Chapter 4: Chapter 3 – Manda’s Tales

“Lord Orochimaru!”

"Silence," the Sannin hissed. “I'm busy.”

The boy waited patiently for his master to finish observing the cells of a human hand under the microscope. Orochimaru scribbled some notes on a scroll, then looked at the half-conscious man with a frightened look, tied up on a table. A man with one hand missing...

“What is that paper you put on the table?” Orochimaru asked the boy.

“It's a letter, Lord Orochimaru. A letter from Danzo Shimura.”

“Danzo?” Orochimaru repeated, licking his lips with an interested smile.

He took the letter and began to read it, skipping the courtesies.

"It's been a long time since you last set foot in Konoha, and I know how much resentment you have towards this village that betrayed you... Yada Yada Yada...As Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze has the intention to follow the ideals of his predecessor... Yada Yada Yada... Last night, there was a particular incident concerning the Hokage that should interest you. When his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, was giving birth, a masked man managed to go through all of the Sandaime's defenses and isolate Kushina from the Yondaime. His goal was to extract Kyubi from the Uzumaki. For some reason, he failed, but know that, according to Kushina, he had managed to take control of the Nine-Tails. He used a Sharingan.”

Startled at first, Orochimaru licked his lips again, his smile growing. He continued reading.

“An Uchiha capable of such a feat is not just anyone. That's why I'm contacting you because he could be the centerpiece of both of our goals. You want to take revenge on Konoha and obtain elements to perfect your knowledge. Me, I want to crush Hiruzen and Minato by becoming the Godaime Hokage. With this Uchiha, we may have the means to achieve our goals. It would be interesting to contact him.”

Orochimaru read the end of the letter without really paying attention. Danzo's news exceeded his expectations. Danzo obviously only saw the use of such an individual to carry out his plans. But Orochimaru now saw things differently. He needed powerful bodies; therefore, he could not ignore the existence of such an individual. The Uchiha bloodline was definitely at the top of the Sannin’s list. There was no way he would allow such an opportunity to pass.

“I think I finally found the body I need!”

The boy was surprised by his master's reaction.

“Lord Orochimaru, the letter didn't talk about that…”

Orochimaru gave him an icy look when he learned that the boy had allowed himself to read his letter.

“Do you really want to attack Konoha?” The boy asked.

“It is indeed an idea that is in my mind.”

“What are you waiting for then?”

“Two Hokage are present in Konoha. I must isolate them first.”

“Please,” the man tied on the table begged in tears. “Don't kill me, please, I have a wife and a son.”

“You mean this one?” Orochimaru said scornfully, pointing to the boy present at his side.

The man finally recognized his son, although the drugs Orochimaru had given him had noticeably diminished his sight. He pronounced his name, in tears, imploring him to flee. Orochimaru turned to the boy.

"Kill," he hissed.

The boy took a scalpel from the table and approached the man who opened his eyes wide in panic and pain. Once facing him, the boy raised his scalpel. Orochimaru, a sadistic smile on his face, couldn't resist adding a few words.

“You will not be his first victim. Know that your wife died before you. You are nothing. You have no talent; you wasted my time. So die as you were born, useless!”

The boy slit his poor father's throat without the slightest hesitation, causing blood to spurt onto his face which he wiped with a contemptuous gesture. The man died a few moments later, his gaze engraved in infinite sadness for eternity.

Orochimaru then turned to the boy.

“Old man,” the Sannin said. “You were dying, and I offered you a new body with that of this boy. As we both see, you can move with ease, without feeling the flaws of your old body ravaged by age.”

“Yes,” the boy replied, smiling. “Thank you, master, it's an honor to…”

“However,” the Sannin interrupted, “you won't be of much use to me. You have no talent, no special power.”

The boy, under whom was the consciousness of an old individual, shot a terrified look at Orochimaru, fully understanding where the latter was going with this.

“Wait, Lord Orochimaru! I can help you!”

“The most useful thing you did was bringing me this letter,” Orochimaru sneered. “The only use you had was as an experiment.”

