May 4th 2002:

Tense silence overflowed between everyone in the secluded section of the Forest-Of-Death. Each member of team seven remained vigilant of the amused man who stood on one of the tree-branches in the sector.

Orochimaru looked at the indifferent, prudent, and confident expressions highlighted on their faces. Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and Ryomen Sukuna had readied themselves for combat.

In a burst of commendable movement, Orochimaru slithered forth and selected his first opponent from this squad. Sasuke clenched his fists, channelling chakra into his arms to empower them.

Calm and composed like normal, Sasuke fended off a chakra-enhanced punch to the stomach from the psychotic man. Orochimaru curled his lips up, disappeared, and then changed targets.

Naruto had been caught off-guard by the immediate arrival of his deranged opponent. Teeth clenched in concentration, he bent his hand into a hand-sign and felt out the droplets of air around him.

"That won't work on me again, little Jinchuriki." Orochimaru proclaimed, eyes cold and entertained. "Do try and not bore me."

Conjured from Orochimaru's left shoulder, a blue-scaled snake lunged out for Naruto to sink its poison-coated fangs down into his neck. Dismantle repelled the animal, knocking it away into the darkness.

Hand pressed down onto the surface of the thick tree-branch they were on, Sukuna activated Spiderweb on it and destroyed it. Orochimaru looked as though he was unaffected by his loss of footing.

Mouth twisted into a small smirk, Sukuna pondered to himself. "Orochimaru, huh? No wonder this bastard is such a powerhouse…"

After transitioning his eyes from their base state into the Two-Tomoe Sharingan, Sasuke reentered the tumultuous fray of battle. Orochimaru noticed the Sharingan and his excitement intensified itself.

Naruto and Sasuke reconvened around the Sannin—who had repositioned himself on the top of a smooth-surfaced stone. Lips parted, Naruto cast three hand-signs and shot out a deluge of wind.

Arms raised at the sudden onslaught of wind, Orochimaru witnessed Sasuke performing more hand-signs alongside his blond teammate. Hands clasped together, Sasuke shot a straight line of fire forward.

"I'm also interested in Ryomen Sukuna's pulse of destruction." Orochimaru thought. "I haven't even sensed any chakra in his body…"

Stamping the heel of his foot downwards into the large stone he stood on, Orochimaru launched himself upwards. The combination of attacks from Naruto and Sasuke had missed him by the inch of a hair.

Taking advantage of the small lull in battle, Sukuna flipped across the air, charged cursed-energy into his knuckles, and punched the top of Orochimaru's head. Divergent-Fist's second impact soon followed.

Feeling like he had somehow been hit twice, Orochimaru grabbed a tree-branch and swung himself onto the top of a second stone. Intrigue tainted his mind. "A technique that deals two blows in one?"

Sukuna joined his teammates on the ground. Naruto and Sasuke glared at the unhinged man, thinking of their next course of action. Orochimaru smiled at them, curiosity bubbling across his features.

"Orochimaru is one of the legendary Sannin." Sasuke's Sharingan glowed crimson. "Why would he be fighting us of all people, then?"

Shrugging in response, Sukuna said. "He could be interested in you, Sasuke. I mean, you are the last Uchiha and have the Sharingan."

Naruto cut into their chatter. "Who cares about the bastard's overpowered eyes? Let's just pulverize this freaky bastard!"

Dismantle was directed into the middle of Orochimaru's stomach, flinging him into a series of bushes and numerous piles of twigs. Rising to his feet in a split second, Orochimaru vanished in a blur.

Four vermillion eyes sweeping across his immediate vicinity, Sukuna lashed his leg out and roundhouse kicked a green-scaled snake back. Orochimaru had appeared from the shadows behind him, chuckling.

"Such exquisite abilities!" Orochimaru's voice hissed out. "I suppose I can wait to test out Sasuke Uchiha later—you have fascinated me!"

