A New Snake In The Shinobi World

Although Orochimaru was one of the founding members of Akatsuki, the leader of the organization was still Pain.

Just as Yahiko had been the nominal leader of Amegakure, Pain now held the same role within Akatsuki.

Orochimaru had never met the majority of the other members before.

Yet the moment he arrived, he heard them engaged in a lively discussion.

Taking a quick glance, he saw several familiar figures among them, along with one person he didn't recognize.

Even with his vast knowledge, Orochimaru couldn't immediately determine which village this unfamiliar ninja came from.

"So, you must be our second new recruit?" Sasori remarked calmly.

"You don't even greet your seniors when you see them? That's a bit rude, don't you think?" Kakuzu added.

"When new members join, isn't it customary to introduce themselves first?" another unknown ninja chimed in.

In any organization, veteran members often tested newcomers and in a group like Akatsuki, composed entirely of S-rank rogue ninja, such behavior was even more pronounced.

Seeing that everyone was targeting Orochimaru, Kisame—who had also just joined grinned and wisely chose to remain silent.

Although he wasn't sure under what circumstances Orochimaru had joined Akatsuki, or exactly when he had, he knew one thing for certain: Orochimaru was terrifyingly strong.

The ease with which he had stolen Samehada alone was beyond the abilities of an ordinary shinobi.

Orochimaru, unfazed, was about to respond, but to everyone's surprise, Pain spoke first.

"Let me handle the introductions."

Despite his irritation, Pain maintained a calm demeanor.

"This man's name is Hoshigaki Kisame. Like Jūzō, he hails from Kirigakure."

"And the one who just arrived—Orochimaru. One of the legendary Sannin of Konoha. I trust you've all heard of him."

Orochimaru, one of the Sannin?

At the mention of the name, there was a brief silence.

Then—

"Seriously?"

"So that's who he is? No wonder he's so confident."

"Another big name joining our ranks, huh?"

Everyone reacted with varying degrees of surprise.

After all, who in the shinobi world hadn't heard of Orochimaru?

His reputation far surpassed that of Hanzō of the Salamander, the former ruler of Amegakure.

Considering his strength, why would he bother introducing himself to them?

Jūzō Biwa, however, found himself in a particularly awkward position.

He had recognized Orochimaru the moment he arrived.

The last time they had met, Orochimaru had nearly wiped out the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

And now?

Now, they were part of the same organization.

But Orochimaru clearly had no interest in him.

Back then, they had been on opposing sides, and it had been a battle to the death.

Now, they were colleagues, so there was no point in dredging up the past.

Pain continued with the introductions, and Orochimaru quickly took stock of the group.

The unknown figure appeared to be a rogue ninja from the Land of Grass.

Not that it mattered.

He was grouped with Kakuzu, which meant he was unlikely to survive long anyway.

"Enough talk. Let's begin sealing the Tailed Beast," Pain ordered, cutting off any further conversation.

Akatsuki's membership was small, and most of them were already well-known figures.

A simple introduction was more than enough.

At Pain's command, everyone fell silent.

Kisame moved to his assigned position.

On the way here, Obito had already given him a brief explanation of the sealing process, so even though this was his first time, he wasn't completely unfamiliar with it.

Under normal circumstances, a Jinchūriki's strength was at least on par with a Kage, and they were heavily protected by their respective villages.

Capturing them alive was no easy task.

But Yagura was a rare exception.

To ensure the sealing process went smoothly, Obito had released the genjutsu controlling Yagura partway through, leaving him in a weakened state.

Then he had ordered Kisame to incapacitate him.

And with Kisame's abilities, combined with Samehada, taking down a lone Tailed Beast was almost too easy.

Capturing a Jinchūriki alive?

For him, it might be easier than for anyone else.

By the time Yagura regained consciousness, he was already severely injured.

He had no chance against Kisame.

Phantom Dragon Nine Seals.

With a hand seal, Pain activated the technique.

The Gedo Statue opened its mouth, and nine spectral dragon-like chakra constructs emerged, coiling around Yagura and siphoning his chakra.

A Jinchūriki was a unique existence.

Their life force was intrinsically linked to their Tailed Beast.

To extract a Tailed Beast, the Jinchūriki had to be captured alive, then forcibly separated from the beast before they died.

The Phantom Dragon Nine Seals was a technique designed specifically for this purpose.

It was an ability granted by the Gedo Statue itself.

But because Tailed Beasts contained massive amounts of chakra, the sealing process would take several days.

Could a Jinchūriki survive after their Tailed Beast was extracted?

Orochimaru had pondered this question for years.

Beyond the resurrection techniques he had developed, he had also considered other possibilities such as life force transfer.

Once a Tailed Beast was removed, the Jinchūriki's life force rapidly deteriorated.

Even those with the vitality of the Uzumaki Clan could only hold on for a short time.

But since the problem was a loss of life force, then theoretically, if enough life force was replenished after the extraction, the Jinchūriki could survive.

This was the principle behind Chiyo's Reanimation Jutsu.

However, artificial humans, clones, and White Zetsu lacked true life force.

The only viable method was life-for-life exchange.

Orochimaru's thoughts drifted back from miles away, returning to his physical body, which sat inside a wooden house at an orphanage.

He let out a quiet sigh.

Whether it was using Edo Tensei in combination with cloning or forcibly transferring life force from one person to another, both could be considered forbidden techniques.

Edo Tensei required human sacrifices.

Life exchange, while it could be seen as an act of self-sacrifice, could also be twisted into dark sorcery if imposed on others.

Still…

"…Hm? How did I overlook this before?"

A sudden realization struck him.

He quickly stood up and walked out of the room.

Outside, in an open clearing, two figures, one large, one small were playing a game.

"Kushina! Come here!" Orochimaru called out.

The red-haired woman turned in surprise.

"Huh? Lord Orochimaru, are you finished training?" she asked, carrying her young daughter in her arms as she approached.

"I've found a way to keep you alive," Orochimaru said without preamble.

"…Really?"

Kushina's eyes widened in shock, but her expression quickly turned wary.

"…Wait. It's not one of those techniques again, is it?"

"Of course not." Orochimaru chuckled.

"I just remembered—the Nine-Tails can be split."

***

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