After those words, Orochimaru raised his arm, and a snake went to bite the boy, leaving him to agonize and die within a few seconds.

“Thanks to you, I now know that I need a new body.”

An image of a Sharingan-masked man flashed through Orochimaru's head, who once again licked his smiling lips. From the laboratory where he was, he walked farther to sink a little deeper underground, to a huge dark hall. In one quick move, he summoned Manda, the boss of snakes.

“Orochimaru,” the animal growled. “I hope you have a good reason to extract me from Ryuchi Cave to this tiny and pitiful grotto.”

“Manda, I summoned you because I may have the opportunity to offer you an incalculable number of sacrifices.”

“Keep talking. But try to be quick; I don't have much time.”

“You will have to help me capture a woman.”

“A woman you say? And you call yourself a Sannin? Needing to extract me from my sacred cave for a simple…”

“A certain Kushina Uzumaki,” Orochimaru interrupted.

“Uzumaki... I understand now,” Manda said, more calmly. “But why ask me first? Why not just summon me during the fight to kill her?”

“I told you. I don't want to kill her, just capture her. And it won't be that easy. She'll be my bait. The Biju she possesses seems very coveted.”

“A Biju, you say?!” Manda exclaimed.

“Yes. Kushina Uzumaki is Kyubi's Jinchuriki.”

Manda opened its eyes wide and, with a quick flick of his head, pinned Orochimaru against one of the walls of the cave, preventing him from moving.

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“Orochimaru,” he hissed. “I don't like your plan at all! If you want to face Kyubi, it's your choice, but don't get me involved!”

“Are you afraid, Manda?” Orochimaru, although crushed against the wall couldn't help but let out a smirk as he taunted the huge snake.

“I am not afraid!” It growled. “I am realistic. I value my life more than your experiments and plans. Fighting one and one against Kyubi is suicide.”

“What do you know?” Orochimaru said angrily, annoyed by this sudden fear coming from his summoning.

The large snake was silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.

“I've faced him before.”

He paused. Orochimaru said nothing, waiting to hear more.

“It was a long time ago. I had just found Mount Myoboku, thanks to the clues I had been able to collect from Ryuchi Cave. My Senjutsu chakra is powerful. Sacred places like Mount Myoboku, Shikkotsu Forest, or Ryuchi Cave have what it takes to conceal such chakras, making us invisible even to the best sensorial beings. However, going out, whether by myself or through a summoning, leaves me exposed.”

“Kyubi possesses extremely powerful sensory abilities. I’m not sure what happened, but it seemed the Nine-Tails had somehow escaped from Konoha’s grip. From the moment I left Ryuchi Cave, he must have sensed a threat within me and sought me out. I felt it, but I was too preoccupied with finding Mount Myoboku to pay attention to it. When I was finally able to access Mount Myoboku, I stayed away. My goal was not to attack it, but simply to study its strengths which the White Snake Sage had praised so much.”

The large snake paused, lost in thought.

On a full moon night, Manda had felt the powerful chakra that was stalking it approaching rapidly. Kyubi had found the snake. The latter was trapped. There was only one solution left for it, to hide inside Mount Myoboku. As soon as Manda entered, it was already facing three powerful warriors who each seemed capable of standing up to it.

Three fearsome toads apparently determined to annihilate the threat posed by the gigantic snake. But as the giant serpent also prepared for battle, he saw two of the three warriors jumping away, croaking in terror. Startled at first, its ego pushed Manda to laugh, until it found itself under a colossal shadow that broke its arrogance.

“Kyubi has entered!” Manda heard the two warriors who had fled scream in the distance.

Manda looked up and was impressed by the Nine-Tails’ size. Kyubi was so big that the snake doubted it could wrap itself around the beast. The latter roared in rage. The force of the blast moved the snake several hundred meters as if it were just a common earthworm. Manda was stopped by the only toad warrior still present.

“Don't take the opportunity to run away, you sneaky filthy snake! It’s your fault Kyubi is here! You're going to help me get rid of it.”

Manda glared at the toad, realizing that any escape was pointless. It had to fight. And even if the thought disgusted Manda, it had to recognize that the presence of this powerful toad was welcomed in such a fight.