Having rushed over to where Sukuna and Orochimaru were, Naruto and Sasuke grew blindsided by the appearance of the Earth-Style: Mud-Clone of the Sannin. It glanced at them, grinned, and then grabbed their faces.

Sukuna watched in mild indifference as his teammates were taken to a different section of the Forest-Of-Death, convinced they would survive. However, Sukuna kept his distance from his lunatic of an opponent.

Approaching the reincarnated child in an amused gait, Orochimaru spoke. "I've tested out the capabilities of the nine-tails. It's your turn!"

A multitude of green-scaled snakes slithered out from the darkness around Sukuna, mouths opened and tongues stuck out in aggression. Indifferent to the creatures preying on him, Sukuna lifted his hand.

Several Dismantles exploded the snakes into nothing. Orochimaru furrowed his brows in avid intrigue before Sukuna rushed at him. Impressed by his unnatural speed, the Sannin bounded forward.

Sukuna engaged the deranged man in a duel of endless Taijutsu. Knee buried into Orochimaru's stomach, Sukuna could feel his head snap backwards at a painful angle from the punch dealt to his jaw.

Palm stretched out, Sukuna slapped Orochimaru's left shoulder and unleashed a destructive Cleave upon it. A harmful laceration opened up on it—but Orochimaru blinked at the wound and shrugged it off.

Once he had been kicked in the abdomen by Orochimaru, Sukuna was propelled across the Forest-Of-Death and crashed into a tree. Spitting out some blood, Sukuna slid downwards onto the ground.

"What the hell!" Sukuna grinned in excitement, heart pumping. "This is the first time I've felt so threatened in a battle. He really is a monster!"

Sukuna entered the stance suited for animalistic combat, navigating his cursed-energy throughout the entirety of his body to empower his physical prowess. Three seconds later, Orochimaru reappeared.

In a flash of incredible speed, the two of them exchanged numerous blows. Sukuna used the second impact of Divergent-Fist to disorientate Orochimaru's general concentration in their battle.

Lips curved into a mysterious smile, Orochimaru pondered. "How odd. None of these attacks have any residuals of chakra inside of them…"

Knuckles buried into Sukuna's face, Orochimaru punched him backwards. Sukuna flipped across the air—but recovered in an instant, flicked his hand downwards, and fired off a Dismantle.

Unable to perceive or sense the slash-based attack, Orochimaru staggered a few feet back. Numerous lacerations had been formed on his collar-bone down to his chest, soaking some of his outfit in red.

An application of Medical-Ninjutsu healed his wounds well enough. Orochimaru gazed at the reincarnated child—who had returned to the same tree-branch they had been fighting on. It was time to end this.

"Tell me." Orochimaru stuck his elongated tongue out. "What are the origins of your techniques? I've never seen this type of Ninjutsu…"

Taunting the Sannin, Sukuna laughed. "None of your damn business. Why the hell would I prattle on about my abilities to you, you maniac?"

Despite everything, Orochimaru's goal of mastering and understanding every single Ninjutsu possible stayed the same. Sukuna was someone who he had deemed a strange anomaly.

From what Orochimaru had seen from this four-eyed boy, the techniques he wielded could be used without any build up of chakra. The scientist stepped forth, waving his hand around in the crisp air.

Sukuna noticed fifteen snakes being summoned from the shadows to restrain him. Dismantle disintegrated them while Spiderweb obliterated the tree-branch Sukuna and Orochimaru stood on.

Falling through the air, Sukuna glanced up for a second and saw Orochimaru slithering at him like a hungry snake of some kind. Grinning, Sukuna applied cursed-energy to his hands and legs.

Having landed on a random patch of grass, Sukuna thought. "Orochimaru isn't the type of opponent who I can hold off…"

Hand extended out for the small tree next to him, Sukuna manipulated Cleave to bisect the bottom and top half off of it. Orochimaru widened his smile into an exhilarated grin after Sukuna tossed the tree at him.

Of course, this proved to be useless against the psychotic man. Orochimaru pulled a Kunai out from nowhere, slashed the tree into three separate parts, licked the blade, and stashed it in his sleeve.

