Living Corpse Reincarnation is an S-Rank Forbidden Technique created by Orochimaru himself, which allows him to transfer his consciousness into another person's body, achieving his ultimate goal… eternal life.
But at the same time, this technique comes with a significant weakness.
Each time the Living Corpse Reincarnation is used, it damages the user's soul. There is a period of weakness before and after the reincarnation, during which the user must adapt to the new body. The soul's damage can only recover after a period of rest. If the soul's rejection of the new body is too severe, the user will remain in a weakened state indefinitely.
It was clear that Orochimaru had already used the Living Corpse Reincarnation. Although he had concealed his appearance with Ninjutsu, Naruto could immediately tell that Orochimaru was now in a woman's body.
However, Orochimaru seemed to have a history of being defeated by Genjutsu. In the original work, he had been instantly subdued by Itachi with a single glance, and now Naruto had altered his perception with just a look.
Of course, Naruto had only modified a part of Orochimaru's cognition, making him see Naruto as his master. This didn't change Orochimaru's pursuit of immortality or his passion for research.
This was the terrifying power of Kotoamatsukami.
"Orochimaru-sama, please calm down. Guren only acted out of concern for you."
Kimimaro and Jugo immediately distanced themselves from Orochimaru, watching him warily, but neither dared to make a move.
Guren, on the other hand, felt as though her throat was being crushed. Her face turned redder and redder, and her consciousness began to fade.
"Oro... chimaru... sama..."
"That's enough. Let her go."
Naruto intervened. Guren's Crystal Release was not weak, as it was at least superior to Haku's Ice Release. After all, in the anime, she had temporarily sealed the Three-Tails.
Upon hearing Naruto's command, Orochimaru immediately released Guren's neck, letting her collapse to the ground.
"Cough, cough, cough, cough!"
The not-so-fresh air rushed into her lungs, but to Guren, it was a treasure. Her consciousness gradually returned to normal, and she began coughing violently.
"As a tool, you must not disrespect our master again."
Orochimaru coldly stared at Guren.
Guren instantly shrank back in fear, even stifling her coughs. She looked at Orochimaru with a pitiful expression.
"U-Understood."
Satisfied with her response, Orochimaru turned his gaze to Kimimaro, Jugo, and Kabuto.
"And you three?"
"Understood!"
The three of them immediately responded in unison.
Orochimaru nodded with satisfaction, then turned to look at Naruto, and said with a smile: "Master, what else do you need us to do?"
Naruto felt slightly uncomfortable with Orochimaru's cold smile but understood it was just his nature. He then said: "Pack up and come with me. I'll provide you with a better research environment."
"Understood, but please give us a moment. There's a lot of data here."
After Orochimaru finished speaking, he looked at the other four and ordered: "You all, go and organize the research materials here."
"On it!"
After responding, the four immediately sprang into action. Although they knew Orochimaru had been controlled by this damned blond kid, and they desperately wanted to free him, if they made a move, Orochimaru would undoubtedly eliminate them first.
Kimimaro, Jugo, and Guren exchanged glances, silently agreeing on one thing.
'Endure for now!'
Only Kabuto remained indifferent. After all, to him, it was just a matter of switching bosses.
Buzz-
Orochimaru suddenly felt a slight Chakra Fluctuation from the ring on his left pinky finger, which also caught Naruto's attention.
"What's wrong?"
Naruto looked over and noticed the Akatsuki ring.
Orochimaru immediately explained: "It's time for the Akatsuki to gather, and the leader of the Akatsuki is summoning the members for the assembly."
He then looked at Naruto with a questioning gaze.
Naruto's mind stirred slightly, and an idea formed in his mind. He nodded and said: "Go ahead and attend. Accept any tasks they assign for now."
Orochimaru found a spot to sit down and used the technique Pain had taught him to convert his Chakra into 'Thought Projection.' After a slight delay, Orochimaru's consciousness appeared in a cave.
