Chapter 283: Curse Mark

Chapter 283: Chapter 283: Curse Mark

Inside an underground base far from Konoha, Orochimaru leaned back against a stone chair, his sharp, sinister, snake-like gaze sweeping over the somewhat nervous Haku standing before him.

Only after a long while did Orochimaru chuckle softly.

"Haku, welcome back!"

Although Orochimaru’s smile was enough to send chills down one’s spine, Haku still breathed a small sigh of relief and said quietly, "I’m sorry for making you worry."

Feigning casualness, Orochimaru asked, "Did everything go well while you were with Kagami?"

Haku hurriedly nodded. "Yes. Lord Kagami took very good care of me."

"Is that so..."

After pondering for a moment, Orochimaru asked again, "What exactly did you do while you were there?"

Haku carefully thought back before answering, "I don’t think I really did much. Lord Kagami only tested my ninjutsu, and then... then there wasn’t really anything else."

Orochimaru frowned slightly.

"He only tested your ninjutsu!?"

Haku suddenly seemed to remember something.

"Oh, right. Lord Kagami also extracted some of my blood and cells."

Orochimaru thought to himself, "Hmph. No wonder he wanted to obtain cell-fusion techniques from me. So he’s been secretly conducting human experiments of his own all along!"

Haku’s account, combined with the terms Hyuga Kagami had previously proposed for their intelligence exchange, immediately made Orochimaru realize that Kagami was indeed conducting some kind of human experimentation.

However, due to his limited information, Orochimaru was still unable to determine exactly what direction Kagami’s experiments were taking.

"He abandoned the laboratory I left him, which means he must have established an entirely new laboratory somewhere else. As long as I can find that laboratory, I’ll be able to figure out exactly what he’s researching."

At that thought, Orochimaru’s attention was no longer on Haku. He instructed him, "Go get some rest."

"Yes!"

Haku responded and respectfully withdrew.

By now, Haku had already remembered Hyuga Kagami using the "Soul Descent Technique" on him. However, seeing that Orochimaru no longer seemed interested in hearing the rest of his account—and since Haku himself had no idea how to accurately describe what had happened at the time—he hesitated for a moment before ultimately choosing to remain silent, leaving out the incident that even he himself only vaguely understood.

After Haku left, Kabuto Yakushi emerged from the shadows. "Lord Orochimaru, we’ve received word from Shinno."

"What did he say?"

Kabuto adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Shinno said that his operation will require approximately one month. He told you not to be impatient. When the time is right, he’ll cooperate with you."

"Not to be impatient?"

A trace of anger crept across Orochimaru’s face, but it quickly disappeared as his lips curled into a grin.

"So Shinno is finally about to put his plan into motion as well?"

With Hyuga Kagami as a successful example before him, Orochimaru’s perspective had long since changed.

He understood very well that as long as Shinno could find an enormous yet stable source of chakra like the Dragon Vein, creating an artificial Tailed Beast would by no means be an impossible fantasy.

Because of that, Orochimaru was somewhat looking forward to it himself.

Before long, Orochimaru pulled himself from his thoughts.

"One month, huh? I can wait..."

Kabuto then asked, "Lord Orochimaru, what do you intend to do with Haku?"

Clearly, Kabuto was somewhat worried that Haku might have already been brainwashed by Hyuga Kagami and turned into a spy working for him. After all, the process of finding Haku had simply been far too easy.

Orochimaru pondered for a moment before instructing, "Make the necessary preparations. Tomorrow, I’ll personally implant a Curse Mark on him!"

The "Curse Mark" was one of Orochimaru’s latest research achievements.

After discovering Jūgo’s peculiar natural ability to absorb natural energy, Orochimaru had conducted countless experiments on the phenomenon. Eventually, he developed a method of using Jūgo’s bloodline to indirectly harness natural energy.

That method was precisely the "Curse Mark" he had just mentioned.

After mastering the Curse Mark, Orochimaru—his mind forever brimming with strange and ingenious ideas—began yet another new experiment.

This experiment involved incorporating his own chakra and a fragment of his soul into the Curse Mark, then implanting that Curse Mark into the bodies of others.

In this way, every shinobi who carried one of Orochimaru’s Curse Marks effectively became a "respawn point" for him.

As long as even one of those Curse Mark bearers remained alive, then even if Orochimaru’s original body were completely destroyed without so much as a bone remaining, there was still a possibility that he could resurrect himself through one of them.

......

In the forest outside Konoha.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A rapid series of metallic clashes rang throughout the forest.

Hyuga Kagami moved like a bolt of lightning, his longsword dancing along with him. The blade seemed to have become one with his body, creating a domain of crisscrossing sword shadows all around him.

Facing him, Itachi was pushing his Sharingan to its limit. The three tomoe spun rapidly within his scarlet eyes, his gaze darting from side to side as he desperately tried to capture every one of Hyuga Kagami’s attacks.

However, Kagami’s movements were simply too fast.

Even with his Sharingan fully activated, Itachi could only barely defend himself with the kunai in his hand.

After blocking several more of Kagami’s vicious slashes, Itachi spotted an opening. With a forceful sweep of his foot, he kicked up the loose snow on the ground toward Kagami.

At the same time, Itachi seized the opportunity to retreat far away, putting some distance between himself and Kagami.

"Huff... huff..."

After retreating, Itachi breathed heavily while considering his next move.

From their brief exchange, he could clearly sense that the opponent before him possessed the keen perception characteristic of the Uchiha clan, yet her fighting style was quite different from that of an ordinary Uchiha.

Compared to the Uchiha clansmen who were accustomed to showing off their techniques and using Fire Release ninjutsu, the opponent before him clearly preferred fierce and relentless taijutsu assaults!

"Whether it’s her physical speed and strength, or the visual prowess and perception of her Sharingan, she has the advantage over me. If I continue letting myself get dragged into her attacking rhythm, I probably won’t last much longer..."

Itachi forcibly suppressed his growing impatience and began formulating a battle plan.

At that moment, Hyuga Kagami casually shook the snow from his body and said indifferently, "Is that all you’ve got?"

Itachi remained silent. While calmly watching Hyuga Kagami, he slipped both hands into the ninja tool pouches at his waist.

Since he had no idea what the exact contents of the assessment would be, Itachi—who was accustomed to making thorough preparations for everything in advance—had come fully equipped before leaving home.

Whoosh!

In the same instant, both of them used the Body Flicker Technique, transforming into two afterimages that kicked up a vast cloud of snow!

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

The two afterimages collided again and again throughout the forest, each violent clash of metal sending sparks flying through the air!

A moment later, Hyuga Kagami landed a kick squarely on Itachi.

His figure flickered.

In the next instant, the blade of his longsword was already resting against Itachi’s throat.

"You lose!"