Uchiha Patriarch !

The crimson eyes resembled a deep, blood-red abyss. Orochimaru turned his gaze, catching a glimpse of massive metal wedges embedded in his body, which had emerged from the sea. He knew clearly that this was an illusion, a mere fabrication, but he still couldn't feel control over his own body.

His consciousness was limited to thought alone; his body refused to follow his will.

Those metal wedges carried an overwhelming force, completely suppressing his mental control over his body, making any form of resistance impossible. Orochimaru was puzzled—he had sparred with the Uchiha clan's experts before. Was the three-tomoe Sharingan truly this powerful?

Given his abilities, it didn't make sense to be subdued so easily. While his strength didn't lie in illusions, he had put in a lot of effort to study ways to counter them, even sparring with Uchiha elites twice to test his methods. And they had worked.

Was it that Shisui's illusion was just too strong? Or was there something wrong with him?

"What incredible and beautiful ocular power! I can't believe I fell for this Golden Binding illusion."

Though he maintained the stance of the Snake Sword in his mouth, Orochimaru couldn't speak. But his thoughts remained unrestricted, racing with unprecedented excitement, even overshadowing his fear of death!

"So, this is the power of the Sharingan?"

"What a beautiful and powerful force this is!"

To achieve eternal life, Orochimaru needed vessels—bodies that could carry his soul and serve as tools for his immortality. And now, he realized there was no more perfect vessel than the Uchiha. The Sharingan, with its beauty and power, was utterly captivating.

Even though his "Living Corpse Reincarnation" technique had its drawbacks, making his soul vulnerable, that didn't mean just anyone could control him with illusions. His own flaws couldn't hide the sheer strength of the Sharingan!

Curse those old, wasted Uchihas who never fully realized the power of their Sharingan, leaving him to misjudge the clan's potential. Now he understood, though it was a bit late.

"Your consciousness has a flaw."

Shisui, staring at Orochimaru, his crimson eyes seemed to pierce through him.

"Your consciousness and body aren't in sync... Is this a forbidden technique? Forbidden techniques are called such because they're double-edged swords—they harm both the user and the enemy." This wasn't spoken to Orochimaru but rather a reminder to Shisui himself, reflecting on how indulging in forbidden techniques often brought unseen consequences.

Orochimaru became a living example for Shisui, teaching him a vivid lesson.

As Shisui spoke, he transferred the half-broken blade from his right hand to his left. His right shoulder had been pierced by Orochimaru's hidden sword from the sea, leaving his arm unable to move. He would have to finish Orochimaru with his left hand. Any talk of sending Orochimaru to the Leaf Village's prison was just empty words meant to deceive.

Capturing such a dangerous rogue ninja alive was far too troublesome.

Shisui didn't like using Kotoamatsukami's power to cleanse and alter people's minds, especially after noticing that Orochimaru's mental state had large issues, likely due to his obsession with forbidden techniques. Rather than take the risk of escorting him back to the village, it would be easier to finish him off here.

After all, killing someone like Orochimaru, who was full of crimes, wasn't an issue.

So, Shisui swiftly slashed at Orochimaru's unnaturally long, pale neck. To ensure Orochimaru wouldn't break free from the illusion, Shisui didn't enhance his blade with Wind Release chakra, which could have increased its cutting power.

There are two ways to break illusions.

For non-ocular techniques, disrupting one's internal chakra flow could break the illusion. But for ocular techniques like this, someone else had to disturb the chakra flow.

If Shisui had wrapped his blade in Wind Release chakra, it would have helped Orochimaru break free of the bindings.

And that wasn't something Shisui wanted to see.

However, just as Shisui's blade was about to touch Orochimaru's neck, he heard a "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh" sound from afar. Hidden by the wind and waves, Shisui only noticed it once it was close. His crimson eyes glowed brighter, increasing the suppression of Orochimaru's consciousness. His blade accelerated toward Orochimaru's neck.

In the next second, blood splattered.

Shisui had decapitated Orochimaru once more. But unlike the snake clone before, this time, real blood spurted from Orochimaru's neck. Yet, Shisui's face showed no joy—only frustration and regret, for Orochimaru's falling head bore ten small holes.

Ten bone fragments had deeply embedded themselves in Orochimaru's body.

Before Shisui could slice off Orochimaru's head, these chakra-infused bones had already pierced his neck, disrupting the chakra flow that the ocular power had bound.