"What a dull tactic, Ryomen Sukuna!" Orochimaru shouted out. "I expected more from someone on the team of a Jinchuriki and Uchiha!"

Not one to be left in the dust by his opponent, Sukuna appeared behind Orochimaru in a distortion of speed and clenched his fist. A punch to the head had Orochimaru flying into the bushes and dirt.

"Black-Flash." Sukuna's cursed-energy glowed black for a moment. "I can't lose focus of the enemy in front of me, no time to mess around."

Touching his head, Orochimaru hummed. "What a strange sensation! That punch was much more stronger than any of his other ones…"

"I must see more of his true potential." Orochimaru had made his decision. "I suppose I will have to use more power than I intended…"

In the blink of an eye, Orochimaru had launched his foot into Sukuna and threw him miles away into the distance. Following him in a blur, Orochimaru slinked towards the area where Sukuna had landed.

Sukuna had been somewhat unharmed from the aftermath of the attack because of his unimaginable physical durability. Cursed-energy then flared to life around his muscles, increasing their natural power.

"Damn." Sukuna clicked his blood-stained teeth. "I didn't think his physical strength would be this intense. I'll have to keep an eye out."

One tap to the face from Orochimaru's chakra-imbued knuckles hurtled Sukuna deeper into the soil, uprooting smaller trees and dirt. Sukuna coughed out more blood, wiping his lips and grinning at him.

"I also used Black-Flash on him." Sukuna looked at his clenched fist. "Let's try and replicate that same phenomenon—even if it's random."

Slamming his foot into the ground beneath him, Sukuna kicked up multiple clouds of dust around him and his opponent. Vision obstructed for a mere second, Orochimaru felt his whole body rattle.

Sukuna had punched the Sannin in the head and had then grabbed his neck. To ensure the sociopathic man would die, Sukuna activated Cleave on his neck. A moment later, Orochimaru turned into a log.

"Substitution-Jutsu?"

Elbow extended outwards, Sukuna managed to parry a roundhouse kick from Orochimaru and pushed him back. Pleased by Sukuna's prowess in battle, Orochimaru dialled everything up.

Pulling a Kunai from his sleeve, Orochimaru smiled. "If I'm right, you're the one who defeated the snake I had summoned into this forest..."

"That snake was one of the weaker ones from Ryuchi-Cave." The snake-themed man declared. "Let's see how you do against this one!"

"Shit." Sukuna watched Orochimaru cut his finger, gather some blood, and perform the hand-signs for a technique. "The Summoning-Jutsu?"

It was the best assumption Sukuna could make at the moment. Palm settled on the soil under them, Orochimaru unleashed his Jutsu. Smoke built up in the air until it was dispelled by a low huff of irritation.

The snake Orochimaru had summoned was blue-scaled, green-eyed, and had an annoyed expression on its features. Coiled around Orochimaru's neck, the animal hissed at Sukuna and licked its fangs.

"This snake is not capable of talking either." Orochimaru petted its head like it was a tool rather than an ally. "But it is much stronger…"

Mocking and flippant, Sukuna snorted. "I doubt it's that strong. I mean, you were the one who summoned it here. So how strong could it be?"

An amused smile was Orochimaru's response. "My Mud-Clone should be testing out the Uchiha on my behalf."

Sukuna raised his fore-arms in the blink of an eye once Orochimaru lunged at him—the snake coiled around his neck opened its mouth. Leg lifted, Sukuna kicked the snake's head and elbowed its nose.

"It must have the ability to use Ninjutsu on its own." Sukuna distanced himself from them. "I know some summonings are capable of doing it."

"How about I give you an advantage?" Orochimaru adjusted the hat on his head, hiding his eyes. "This type of snake is susceptible to flames."

Annoyed, Sukuna blinked his four vermillion eyes. "Flames? Whatever, Cleave and Dismantle should be enough to kill the snake."

