Hidden Sound Village.

It's more accurate to call it a massive underground research and development base than a ninja village.

Hidden Sound Village isn't built above ground, but rather constructed underground, designed in the style of a typical ninja village, but actually embedded beneath the surface.

Layers upon layers of buildings and debris are constructed below the ground level, resembling a vast cellar, emitting a constant eerie atmosphere.

Long corridors are lined with iron-made cells, containing numerous lifeless prisoners. Judging from their clothing and calluses formed on their hands from prolonged use of shurikens and kunais, they all seem to be ninjas.

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah..."

Wails of misery fill this entire dark world, repeatedly piercing the fragile nerves of those imprisoned ninjas.

"Subject number ninety-six, failure. Bring in the next one..."

In a small room, precision instruments were arranged everywhere. Containers resembling medical test tubes could be seen scattered around, some even storing human organs. The entire room was filled with a pungent odor.

Orochimaru, who had already switched to a female body, stood by a white examination bed. In front of him lay a body that had been lively one second and then lost its warmth the next.

Standing beside him was Yakushi Kabuto, constantly passing experimental tools to Orochimaru, fully playing the role of an assistant. However, occasional flashes of inscrutable brilliance reflected in his glasses, leaving others clueless about what he was truly thinking.

"Another failure, Orochimaru-sama..."

Kabuto's face held a faint smile as he softly addressed Orochimaru beside him, "This is already the eighth subject today..."

"Heh, Kabuto... You must understand, in the field of researching forbidden techniques, patience is more important than talent..."

While casually speaking, Orochimaru wiped his blood-stained hands and pulled out a letter from his clothes. "By the way... I received an interesting letter a few days ago... Seems to be from an organization called 'Akatsuki'..."

"The letter mentioned something that piqued my interest, inviting me to a meeting in a few days..."

"Akatsuki? I've never heard of that name before..."

Seeing Orochimaru produce the letter, Kabuto, without changing his expression, pushed his glasses up on his nose. "So, Orochimaru-sama, do you intend to attend the meeting?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I? If there's something that interests me, why not go..."

Orochimaru's face bore a sinister smile; during this period, he was still very confident in his own abilities.

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Apart from facing off against the 'half-god' Hanzo of the Salamander in his youth and dealing with the oddity Yakushi Yu, he had never lost a battle to anyone.

So, in the original plot, he arranged for Kabuto to investigate Akatsuki, even infiltrating Sasori of the Red Sand's side as a 'double agent'.

Just as the words fell, Orochimaru suddenly felt a strong sense of danger.

"Blade of Flowing Water!"

With a light shout from outside, Orochimaru and Kabuto felt a supremely sharp white blade of light flash before them, slicing their laboratory directly in half.

Through the collapsed walls, the golden evening light poured into the dim room, illuminating the entire corridor. Orochimaru and Kabuto saw two figures outside the broken wall.

"Who dares to court death?!"

Facing the dazzling sunset light, Orochimaru and Kabuto couldn't see the intruders' faces clearly.

But who was Orochimaru, one of the Three Sannin? How many lives had he ended with his own hands? When had he been so offended by someone? The intense killing intent, akin to mountains of corpses and seas of blood, continuously emanated from Orochimaru.

"So, you were hiding here, Orochimaru-senpai. You really made it easy for me to find you..."

A seemingly familiar, indifferent voice reached Orochimaru and Kabuto's ears.

This voice...

Suddenly, upon recognizing the voice, Orochimaru's long and cold snake-like pupils contracted, recalling a person who had killed him before.

"So it's Yu-kun..."

"I didn't expect you to visit my Hidden Sound Village today."

The expression on Orochimaru's face seemed somewhat shocked, somewhat flustered, and some underlying fear that he struggled to conceal, but ultimately, it turned into a sinister smile.

"And Kabuto... you're here too."

"Just as I expected... you've sided with Orochimaru."

As the person spoke, he walked in from beyond the broken walls.

Emerging from the glow of the setting sun, Orochimaru and Kabuto finally saw the person's figure clearly. It had been a while, but Yu seemed to have grown taller, with more defined features.

Dressed in a black casual outfit, with a handsome face, He no longer wore the Konoha headband he once had. Behind him trailed a young girl with long orange hair, fair and beautiful, dressed in what appeared to be ninja attire.

"Yu, I..."

Never did Kabuto expect Yu to suddenly appear at this moment. Since their last encounter in the Land of Earth where Kabuto mistakenly killed Nono, he once again faced this formidable young man, feeling somewhat evasive under his gaze.

"Last time in the Land of Earth, we parted ways hastily. Orochimaru-senpai, it seems you haven't died after all..."

"But that doesn't matter, because from now on, every time I see you, I'll kill you again..."

However, Yu completely disregarded Kabuto's evasive glance beside Orochimaru, his sharp gaze fixed on Orochimaru. A cruel smile played on his lips as he lightly snapped his fingers.

"I'm curious to see how many times your remaining cursed seal can revive you!"

"Air Door!"

"Ursus Shock: Air Bullet!"

With Yu's crisp snap of his fingers, a circular portal to another dimension opened above Orochimaru's head, and a highly compressed white energy sphere descended slowly like a balloon.

So fast!

This guy's power... has it actually increased again?!

Orochimaru hadn't expected Yu's strength to have significantly improved since their last encounter in the Land of Earth.

Faced with the Ursus Shock: Air Bullet descending rapidly above him, Orochimaru's snake-like pupils contracted wildly, instinctively grabbing Kabuto beside him.

Boom!

The terrifying power of the Ursus Shock: Air Bullet exploded at close range, forming a destructive shockwave that obliterated Orochimaru's entire laboratory in an instant.

Not only that, the range of the explosion was almost as large as an island, with the shockwave spreading out, annihilating almost half of the Hidden Sound Village's buildings in the blink of an eye.

"This... this guy..."

"He actually... really got Orochimaru..."

Hiding tightly behind a transparent Protective Barrier, seeing Yu in front of her obliterate almost half of the Hidden Sound Village with just one attack, Fuma Sasami was left speechless, her tongue tied in shock at the immensely exaggerated explosion before her.

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