Chapter 523: Descend, Ghidorah...
Chapter 523: Descend, Ghidorah...
The White Snake Sage, simply sneered.
The world was on the brink of destruction, and it was just a matter of whether it would end in the hands of Otsutsuki or Yuuji. And this guy was planning to take advantage of the situation? Truly a madman.
"You don't believe?" Orochimaru withdrew his crazed gaze and looked at it.
The White Snake Sage scoffed, "I'm just a reanimated soul controlled by your Impure World Reincarnation; I'm your tool. It doesn't matter whether I believe it or not."
"Heh, such resentment. But it's good you understand this much. After this succeeds, you might be lucky enough to witness an unprecedented spectacle."
Orochimaru, thinking about what he was about to do, became somewhat hysterical. If he succeeded, it wouldn't matter whether it was the Otsutsuki or Yuuji—everyone could stand aside. He would be the master of this planet—even if he had no interest in the planet itself, only in Godzilla, which is full of mysterious allure.
"So, are you going to make your move now?"
"Of course, if I don't take action now, I'll lose my last chance. If I wait for Yuuji or that Otsutsuki to return to the Ninja World, my final opportunity will be gone."
"From what I see, you don't stand a chance even now. That guy's subordinates are still on the battlefield," the White Snake Sage mocked.
Orochimaru ignored it and opened the barrier.
Then, Orochimaru pushed Guren, who was next to him, forward.
"Orochimaru-sama?" Guren was bewildered.
As expected, the Infinite Tsukuyomi did not affect her.
"Good, my guess was correct. Infinite Tsukuyomi only affects when the moon casts its light over the entire Ninja World."
Orochimaru walked out of the barrier calmly, relieved that no one was manipulating the moon to cast another Infinite Tsukuyomi. If the Infinite Tsukuyomi really had a prolonged effect on the Ninja World, then Orochimaru would have to commit suicide and have his subordinate, Jugo, resurrect him through Impure World Reincarnation.
His reanimated body could resist the genjutsu of Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Orochimaru, along with the White Snake Sage, Guren, and Jugo, hurried to the battlefield.
Throughout the Fourth Great Ninja War, Orochimaru hardly participated. Now, it was time for him to act.
The ground covered with flesh barriers made Orochimaru frown.
"Speaking of which, these things are also Yuuji's clones. I hope he's focused on another dimension and won't interfere with me."
Orochimaru looked wary.
They could only traverse the flesh barriers to reach the battlefield.
As Orochimaru and his group approached, Kabuto and the others immediately sensed them.
"Orochimaru? This guy is still alive and shows up now?" Kazue was about to draw his sword to kill him.
But Orochimaru stopped at a distance, facing the gaze of these powerful ninjas, and pretended to be at ease, "So hostile towards me, don't you want to know what gift I've brought you?"
"What?" Kabuto stopped Kazue.
Orochimaru performed a summoning jutsu, conjuring a coffin.
"Could it be more Impure World Reincarnation? There are hardly any strong souls left in the Pure Land; who could you possibly summon?" Kazue looked on coldly.
On Orochimaru's side, only the White Snake Sage could be considered capable of fighting; the rest, including Orochimaru himself, were useless.
Orochimaru chuckled darkly and opened the coffin.
Inside was a sleeping boy.
"This is the gift I brought... the descendant of the Akagan, the only inheritor of that bloodline—Ranmaru!" Orochimaru showcased his gift.
Akagan?
The people, initially ready to attack, immediately stopped and looked at Orochimaru with interest.
Everyone knew that the Eye Organization had been collecting various Dojutsu bloodlines for many years, and now the only Akagan bloodline was unaccounted for.
Members of the Eye Organization had thought that the Akagan bloodline had gone extinct.
But unexpectedly, it still existed and had fallen into Orochimaru's hands.
"Is this why you think we shouldn't kill you? Not bad, you've found the only way to survive. Give him to us quickly."
Kabuto laughed.
Orochimaru looked warily at Kabuto, then scrutinized Karin even more suspiciously, cautiously saying, "I've planted many seals and poisons in Ranmaru. I'll kill him before you can get to him."
"Even if he dies, it doesn't matter."
"But how do you know what Yuuji thinks? What if he needs a living Akagan bloodline? Who knows what he wants with collecting all these eyes?"
Kabuto fell silent.
Indeed, he didn't know why Yuuji was collecting so many bloodline users.
Sharingan, Byakugan, Ketsuryugan, Akagan, Rinnegan, Tenseigan...
Among the list of dojutsu, only Akagan was missing.
Is it related to the ultimate goal of destroying the Otsutsuki clan? Connected to the myriad "eyes"...
