Chapter 100: The Spotted One Breaks Through the Seal and Appears

Baizu was close to breaking down. What was he supposed to do now?
He had realized that Orochimaru was merely taunting him and had no intention of killing him—was this really Orochimaru's nature?
Wasn't he supposed to be a cold, merciless, unreadable man, dark and terrifying?
How could he handle this? He saw there was no intention to kill, yet he could not trust it. The moment some phrase came out wrong, Orochimaru could turn on him. How was he to survive this? He had to take the matter seriously, but how, exactly?

Then a sudden flash came to Baizu’s mind. “I should call you, my lord, Lord Orochimaru, Lord Junmaru…” he stammered.
Orochimaru gave a light laugh and said, “Continue.”
Baizu fell silent.
Still not enough? Surviving was that hard?

After they finished their drink, the three of them set out.

On the road, Orochimaru sent out four shadow clones, each holding a palm-sized mirror fragment, and they ran off in four directions. He kept another mirror in his own hand.
Curiously, whatever scenes appeared in those four mirrors was also reflected upon the one Orochimaru held.

He then split another shadow clone. That clone fiddled with a black box no bigger than a palm, checking the mirrored image while drawing out lines of chakra inside the box.
In short order, the geography they had crossed was clearly mapped in those chakra lines.

Baizu was astonished. Orochimaru was drawing a geographic map.

Junmaru, standing by his side, watched with curiosity. This device was a kind of shinobi tool, and he leaned in close, peering about the clone’s manipulations.

Orochimaru, in his own body, smiled and said, “Junmaru, come over.”
Junmaru hurried over and bowed respectfully. “Lord Orochimaru.”

From his robe, Orochimaru withdrew another mirror and another black box, passing them to Junmaru.
“Figure it out.”

“My lord, I will understand it quickly,” Junmaru said.

“Mm.”
Orochimaru nodded. “Once you do, this map-making task is yours. If you run into any issues while using it, tell me.”

Junmaru nodded.

This map-drawing shinobi tool had been developed only recently and was still experimental. If it performed well, Orochimaru would mass-produce it and distribute it across the world. In short time, a map of the entire world could be drawn in that way.

It was an important matter.

Soon they reached the ruins of ancient Loulan.
Now Loulan was nothing but desert, its buildings broken and crumbling. Many scavengers moved in and out of the sands, searching for whatever treasures the ancient kingdom might still hide.

Baizu was on edge once they arrived. Had he completed his task of guiding them? Would Orochimaru let him go?

At that moment Junmararu stepped forward, bone spikes protruding from five fingers, his face utterly calm.
Baizu froze.
He thought it was the end—now they were going to kill him to seal his lips.

He rushed out, “Lord Orochimaru, do not kill me. I know Loulan well!”

He had resolved to gamble everything, to reveal some secret of the Dragon Vein and lure Orochimaru and Junmaru with him into it. Then he might seize the chance to take the Dragon Vein himself.

Risky as it was, it was far better than dying here and now.

Junmaru did not stop moving, nor did Orochimaru react. Baizu spoke rapidly, “I know where the Dragon Vein is!”
The Dragon Vein in Loulan was heavily hidden. Later, the Fourth Hokage had sealed it and cloaked it with genjutsu; ordinary people would hardly be able to find it.

Orochimaru did not want the trouble of searching for it himself. Those words extended Baizu’s life a little longer.

“All right. You may continue leading us,” said Orochimaru.
Junmaru stopped as well.

Baizu let out a breath of relief. He had lived through that moment—and in his heart he swore he would settle the score once they reached the Dragon Vein.

The Dragon Vein, called the lifeblood of the earth, contained chakra far beyond any ordinary place. If used carelessly, it could destroy the entire world.

Baizu explained the history of the Dragon Vein to Orochimaru and Junmaru, drawing from the tattered records left behind by Loulan.

He said, “It is said that whoever gains the Dragon Vein’s power can become the new lord of the world. That power was sealed long ago by the Fourth Hokage, and very few in the world can break it.
Of course, it certainly does not apply to Your Eminence, Lord Orochimaru. The Fourth Hokage is no match for you in might; to break his seal would be trivial. You have already become the lord of the world. If you were to gain the Dragon Vein as well, your power combined with this would make your position unshakable…”

Baizu was making grand promises, painting visions of a brighter future, hoping to draw Orochimaru deep into the fantasy of obtaining the Dragon Vein so he could be distracted. Then Baizu might slip close and seize it by surprise.

Heh, heh, heh.

In truth, Orochimaru could read Baizu’s intentions, but it meant little to him. Since he had left history and appeared in the present age, the “purple great serpent” he had forged then—that which is now the Dragon Vein—had remained dormant beneath the ground, untouched by anyone.

Over time, that became the legend: the Dragon Vein was the very lifeblood of the world.

“I can sense it. Indeed, this is it,” Orochimaru thought.

He felt the aura of the Dragon Vein. Within it lay a formation he had inscribed, one that only he could command.

His eyes narrowed. “The Dragon Vein is real, which means I truly took part in history. So the Three Great Sages were all my creations.”

That explained why the Three Great Sages had fled on sight. When he created them, he had embedded many controls, including that they could not strike him.

“Ah… I see.”

The three finally arrived at the Dragon Vein. It was a hall, and beneath it lay the Vein. On the floor were densely packed seal symbols of the sealing array—the Fourth Hokage’s own seal.

Upon arriving, Orochimaru lowered his gaze. His sight passed through the ground and, ten thousand meters below, he saw a figure held in time’s dust: Uchiha Madara.

Back in “history,” he and Madara had both fallen under a time technique belonging to the father of Otsutsuki Urashiki. Orochimaru escaped by breaking that art, but Madara was trapped in time’s dust. He should have died—but he had not.

What is more, after so much time had passed, Madara was still not entirely without the power to strike back.
He needed only one opportunity.

Baizu’s small eyes darted about. He noticed that neither Orochimaru nor Junmaru were paying him any attention. Quietly, he reached toward the Dragon Vein, then pointed and activated the technique hidden in his body.

Unable to break the Fourth Hokage’s seal, he would absorb the time-seal technique and merge himself with what lay inside the Dragon Vein.

Junmaru noticed and moved to intervene, but Orochimaru stopped him.

“Ha ha ha!” Baizu threw back his head and laughed toward the sky.

From within the Dragon Vein surged a column of violet power. He could feel it—the sheer power of it.

“Orochimaru, Junmaru—you are finished!” Baizu shouted with arrogance.

At that same instant, deep below, ten thousand meters under the earth, the time-frozen Uchiha Madara stirred.