Chapter 123: The Absent-Minded Orochimaru

The Sage of Six Paths instructed Sasuke and Naruto to subdue the powerful clans that had rebelled against the Ōtsutsuki family, while he, leveraging his identity as a half-breed Ōtsutsuki, joined their ranks. In this way, Orochimaru would no longer have any allies in the universe. The Sage intended to place a bounty on Orochimaru across the entire cosmos.

Moreover, in the future glimpsed by the Sage, this was indeed the case: Orochimaru would face an all-out siege from the universe itself.

...

On Earth, in space, while Madara Uchiha deliberately held back to nurture new talents, the remaining nine Ōtsutsuki were slain by Kimimaro, Jiraiya, Guren, and Jugo.

Kimimaro and Jiraiya needed no introduction; both were already immensely powerful and close to Orochimaru, having long been influenced by the ongoing transformation. Fighting two of the Ōtsutsuki at once was well within their capability.

Guren and Jugo were slightly less formidable. Both had ingested Orochimaru’s training medicines, but chose not to specialize in the Rinnegan abilities; instead, they honed their own unique powers.

For example, Guren possessed Crystal Release: she could transform matter into crystal, most commonly turning air into crystal. After enhancement, the quality of her crystals increased so much that even the Ōtsutsuki found them difficult to shatter.

Jugo, after activating his cursed seal, still lost control at times but was far more composed than before, retaining some subconscious awareness, preventing complete madness. When fully transformed, his entire body turned gray, his size grew enormous, and he became ferocious and bloodthirsty. His attacks carried both yin and yang attributes, and he could easily overpower an Ōtsutsuki on his own.

Both were promising talents, and Earth still held countless others with potential.

After eliminating the Ōtsutsuki’s guard squad, Earth fully absorbed the fragments of the Sarada planet, increasing in size. Natural energy surged wildly.

However, at this moment, Kimimaro returned to Earth and began pounding the planet, reducing it back to its original size.

From space, Earth seemed unchanged, but in truth, its landmass had thickened, and gravity had intensified.

The planet reactivated and resumed its voyage through the cosmos, but this time, it did not spiral toward the Ōtsutsuki star domain as originally planned; instead, it moved outward, away from the Ōtsutsuki region.

The strategy had shifted: the farther away, the longer they could delay the Ōtsutsuki’s purge.

...

Everyone went about their business as usual; when the sky fell, someone tall would hold it up—this tall figure was Orochimaru.

Among them all, only Orochimaru behaved oddly. He no longer stayed in the laboratory but stood on the rooftop of the war fortress, gazing up at the sky.

To outsiders, it seemed Orochimaru was simply lost in thought, staring blankly.

Madara Uchiha watched Orochimaru silently from a distance.

Since that strange Ōtsutsuki arrived on Earth, Orochimaru had changed like this; no one knew why.

Kabuto Yakushi stood beside Madara, feeling helpless. He too was at a loss but recalled that Orochimaru had suddenly sought him out, advising him to stay far from the Ōtsutsuki star domain. Kabuto had obeyed.

Madara frowned deeply as he watched Orochimaru; he had never seen Orochimaru like this before—he seemed listless, almost despondent.

Madara approached Orochimaru but stopped three paces away. He said nothing, quietly observing him.

Orochimaru seemed unaware of Madara’s presence, continuing to gaze upward.

The two stood like a painting.

Kabuto looked between the skyward Orochimaru and the watching Madara, a mix of amusement and frustration on his face.

Orochimaru, unaware of what was happening, now had Madara standing beside him like a statue.

They remained like this for over a month, through wind and rain. Kabuto visited daily.

One day, as usual, Kabuto came to see them. For the first time, Orochimaru made a movement: he turned his head back, no longer staring upward, and looked past Madara toward Kabuto.

“Come at this time tomorrow,” he said.

"Ah?" Kabuto was stunned, puzzled—he came at this very time every day. But he was glad to see any change in Orochimaru.

By contrast, Madara simply stared at Orochimaru, unmoving and terrifying in his stillness.

The next day, Kabuto arrived punctually and looked toward the rooftop stairwell where Orochimaru stood.

“Come at this time tomorrow,” Orochimaru repeated.

Kabuto swallowed his doubts and obeyed.

This pattern repeated for over a month; every day Kabuto came at the appointed time, hearing the same words like a broken record.

Until today, over a month later, Orochimaru finally spoke something new.

“I need one more variable,” he said.

“Hmm?” Kabuto didn’t understand but was delighted. He knew Orochimaru was thinking about something, and progress was being made.

He was pleased.

Yet, in the end, Orochimaru still said, “Come at this time tomorrow.”

After Kabuto left, Orochimaru turned to Madara.

“I want you to quietly tell Kabuto that I want some fruit tomorrow.”

Madara, still like a statue, finally moved. He opened his mouth and said “Good,” then from his body emerged an identical clone to carry out Orochimaru’s request.

The original Madara returned to his statue-like state, watching Orochimaru.

Orochimaru smiled faintly and also resumed his statue pose.

The next day, Kabuto arrived on time, carrying fruit!

Suddenly, the statue-like Orochimaru burst into hearty laughter, very pleased.

He returned to normal, greeted Kabuto, and took the fruit, eating it while praising its sweetness.

Madara too returned to normal, eating fruit without expression.

Kabuto breathed a sigh of relief: Orochimaru was finally back to himself, meaning he had resolved whatever troubled him.

Madara finished a piece of fruit and then asked, “Orochimaru, what have you been thinking about all this time?”

He didn’t know Orochimaru’s thoughts, but he wouldn’t allow Orochimaru to remain despondent. That was why he stayed by his side, urging him onward.

Orochimaru shook his head.

“This is something you don’t need to know.”

In truth, no one but Orochimaru could know.

During these two months of apparent daze, he had been contemplating how to counter the Sage of Six Paths’ prophecy technique.

Today, he finally found a solution.

But he could not reveal it, for if he did, the Sage, who could see the future, would anticipate his defense.

The Sage of Six Paths could foresee the future but could not hear it.

Orochimaru thought: “To counter prophecy, I need a variable—like Kabuto, who comes to me punctually every day. He can ‘see’ his future but never alters it. Until Madara acts as the variable, secretly conveying that I want fruit.”

To break the Sage’s prophecy, a variable is needed—one outside the Sage’s prediction.

What could evade the Sage’s foresight?

Suddenly, Orochimaru had an idea.