Chapter 398: Chapter 398: The Sealed Book? No, no, no... that’s Senju Tobirama’s Ninjutsu Manual
"I didn’t expect this. Seems like you knew from the start that I was still alive?" Orochimaru’s cold face was filled with curiosity.
Tobirama pulled back his hand, crossed his arms, and stood still. "Your reincarnation technique hasn’t been a secret for a long time. At its core, it comes from the forbidden ’Eight Branches Technique.’ And as it happens, I’m the one who invented it."
He might not know reincarnation jutsu, but he knew forbidden jutsu.
If you open Konoha’s scroll of forbidden jutsu, page after page is filled with his techniques. Even if you wake up in the middle of the night, restless and unable to sleep, and open the scroll again, you’d be lucky to find one or two techniques that aren’t his. The whole thing practically screams ’TOBIRAMA PRIVATE NINJUTSU MANUAL’ in giant letters.
Seeing Tobirama looking so proud, Kurama suddenly remembered an old story.
After Konoha was founded, Hashirama, as Hokage, created the ninjutsu scroll, also called the Sealed Book, and had every clan write down their secret techniques. To set an example, Hashirama wrote down his own Wood Release. Other clans felt reassured—after all, at that time everyone agreed on one thing:
Wood Release, strong, unbeatable.
Since the Wood Release user could openly record it without hesitation, no one objected. Some even wanted to trade their forbidden techniques for Wood Release jutsu. Later, as the number of techniques grew, the scroll was split into two—one for Wood Release, and one as the Sealed Book.
Then, over time, Hashirama brought the Sealed Book to Tobirama and, without another word, told him to write down every single jutsu he knew.
Tobirama was confused. "Big brother, why do I have to write down every jutsu? Isn’t it enough to only put the dangerous ones?"
Hashirama rubbed his forehead. "Which of your jutsu aren’t dangerous?"
Tobirama was speechless.
So later, whenever Tobirama excitedly came to show Hashirama a new ninjutsu, Hashirama’s first reaction was to add it to the Sealed Book before even checking what kind of jutsu it was.
"Pfft..." Kurama couldn’t help but laugh.
Tobirama frowned. He could sense some malice.
Kurama quickly put on a serious face. "I just thought of something funny."
Tobirama narrowed his eyes but didn’t say anything.
Instead, Sasuke, whose instincts kicked in, asked in sync, "What is it?"
"I can’t use ninjutsu, so there’s nothing about me in the Sealed Book... pfft, hahahahaha!" Kurama burst out laughing.
Sasuke couldn’t help but grin too, while Tobirama... just stared at Kurama in silence.
Kurama: "..."
Honestly, he couldn’t laugh anymore.
"Ahem." Kurama cleared his throat and turned toward the Ten Tails. "Anyway, Orochimaru’s soul has been split into several parts. We only dealt with one, so we still need to stay on guard."
Sasuke laughed even harder.
Below, Orochimaru, controlling Minato’s body, looked up at Kurama’s massive form, his face full of curiosity. "I’m curious—how did you know I was going to control Minato’s body?"
"Actually, we didn’t know," Sasuke explained with a smile. "Kurama just told us to stay alert and specifically told me to be ready with Amenotejikara. That’s all."
Their sensing abilities were strong—they weren’t just guarding against what was in front of them, but the entire battlefield.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have waited until Orochimaru finished talking to come over. If they had been ready from the start, they would’ve caught him the moment his consciousness appeared.
"I see." Orochimaru nodded in understanding.
Tobirama frowned slightly at the scene. "With the way you’re acting so confident, I’m guessing you’ve got another plan ready?"
"That’s right." Orochimaru didn’t deny it. In fact, he said directly, "I’ve already prepared six bodies of the Sage. The only thing I’m missing now is the Ten Tails. Once I take control of it, I can cast Infinite Tsukuyomi."
As he spoke, Orochimaru smirked coldly toward the distant Ten Tails. "Black Zetsu said we need to wait until the Ten Tails reaches its next stage before we can activate Infinite Tsukuyomi. That’s why we’ve been waiting and haven’t made a move."
Sasuke froze, and not just him—even Tobirama was taken aback.
He just... said it out loud?
Kurama narrowed his eyes. "You just told us straight out... you must be plotting something again, right?"
"Yes." Orochimaru admitted once more, his smile turning more twisted. "I’m telling you this so you know your time is running out. You have to get control of the Ten-Tails before it evolves to the next stage."
"This is your only chance."
Orochimaru’s face was full of confidence.
Tobirama narrowed his eyes. "So you want us to suppress the Ten-Tails while you swoop in to reap the benefits?"
"That is what I have in mind." Orochimaru smirked.
"As if once the Ten-Tails evolves to the next stage, you could actually get it." Sasuke crossed his arms.
That really was the main issue. Even if the Ten-Tails reached the next stage, nobody right now would be buying Orochimaru time to absorb it. Naruto, Kurama, and Sakura’s sensing abilities were covering the area the whole time. Even if Naruto and Kurama lowered their guard to deal with the Ten-Tails, getting past Sakura wouldn’t be easy.
So why was Orochimaru so sure he could get the Ten-Tails?
"Just fearmongering." Sasuke shook his head.
"Oh?" Orochimaru chuckled but didn’t say anything more.
Seeing that look on his face made Kurama’s unease grow even stronger. But... that was exactly the problem—why was Orochimaru so confident he could get the Ten-Tails in this situation?
Why?
What was he overlooking?
The Ten-Tails? Black Zetsu? Or something else?
Kurama clicked his tongue in annoyance, killing intent flashing in his eyes. "I really want to kill you, Orochimaru."
This guy was just too irritating.
"If you can do it." Orochimaru didn’t mind, even provocatively sticking out his tongue to lick his lips.
"One day I’m going to hunt down every single fragment of your soul and wipe them all out. I don’t believe you’d still be alive after that." Kurama’s pupils turned blood-red, as if fresh blood was flowing in them.
The killing intent surged.
That icy presence washed over Orochimaru like hell itself. Even with all his preparation, his expression changed instinctively.
The freezing aura felt like it could lock down the soul itself, and even one’s mind would suffocate in it.
"You’re strong... Nine-Tails, you’ve already surpassed the Ten-Tails." Orochimaru forced out a smile.
"At most, I’m equal to it. I know that better than anyone." Kurama wasn’t talking about raw power, but about their level.
The Ten-Tails was a being born from absorbing an entire planet’s energy. Kurama had evolved to almost that level, but still fell just short.
The chakra fruit.
The Nine-Tails didn’t have the kind of power that could instantly raise an ordinary person to Kaguya’s level.
That was the key.
"Are you mad?" Orochimaru kept provoking.
"No." Kurama grinned, his eyes glowing red. "I just want to kill you..."
"That’s all!"
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