Chapter Seventy: Orochimaru and Madara

The green pool of energy bubbled incessantly, resembling molten lava, though its hue was emerald. This deep pool bore the entirety of the three immortals’ existence.

Since ancient times, from the moment the three immortals merged with the source of the secret realm’s power, the pool had become their sole hope. To break free from the shackles of rules, they could only seek to return power to its origin, to find liberation through the force of “Origin.”

The Great Toad Sage maintained its aged and decrepit appearance, but as it opened its mouth, an abundance of corpses poured forth—fish, turtles, birds, eagles, and many other beasts. All were once powerful summoning creatures, slain by the other toads of Mount Myoboku for various reasons, their bodies secretly claimed by the Great Toad Sage.

These corpses were all cast into the deep pool, merging with the green energy, becoming part of the return to origin.

The White Snake Sage followed, expelling corpses of all kinds—summoned beasts and humans alike.

Lastly came the Slug Sage, whose offerings were all human corpses. The Slug Sage often ventured into the human world, seizing every opportunity to collect the bodies of different peoples.

When they had finished disgorging these corpses, they began to offer the remains of their own kin. The Great Toad Sage produced toad bodies, the White Snake Sage, snake corpses, and the Slug Sage directly decomposed a part of itself.

Their actions were practiced, a routine clearly performed countless times.

The deep pool swallowed the corpses, releasing only a single bubble in response, dissolving everything within.

“Origin” was the source of all things. The three immortals exhausted every means to fuse all things anew, to reclaim the power of “Origin.”

A sigh escaped the Great Toad Sage.

Among the latest batch of corpses cast into the pool were the bodies of Orochimaru and Uchiha Madara—the former possessed immortality, the latter was the new generation’s Enlightened One, both being incorporated into the pool’s power for the first time.

Yet, the pool remained unchanged, and the day of return to origin seemed more distant than ever.

Still, they would never give up.

The White Snake Sage closed its eyes, seeking to glimpse Orochimaru’s future, but all it saw was chaos—a future shrouded, perhaps nonexistent.

“Orochimaru and the new Enlightened One have been dissolved. I see no future for them,” it said.

The Great Toad Sage and the Slug Sage nodded. They had already calculated that none could survive the pool’s corrosive power; any being, living or dead, would perish within. Orochimaru and Uchiha Madara were no exception—their bodies had already been dissolved.

The Great Toad Sage gazed into the distance, its eyes profound. “It is time for us to deal with that clan.”

The White Snake Sage and the Slug Sage were taken aback. They knew well which clan the Great Toad Sage referred to.

The Saru Demon Clan, famed as the mightiest of all summoning beasts!

The Saru Demons were fierce warriors; some among them had even learned human hand seals, wielding formidable power. Without the direct intervention of the three sages, even the three great sanctuaries might not triumph over the Saru Demons.

This was why the Saru Demon Clan had survived until now.

But now, the time had come to act against them.

...

Within the deep pool, as Orochimaru was dissolved, his consciousness was released from his body, drifting into the pool, where he found only chaos—a primordial, indistinct world.

This was the power of the green energy. Though not yet “Origin,” after centuries of fusion and cultivation by the three immortals, it had drawn infinitely close.

It placed Orochimaru within an illusory realm.

“Am I about to die?” Orochimaru murmured.

He could not be sure. This was unlike facing Pain or Otsutsuki Sheren; then, even if his body was reduced to pulp, it would regenerate. He could even resurrect from a curse mark after true death.

But this was different. Here, he sensed no curse marks, all ties severed. Here, he could be erased from the root—if his consciousness perished, he would cease to exist in the world.

True death, in every sense.

This world of chaos was like the beginning of time, filled with primordial mists that coalesced into hurricanes and other natural phenomena.

Orochimaru tried his strength—it was still with him. His body, too, could be willed into existence, as if he had brought it with him into a new world.

Before the hurricanes could claim him, wings sprang from his back, and he flew away.

Thus, evading the ravages of nature, he began to study the chaotic mist.

Here, time was ambiguous, erratic—sometimes fast, sometimes slow, without pattern. For instance, as Orochimaru found himself at the edge of the sky, one moment the world was chaos, the next time shifted abruptly, the mist roiled, clouds surged, and suddenly land and sea appeared before his eyes.

The world had leapt from primordial chaos to earth and ocean.

Orochimaru was pleased by the spectacle; perhaps here he could witness the origins of life.

Which came first, man or his mother? It was a question Orochimaru had long avoided—perhaps here he would find an answer.

He did not idle his time; he studied the world’s energy and his own, refining and condensing his power, making it less diffuse.

When time accelerated again, bacteria appeared—the origin of life, a moment of profound significance.

But before Orochimaru could investigate further, he discovered another presence.

A man with wild, flowing hair and Sharingan eyes, his expression calm but exuding an unmistakable dominance, gazed at him. Orochimaru recognized him at once—Uchiha Madara.

How had Madara come here?

Madara, too, saw Orochimaru. With a few strides, his colossal Susanoo brought him near, looming above as he asked coolly, “Who are you?”

At this point, Madara did not know Orochimaru, though Orochimaru knew him.

After a moment’s thought, Orochimaru answered truthfully, “I am Orochimaru. I know you—Uchiha Madara.”

He did not know why Madara had appeared here, but since Madara did not recognize him, it meant he knew little of the Shinobi World—especially given that, after destroying the Leaf Village, someone like Madara would surely have heard of him.

Thus, Orochimaru reasoned that Madara’s understanding, if any, was limited.

Madara nodded, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes. That the other knew him would make things easier.

He asked, “How is the Shinobi World now?”

He had left in haste and had not expected to be thrown into a green abyss, so he knew nothing of the world’s current state, not even the names of those who had revived him.

He hoped to learn from Orochimaru.

Orochimaru hesitated. Madara wanted to know about the state of the Shinobi World?

How should he reply?

Measuring their respective strengths, Orochimaru was not certain he could defeat Madara, so it was wise to seek other means of dealing with him.

He replied, “The Akatsuki has unified the Shinobi World.”

Madara’s brow furrowed. “The Akatsuki unified the Shinobi World?”

He did not know this Akatsuki.

“Are you referring to those in black cloaks with red clouds?” Madara asked, recalling Uchiha Itachi and Kisame—those who had revived him. He did not know their names, but he had seen the red-clouded cloaks, a clear sign of an organized group.

Orochimaru silently conjured a red-clouded cloak onto himself—an ability unique to this world, akin to wish fulfillment—along with a ring on his little finger. “Exactly. The leader of Akatsuki is you. I am Orochimaru, a core member of Akatsuki, codename ‘Void.’”