Xue Wu was so enraged by Orochimaru’s perfunctory explanation that he was about to explode.
How could Ice Release be a mere technique targeting the physical body?
But Xue Wu was, after all, the Kage of a village. After a brief moment of surprise, he quickly began to consider the direction of the ensuing battle.
In his opinion, Orochimaru’s previous statement was merely a ruse to disrupt his judgment, a piece of false information casually thrown out.
In short, trash talk!
“Despicable tactics!”
Xue Wu snorted inwardly. His hand seals shifted, and the ice spikes that had been broken earlier rapidly regrew.
“Ice Release: Deep Freeze!”
As Xue Wu injected his Ice Release chakra, the regrown ice spikes instantly spewed out a wave of extreme cold from their tips.
The frigid air instantly filled the ice prison, which had already contracted to its limit. Under the effect of Xue Wu’s chakra, the entire ice prison was instantaneously frozen into a single entity.
The Lava Release outer layer was instantly permeated by the ice layer on his body, severing the connection with Orochimaru’s internal chakra, and vanishing without a trace.
A chilling killing intent flashed in Xue Wu’s eyes. He raised his right index and middle fingers vertically in front of him. Like a fish swimming into the ocean, he vanished into the ice prison.
“Ice Release: Blood Freezing Secret Technique!”
A voice laden with malice echoed from behind the frozen Orochimaru. A transparent figure, identical to Xue Wu, abruptly appeared behind Orochimaru and placed a hand on his back.
“Buzz!”
With a slight hum, Orochimaru, whose face had been flushed red under the ice, stiffened. An ashen hue instantly spread across his entire body.
“Hmph!”
“How does it feel to have your blood completely frozen?”
“Even Tsunade, known as one of the Legendary Sannin, probably couldn’t save a dead person whose veins have no blood at all.”
“Youngster, this is the price for recklessly provoking a Kage!”
Xue Wu, whose body had transformed into ice, wore a cruel sneer on his face as he slightly increased the pressure on his hand on Orochimaru’s back.
“Crack…”
A crack appeared at the center of Orochimaru’s back, followed by a series of sounds like shattering glass.
“When you reach the Pure Land…”
Orochimaru’s body, utterly devoid of life, shattered.
Then, it scattered into pieces of wood.
“How is this possible?”
Xue Wu’s triumphant smile froze on his face.
“Is it a substitute jutsu, or…”
The ice-bodied Xue Wu stared at the scattered wooden fragments, a terrifying conjecture suddenly appearing in his mind.
“First Hokage’s Wood Clone Jutsu…”
“This…”
“Are you kidding me!”
Xue Wu’s mind was in turmoil. He felt as though his decades of life, all his knowledge of ninjutsu, and his research into chakra had caused his worldview to utterly collapse upon encountering Orochimaru.
“Lava Release, Steel Release, Wood Release…”
“How can these powers simultaneously appear in one person?”
“You might not have seen power, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, does it?”
Orochimaru slowly revealed himself outside the ice prison, looking at the shocked Xue Wu within. He spoke slowly.
“Am I right, Third Mizukage?”
Xue Wu’s ice-crystalized body stiffened. He looked at the second Orochimaru standing outside the ice prison with disbelief.
He hadn't even detected when Orochimaru had appeared.
“You…”
“How did you do it?”
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, asking with interest.
“Oh?”
“What is the Mizukage asking about?”
Xue Wu slowly dispelled the Ice Release, revealing his true form before Orochimaru. Looking at the young, calm powerhouse, Xue Wu’s throat felt dry as he swallowed. His expression was dejected as he said.
“Earlier…”
“When you arrived, the fluctuation I sensed…”
“Was that intentional?”
Orochimaru chuckled and turned to find a chair. With a wave of his hand, a dust-colored white light flashed and vanished, instantly disintegrating the ice on the chair.
Slowly sitting down, Orochimaru looked at Xue Wu, who was almost questioning his existence after being astonished by Dust Release. He nodded slightly.
“As expected of a Kage. You can figure it out after one failure.”
Xue Wu’s face was filled with bitterness. He could no longer muster any resistance to Orochimaru’s almost mocking words.
“Heh…”
“You’ve even mastered Onoki’s Dust Release. What is there that you don’t know?”
“Speak…”
The chakra fluctuations around Xue Wu completely subsided, just like the hope for survival in his heart.
Stillness, despair, helplessness…
“A powerful individual like you wouldn’t personally come all the way to my humble Kirigakure for a mere joint Chunin Selection exam…”
“What is your true objective?”
Orochimaru finally smiled with satisfaction.
“It’s simple to communicate with an intelligent person!”
“Mizukage, why don’t you sit down and we can talk!”
Faced with Orochimaru’s guest-like demeanor, Xue Wu dared not refuse. He himself dispelled the Ice Release within the office, leaving only the outer layer of ice that prevented external observation.
He found a chair and sat down opposite Orochimaru, who was seated at the Mizukage’s desk.
Orochimaru nodded slightly.
Clearly, he was somewhat satisfied with this sensible Mizukage.
He casually picked up the cold teapot on the Mizukage’s desk. Orochimaru’s fingers lightly caressed it, instantly heating the ice water inside to boiling.
With natural movements, he poured two cups of hot water and offered one to the Third Mizukage.
Xue Wu looked at the teacup in Orochimaru’s hand with a complicated expression. Just as he was about to take it, he heard Orochimaru say meaningfully.
“Living in the ninja world, I’m sure the Mizukage understands that a ninja’s abilities cannot be casually revealed to outsiders, right?”
Xue Wu’s hands trembled, and his internal Ice Release chakra uncontrollably emerged from his palms.
