Chapter Twenty-Two: Turning the Tables and Pain

...

Meanwhile, in the subterranean serpent cave of the Sound Ninja Village, Orochimaru injected the prepared "red reagent" into Might Guy's body.

The red reagent bestowed an immortal power upon its recipient, akin to the undying ability possessed by Hidan of the Akatsuki. At this moment, Might Guy was gradually gaining golden bones and an immortal body. What would happen if such a Might Guy opened all Eight Gates?

Kabuto studied the experiment data and suddenly spoke, "Lord Orochimaru, the Eight Gates Formation is a forbidden technique that consumes the user's life force, especially the eighth gate, which opens at the heart's Death Gate. Theoretically, once it's activated, death is inevitable. Now that Might Guy is about to gain immortality, if he becomes as powerful as you say, wouldn't he be a potential threat?"

Orochimaru smiled coldly. "Kabuto, the Eight Gates Formation is a forbidden technique fueled by 'vitality.' Only when one's life force is abundant can its power be fully unleashed. This is one of its weaknesses."

Kabuto glanced at Might Guy lying on the bed and realized, "So, even if Might Guy possesses an immortal body, it doesn't mean he has infinite vitality. Once his life force is depleted, he'll automatically exit the Eight Gates state and enter a sleep-like state!"

Kabuto opened the research notes on "immortal power," which recorded Orochimaru's studies on the subject.

[Immortal power maintains the body in a near-death state and slowly restores vitality.]

Kabuto understood completely—after gaining immortality, Might Guy couldn't keep the Eight Gates open indefinitely; there was a cooldown period, and only when his life force was sufficient could he activate them.

Orochimaru said, "Kabuto, take Might Guy away and record the subsequent experiment results. If it works, proceed with experiments on the Konoha captives."

"Understood."

Kabuto nodded.

Earlier, Orochimaru had him arrange for the Eight Gates Formation to be taught to the Konoha prisoners and some Sound Village test subjects.

At first, Kabuto thought Orochimaru intended to create a suicide squad, but now it seemed he wanted to build a reusable "Eight Gates Formation army."

Indeed, Orochimaru had once declared he would crush the four great ninja villages; relying solely on the Sound Village and the power of Reanimation Jutsu would not suffice.

Orochimaru said, "On your way back, bring Naruto to me."

He was ready to begin research on Naruto.

"Huh?"

Kabuto hesitated, puzzled; he thought Orochimaru would go out to quell the fight between Deidara and Sasori.

Those two possessed Kage-level strength, perhaps even greater. Even if Orochimaru used the Reanimation Jutsu, there would be a price to pay to drive them away.

Yet now, Orochimaru seemed truly uninterested in dealing with Deidara and Sasori.

After a moment's hesitation, Kabuto didn't voice his question. Uncertain of Orochimaru's intentions, he left with Might Guy, his mind weighed down.

...

Outside the Sound Village, Gaara was on the verge of death, and Granny Chiyo as well. Suddenly, the scene shifted!

Gaara, battered and desperate, had the massive gourd on his back explode open, sending clouds of sand billowing into the sky.

"Mother..."

Gaara called out amid the sand, his expression both gentle and terrifyingly dark.

"The taste of blood again..."

In a corner behind Deidara, unnoticed by him, an eye wrapped in sand stared fixedly at Deidara, missing nothing.

That eye was a Byakugan!

From the very start of the battle, Gaara had used the jutsu "Third Eye" to deploy the Byakugan and observe Deidara, seeing through his attacks.

To avoid mishap, he watched carefully a while longer, and once certain, launched his counterattack!

Deidara was still dismissive, considering Gaara's actions mere dying struggles. He dropped clay bombs, mixing them with the sand, planning to blow Gaara up.

But the clay bombs, infused with Deidara's chakra, were revealed completely under the Byakugan's gaze.

Not only did they fail to get close to Gaara, but the sand swept them up and wrapped around Deidara himself!

"Sand Coffin!"

With the sand carrying bombs enveloping Deidara, Gaara unleashed his most familiar jutsu.

Almost simultaneously, he cast a second jutsu: Sand Burial!

These two techniques had claimed many lives.

On Granny Chiyo's side, facing Sasori's "Scroll: Corrosive Flow," her exhausted elderly body suddenly radiated with black-purple light.

More accurately, a surge of powerful, evil black-purple chakra spread from her body as she began to transform.

Her formerly hunched form grew tall, her skin turned grayish, and her limbs became thick and razor-sharp.

In a blink, she changed from a stooped old woman into a three-meter-tall humanoid monster.

"Roar!"

She charged forward; not only that, but the broken puppets lying about suddenly reassembled and rushed at Sasori.

This was the power of the Jinchuriki granted to Granny Chiyo by Orochimaru.

The tide of battle reversed!

Not far from the center of the fight, a black-and-white figure surfaced from the ground, observing the battle, and shook his head upon seeing this scene.

It was Zetsu.

"Deidara and Sasori have lost," White Zetsu said.

Black Zetsu gave a heavy snort.

Zetsu possessed two consciousnesses, a unique lifeform formed from the fusion of Black and White Zetsu, their personalities completely different.

But their opinions aligned: Deidara's clay bombs had been seen through, Sasori's strongest technique used but unable to defeat Chiyo; clearly, the two had lost.

"Ah, this outcome is not good," White Zetsu continued.

Black Zetsu's gaze was gloomy. He was, in fact, the will of Kaguya Otsutsuki, her third son. Previously, Orochimaru had destroyed the Leaf Village, exceeding his calculations; now even two Akatsuki members failed to take Sound Village—a bad sign.

Black Zetsu thought inwardly, "Orochimaru is becoming a force to be reckoned with."

All things in the ninja world happened under his guidance and manipulation; he could not allow any surprise to hinder the plan to rescue his mother!

Zetsu sank underground, entered the spiritual space, and contacted the Akatsuki leader, Pain.

Upon seeing Pain, Black Zetsu said, "Deidara and Sasori have failed."

In the dark spiritual space, Pain's Rinnegan shone brilliantly as he looked at Zetsu.

Black Zetsu continued, "Both the One-Tail and Nine-Tails are in the Sound Village. It's time to retrieve them."

Pain finally acted, nodding. "Then I will personally pay Sound Village a visit."

...

Deidara and Sasori had lost, but neither was dead—Gaara's attack strength was insufficient to kill Deidara, and Granny Chiyo had no intention of killing Sasori.

Deidara considered using his ultimate art, but the thought of deploying it against a brat like Gaara made him uncomfortable.

That technique was one-time use, prepared for a certain someone!

He was unwilling to use it now.

Deidara broke free from Gaara's Sand Coffin, injured but not seriously, and donned the Akatsuki's red cloud robes once again.

Sasori also withdrew; Chiyo spared his life, and he couldn't kill her.

The four—Deidara, Sasori, Gaara, and Chiyo—were caught in a strange standoff.

--------------

Thanks to "Old New Face" for the reward; the book now has two rewards, each adding three chapters, for a total of six chapters. During the three days of Qingming Festival, there will be three chapters each day, six in total, to clear the debt. After Qingming, barring unexpected events, there will be a minimum of two chapters daily, preparing to test the waters for a recommendation... If any readers have other suggestions, feel free to leave a message...