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Watching Orochimaru's transformation from white serpent to black under the Curse Mark's influence, Sasame remained unfazed.
Though the original timeline hadn't shown Orochimaru using the Curse Mark, his current experiments with Hashirama's cells and Yamato had clearly expanded his capabilities.
Orochimaru licked his lips, intoxicated by the surge of power—yet his arrogance remained checked.
He hadn't forgotten Sasame's devastating Wood Release during their clash over Shisui.
But times had changed.
Mokuton: Daijurin no Jutsu!
Orochimaru's right arm erupted into thick wooden tendrils, blooming like a grotesque flower.
Sasame's Mangekyō Sharingan flared.
Genjutsu: Shackling Stakes Technique!
The world darkened.
Orochimaru snapped back to awareness—only to find himself impaled by massive iron spikes.
Agony erupted. Cold sweat drenched his face.
"Impossible..."
The Curse Mark should have bolstered his genjutsu resistance.
Was this the Mangekyō's unique power?
Sasame almost laughed.
Just like in the original timeline, Orochimaru had fragmented his soul across Curse Marks to cheat death—unwittingly creating a fatal weakness.
A fractured soul crippled his resistance, especially to Mangekyō illusions.
His humiliating defeat by Itachi's Shackling Stakes in Akatsuki now repeated itself.
"Want to know why?"**
Sasame strolled forward, twirling a kunai.
"Explain."**
Orochimaru feigned surrender—but Sasame wasn't fooled.
Dropping the kunai, he clapped his hands.
Sage Mode—activated.
His senses expanded.
A split-second later, he vanished as a high-pressure water blade sliced through where he had stood, bisecting the wall behind him.
"Sage Mode?!"**
Orochimaru's pupils contracted.
Having trained at Ryūchi Cave and witnessed Jiraiya's Sage transformations, he recognized that chakra instantly.
He held back last time.
Wood Release plus Sage Mode?
This was Hashirama reborn.
Sasame rematerialized nearby as Orochimaru dispelled the genjutsu—thanks to Tobirama's intervention.
That high-pressure water blade was his signature move.
Suiton: Suidanha!
Every water-style technique Sasame knew originated from Tobirama.
In another life, he might've been his student.
"Predictable, Orochimaru."**
Sasame eyed the blank-faced Second Hokage.
Even improved, Edo Tensei without White Zetsu vessels couldn't replicate living strength.
And Tobirama—the jutsu's creator—had his consciousness erased to prevent rebellion.
Orochimaru's summoning was purely for escape via Flying Thunder God.
He just hadn't expected Sasame as his first opponent.
Ironically, preemptively summoning Tobirama had been a lucky break.
But one reanimated Hokage wasn't enough.
Orochimaru remained silent, the genjutsu's aftereffects still chilling him.
Even his fight with Shisui hadn't felt this hopeless.
From behind Tobirama, he rasped: "Let's bargain."**
With Sage Mode in play, victory was improbable.
Time to pivot.
"Now you want to deal?"**
Sasame chuckled. "Your pragmatism is... admirable."**
"I can't win, but I can kill Uchiha Izumi before you stop me."**
Orochimaru's voice slithered through the shadows. "Tobirama's Flying Thunder God ensures that."**
Sasame sighed inwardly.
Of course he'd leverage hostages.
Not that he planned to kill Orochimaru anyway—the snake was a goldmine for Destiny Points.
"Terms?"**
"Explain how you controlled me so easily, and I return Izumi unharmed."**
Orochimaru's smirk was audible.
Losing Izumi stung, but survival trumped pride.
Prolonging this fight risked unacceptable losses—even with Curse Mark resurrection as a last resort.
"Your soul is fractured."**
Sasame shrugged. "Also, Mangekyō genjutsu are just that strong."**
Orochimaru's brow furrowed—but he asked no further.
Tobirama grabbed him.
Shunshin.
They vanished.
Deactivating Sage Mode, Sasame entered the cell.
Two figures awaited.
Izumi was chained to the wall, her chakra suppressed—only her agitated Sharingan showed life.
Beside her lay a beautiful woman with similar features, throat bruised from strangulation.
Her mother, undoubtedly.
"Who—who are you?!"**
Izumi's voice was hoarse from screaming.
"Interested in joining my organization?"**
Sasame crouched, pressing a hand to Hazuki's forehead.
"DON'T TOUCH HER!"**
Izumi thrashed against her restraints.
"She's just unconscious."**
After a diagnostic pulse, Sasame withdrew. "No permanent damage."**
"...What?"**
Izumi stared, bewildered, as he severed her chains with a chakra-enhanced kunai.
She scrambled to Hazuki's side, checking her pulse with trembling hands.
Only then did relief flood her face.
"Your answer?"** Sasame prompted.
Izumi hesitated.
Joining some shadowy group was unthinkable—yet refusing might doom them both.
"You're hesitating."**
Sasame's eyes crinkled. "Understandable. I'm a stranger offering vague salvation."**
Izumi blinked.
This terrifying man could be... reasonable?
"The Uchiha are crumbling."**
He pressed a token into her palm. "When despair comes—and it will—channel chakra into this."**
He didn't expect instant loyalty.
True recruitment would come later.
On that night.
The night of the massacre.
As Sasame turned to leave, Izumi stared at the engraved characters—天命 (Heaven's Mandate)—with an inexplicable shiver.
Outside, the battle scars confirmed Sasame's power.
He'd driven Orochimaru away.
What kind of monster had just saved her?
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 163 on my patreon, go check it out and remember that if we reach the goal of 35 power stones I will publish the next chapter.
(Give me all your power stones)