This is the Astral Projection Technique, a Jutsu only usable by those with the Rinnegan.
When Orochimaru's phantom appeared in the cave, there were already five other phantoms present. Each stood on a tall stone pillar, spaced apart. Although their faces were obscured, their identities could be inferred from their silhouettes and distinctive features.
On the tallest pillar stood Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki.
The others were Konan, Zetsu, Kakuzu, and Sasori. The Akatsuki, which is still in its developmental stage at this time, was relatively weak in terms of manpower.
(A/N: There's a timeline inconsistency here. In the original work, Biwa Juzo was killed by the Fourth Mizukage while rescuing Itachi in Kirigakure. However, since Zabuza has already appeared in this story, I had to adjust the timeline and have Biwa Juzo die earlier due to the butterfly effect. My apologies for the oversight)
Seeing Orochimaru appear, Pain spoke up. "Orochimaru, you're late."
Hearing Pain's accusatory tone, Orochimaru wasn't particularly bothered. Instead, he let out a low chuckle.
"Hehehe, there was a minor accident at the research base, so I was delayed."
Pain frowned but didn't press the issue. The Akatsuki was short on members, and while Orochimaru had shown signs of disloyalty, he was still considered an ally for now.
Pain decided to let it go and instead addressed the group. "The Ninja World is about to descend into chaos once more, but our organization's strength is still insufficient. We urgently need new members. Therefore, I have several tasks for you."
The members straightened up, adopting a more attentive posture. Before the 'comedic group' joined, Akatsuki meetings were still relatively serious affairs.
"First, regarding the mysterious individual who destroyed Konoha… Zetsu, share the intelligence you've gathered."
Hearing this, everyone turned their attention to the phantom of the venus flytrap-like figure. During this, Orochimaru's expression shifted slightly, but no one noticed.
"Based on the Chakra signatures at the battle site, it's highly likely that the one who destroyed Konoha was their own Jinchuriki. His name is Uzumaki Naruto, the son of the Yondaime Hokage. He's currently only seven years old, with blond hair, blue eyes, and three whisker-like marks on each cheek."
"Not only has he mastered the Nine-Tails' Chakra, but he also likely knows the Flying Thunder God Technique. Additionally, he's probably accompanied by twenty elite Uchiha with three-tomoe Sharingan. That's all the information I've gathered so far."
After saying that, Zetsu obediently closed his mouth. Within the Akatsuki, his presence was notably low-key.
"Hehe, hehe, only seven years old? How fascinating."
Orochimaru let out a strange laugh at the right moment, and the other members also expressed their astonishment.
"His intel would probably fetch a high price at the underground bounty exchange."
"He might just qualify as my next collectible."
"Okay!" Pain interrupted them and continued: "This is a long-term mission. If any of you encounter the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, report to me immediately. His power is too dangerous. We must capture him as soon as possible."
"Understood." Everyone answered in unison.
"Next are the individual tasks assigned to each of you."
"There's a new member waiting to join us in Kirigakure. However, due to Kirigakure's policies, we need someone to go and retrieve them. Sasori, this task falls to you."
Originally, this mission should have been assigned to the man who called himself 'Uchiha Madara.' However, to Pain's confusion, that guy hadn't shown up for days and had even delegated the task to them through Zetsu.
"Keh keh keh."
Sasori's phantom took the form of a hunched old man. He didn't immediately agree but instead let out a hoarse laugh. "I hope the new member is a formidable one. Otherwise, I can't guarantee I won't turn them into one of my collections during our meeting."
"Don't worry. The new member's strength won't disappoint you."
Pain was clearly used to this. Sasori had already killed quite a few partners, but the Akatsuki was an elite organization. If someone wasn't strong enough, killing them was just part of the process.
Pain then turned to Orochimaru and Kakuzu, and said.
"The immortality experiments of the cult in Yugakure have produced a successful subject named Hidan. Orochimaru, Kakuzu, the two of you will recruit him. Use any means necessary to bring him to me."