Alternative Title: The End of an Era and the Beginning of a New One
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In front of Tsunade, Kurenai and the rest listened to the report on the latest news.
Of course, she didn't say much. However, even without understanding everything, they still had to accept it. That was how things worked.
As they left the office, Kurenai said, "Okay, don't be discouraged. You all must be exhausted. I suggest you go home, take a nice bath, and rest."
"Yes." They agreed.
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At home, Zaydas saw through Sasori's eyes. Creating a clone, he teleported it beside him.
They were in a forested area in Kusagakure (Hidden Grass).
The clone merged with Sasori's shadow. They were very close to the Tenchi Bridge.
Sasori had infiltrated Kabuto alongside Orochimaru, but little did he know that Orochimaru had long broken the jutsu used on Kabuto, and now, Kabuto was being used as a double agent by Orochimaru, not the other way around.
Of course, to Zaydas, none of this mattered. He knew that in this meeting, Orochimaru was lurking.
In the manga, it was said that they wanted to kill Sasori. But Zaydas didn't believe that. Most likely, Orochimaru wanted to learn everything about Sasori, who had come very close to finding the key to immortality and eternal youth, albeit in puppet form.
As for how Orochimaru found out about him… Well, he's Orochimaru.
Did Zaydas warn Sasori? Obviously not. He needed him to act naturally and make Orochimaru appear.
...
Finally, they met. Sasori was face-to-face with Kabuto on the Tenchi Bridge.
"It's been a long time, Sasori-sama." Under his hood, Kabuto revealed his face: "Five years, to be exact."
"Enough with the stalling. Did you do what was asked?" Sasori asked coldly.
Before Kabuto could respond, someone attacked him from behind.
"Your conversation seems quite entertaining... You don't mind if I join, do you?" His voice was both soft and incredibly threatening.
"Orochimaru." Sasori identified him as he stepped back.
Kabuto also stepped back, standing beside Sasori.
From Sasori's shadow, something emerged and merged with Kabuto's.
Sasori, in turn, began to laugh: "Kekekeke! So, you've appeared."
These words made Orochimaru stop smiling and furrow his brow.
And then, before he realized it, someone appeared in the sky with a pair of blood-red feathered wings.
Orochimaru thought it was directed at him, but when he looked in the direction of Sasori's gaze, he became fully alert.
Not only him, but Kabuto as well.
Narrowing his snake-like eyes, Orochimaru pretended to be calm and in control: "Oh? I don't know you. Do you mind introducing yourself?"
...
Looking down at them, a smile curved Zaydas's lips upon hearing Orochimaru's question.
"No, I don't mind," he said. "My name is Zaydas. A Chūnin of Konoha."
He extended his hand toward the sky, and then, red runes appeared as a barrier was created.
Sweat dripped down Kabuto and Orochimaru's faces.
They clearly understood that this was no ordinary Konoha Chūnin.
Two barriers had been raised—one for isolation and another to prevent any impact on reality.
In other words, no one would discover what was happening there, nor would they be able to escape even if they wanted to. Only by surpassing him in power could they break the barrier—but was that even possible?
If it were only about chakra… Well, his chakra was equivalent to or even superior to Nagato's… So, even that wouldn't be possible. And if one considered the demonic power used to form this barrier… Then no, they wouldn't be able to break it.
"Boy, what was that you just did?" Orochimaru asked.
"Did you ask who I was just to call me a boy? But I understand why." Zaydas said, "Speaking like that makes you feel superior, right? But, you know, Orochimaru… Either you're stupid, or you pretend to be. After all, do you really think you're superior to me?"
Zaydas didn't manifest his aura or attempt to attack; he simply smiled as he descended until he landed on the ground, positioning himself between Kabuto and Sasori on one side and Orochimaru on the other. He dematerialized his wings and fixed his gaze directly on Orochimaru.
Orochimaru held a kunai while his snake-like eyes didn't even blink, locked onto Zaydas like a snake watching a bird of prey.
Clicking his tongue upon noticing their silence and realizing that a foolish idiot was trying to attack him from behind with chakra-covered hands, Zaydas simply swung his hand backward at the speed of light, giving no time for a countermeasure. With his hand surrounded by accelerated thought, he delivered a backhand slap straight to Kabuto's face.
"SLAP!!!"
"Crack!!"
The sound echoed loudly, along with part of the bridge railing breaking upon impact as Kabuto's body was sent flying toward the rocky valley.
"Boom!"
When Kabuto's body crashed into the stone mountain, it penetrated the wall while his body convulsed, and a lot of blood poured from his mouth.
Kabuto was resilient—he didn't die from that, but he was on the brink of death.
"Tsk, kicked something useless again…" Zaydas murmured in a playful tone.
And he could see that Orochimaru was thinking—even without reading his mind—'You slapped him, you didn't kick him!'
