"The opportunity will only last for an instant."
The moment Madara was defeated, the few spectators watching the battle prepared to make their moves.
Black Zetsu, in particular, had already begun mobilizing a portion of the Kekkei Mōra power left to it by its mother.
As Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's third child, Black Zetsu was also the "Kāma" Kaguya had prepared for her own "resurrection."
Naturally, it possessed a portion of power at the Kekkei Mōra level.
Black Zetsu had simply never used it before.
This was the power meant to "resurrect" its mother, something that could only be unleashed at a critical moment.
And now could certainly be considered a critical moment.
If Madara were killed and the Rinnegan and Ten-Tails fell into Seiryū's hands, then all of Black Zetsu's plans would come to nothing.
They would become impossible to complete.
However, just as Black Zetsu was about to act, someone moved faster!
It was Orochimaru!
"Dōjutsu: Zero-Tails Sealing!"
Dark Chakra capable of consuming willpower transformed into a serpentine form and coiled around Seiryū's body.
Strange and sinister fluctuations spread outward, directly attacking his soul and consciousness.
The technique activated instantly and ignored distance.
It was triggered simply by focusing the Mangekyō Sharingan's gaze on the target.
This was a Dōjutsu capable of restraining both the body and soul at the same time.
The Mangekyō Sharingan, awakened through the Zero-Tails' Chakra, had also inherited some of the Zero-Tails' unique characteristics.
It could directly affect the soul and consciousness.
This Dōjutsu was both a Genjutsu and a Sealing Jutsu.
It acted on both the body and the soul, making it an extremely unusual and powerful Dōjutsu.
"Restrict!"
Orochimaru did not stop.
He formed hand seals with one hand as Chakra surged through his body.
Although Dōjutsu: Zero-Tails Sealing was an unusual and powerful technique, the person he was targeting was the monster known as Seiryū.
Orochimaru did not believe it could restrain him for long.
But even an instant, a fraction of a second, would be enough.
He had other methods prepared!
'Hum.'
As Orochimaru completed his hand seals, black markings suddenly spread across Madara's heavily injured body, restricting all of his movements.
It was a Cursed Seal.
The Seal of Binding.
This was a special Sealing Jutsu developed using Ryūchi Cave Senjutsu. It could not only restrict movement, but also leave behind a "mark."
Orochimaru had always coveted the Rinnegan.
The Rinnegan was a necessary requirement for him to achieve "eternal life."
His cooperation with Madara had not merely been for the sake of restoring the light to his Sharingan.
He had also been waiting for an opportunity to seize the Rinnegan and the Ten-Tails.
Therefore.
Orochimaru had secretly left traces of his own Chakra within the Edo Tensei Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, as well as Kinkaku and Ginkaku, who possessed Nine-Tails Chakra.
They had been hidden extremely well!
Orochimaru was particularly skilled at methods like this, and even Madara, with the Rinnegan, would have found them difficult to detect.
Edo Tensei shinobi were fundamentally different from living people. Even if something foreign was mixed into their bodies, it was difficult to notice.
Of course.
If Madara had still been in peak condition, Orochimaru's preparations would never have worked.
But Madara had been defeated.
He was weakened, and he had also lost the will to resist.
That gave Orochimaru the opportunity he needed!
While the Seal of Binding suppressed Madara's Chakra and restricted his movements, Orochimaru also controlled the already prepared Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, intending to use Flying Raijin: Guiding Thunder to transfer Madara away.
The Seal of Binding placed on Madara did not merely possess sealing and restraining effects.
It also contained a Flying Raijin formula.
Orochimaru had planned all of this in advance.
And he had been highly confident that it would succeed.
Unfortunately, he had underestimated Seiryū's strength and unusual abilities.
"Boom!"
A violent burst of Chakra erupted from Seiryū's body, forcibly tearing apart the "Zero-Tails" wrapped around him.
At the same time, he formed a seal with one hand.
"Bakudō #79: Kuyō Shibari!"
Nine black spheres appeared one after another around Madara, locking down the surrounding space.
Once the space itself had been sealed, Space-Time Ninjutsu naturally became unusable.
With that one move, Orochimaru's entire plan fell apart!
"It seems you've obtained quite an impressive eye, Orochimaru."
Seiryū turned his gaze toward Orochimaru's location and revealed a "friendly" smile.
"What a strange Dōjutsu. To think it can directly affect the soul. Unfortunately for you, I'm a 'Shinigami.' I have extremely high resistance to attacks targeting the soul."
Techniques capable of directly affecting the soul were extremely rare in this world.
Ordinary Genjutsu did not attack the soul. It merely influenced or interfered with the target's consciousness.
As for techniques capable of actually damaging the soul, Seiryū could only think of a few.
Tsukuyomi, the Spirit Transformation Jutsu, and the Reaper Death Seal.
Orochimaru's Dōjutsu was indeed extremely unusual.
Unfortunately, he had used it against Seiryū, a "Shinigami."
When it came to matters involving the soul, a Shinigami was an expert.
"It failed after all. As expected of you, Seiryū-kun."
Orochimaru exhaled.
There was no discouragement or disappointment on his face.
Instead, he remained unusually calm, almost as though he had expected this outcome from the beginning.
The opponent was a monster.
No matter what happened, it would hardly be surprising.
"It seems Ryota is already dead."
Seiryū looked at Orochimaru.
The face was Orochimaru's, but those crimson eyes were unmistakably Sharingan.
Seiryū naturally understood what that meant.
He shook his head.
"After obtaining his body, is this all you've managed to accomplish?"
"Time was too limited. There are still many experiments I haven't had the opportunity to conduct."
Orochimaru licked his lips.
"Besides, these eyes weren't originally his. They were transplanted Sharingan."
"Combined with the side effects of Izanagi, restoring the eye's light and obtaining additional power was already the limit of what I could achieve."
"It's unfortunate that even this has little effect on you. A single Mangekyō Sharingan is still far too weak against someone like you."
"Dead, huh? What a shame."
Seiryū sighed softly.
"He awakened his own Rinnegan, only to have his eyes stolen, his body taken over, and then die without even understanding what happened."
[Ding! Mission completed. Reward is being distributed.]
A system notification suddenly sounded inside Seiryū's mind.
At the same time, the principles and method of using Hadō #91: Senju Kōten Taihō appeared in his mind.
Just as Seiryū had guessed, the moment he confirmed Ryota's death, the mission related to him was considered complete!
Orochimaru did not care in the slightest that he had taken someone else's body.
He smiled faintly.
"That is simply the fate of a pawn. When everything you possess was given to you by someone else, it is only natural that you will be discarded once you are no longer useful."
"It was his good fortune to be of use to me."
"So you want to reclaim 'your' Rinnegan?"
Seiryū looked at Orochimaru and smiled.
"Are you planning to become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki as well?"
"You've already seen the result, haven't you? Even as the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, against me, Madara still."
'Shh, shh, shh!'
Before Seiryū could finish speaking, he sensed an incoming attack.
His figure flashed aside immediately.
At the exact spot where Seiryū had just been standing, several sharp black rods appeared out of nowhere.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)