Chapter 146: There was never any doubt

Chapter 146: There was never any doubt

Sasuke stood alone in the corridor, his gaze lingering on the dim light flickering along the stone walls. The underground base was quiet now, too quiet. For days, Orochimaru had grown weaker. His body was failing, and the man,if he could still be called that, had become more snake than human, moving in sudden spasms and speaking in dry, labored tones. Sasuke had noticed. He hadn’t said anything.

Today, he made his move.

He pushed open the sliding door to Orochimaru’s chamber. A foul stench hit him, pungent and cloying. Tubes hissed. A pale figure lay curled on a tatami mat, skin stretched thin, mouth parted slightly. The man looked pathetic. Fragile.

Sasuke took one step forward. “You’re finished.”

Orochimaru stirred, slitted eyes opening slowly. “You... finally decided.”

“I learned all I needed from you,” Sasuke said flatly. “You’re not useful anymore.”

There was no dramatic pause. No need for a speech. Sasuke raised his hand, and in a blur of motion, a crackle of lightning danced down his blade.

Orochimaru lunged, sickly fast despite his state, but Sasuke had already moved, slicing through the pale body. The snake-skin membrane split with a wet hiss. A shriek echoed through the chamber as Orochimaru’s form broke apart into a writhing white serpent mass.

The snakes coiled upward, forming a grotesque tower of limbs and fangs. Orochimaru’s voice rippled from within. “I’ll take your body now!”

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed. “You’re welcome to try.”

The white snakes lunged, and Sasuke vanished in a shimmer of speed. The room shifted. The world bent around him as Orochimaru’s reincarnation technique activated, dragging Sasuke’s consciousness into a warped, mental plane. Darkness stretched into eternity. Then, a flood of white, a pure dimension of willpower, shaped by Orochimaru’s jutsu.

Orochimaru’s mental form hovered above him, confident. “You can’t win here. This space is mine.”

Sasuke raised his hand, and dozens of chakra stakes burst from the ground, pinning Orochimaru in place. “You never understood me.”

"Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique."

The mental realm crumbled in seconds. Orochimaru’s scream echoed, warping, collapsing inward.

Back in the physical world, the white serpent mass thrashed once, then fell limp.

Sasuke stood quietly in the chamber, blade still glowing. He sheathed it and exhaled through his nose.

“It’s over.”

Later, Sasuke walked through the base's lower levels. The facility still held several prisoners, some human experiments, others simply forgotten captives. He moved without urgency.

He entered a dark chamber filled with pods. Inside one, a humanoid figure floated, arms crossed, eyes closed, resting in liquid. Sasuke pressed a hand to the glass.

“Suigetsu.”

With a flick of chakra, he cracked the seal. The pod drained. A moment later, water splashed onto the floor, and the man inside reformed, his body morphing from liquid to solid. Suigetsu stepped out, shaking off his arms like a dog.

“Finally,” Suigetsu said with a smirk. “Took you long enough.”

“I have a job for you,” Sasuke replied.

Suigetsu flexed his fingers. “You always get straight to business, huh?”

Sasuke didn’t answer. He was already walking out the door. After a pause, Suigetsu followed.

They traveled quickly through forests and winding paths, stopping at another base on the border of Kusagakure.

Karin greeted them at the door, arms crossed. “Didn’t expect to see you again,” she said, not bothering to hide her annoyance. “You’re not the type to call ahead.”

“I need you,” Sasuke said simply.

Karin blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Not like that,” Suigetsu chimed in, grinning. “He means for something important.”

Sasuke glanced at the prison cages behind her. “Let them go. You don’t need them anymore.”

Karin hesitated. Then, one by one, she released the chakra seals. The prisoners fled into the night, confused but grateful.

“I should be furious,” Karin muttered, brushing her hair aside. “But something tells me I’m going with you anyway.”

“You are.”

Suigetsu laughed. “She’s more obedient than she acts.”

“I can still Punch you,” Karin shot back.

The final stop was an old facility in the deep forest. Its stone walls were covered in moss and old seals. Inside, Jūgo sat in solitary confinement, meditating. His aura felt heavy, dangerous.

When Sasuke entered, Jūgo looked up, a flicker of rage crossing his eyes. “I told them not to open the door.”

“You’re not a prisoner anymore,” Sasuke said.

Jūgo’s expression darkened. “You don’t know what I am.”

“I can control you, I have killed Orochimaru, Now I'm the only who can help you.”

Jūgo stared. Slowly, the tension in his shoulders eased.

Sasuke nodded once. “Let’s go.”

That night, the four of them sat around a campfire under the stars. The flames crackled softly.

No one spoke for a while. Suigetsu sharpened his blade lazily. Karin leaned against a log, arms behind her head. Jūgo kept his gaze down, occasionally glancing at the trees.

Finally, Suigetsu asked, “So. What’s the big plan? You’re not the type to go sightseeing.”

Sasuke looked into the fire. “I’m going to kill my brother, Uchiha Itachi.”

Karin sat up straight. “Wait. You mean… Uchiha Itachi?”

Suigetsu whistled. “You seriously didn’t know? Word’s been going around. Konoha’s been saying for Days now, that they captured him.”

Sasuke didn’t react at first.

Suigetsu continued. “It said, he was Captured By Hajime, And now Imprisoned on Konoha.”

Sasuke paused a bit on the Name Hajime.

“I didn’t know,” Sasuke said quietly. “I stopped listening to anything outside training.”

Karin watched him carefully. “You believe it, That Konoha Captured Your brother?”

"I don't know, but," Sasuke continued

“If he’s alive… I’ll find him.”

Jūgo shifted. “And if he’s locked away in Konoha?”

Sasuke stood, brushing dust off his cloak. “Then that’s where we’re going.”

No one argued.

In Konoha, the morning sun poured A building Near the Hospitals, a Scientific Facility, where the Researchers Resides. Hajime Wearing White coat, standing up.

Behind him, Amado was hunched over a long scroll, quietly muttering data points as he worked.

“The absorption rate’s stable,” Amado said. “Natural chakra uptake is consistent. No mutations. No destabilization.”

“As expected,” Hajime replied. “The seed lattice was modified to make it have natural absorption channels. It draws in ambient energy without disrupting local balance.”

Before them, rows of rice plants stood taller and richer in color than any standard strain, vibrant green stalks swaying gently, their grains already forming despite having been planted just days ago. In a nearby pen, chakra-enhanced chickens pecked calmly, their feathers shimmering with a faint, healthy glow.

Hajime examined the coop. The latest generation of hens, bred for Natural Chakra-compatibility, were healthy and thriving. Egg production had surged a lot, that according to this data, that this chicken, will be able to produce 20-30 Eggs, in a week, and nutrient analysis confirmed the results, The Chicken are packed with High Protein, and delicious.

“It’s working,” Amado muttered, almost in disbelief.

“There was never any doubt,” Hajime said. “We altered the genetic structure to accept and store natural chakra. Growth acceleration was just a matter of tuning the energy intake.”

Amado looked toward the edge of the clearing. “What now?”

"We'll give the results to Tsunade" Hajime continued, "But first we'll cultivate a lot more seeds and hens till they can multiply on their own."

Before leaving, Hajime took, a small pouch of seeds, containing the modified Wheat Seeds and reports, then Hajime leaves the Facility, Going Straight to the Hokage Tower.