A deep silence filled the valley forest.
The only sound was the rustling of leaves as a cool breeze passed through.
But neither Orochimaru nor the masked man felt any sense of peace.
A cold chill crept down their spines.
Their eyes were wide with disbelief.
**When?**
**How did he do it?**
Almost instinctively, they turned to look at Kuzo, who was supposedly restrained by the purple snakes.
But what they saw made their blood run cold.
Kuzo, still wrapped in the snakes, suddenly smiled.
And then…
He faded.
Slowly—
Until he disappeared completely.
"…?!"
Orochimaru and the masked man stiffened.
No explosion. No substitution.
He had simply… vanished.
Was it a shadow clone? A body replacement technique?
No…
Could it be **genjutsu**?
Despite their different perspectives, both reached the same terrifying conclusion at the same moment.
Because every known clone or substitution jutsu had **some traceable effect.**
But Kuzo had simply ceased to exist.
That left only one possibility—illusion.
But…
**When did he cast it?**
Had Kuzo trapped them in a genjutsu without ever coming down?
That was ridiculous.
Obito, hidden behind his mask, felt his stomach twist.
If Orochimaru had been caught off guard because he didn't know about Kuzo, that was one thing.
But **he** had been watching carefully the whole time.
Yet, at some point, he had fallen into Kuzo's trap too.
**How?**
How many more unknown abilities did Kuzo's so-called *Evil King's True Eye* possess?
Obito clenched his teeth.
He had come here to gather intelligence on Kuzo.
But instead of getting answers, he had only found more mysteries.
And then—
Orochimaru, still impaled to the ground by Kuzo's sword, narrowed his eyes.
He suddenly remembered something.
When the masked man jumped down earlier, he had said something.
*"Senior."*
*"Evil King's True Eye."*
Now, Orochimaru was sure—
That "senior" had been Kuzo.
So then—
Was the *Evil King's True Eye* referring to his golden pupils?
Was it a new Kekkei Genkai?
Orochimaru let out a raspy chuckle, shaking his head.
"Tch… I was careless."
"As expected, anyone who joins Akatsuki is never as simple as they seem…"
The moment his words fell, the silver blade in his stomach suddenly retracted.
It slid back out of his body—
And disappeared into the sky.
Kuzo had recalled his sword.
And only then did he finally descend.
His feet touched the ground.
A faint smile played on his lips as he looked at Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru, how does it feel to fight against the air?"
Kuzo chuckled softly.
Of course, he hadn't used genjutsu.
Nor had he relied on body replacement or shadow clones.
He simply had an ability beyond those.
A *Gigai.*
In the world of the Shinigami, Urahara Kisuke had developed a special portable body.
By infusing it with energy, it could create an independent copy that could move freely.
Because it was an energy-based construct, not even the Sharingan or Byakugan could see through it.
The moment the masked man had jumped down, Kuzo had left behind his Gigai and concealed his spiritual pressure.
He had been watching from above the entire time.
Orochimaru remained silent.
But then, his expression twisted.
Without a word, he suddenly opened his mouth wide.
From within, a **new** Orochimaru slithered out.
This time, his lower half was a massive snake tail.
He had used his Body Shedding technique again.
And now, his golden eyes locked onto one thing.
**Kuzo's own golden pupils.**
"Hehehe… I'll be taking your eyes!"
Orochimaru lunged at Kuzo, fingers poised to rip them out.
○○○
!!!For every person joining my patreon I will upload 5+ Chapters!!!
Please Support me on patreon
patreon.com/IA_Extra13651
I really appreciate everything