The situation shifted too quickly for anyone to react.
Even Orochimaru, faced with a high-speed arrow from just three meters away, had no time to dodge.
He could only watch as the arrow pierced straight through him.
Then came the bone spear—striking his body and sending him flying backward.
Ironically, the force of the impact saved him. The momentum carried him just far enough to avoid the massive boulder crashing down from above.
Finally, Orochimaru got to his feet, glancing down at the gaping wound in his chest and the spear still lodged in his body. He touched the blood trickling from it, murmuring to himself.
"Space-time jutsu?"
On the other side, Kimimaro and the others stood frozen in shock.
Why was Lord Orochimaru there?!
What did we just do?!
A stunned silence settled over the battlefield.
Then, unexpectedly, Orochimaru started laughing.
"Haha… Hahahaha! Now this is interesting!"
"What a fascinating technique!"
A moment later, his body shuddered.
He tilted his head back, mouth stretching unnaturally wide as he made a retching sound.
"Ohhh—!"
Suddenly, two hands emerged from his throat. His mouth tore apart as a new Orochimaru, coated in thick mucus, crawled out of his own discarded skin.
It was his signature body-shedding technique.
At that moment, a voice rang out from above.
"Hah! You disgusting snake! My Death Eyes will seal you today! Under the light of my Great Demon Star, you have no escape!"
Orochimaru smirked. "Oh? Is that so?"
Then, he frowned.
Something was wrong.
He glanced around, and realization dawned—they were trapped.
Konoha's shinobi were gone.
His chakra perception, normally sharp, felt muffled. The usual sense of the battlefield was… missing.
A panicked voice broke the silence.
"They're gone!"
One of the Oto-nin pointed at the now-empty space where their opponents had been.
Kimimaro and the others turned, eyes widening.
Sure enough, Konoha's forces had vanished without a trace.
Instead, they were the ones enclosed—sealed inside a massive cage of light.
Above them, a blinding sphere hovered like an artificial sun. Surrounding it, a glowing pattern formed a colossal sealing array, stretching overhead like the roof of an inescapable prison.
Everywhere they looked, radiant walls of energy blocked their escape.
"When did the barrier activate?"
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, analyzing the situation.
He hadn't sensed Sakiya's chakra before—because she had blocked his ability to perceive it.
She had been preparing this from the start.
Slowly, he walked toward the glowing barrier. But the closer he got, the farther away it seemed.
Frowning, he turned sharply.
"Kimimaro!"
The silver-haired warrior instantly responded. "Yes, Lord Orochimaru!"
"Run straight toward the barrier. The faster you—"
Orochimaru suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Something was wrong.
A sharp pain bloomed in his chest.
He looked down—
Kimimaro had plunged a bone spike directly into his heart.
The unsettling kind of cool...
Kimimaro stared in horror at the bloodied bone spike in his hand.
"Lord Orochimaru!? Why... why are you...?"
Orochimaru's expression darkened.
"What did you just see?"
Trembling, Kimimaro released his grip on the bone spike.
"I saw that girl—she was standing right here. You ordered me to kill her."
Orochimaru's face twisted slightly.
"Are we all seeing different things?"
His eyes flicked toward the glowing sphere in the sky. After a brief moment of thought, he made his move.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
From his arms, a writhing mass of serpents shot out, launching themselves toward the ball of light above.
But no matter how far they stretched, the snakes never reached their target.
Meanwhile, chaos erupted.
The five Oto-nin and Kabuto had turned on each other. Even the sound ninja under Orochimaru's command were suddenly locked in vicious combat, attacking their own allies.
Kimimaro instinctively moved to intervene—only for Orochimaru to stop him with a firm hand.
"Don't!" Orochimaru's tone was grim. "If you get involved, you'll be trapped in the same illusion."
Kimimaro hesitated.
Orochimaru continued.
"This is a powerful genjutsu barrier. Inside, all five senses are distorted—chakra perception included."
His eyes narrowed.
"No matter what happens... don't believe anything. Not even me."
Kimimaro nodded solemnly.
Then, without warning, he lunged—driving a bone spike straight into Orochimaru's chest.
Orochimaru's eyes widened as he looked down at the fresh wound, blood seeping through his robes.
Then he looked up at Kimimaro.
"You... stabbed me?"
Kimimaro nodded, pulling out the spike and stabbing forward again. This time, he let the blood drip onto his hand before holding up the crimson-stained weapon.
"See? The proof is right here."
Orochimaru's expression flickered with irritation. His arm lashed out—snakes coiling around Kimimaro, binding him instantly.
Through the direct physical contact, Orochimaru could still sense Kimimaro's chakra.
This is the real Kimimaro.
Which meant—
The one who stabbed me wasn't him.
Orochimaru's mind raced. She switched our positions... again.
But before he could act, Kimimaro suddenly struggled against the binding snakes.
Another Orochimaru had appeared beside him.
"Don't trust anything—not even me. Have you forgotten? That's the enemy!"
Kimimaro blinked, realization striking like lightning.
