Chương 95

Orochimaru's brain was working way too fast, trying to find out who the spy was. Was this boy/man a person under Danzo? But this person even knew about Kimimaro. So how was this possible? Orochimaru felt this man was more dangerous than he showed himself to be. Not only was this man powerful, but he also knew more about him than he had ever admitted or spoken of. All the thoughts of him taking over the body of this person in the future suddenly seemed more distant than before.

"It seems you know a lot about me and I know nothing about you." Orochimaru said.

"And we will keep it that way. Since you surrendered, I need two things from you. One is to hand over Jugo to me and the other is to give me the summoning contract of Ryuchi Cave." Rei said. This made the half-paralyzed man shudder a bit. This man knew about Jugo too? But wasn't that expected? After all, he seemed to even know about Kimimaro and the First Hokage's cells. Since there was no way they could outrun this person, it was better to just accept.

Orochimaru remained silent for several long seconds before letting out a hoarse laugh that ended in a painful cough. Taking Jugo away from him would mean no more access to Curse Mark knowledge and experiments, but there was nothing he could do. There was no point pretending anymore. The man before him had stripped away every advantage he possessed, and the more he spoke, the more obvious it became that hiding information was meaningless.

"... Very well." His yellow eyes shifted toward Tayuya.

"Tayuya... go to the southern hideout. Bring Jugo here... immediately."

"But Orochimaru-sama..."

"Go." His tone left no room for argument. She bit her lip before nodding reluctantly. Then Orochimaru slowly reached inside his robe with visible difficulty and pulled out an old scroll sealed by numerous intricate markings. With what little strength remained in his body, he tossed it toward Kidomaru.

"The Ryuchi Cave contract." Orochimaru said before looking back at Rei. Kidomaru caught the scroll instinctively before looking between the two men.

"Give it to him." The spider shinobi hesitated only briefly before walking forward and placing the scroll several meters away from Rei before immediately retreating.

"You really know everything..." Orochimaru whispered, unable to hide the curiosity in his eyes anymore.

"Who are you? How do you know about Jugo... Kimimaro... Hashirama's cells... even Ryuchi Cave? You speak as though you've been watching me my entire life." Rei didn't answer. He simply picked up the scroll, inspected the seal for a brief moment, and stored it away before turning around.

"... Not interested."

"What?"

"I don't have the energy to answer your questions." Without another word, Rei walked toward the nearby forest before leaping onto a high branch and disappearing completely from everyone's sight, his chakra fading just enough that even Orochimaru couldn't pinpoint his exact location anymore. The waiting game began. Hours passed in uneasy silence. Orochimaru leaned against the tree with his thoughts refusing to settle. Every clue only created more questions.

Sharingan, Ice Release, Adamantine Chains, knowledge that should've died decades ago, and information that only a handful of people in the world possessed. Whoever hid beneath that mask wasn't merely powerful. He was terrifyingly well-informed. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Just before sunset, hurried footsteps echoed through the forest. Tayuya finally returned. Behind her walked two familiar figures.

One was a pale young man with long silver hair and emotionless green eyes, his body wrapped in bandages. Kimimaro. Beside him towered a broad-shouldered red-haired young man whose expression shifted constantly between confusion and cautiousness. Jugo. Rei, hidden high among the trees, slowly opened his eyes.

"Not too late..." Rei murmured as he landed a few feet away from the clearing where the rest had arrived. Kidomaru, meanwhile, had taken care of the bodies of Jirobo and the twin brothers. Rei had sensed it from afar and didn't mind at all. Shinobi like them were fragile, as Orochimaru had once said. The world was broken, and he was trying to swim through it like some machine. All for the sake of survival. All for that chance which seemed far away for now.

Rei looked at the snake sannin for several seconds before slowly stepping forward and landing on the ground. Jugo stood quietly, his crimson eyes observing the battlefield while Kimimaro silently supported Orochimaru from behind.

"You." Rei pointed directly at Jugo.

"Come with me." Jugo frowned slightly but didn't answer immediately. Before anyone else could speak, Rei turned his gaze toward Orochimaru.

"As for you..." his voice became noticeably colder.

"Take whatever remains of your little circus and crawl back into whichever hole you slithered out of. Heal those useless hands, if you ever can, be in your laboratory, play with corpses if that is what entertains you... just stay out of my sight." Rei didn't have compassion for this man, someone who was responsible for the deaths of many and even his own sensei. He would change in the future, but even then, one shouldn't just forget what had been done. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes but ultimately smiled bitterly.

"... It seems I have no choice today."

"You never did."

"Let's go." Kimimaro, even under bandages, was very reluctant to let go of Jugo. But Orochimaru had already commanded it, and Jugo didn't seem that much fazed by everything around him. He had agreed to join Orochimaru on the promise that he would be able to control his rage and bloodthirsty feelings, but there hadn't been any solution. He still fell into rages and still had bouts of uncontrolled behavior.

So him being shipped off in exchange for Kimimaro being kept alive was the least he could do after all the horror he had caused previously under his rage. Besides, it wasn't like he would let this unknown man, who hadn't even shown his face, walk all over him. He was sure that in his rage he would kill this man too, and maybe return to Kimimaro, because he was his only friend.

Jugo silently watched Orochimaru for several long seconds before slowly stepping away from Kimimaro's side and walking toward Rei without a single word. His movements were hesitant, but not resistant. He had already accepted Orochimaru's decision, and more importantly, he could instinctively feel the overwhelming pressure coming from the masked man before him.

"Let's go." Rei said before turning around and walking deeper into the forest, not once looking back to see whether Jugo was following him or not. He knew the red-haired youth would come. Jugo hesitated for only a brief moment before quietly falling in behind him. Neither of them spoke as they continued through the dense forest, leaving the border far behind until even Orochimaru's chakra signature had completely disappeared from Rei's Mind's Eye Kagura.

Only after several more kilometers did Rei finally come to a stop inside a quiet clearing. He slowly reached up, unclasped the armored protector covering the upper half of his face, and removed it completely.

"My name is Rei." Jugo's crimson eyes widened slightly. This person... was even younger than Kimimaro.

"You... are so young..."

"Why? Is that a problem?" Rei asked. Jugo wanted to ask how he was able to bring Orochimaru and his subordinates to their knees, but he refrained in the end. Did it matter to him? Nope. Instead, Rei continued.

"I am surprised you didn't refuse to come when I asked you to follow me." Jugo was taken aback. Even he didn't know why he had accepted the call of this guy. Was it because Tayuya had repeatedly warned them not to mess with him as he was powerful, or because he felt like this guy here was very different from the rest? In the end, he answered.

"Kimimaro has an eternal debt to Orochimaru, and he is my best friend, and since my life doesn't belong to me anymore, it is better to see where my life leads me." Jugo said.

"So this is your penance for what you feel you have done before?" Rei asked. Jugo was surprised that Rei could actually pinpoint what the underlying issue was, but then again, Tayuya had warned them about this guy's immense spying skills.

"Hmm... I guess I can accept that." Rei replied, as that explained his hunched shoulders and why he made as few movements as possible, as if a violent move would unleash some kind of monster from his surroundings, or in this case, himself.

"How about we have a fight then?"

"What?"

"Yeah, let's have a fight. If I defeat you, you will follow me and I will rid you of your problem with you curse. And if you defeat me, you can go back to Kimimaro or do whatever you want." Rei said. Jugo was looking at him as if he were some kind of fool. Him, fighting this young boy? Tayuya had warned him about this man's power, but it hardly mattered to him. He was here only to help Kimimaro, and while doing so keep himself in check, but the first thing he had asked was to fight him?