In that instant, the long snake in Orochimaru's mouth retracted its sword, and at the same time, a small white snake slithered out from his mouth. By the time Shisui decapitated him, the small snake had slipped into the sea.

"Did he escape?"

Shisui, with blood still dripping from his blade, scanned the area. There were no traces of Orochimaru, only his decapitated body and head, now dissolving into ash-like residue swallowed by the waves. Apart from the sword still stuck in Shisui's shoulder, all that remained was a lone child standing on the beach.

Orochimaru had already fled.

"The Sannin... they're really hard to kill!" Shisui muttered, shaking his head as the blood dripped from his blade. The crows circling in the sky cawed, then merged back into Shisui's bird clone. It cautiously pulled the sword from Shisui's shoulder.

Then, with practiced ease, the clone stopped the bleeding and bandaged the wound. However, the injury was too severe for a mere bandage to restore full mobility. Shisui's right arm would be unable to perform strenuous actions for a while, making him realize that his mission to find the Six Paths tools was likely a failure.

If Orochimaru returned, capturing his true form would not be easy. Shisui might have to use the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Additionally, he had another question. Just as Orochimaru had asked him earlier, Shisui was also curious—what was Orochimaru doing in this remote part of the Land of Water? His instincts told him that Orochimaru's objective was closely tied to his own.

Shisui's gaze fell upon the child standing on the beach, who was now in a fighting stance.

"Are you going to fight me?" Shisui asked as he slowly approached, maintaining a safe distance.

The ten bloody holes in Orochimaru's neck were still fresh in his mind. That level of power was dangerous, even for him. If he wasn't careful, even he could suffer, especially since the boy appeared to be only seven or eight years old.

But Shisui had fought on the battlefield when he was that age too.

So, he wouldn't underestimate the child.

"I won't let you chase after Lord Orochimaru."

From the boy's palms, elbows, shoulders, and knees, sharp white bones protruded. He looked like a small weapon of war, his intense and fierce killing intent proving that he was more than just a pretty face.

And from the boy's words, it seemed he had chosen to stay behind to cover Orochimaru's escape.

If not for the boy's interference, Orochimaru might not have broken free of Shisui's illusion, and there might have been a real chance to kill him. After witnessing Orochimaru's bizarre techniques, Shisui couldn't be 100% sure of killing him anymore.

But no matter what, the boy's loyalty was truly admirable.

However, Orochimaru hadn't thought to take this child with him when he fled.

Shisui, still holding the broken blade in his left hand, didn't attack. He glanced at the boy, and their gazes locked—his crimson eyes met the boy's determined stare.

"Illusion: Dragon Sleep Technique."

The boy, Kimimaro, who had immature mental fortitude, had no resistance against Shisui's genjutsu.

The bones receded into his body, and Kimimaro collapsed onto the beach, falling into a deep sleep. Shisui's bird clone carefully picked up the child, possibly the last surviving member of the Kaguya clan. The *Shikotsumyaku* bloodline limit, like the Sharingan, was one of the rarest abilities in the shinobi world.

Though the Kaguya clan had long been dormant, Shisui had done his homework before coming to the Land of Water.

"Let's see what Orochimaru has been up to here."

Enduring the pain in his shoulder, Shisui's clone pried open Kimimaro's eyelids, and Shisui projected his ocular power into the boy's defenseless mind. Perhaps because of his young age or his role as Orochimaru's potential vessel, Kimimaro's mind wasn't protected by any seals or traps.

This made Shisui's work easier.

It didn't take too long.

In that limited set of memories, Shisui saw the dark image of Kimimaro being raised as a weapon by his clan. He saw Kimimaro being manipulated by Orochimaru and leaving the Land of Water with him. Shisui also discovered several locations of Orochimaru's hideouts, but unfortunately, most of this information was probably useless.

Given Orochimaru's experience and caution, nine times out of ten, the hideouts Kimimaro knew about were likely abandoned by now.

Skipping past the memories of Orochimaru's bases, Shisui saw Orochimaru's true purpose for coming to the Land of Water this time: he was after the corpses of the two once-great lights of the Cloud Village. Orochimaru indeed found the bodies of the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers, and swept away any other valuable-looking corpses along with them.

Shisui's instincts, unfortunately, proved correct.

His mission had essentially become impossible to complete.

Unless he could kill Orochimaru and take everything back. But missing this chance meant hunting down Orochimaru again would be no easy task.

"Orochimaru... sigh!"

Shisui reached up to touch his injured shoulder and sighed, "What rotten luck!"

(End of Chapter)