Of course! It made sense now—why Orochimaru had suddenly attacked him, why he had spoken so strangely.
This illusion is flawed. The imitation lacks his presence. The real Lord Orochimaru would never attack me without reason.
His grip tightened.
"Dance of the Larch!"
With a sharp breath, Kimimaro's body erupted in spikes—razor-sharp bones piercing through the massive snakes constricting him.
Then, with a single violent twist—
Shk-shk-shk-shk-shk-shk-shk!
The snakes were shredded.
Kimimaro was free.
---
Kimimaro was about to rush forward—
Then, suddenly, his curse mark burned hot.
At the sight of Kimimaro's hesitant stance, Orochimaru instantly realized—he's been caught in it.
Without hesitation, Orochimaru activated the curse mark, sending a pulse through it.
Kimimaro flinched, feeling the familiar sensation. His gaze darted to the Orochimaru standing before him—
And then—
Huh?
The other Orochimaru was gone.
Orochimaru quickly formed a seal, barely managing to control the three stab wounds in his body to slow the bleeding. He let out an exasperated sigh as he looked at Kimimaro.
"Remember—only the real me can make your curse mark react."
Kimimaro's expression tightened with regret. He quickly bowed.
"Forgive me, Lord Orochimaru!"
Orochimaru waved a hand dismissively.
"No need to apologize. Just let me stab you back."
Kimimaro froze. He lifted his head—only to see Orochimaru approaching, kunai in hand.
Wait.
Lord Orochimaru would never use a kunai for something like this. And he definitely wouldn't say something so childish.
Kimimaro's eyes sharpened. This is another fake.
Without hesitation, a sharp bone spike shot out from Kimimaro's palm.
Shkk!
The fake Orochimaru was impaled in an instant.
The "Orochimaru" reeled back, blood dripping from his mouth.
"Why are you stabbing me again?"
This time, Orochimaru was genuinely irritated.
Kimimaro's curse mark pulsed again, confirming the truth. He quickly withdrew the spike—bringing a fresh trail of blood with it.
He stared at Orochimaru, confused.
He wasn't holding a kunai anymore.
Kimimaro's voice was hesitant.
"Lord Orochimaru… did you say anything just now?"
Orochimaru exhaled, rubbing his temple.
"I didn't say anything."
Kimimaro's face twisted with guilt.
"Lord Orochimaru, I—"
"Enough." Orochimaru cut him off. "Apologizing won't help. This is all an illusion."
He scowled, frustration creeping into his voice.
And the worst part?
Even he wasn't sure how to break it yet.
Orochimaru stepped away from Kimimaro and spoke firmly.
"Kimimaro! I understand! This isn't your fault! But for your own safety, stay away from me. And don't just attack whatever enemy you think you see!"
With that, Orochimaru turned and walked away, not looking back.
Kimimaro watched his retreating figure, his gaze lingering on the bleeding wound he had inflicted. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something—
But in the end, he stayed silent.
Orochimaru was on his own now. If this illusion barrier was going to be broken, he'd have to do it himself.
He couldn't rely on his teammates.
Once he was a safe distance from Kimimaro, he began to study the barrier carefully.
In reality, he had already sent out dozens of small snakes to scout the area. They had spread out in every direction, searching for any anomalies.
No sign of Konoha's ninja.
No sign of Sakiya.
More importantly, when Orochimaru shared his vision with the snakes—
He noticed something strange.
One of the snakes had been slithering straight toward the light wall for five kilometers—and still hadn't reached it.
The barrier seemed just as far away as when it started.
"Even my summons are being affected? But chakra perception shouldn't be blocked this completely. If it is... then this is worse than I thought."
If even his direct chakra link with his summons was being interfered with—then he might need to consider retreating.
Yes. Retreat.
That's exactly why he could stay calm. He always had an escape plan.
Just then—
Thud.
A sudden pain shot through his body.
Orochimaru glanced down—
A kunai was embedded in his side.
He was stunned.
Orochimaru had been through countless battles. He hadn't been caught off guard by something as simple as a thrown kunai in years.
With his reflexes and sensory abilities—this should have been impossible.
But this kunai—
It made no sound. No disturbance in the air. It was completely undetectable except by sight.
And he had just taken his eyes off the battlefield.
Orochimaru turned toward the source of the attack.
There, among the chaos, the Oto-nin were still fighting each other—completely unaware of what had happened.
No one even seemed to realize a kunai had been thrown.
Orochimaru's eye twitched in irritation.
Kimimaro accidentally stabbing him was one thing—he was still useful.
But these idiots?
He yanked the kunai out of his side, coating it with Wind Chakra to sharpen its edge.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, he sent it flying straight into the Oto-nin's skirmish.
A single kunai wasn't enough.
Orochimaru formed a quick hand seal—
Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu.
The kunai multiplied instantly.
The wind-enhanced kunai shot forward, taking out several unfortunate Oto-nin in an instant. The rest followed, each hitting their mark.
As the bodies dropped, Orochimaru sighed, feeling significantly less annoyed.
_______________
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