Covered in wounds, Sasuke was brought over by Orochimaru. Seeing him, he suddenly felt a little guilty—they had rushed straight to Yakumo Kurama earlier, completely ignoring Sasuke, who was seriously injured.
He quickly took out a healing potion and tossed it over. Watching Sasuke recover so fast, he thought, *That was close. Good thing we came back early, or I would've had to rely on Orochimaru again.*
Then, he turned to Yakumo, who was already prepared. "Yakumo, just do it the way I told you!"
Sasuke collapsed onto the ground.
"How is it? Is he caught in the Genjutsu or not?" Yang Tao wasn't sure if Sasuke had just passed out or if he was really under the illusion.
Orochimaru answered, "Sasuke is already trapped in the Genjutsu! My lord, the Kurama clan's illusion abilities are even stronger than the rumors say!"
"That's because Yakumo is the most gifted child in the Kurama clan in generations. By the way, how did the body check go?" He recalled how Yakumo wanted to become a ninja but was stopped by Kurenai due to her health issues.
If Yakumo had Lee's body and determination… He imagined the scene in his mind—
Yakumo Kurama: "Not bad, you actually broke through my Genjutsu. Then let's open the Seventh Gate of the Eight Gates Formation!!"
*Now that would be exciting!*
Orochimaru replied, "Yakumo's mental power is way too strong. Her body can't handle it, and it's starting to break down."
Yang Tao nodded and continued, "Is there a way to fix it?"
"For now, there's no perfect solution, but I have some ideas. We could try sealing her mental power first, then strengthening her body. Once she can handle it, we'd undo the seal. But right now, there's no suitable sealing technique for this."
As they were discussing Yakumo's condition, Sasuke suddenly woke up from the Genjutsu.
He opened his eyes and looked around at the three people in the room. His blood-red Sharingan now had three tomoe spinning in it.
"Orochimaru! Was everything in the Genjutsu real?"
Sasuke's eyes were filled with bloody tears as he looked at Orochimaru in confusion.
Yang Tao had Yakumo set up a Genjutsu showing Sasuke's battle with Itachi. But only unlocking the Three Tomoe Sharingan? That was a little disappointing—he was hoping to push him straight to the Mangekyou.
*Looks like next time, I should make Naruto die at Itachi's hands.*
He answered Sasuke's question directly. "It's real. You just didn't know the truth."
Hearing the answer, Sasuke sat on the ground, completely lost. It was like he had suddenly lost his purpose in life.
Yang Tao watched Sasuke go from a proud fighter to a broken mess and sighed. *This kid's mental strength is way too weak. These days, how can you even be a protagonist without your whole family getting wiped out?*
"Stop sitting around feeling sorry for yourself like some little girl. Get ready—the match is tomorrow."
He ignored Sasuke, letting him adjust his mindset on his own.
Sooner or later, Sasuke would go looking for Itachi. But after the Chunin Exams, Itachi would be visiting Konoha anyway—*I want to see how he explains himself then.*
Yang Tao left with Orochimaru and Sasuke, but he didn't take Yakumo with them. He planned to pick her up after the Chunin Exams.
There was no way he was leaving such a powerful bloodline for someone else. With Yakumo around, even 3D and 4D Genjutsu would be nothing!
The three of them quickly returned to Sasuke's home. This whole area used to belong to the Uchiha clan, but after Sasuke defected, it was confiscated. That meant that when he married Sakura, they had to take out a mortgage!
And Naruto? Please, Hinata is a full-on rich lady!
After sending Sasuke to rest, Yang Tao and Orochimaru sat in the living room. Yang Tao asked, "So, have you made up your mind? Are you going to follow me?"
Orochimaru had already thought it over. He wanted to see a bigger world, to pursue a more perfect form of immortality and power.
"My lord, I've decided to follow you."
Yang Tao was very pleased. *Another useful tool secured! Now I can just hand over any research problems to him!*
---
Read 10 advanced chapters on my patreon
patreon.com/GustinaKamiya
---