Chapter Fourteen: The New Art of Immortality

... Chino and Kazehime had arrived at Hell Valley a week ago, yet the two had not managed to enter even once. Each attempt ended with them being blasted out by attacks from within. Chino and Kazehime counted over a thousand attacks spewed from Hell Valley in just one week, none of them repeating. It was as if someone inside was unleashing over a thousand different ninja techniques. Of course, how could anyone know so many? Even mastering dozens was extraordinary. The two mused that this place truly lived up to its name.

Chino held Kazehime's hand, her eyes clouded with uncertainty. "Do you think my clansmen really live in there?" she asked. Kazehime looked at the entrance of Hell Valley with a troubled expression. How could anyone survive here? This was no place for humans. Most likely, they... had perished long ago. Kazehime couldn't bring herself to voice this thought.

Sensing something, Chino gripped Kazehime's small hand more tightly, her lips pressed together. "We must get inside the valley!" She wanted to see for herself what had become of her clan.

...

Orochimaru, for the last time, blasted the eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent into pieces and then restored it with medical ninjutsu, ending his experiment. Undoubtedly, the new version of the Immortality Technique was a success!

He dispelled the summoning jutsu, sending the serpent back to the Ryuchi Cave. Then, taking out his instruments, he began searching for the source of the red hot spring, determined to achieve the ultimate immortal form.

Kimimaro was soaking in the red hot spring, tubes inserted all over his body, his physical form intricately and precisely fused with the spring. He felt no improvement, only a sense of his body being fixed in place, a sensation he could not quite comprehend. But it didn't matter—Orochimaru could do with him as he pleased, even the unspeakable.

Orochimaru had nearly forgotten about Kimimaro; even if he remembered, he cared little. The red hot spring was potent enough to ensure Kimimaro would never die. It also preserved Kimimaro's state, which meant his illness was also maintained. From now on, Kimimaro would remain in a terminally ill condition, forever alive but never well—a surprise for any careless adversary.

...

Orochimaru crouched by the red hot spring, tossing a black sphere into the water. This sphere, a newly developed experimental device, could locate the source of the spring. Upon entering the water, it transformed into a black fish, swimming purposefully in a certain direction.

Orochimaru used transformation jutsu, becoming a white serpent, and slipped into the spring, following the fish. The red hot spring originated from beneath Hell Valley. The black fish swam to a spring vent, shrank, and slipped inside, with Orochimaru close behind.

Descending deeper and deeper, Orochimaru finally reached the source of the red hot spring underground.

...

"This is... the Rashomon Hall!" Orochimaru was stunned. He knew only of the Rashomon Gate, a summoning technique used for defense against physical attacks, first passed down by the First Hokage and later learned by himself. He had never imagined an actual Rashomon Hall existed underground, especially with the word "Rashomon" emblazoned in enormous characters atop the building.

Upon reflection, it made sense: where there is a gate, there must be a hall; otherwise, what purpose does the gate serve? Merely decoration?

Transformed as a white serpent, Orochimaru swam through the red hot spring-filled underground, discovering not just one but nine Rashomon Halls. None of them had gates.

Orochimaru speculated: perhaps the First Hokage had come here once and stolen the nine gates. Otherwise, where else did the Rashomon summoning technique originate? The idea seemed plausible. Orochimaru, with memories from his previous life, knew the First Hokage had a personality much like Naruto’s—perhaps capable of such a deed.

"Heh, the god of the ninja world, stealing gates..." If this ever became public knowledge, it would be the butt of jokes across the ninja world.

Orochimaru, as a white serpent, steadied his gaze upon the nine Rashomon Halls.

"The red hot spring comes from the nine Rashomon Halls. In other words, the power of immortality originates from these halls." Orochimaru did not know their original purpose, but he understood their power could merge with water. If he could unravel the principle of this "fusion," create a medium, and merge the nine halls into it, he could distill their purest power.

Then, by fusing this power with his own body, he would achieve the ultimate immortal form.

Researching such a "medium" would not be difficult.

...

Kimimaro lay in the red hot spring, staring upward. Steam filled the air, obscuring the sky; all he could see was white vapor. Suddenly, he felt the temperature cooling and the color fading.

"It seems Lord Orochimaru has found the source." Kimimaro knew of Orochimaru’s research, but what happened next made him rip out the tubes and rise solemnly to his feet.

Rumble! The ground thundered below, like an earthquake. Hell Valley began to collapse and crack apart.

Kimimaro moved quickly, treading over broken stones as he fled the valley. Orochimaru’s actions underground must have been significant.

He never worried about Orochimaru getting into trouble, for in his heart, Orochimaru was a god.

...

Outside Hell Valley, Chino and Kazehime were roasting fish over a fire, considering their next move. Entering Hell Valley was no simple matter; it required careful planning.

Suddenly, rumbling sounds echoed from within the valley, signaling some dramatic upheaval.

Chino and Kazehime exchanged startled glances, deeply awed by Hell Valley's danger.

...

They had no idea Hell Valley was about to vanish, assuming instead it was another kind of attack. They even moved farther away, fearing stray attacks might shoot out from the entrance and reach them.

And so, they watched as Hell Valley collapsed before their eyes.

Collapsed.

Gone.

Hmm???

Hell Valley was gone?

What just happened??

Chino and Kazehime were filled with questions. This wasn’t some attack. Hell Valley had crumbled, dust billowing everywhere. When the haze cleared, the valley was nothing but ruins, and a white-haired boy stood atop them, his face pale and sickly, possessing a sort of morbid charm.

There was someone in Hell Valley!

Chino and Kazehime grew instantly alert.

Before they could question him, another rumble sounded from beneath the ruins. The white-haired boy immediately rushed toward them, stopping a short distance away.

Just then, with a bang, a man blasted out from beneath the ruins, stones flying everywhere, red steam swirling about him.

He looked distinctly wicked.

"Mm."

Orochimaru, after erupting from underground, landed atop a boulder, red steam coiling around him, giving him an eerie, demonic air.

This red steam was the power of the Rashomon Halls.

"Gather!"

Orochimaru uttered a single word; all the red steam withdrew into his body, more precisely, into the crimson "Hall" seal at his brow.

He had absorbed the power of all nine Rashomon Halls, which now condensed into a single "Hall" symbol on his forehead.

"Nine Rashomon Halls... fascinating."

This was an unknown force, now under his control. It felt similar to the technique that had granted him rebirth.

"It seems this world is far less simple than it appears," Orochimaru mused.

Having drawn in the power of the nine halls, Orochimaru felt he had almost grasped the principle of immortality. He had a wild idea, but it would have to wait until he fully understood the concept.

Chino and Kazehime were bewildered. Another person appeared—could both be members of the Blood Pool Clan? But they didn’t seem like it.

A sickly youth and a man who looked downright strange—nothing about them seemed normal.

Kazehime moved to shield Chino behind her.