Noticing how Sukuna had flicked his hand downwards, Orochimaru flipped upwards and touched his feet down behind the boy. Amusement wrinkled his smile. "I think I understand that technique."

"You can either touch something and destroy it." Orochimaru spoke. "Or you can transmit an invisible pulse of destruction at your target."

Sukuna turned around, grinned, and aimed his fist forward. Orochimaru grabbed his wrists, stopped him in his tracks, and said. "You also have the ability to imbue two punches into a single punch."

Disappointed, Orochimaru told him. "Those abilities are nothing ground-breaking. You are indeed strong, yes, but nothing special…"

"Besides your lack of chakra." Orochimaru's interest returned. "I wouldn't be surprised if you had a different energy source instead."

"I'm sure you'll have much room to hone your strength, Ryomen Sukuna." Orochimaru let go of his wrists. "But, not in this lifetime."

Orochimaru parried a number of well-placed strikes. "I'll just kill you. I'm sure your corpse will serve as a source of experiments for me."

"Of course." Orochimaru's bloodlust resurfaced itself. "If you manage to fascinate me one more time—then I'll be willing to spare your life."

Despite the images of absolute death in his mind, Sukuna grinned. "Spare my life, you say? I already decided how I'd live ages ago…"

"I don't care whatever the hell it takes." Sukuna forged onwards. "I'll slaughter you, Orochimaru, if you become an obstacle in my life."

"What droll ideals," Orochimaru patted his snake's head. "Do leave the corpse unharmed — I still want to see what secrets his body holds."

To stun Sukuna so his snake's poison could kill him, Orochimaru snapped his fingers before ten snakes slithered from the shadows and restrained Sukuna. His body felt as if it was paralyzed.

Grinning, Sukuna mused to himself. "The scales of these snakes look like they eject a type of numbing sensation in their captured target..."

"This isn't a type of poison." Sukuna could move his head. "It must just be a natural ability these types of snakes have. Man, this is annoying."

The snake coiled around Orochimaru's neck slithered off of it while the Sannin was about to leave so he could see Sasuke in action. However, when the snake bit Sukuna's neck, nothing had happened.

"Another detail about my body." Sukuna laughed to himself. "My body retains all of Yuji Itadori's features—including his immunity to poisons!"

Freeing himself from the snakes that had restrained him, Sukuna saw the other snake slither away from him in surprise. Hissing at him in annoyance, the snake gathered chakra into its mouth and opened it.

"Oh?" Orochimaru turned around a minute later, eyes glowing in fascination. "He somehow resisted the poison of my summon?"

"But it is futile in the end." Orochimaru shrugged. "This snake was bred from Ryuchi-Cave to have the most potent wind-style technique."

Spikes created from wind were ejected from the snake's parted mouth, combining into a large hurricane of condensed air. Orochimaru left at last, quite intent on witnessing the power of the Sharingan in person.

All of a sudden, the smoke created from the snake's Jutsu was dispersed by the presence of heat. Sukuna stepped out from a cloud of dust and smoke, hand extended out and covered in bright flames.

"Divine-Flame—Open…" Sukuna chanted out, then leaned forward. "That Black-Flash from earlier must have helped me awaken this…"

Mouth morphed into a wide grin of excitement, Sukuna said. "Didn't your dumbass of a summoner tell me your weakness, you damn snake?"

Startled by the unexpected appearance of fire, the snake lurched backwards in palpable fear. Sukuna had performed numerous hand-signs, manipulating his flames into the shape of a jagged arrow.

The Divine-Flame could only be activated after Cleave and Dismantle were used. Alongside his Black-Flash on Orochimaru, Sukuna had met the regulations that would let him use his pyrokinetic abilities.

Sukuna launched the flame-made arrow into the snake—the creature crumbled away into ashes as its scales cracked and disintegrated. Dispelling the fire around his hand, Sukuna felt some satisfaction.

"I'll have to practise my use of that later." He slid his hands into his pockets, disappearing in a blur. "Let's find out where those two went."

