagato's sleeve appeared as a black rod created by Yin-Yang Release, which mercilessly pierced through Konan's chest.

Konan looked at Nagato with surprise, unfamiliarity, and finally, relief.

"Nagato..."

Konan wanted to reach out and touch Nagato's cheek.

But as if all the strength had been drained from his body, his arm fell limply to his side the moment his fingertips touched Nagato's cheek.

Konan's blood stained Nagato's body.

Tears welled up in Nagato's eyes as he carefully placed the gradually cooling Konan on the ground.

Orochimaru's face darkened: "Nagato, I underestimated you. I didn't expect you to choose to kill Konan on your own initiative."

Nagato's cold Rinnegan stared at Orochimaru: "Anyone who stands in my way can be discarded. I have no weaknesses now!"

"Animal Realm? Spirit Communication? Hellhound!"

A multi-headed dog with wings lunged at Orochimaru.

"Wood Release: All are Cloth Bag Techniques"

Orochimaru clasped his hands together and sent chakra to the ground, creating countless wooden hands that he could manipulate at will, binding the Cerberus to its spot.

Orochimaru looked at Nagato with a serious expression. Plan one had failed, so they could only proceed with plan two: injecting the drug into Nagato's body.

Plan Two involves continuously suppressing Nagato to create opportunities for Obito, but the suppression cannot be too drastic. If Nagato sees that things are not going to work out, he may choose to destroy the Rinnegan.

Faced with the restraints of the wooden hands, the hellhound split into two heads, broke free of its restraints, and continued to attack Orochimaru.

"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"

Orochimaru created two wooden dragons to fight against the hellhound.

"Universal Guidance!"

A powerful force compelled Orochimaru to approach Nagato.

"Words of Power? Rebuke!"

Orochimaru activated his Word of Power, which countered Nagato's Universal Pull.

Nagato frowned slightly, not expecting Orochimaru to have a similar ability to the Rinnegan.

"Asura Path? Asura's Attack!"

A mechanical arm appeared on Nagato's shoulder, and after a few movements, it formed a cannon, which was then aimed at Orochimaru.

Then a powerful laser beam shot towards Orochimaru.

"Spiritual Communication Technique? Fivefold Rashomon!"

Five colossal gates of Asura stood before Orochimaru.

Nagato's laser cannon easily pierced through the five Rashomon gates, but it also deviated from its trajectory and missed Orochimaru.

Orochimaru, hiding behind Rashomon, narrowed his eyes slightly; Nagato's attack was surprisingly penetrating.

"Four Black Serpent Formation!"

Orochimaru created four snake clones, and then his main body and three snake clones each created a purple, transparent rectangular barrier in the east, south, west, and north directions, trapping Nagato inside the barrier and injecting a deep purple poisonous mist into it.

"Hungry Ghost Path? Sealing Technique Absorption Seal!"

Nagato used a sealing absorption technique to form a shield that absorbed the deep purple poisonous mist within the barrier. He then used it to absorb the chakra of a snake clone to maintain the barrier.

Orochimaru's snake clone had its chakra completely absorbed, forcing him to dispel the snake clone.

The Four Black Serpent Formation was easily dismantled by Nagato.

Orochimaru wanted to use Wood Release ninjutsu to continue suppressing Nagato, but found that his whole body seemed to be bound and he could not move.

A transparent chameleon appeared beside Orochimaru, its tongue binding him.

Orochimaru recalled that when he created the wooden dragon, Nagato had formed a hand seal for a summoning jutsu.

"Were they already able to summon spirit beasts back then...?"

Nagato appeared in front of Orochimaru in an instant.

"The Human Path? Extracting Souls!"

Nagato pressed his hand against Orochimaru's abdomen, then pulled him back sharply.

A purple energy ball appeared in Nagato's hand, which he desperately tried to pull outwards.

Orochimaru remained calm, even remarking, "The ability to extract souls—the Rinnegan's power is truly enviable!"

Nagato frowned, surprised that Orochimaru's soul was so resilient, making the extraction process extremely slow.

Furthermore, Nagato sensed that there was another force on the opposite side of Nagato, pulling Orochimaru's soul back into Orochimaru's body in the opposite direction.