As the cold air surged, Orochimaru’s hand holding the teacup remained motionless. Even the hot tea in his hand seemed to be in another space, unaffected by the extreme cold, still emitting wisps of steam.
“You…”
Xue Wu’s pupils contracted to their absolute limit, and he asked with a dry voice.
“I admit that no one in Kirigakure is your opponent.”
“Therefore, to protect the intelligence that you possess multiple Kekkei Genkai powers…”
“Are you planning to kill me?”
Xue Wu slowly took the teacup from Orochimaru, his hands trembling uncontrollably.
“You are the only one who knows I came here, and I am the one who attacked you!”
“Please, for the sake of being one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, spare Kirigakure…”
Orochimaru withdrew his hand and slowly shook his head, sighing.
“No need to be so nervous!”
“When Onoki sneak-attacked me and my disciples with Dust Release, I didn’t immediately kill him either.”
“Besides, didn’t the Mizukage senior just say that?”
“Our battle was just a sparring match between a senior and a junior!”
“As for exposing my secrets and such…”
Orochimaru chuckled, his expression gentle as he looked at the Third Mizukage.
“I don’t care!”
His words were filled with confidence in his own strength.
The Third Mizukage sighed and cradled the teacup in his hands, as if it could offer him some comfort.
After all, this tea was personally poured by an ultimate powerhouse.
“So…”
He wasn’t going to kill him, nor was he going to destroy Kirigakure.
Then what was Orochimaru’s true purpose in coming here personally?
Xue Wu pondered for a moment and slowly spoke, tentatively asking.
“Is Konoha planning to unify the ninja world by taking advantage of this joint Chunin Selection exam?”
Orochimaru took a sip of his tea and gently shook his head.
“I have had that thought!”
“But before that, there are a few minor issues to resolve.”
“Unifying the ninja world will have to wait a while longer.”
Xue Wu stiffened slightly, lowered his head, and brought his lips to the cup, slowly inhaling the hot steam.
“Indeed…”
“But what can I do… to stop Konoha, which possesses such a powerful individual?”
“Should I reveal Konoha’s ambition to the other ninja villages after Orochimaru leaves and form an alliance with the other three great ninja villages to resist Konoha?”
“Or…”
“Surrender to Konoha?”
Orochimaru looked at the Third Mizukage with a half-smile and gently placed his teacup on the table.
“The second idea is good!”
Xue Wu was startled and looked up sharply at Orochimaru.
“If you want to unite the four great ninja villages against Konoha…”
“Let me think!”
Orochimaru tapped the table with his finger, as if murmuring to himself.
“There is a puppet army of fifty thousand ninjas at the border of Iwagakure. It should be possible to annihilate Iwagakure within a day, right?”
“Hmm… Onoki has Dust Release and flight capabilities, so it might not be thorough enough!”
Xue Wu’s heart trembled, and he no longer dared to meet Orochimaru’s eyes.
“As for the Land of Wind…”
“Chiyo can be dealt with by the summoning beasts of Ryūchi Cave. As for the Third Kazekage, he should not be my opponent, right?”
“Perhaps eliminating him will be simpler than Iwagakure…”
“So…”
Orochimaru looked at the silent Third Mizukage and suggested with a smile.
“If the Mizukage wishes to form an alliance, you will probably have to go to Kumogakure to find the Third Raikage!”
“With the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails, perhaps they can withstand my attack!”
Xue Wu’s body suddenly trembled. The teacup in his hand shattered into powder.
“Besides surrendering to Konoha, does Kirigakure… have any other options?”
Orochimaru chuckled and slowly stood up from his seat.
“Mizukage, what do you think?”
Xue Wu’s eyes struggled. He gritted his teeth fiercely and looked up at Orochimaru, who was looking down at him. He spoke word by word.
“Kirigakure demands the same treatment as Amegakure. If you agree, I am willing to represent Kirigakure and sign an allied subordinate treaty with Konoha.”
The smile disappeared from Orochimaru’s face, replaced by a cold expression.
“Alliance?”
“Mizukage, you seem to have misunderstood!”
“The contract I signed with Hanzō of the Salamander was merely a temporary measure before my power was fully formed.”
“The future of Amegakure was determined the moment that agreement was signed!”
“I only want obedient subordinates. Allies are only for powers of comparable strength.”
“Mizukage, perhaps you should reconsider!”
In just a few words, Orochimaru’s ambition and the terrifying killing intent contained in his voice struck Xue Wu’s heart.
The weight of his words almost suffocated him.
From now on, Kirigakure would merely be a designation for a subordinate power of Konoha…
“Kirigakure… is willing to submit!”
Xue Wu, with a face ashen as death, knelt before Orochimaru and uttered the words that decided the fate of the entire Kirigakure.
Orochimaru’s lips curled upwards, and a venomous snake shot out from his sleeve.
Its mouth wide open, its sharp fangs dug fiercely into Xue Wu’s neck.
Xue Wu cried out in pain, his body spasming uncontrollably.
The snake retracted and coiled back into Orochimaru’s sleeve. On the wound on Xue Wu’s neck, three black tomoe radiating powerful Sage Mode energy appeared.
“This is your reward for submitting to Konoha!”
Orochimaru looked at the Third Mizukage writhing in pain under the erosion of the cursed seal, his face devoid of any pity.
The greatest pity, he had already given it.
Moreover, for a village like Kirigakure, pity had never had fertile ground to survive.
“Make good use of the power within this cursed seal. It can elevate your strength to an entirely new level.”
“Then, use it to restrain Kumogakure for Konoha, and await the start of the war!”