“In the name of the toads of Mount Myoboku, I, the great Gamabunta, will make you leave this place by force!”

The toad sprang forward with a quick leap, and sword raised, ready to launch a full-strength attack. The snake took the opportunity to launch a lightning attack. But the Kyubi pushed them back without the slightest difficulty with one of its paws. The claw of which made a deep gash around the toad's left eye. Manda narrowly avoided it thanks to its exceptional reflexes and instantly understood that the fight would be one-sided.

Gamabunta crashed to the ground not far from the snake, hindered by its injury. Kyubi raised its paw, ready to kill the toad still on the ground. Manda sent its tail which it wrapped as best it could around Gamabunta, then dragged him with all its strength, allowing the toad to narrowly avoid the fatal blow of the Nine-Tails..

“Don't think you'll be forgiven because of that,” Gamabunta growled. “You are the reason for the coming of Kyubi.”

“I don't care what you think,” The snake hissed. “I saved you because alone, I have no chance…”

Kyubi towered above them, its mouth wide open preparing a Bijudama, the Tailed Beast Ball.

“We have to stop it immediately!” Gamabunta yelled, realizing that Mount Myoboku would be pulverized by such an attack.

The toad attacked again, filled with fear and rage. Manda did the same, managing to hit the Biju in the flank as Gamabunta prepared to stab its longsword into Kyubi’s throat. But a careless flick of the Tailed Beast’s tail was enough to eject the toad several hundred meters away. Manda meanwhile dodged the blow of another tail, which however forced the snake to let go of its hold.

Kyubi continued growing its Bijudama. Manda like Gamabunta had no way to overcome their opponent. They had no choice but to helplessly watch the Nine-Tails charge its destructive attack before firing it. The snake didn't even try to flee, knowing it couldn’t escape in time. It saw an intense light, and then nothing.

When Manda regained consciousness, it was not among the dead but remained in the territory of the toads. It saw a throne on which sat a huge old sleeping toad.

“Hey, the snake is waking up.” A tiny toad said. “Did you see that, Ma?”

“Don't start, Pa. Of course, I did. I have eyes too, you know.”

Manda kept its eyes fixed on the sleeping Great Toad Sage.

“Ogama Sennin…”

The snake felt a powerful blow propel it several meters away.

"Shut up, you filthy snake," the little toad yelled, clenching its fist again. “Because of you, the old man is tired, and Bunta is injured. The next time you come to spy on us again, you're dead. Is that clear?”

Manda tried to regain its senses.

“You're lucky the old man absorbed the Bijudama with his crystal ball; otherwise, we would all be goners by now. And you're lucky that he managed to push Kyubi away and make it forget the location of this place. Or else, I swear to you that you who adore sacrifices would have served as an offering to the Biju. The old man told us to let you go and didn't take away your memory. He said it would be useful to you…”

“He's a tough old man, isn't he, Pa? In addition to constantly forgetting everything about himself, he can do the same with others.”

“Yeah, well, don't forget to cook us dinner... I'm hungry!”

When Manda had finished the story of its meeting with Kyubi, Orochimaru looked at the snake with interest.

“So... You know where Mount Myoboku is…”

“Don't count on me to reveal its location to you,” the snake hissed, crushing Orochimaru a little more. “When the White Snake Sage learned of what I did, he strictly forbade me to go there without his consent. I prefer to respect his rules... And I advise you to do the same!”

Manda released its grip, and Orochimaru fell to the ground.

“Anyway, don't count on me to serve as bait for the Kyubi. You'll have to find something else.”

And, before Orochimaru could add anything, Manda disappeared. Orochimaru stood up, massaging his aching chest.

"I have to do it another way..."

He took the letter back from his pocket and re-read Danzo's message, looking for any clues. He needed to reach the Jinchuriki if he wanted to meet the man with the Sharingan. And It didn't take long for him to find one.

"When his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, was giving birth..." Orochimaru licked his lips, a big smile forming on his face.

"So… Kushina has a child."

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