Kabuto pondered, not letting anyone act.
Even though the people present could kill Orochimaru countless times in a moment.
"What do you want?"
"Its cells," Orochimaru pointed at Planet Godzilla.
Planet Godzilla, meanwhile, was relentlessly pursuing Karin.
Karin could only keep dodging, buying time.
"You want the cells of Planet Godzilla? At this point, what can you do? You're not going to cultivate a third-generation Mechagodzilla or try to become a Godzilla jinchuriki?" Kabuto mocked with a smile.
That's all Orochimaru could achieve.
Orochimaru greedily said, "How so, Kabuto-kun, do you not object to my trying? If I am fortunate enough to become a Godzilla jinchuriki, I am willing to take the risk."
"Suit yourself," Kabuto said casually.
The others looked at Kabuto, puzzled.
Kabuto scoffed, "Let him do it. With Karin here; even if he succeeds, we can interrupt his technique in an instant. If he fails, it might divert Planet Godzilla's attention."
Kabuto hesitated; he wasn't sure of the Akagan's status in Yuuji's plans.
This is one of the few things he wasn't clear about.
"Eyes"... to watch the distant future, to overlook the universe?
Kabuto also knew that Orochimaru had no chance of success.
Planet Godzilla, following its instincts, would let Yuuji become a jinchuriki because there was some kind of inherent connection between them.
But what about Orochimaru?
Planet Godzilla would not be interested in Orochimaru; with Orochimaru's capabilities, he couldn't possibly host a life form as massive as Planet Godzilla.
"I remember my brother saying that in this world, only he could approach Planet Godzilla without being attacked. Anyone else who comes close is just seeking death," Kabuto thought to himself.
In fact, in another universe, Planet Godzilla even unhesitatingly killed the protagonist who helped it defeat King Ghidorah.
However, the protagonist, in an effort to protect Earth, prevents King Ghidorah from locating Earth's coordinates by deliberately seeking death from Planet Godzilla.
But the cold and emotionless Planetary Godzilla, upon the protagonist approaching a spacecraft, immediately unleashed its atomic breath without hesitation.
Concepts like "gratitude" and "weighing options" wouldn't possibly occur in the mind of Planet Godzilla.
"Then I won't be polite; from the looks of it, you guys are quite troubled by that big fellow. I'll just give you a hand then!"
Orochimaru, holding Ranmaru by the neck as a hostage, excitedly climbed onto the White Snake Sage and bravely charged toward Planet Godzilla.
The White Snake Sage, terrified yet uncontrollable, rushed out, screaming, "Orochimaru!!"
The White Snake Sage suddenly enlarged its form, coiling around Planet Godzilla.
Planet Godzilla, which had been persistently chasing Karin, finally stopped, looked down at the tiny mudfish, and grabbed it with its claw.
The White Snake Sage was crushed.
Orochimaru took the opportunity to land on Planet Godzilla.
"This is it; the injury is right here. I'm curious what kind of monster could inflict severe such damage on this fellow... not even the Ten-Tails could do it.
Orochimaru immediately began collecting cells.
Everyone was focused on the Ten-Tails and Planet Godzilla, but Orochimaru keenly noticed the mysterious monster lurking behind these two beasts.
"Heh, the Ten-Tails brought Chakra to the world, and Planet Godzilla brought a new power different from Chakra to the world; I haven't figured out what it is yet. So, what does this third monster have on it? Is there any way I can contact it?"
Orochimaru was frantically acting, brainstorming all the while.
At this moment, even Kabuto misjudged.
The most intelligent person also subconsciously thought that Orochimaru would, at most, make a desperate attempt to become a Godzilla jinchuriki, to become like Yuuji, in order to turn the tables.
But that was just a backup plan; only if he couldn't get information about the third monster would Orochimaru settle for the next best thing.
"Kabuto, it's rare that you made a mistake in your judgment."
Suddenly, a voice emanated from Kabuto's body.
Kabuto was startled and quickly said, "Brother, I..."
"Don't panic; I'm not blaming you because even I didn't expect Orochimaru to target that guy. He is indeed one of the planet's top geniuses, always able to notice what most others overlook."
A small piece of flesh on Kabuto's ear slightly wriggled.
A fragment of Yuuji's consciousness was conversing with Kabuto.
His primary attention, however, remained on his confrontation with Kaguya in a different dimension.
"What exactly did Orochimaru discover...?" Kabuto wondered.
Planet Godzilla, having eaten a part of the Ten-Tails, had recovered somewhat, but not entirely.
"It's not necessarily that he discovered something, but he sharply grasped that slim possibility," Yuuji responded.
