Off the coast of the Land of Waves, there was a secret base built by Obito, meant to house Kimimaro, Sasuke, and Uzumaki Yusuke. The purpose? To lure out Orochimaru.
Of course, Obito had no idea that Uzumaki Yusuke was Orochimaru.
Guided by Orochimaru's instructions, Deidara and Jiraiya soon arrived at the underwater base.
"Building a secret base in a place like this... that's some serious stealth," Jiraiya remarked.
Though it wasn't located in the deep sea, even at a depth of a thousand meters, the water pressure was already immense. Submarines barely operated at this depth. But with Kamui, Obito could bypass such limitations, phasing through like a living cheat code.
"But how are we supposed to get you all out?" Jiraiya turned to Orochimaru's clone.
Obito had locked them in here, likely assuming escape was impossible. The crushing pressure of the ocean was no joke.
However, Orochimaru merely chuckled. "Perhaps out of boredom, but Obito has been keeping an entire aquarium of deep-sea creatures in this base."
"I've been studying their physiological structure and have modified my own soft-body techniques accordingly. Now, I can move freely even at these depths."
Holy shit.
Deidara was genuinely impressed.
"Deidara, give me one of your bombs," Orochimaru turned to him. "I'll need it to blow open the base."
Deidara handed over a clay bomb about the size of a basketball. "No problem. This one is set to detonate in two hours. That should be enough time, right?"
"More than enough."
Without hesitation, Orochimaru's clone swallowed the bomb whole and slithered downward.
"Orochimaru! Let me go!"
"Wah! No! Don't lick me! That's disgusting!"
"I'm gonna get eaten! This is terrifying!"
Inside the secret base, Sasuke frowned, deeply irritated by the panicked shrieks of the White Zetsu clones. Unable to hold back, he turned to Orochimaru, who was acting particularly strange today.
Orochimaru often captured White Zetsu for research, but openly devouring them like this was unprecedented.
"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked, eyebrows knitting together.
"Nothing much," Orochimaru replied casually. "We're about to leave, so I'm making sure to take anything valuable with us. Otherwise, it'd be a waste."
He systematically swallowed every White Zetsu in the base before turning his gaze to the deep-sea fish. His neck stretched out unnaturally, jaws unhinging as he swallowed them whole—along with their nutrient tanks.
Finally, he retrieved Obito's research materials, ensuring nothing valuable was left behind. Only after completely emptying the base did he lick his lips in satisfaction, reveling in his spoils.
Such a fruitful haul!
His gaze landed on the bomb attached to the wall. He estimated they had about five minutes left.
Meanwhile, Sasuke, feeling Orochimaru's unsettling stare, shuddered involuntarily.
"Stop looking at me like that. It's disgusting."
Orochimaru let out a soft chuckle, his tone sinister.
"Sasuke, Deidara's bomb is about to break open the base."
"The moment that happens, an enormous volume of seawater will flood in. At this depth, if you don't want to die, you'd best let me swallow you."
This is insane. Absolutely insane.
Sasuke turned to Kimimaro, who had already been consumed. Despite the horrifying nature of it all, Kimimaro seemed to enjoy the process.
This guy is a lunatic!
Sasuke imagined himself experiencing the same fate—being licked all over before getting swallowed whole. He felt his soul leaving his body.
At that moment, he even considered just giving up and dying.
Avenging the Uchiha? Who cared anymore?
"Sasuke," Orochimaru purred, licking his lips. His smile was downright malicious. "Even if you choose death, I'll just swallow your corpse afterward."
"So why not surrender yourself to me now?"
Let the world burn, Sasuke thought bitterly.
Roughly two and a half hours later, Deidara spotted a serpentine figure emerging from the depths, its tail and hips swaying as it moved. Orochimaru had returned.
"Finally! Now, let Sasuke go already." Even Deidara felt a twinge of sympathy.
He's just a kid! Why did he have to go through something this traumatizing?!
Orochimaru chuckled darkly before opening his mouth.
"Urgh!"
Sasuke was unceremoniously spat out. His eyes were hollow, his clothes in disarray, his entire body drenched in a slimy, unidentifiable fluid.
He looked like someone who had endured days of… something.
Deidara shook his head. "This is just tragic. Absolutely tragic."
Click!Click!
The sound of a camera snapping photos filled the air.
Jiraiya nodded in agreement. "Truly tragic."
Rustle!Rustle!
"But his current expression and posture have given me a lot of inspiration. I'll definitely include this in my next book!" Jiraiya scribbled down notes excitedly.
"Jiraiya-sama," Deidara said, "didn't you say the same thing when we encountered those three serpent women from Ryuchi Cave?"
"Why not write a book about them and Sasuke? Title it The Cold Uchiha and His Three Serpent Sisters. I bet it'll be a bestseller!"
"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"
"And we can use these photos for the cover—it'll capture everyone's attention!" Jiraiya clapped his hands, already buzzing with excitement.
"Hahahaha!"
"Hahahaha!"
Meanwhile, Orochimaru's face darkened. Clearly irritated, he cut in,
"Enough. Time to pay up."
At the mention of business, Jiraiya and Deidara immediately sobered.
"Alright. What do you want us to do?"
A glint of excitement flashed in Orochimaru's eyes. "Actually, this mission benefits you two as well."
"From what I gathered from Obito, an ancient god will soon arrive with the help of Moryo."
"And my goal—"
"Is to hunt it down."
Obito had been careless, assuming Sasuke and the others couldn't escape. Because of that, he had let slip crucial information—information Orochimaru had seized upon.
Deidara raised an eyebrow. "Which ancient god? And are you sure we can handle it?"
Though he and Jiraiya were at peak pseudo-Six Paths level, they weren't on par with a true Six Paths being. This wasn't a mission they could afford to botch.
"No worries. It has long since lost its prime."
"As for its name—"
"Eight-Headed Serpent."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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