Chuckling a little, Zaydas took a few steps toward Orochimaru, only to see him jump back and attack the bridge with several snakes.
However, Zaydas stomped the ground, and an earth hand formed, slapping the snakes, making them explode into snake slime and blood.
"Did you seriously try to attack the bridge?" Zaydas mocked. "Did you forget that I can fly and that I only landed and stopped using my wings?"
In summary: I gave you a chance by stopping my flight, and yet, you want to throw away that advantage? Are you an idiot?
...
Orochimaru's temples throbbed as it became obvious that everything happening was unpredictable and didn't follow the logic he had expected for that day. The meeting with Sasori was planned, but Zaydas—not even in his wildest dreams.
Normally, when seeing a talented young man, Orochimaru's first thought was whether he could become a good vessel for him. However, something about this young man made the alarm in his brain scream constantly that he was dangerous—even more dangerous than Itachi.
'Who exactly is this boy?' Having gone through practically three world wars, Orochimaru felt like he had seen all kinds of powerful people, but this was the first time he found himself unable to gauge someone's strength.
'I need to escape!' That's what his subconscious screamed, but he knew. That barrier wouldn't let him escape without defeating this boy—but was that even possible?
His instincts told him no. Anything he tried wouldn't work.
Then, he opened his mouth, and a snake appeared, spitting out a sword—the Kusanagi—which extended like Sun Wukong's staff.
Seeing the sword coming toward him, Zaydas simply extended his hand and, with his index finger, stopped the blade without the slightest ripple.
Understand, it wasn't that there was no force in this attack—it had gone beyond kilograms and was in the tons—but it wasn't strong enough to even move or injure Zaydas's finger.
'Not even the great Kusanagi Sword can wound him…' Orochimaru broke into a cold sweat.
With his other hand, Zaydas yawned, asking, "Is that all? Then... it's my turn."
He simply disappeared and reappeared in front of Orochimaru, and with a kick even faster than the slap he had given Kabuto, he kicked Orochimaru's jaw.
"Whoosh!"
"Bang!"
"Crack!"
In an instant, Orochimaru was in the air, while the snake he had spat out was cut by his own teeth, and the Kusanagi Sword fell along with the snake as Orochimaru's jaw hung loose, with all his teeth either broken or at least cracked, shooting into the sky at the speed of sound.
Tipping his hand like a hat, Zaydas murmured, impressed, "Wow, even snakes these days can fly so high and fast~"
Then, he simply became a blur and flew in Orochimaru's direction.
When he reached Orochimaru, he saw that a pair of hands had begun to emerge from his mouth.
Obviously, this could go on for quite some time, with Orochimaru continuously spitting himself out again and again... However, Zaydas was not Naruto or any other protagonist who stands around waiting for the villain to make his move.
He murmured, "Fenrir."
Even though it seemed like there were no shadows at that moment, he still managed to materialize Fenrir. In fact, if one looked closely, his current shadow was gigantic as it reflected on the ground.
Starting with a massive head the size of the Nine-Tails, Fenrir simply swallowed Orochimaru before he could complete his resurrection.
Inside the stomach, Orochimaru struggled a bit. His soul was stronger than Deidara's, and he had a much greater will to live, but under the ability of dissolution and corrosion, his body didn't last, and even though he tried to create a new body, it didn't work while he was being analyzed.
Fenrir returned to his shadow.
[Analysis complete!]
[The consumption of Orochimaru's soul has been confirmed. His soul has been converted into Magicules.]
Zaydas closed his eyes for a brief moment. What he gained this time was not small. In fact, Orochimaru's knowledge was even greater than Nagato's, especially his knowledge of jutsus.
Among the jutsus was the one he desired: [Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation].
As Orochimaru's very soul was consumed, Zaydas didn't care. He didn't give a damn about someone like Orochimaru.
Finishing, he smiled slightly while looking in Sasori's direction. It was obvious to him that Sasori had begun to tremble under his gaze, and even under control, his will to live almost made him break free.
Teleporting and standing before Sasori, he said, "I must say, you were quite useful, but... I will not spare you."
Without hesitation, he used "Fenrir" under Sasori's desperate gaze behind that ridiculous puppet disguise.
Meanwhile, Kabuto, who had woken up a few seconds earlier and had the 'privilege' of witnessing Orochimaru and Sasori being devoured by Fenrir, was in despair.
"I can be useful!" he shouted.
"Tsk." Zaydas clicked his tongue, thinking, 'I'm not foolish enough to bring someone more treacherous than a snake to my side.'
Soon, Fenrir materialized from Kabuto's shadow, swallowing him.
'It worked.'
The clone in Kabuto's shadow dissipated the moment he was swallowed. This proved that as long as the main body was in control, he could still create a Fenrir from the shadow of a clone.
[+187,463 AP!]
A considerable amount, since he had erased a good part of the original plot's record by doing this.