Regarding the injury on Planet Godzilla, Yuuji had two theories: either another universe's ruler inflicted it, or it occurred while crossing the universal barrier, hindered by barriers or rules.
"Then I'll go kill him right now!" Kabuto's face showed a hint of malice. The damn Orochimaru, causing him to lose face in front of his brother, deserved to die!! This time, there must be no chance for Orochimaru to resurrect!
"Wait, be patient and watch. The battle on my side is about to conclude, and I'll be able to come over soon. Even if Orochimaru really catches a glimpse of that improbable trace, it's not a bad thing. I'll slaughter it on my home turf..."
Yuuji's voice faded, and the last part was so soft that Kabuto couldn't hear it clearly.
But Kabuto understood the gist.
Another mysterious enemy? One that could injure a creature as massive as Planet Godzilla?
The universe, indeed, was profound and mysterious, filled with countless mysteries.
As Kabuto felt self-reproach, he suddenly became excited. Having mysterious unknowns was good—it meant he could demonstrate his value.
Kabuto watched every move of Orochimaru intently.
Orochimaru had collected everything from the injury site, including all material.
Planet Godzilla looked down indifferently with its vast blue eyes staring dead at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru realized that he had to act as soon as possible.
But what can he do? Escape? There is no way to escape; Kabuto and the others are watching him with eager eyes. As soon as he leaves Planet Godzilla, he will definitely be dead.
Either killed by Planet Godzilla or Kabuto and the others.
Orochimaru had no choice but to grit his teeth and inject the collected substances into his body.
"What a crazy guy." Guy was shocked.
Kabuto said: "No, he is a smart guy. He has only one way to go. No matter who wins the final victory, he will definitely have nowhere to escape and only a dead end."
Kaguya wins; she will capture the hiding Orochimaru and make him into White Zetsu and chakra batteries.
Yuuji wins; he will also sweep the world, and there is no way Orochimaru can survive.
Only now, with this seemingly unbelievable behavior, Orochimaru has the slightest chance.
"Very good, I got it. Next, either try to seal Planet Godzilla or try to summon the mysterious third monster!"
Orochimaru's field of vision was already filled with Planet Godzilla's huge claws.
What should he choose?
The Eight Trigrams Seal surely couldn't seal Planet Godzilla; perhaps the Dead Demon Consuming Seal might work.
Then... should he directly use Living Corpse Reincarnation to possess Planet Godzilla?
Orochimaru thought frantically, but his actions were without any hesitation.
Eight Branches Technique!
Orochimaru once again used his ultimate technique, his entire body swelling into a giant serpent with eight heads!
"Oh? You've modified your body, fused with ordinary Godzilla cells?"
Everyone immediately noticed something was wrong with this serpent; its body even started growing a lot of Godzilla's skin.
"He wants to deceive Planet Godzilla, making it think he's a kin?"
"Planet Godzilla could never be fooled like that."
Orochimaru, half of his body sticking out of a serpent's mouth, his head covered in either slime or sweat, widened his eyes.
"Using the Eight Branches Technique to buy time, let's try the Living Corpse Reincarnation first. As long as I can establish a spiritual connection..."
Orochimaru had gone all out. If he didn't go crazy now, he would ultimately lose his last chance.
The Living Corpse Reincarnation activated, but Orochimaru's target was not Planet Godzilla, but... himself!
"Some powerful force must have caused this long-lasting injury. With some luck, maybe I can catch a hint of that third monster's spirit."
That was Orochimaru's goal!
Living Corpse Reincarnation allowed for the most direct spiritual communication.
Orochimaru was intent on contacting the mysterious monster somewhere, even though he subconsciously believed that the beast must be somewhere in the universe, never imagining it might be in another universe.
In the spiritual space, many figures existed, all with their eyes closed. These were people whom Orochimaru had once possessed; their spirits were forever left in the spiritual space of Living Corpse Reincarnation.
"Is there anything? Is there anything at all? Can I establish a spiritual connection through traces even Planet Godzilla can't erase?"
Orochimaru was incredibly anxious.
He waited a moment but couldn't see any new entities in this space, and his heart sank to the bottom.
"Am I really forced to attack Planet Godzilla? This act of certain death...This suicidal behavior... damned beast!!" Orochimaru gritted his teeth, filled with bitter resentment towards Planet Godzilla.
It was this hatred towards Planet Godzilla that, faintly, seemed to yield a strange outcome due to some unknown mechanism.
More precisely, the primary prerequisite for summoning that individual was to harbor extreme hatred towards the monster, which was part of the ritual.
In the depths of his being, Orochimaru's spirit buzzed, and all his senses became fragmented and shattered.