(-)

The Mud-Clone of the Sannin had proved itself to be as much as a fearsome foe as the original. Teeth gritted in unwavering focus, Naruto blew out multiple orbs of compressed wind in the duplicate's direction.

Batting each ball of condensed air into different trees, the Mud-Clone smiled at Naruto in obvious mockery and rushed at him like a snake. Having widened his eyes in annoyance, Naruto struck his fist out.

"What a shame." The Mud-Clone shook its head, squeezing the fist it had caught in its hand. "He hasn't tried to use the nine-tails' chakra…"

Pressing an axe-kick into Naruto's shoulder and burying his feet into the ground, the deranged clone of Orochimaru glanced to its left. Sasuke had recovered from the nasty upper-cut it had given his chin.

Once it had surrounded Naruto in a tomb of stone, the clone murmured. "I suppose I should see how skilled this one is in battle."

After performing five hand-signs and clasping his hands, Sasuke fired off a straight line of intense flames at the Mud-Clone. Sinking into the ground, the duplicate disappeared and appeared behind the Uchiha.

Despite the speed of the clone, Sasuke reacted fast enough to gaze at its eyes and cast a Genjutsu at it through the lens of his Sharingan. It dispersed the Genjutsu, pleased. "His Genjutsu is nothing to scoff at."

Sasuke knocked a merciless punch into its nose, grabbed the back of its head, and slammed its forehead into his knee. Casting two hand-signs, he summoned a Fire-Clone of himself and grunted.

The Fire-Clone unleashed a Flame-Stream onto the Mud-Clone—whose shoulder became somewhat burned. Bored, the Mud-Clone destroyed Sasuke's duplicate and kicked the original one.

Rolling through the air and slamming into a boulder, Sasuke clicked his teeth as he rubbed his shoulder. The clone descended upon him in a blur of incredible movement, then stretched its long tongue out.

Grasping Sasuke by the ankle, the Mud-Clone's tongue yanked him upwards and threw him into the ground two times. Sasuke's Sharingan glinted vermillion before his hands joined into a hand-seal.

"If I can't stand against him of all people!" Sasuke's intensity ramped up. "How the hell am I supposed to match up against Itachi Uchiha?!"

Sasuke blew out a sphere of flames at the Mud-Clone—who then released him from the hold of its tongue. Snatching a vine, Sasuke swung himself to safety and landed on the top of a chunk of stone.

Kunai were taken out from a storage scroll and fell into Sasuke's hands. Mouth pressed into a thin line in focus, Sasuke imbued fire-natured chakra into them and hurtled them at his opponent.

Maintaining his use of the Sharingan, Sasuke met the Mud-Clone head-on after it had weaved through all of his Kunai. Sasuke's perception of everything felt different. "I can't fall behind those two…"

Chakra enhanced all of Sasuke's muscles beyond their natural parameters. The Mud-Clone's knuckles dug into Sasuke's right cheek. Extending his feet outwards, Sasuke kept himself stuck on the stone.

"I can use basic chakra-control to keep my feet connected to any surface this clone hits me towards!" Sasuke thought. "I can win…"

"Compared to the nine-tails Jinchuriki, the Uchiha has better reflexes." The Mud-Clone was punched away. "His Sharingan is its own prize."

Out of nowhere, Sasuke was flung backwards by a burst of wind. The original Orochimaru had arrived, dispelled his clone, and hummed. "You three have entertained me! In return, here are two rewards…"

Naruto had managed to break free from the tomb of stone that the Mud-Clone of Orochimaru had trapped him in. Helping Sasuke to his feet, Naruto directed his attention onto their foe. "Where's Sukuna, huh?!"

"Oh, the four-eyed one?" Orochimaru raised an eye-brow. "You'll see what happened to him soon enough. Now, here are your rewards…"

Hand pressed against his mouth, Orochimaru coughed out his Earth-Scroll and threw it onto the soil. "The Earth-Scroll you seek…"

"My second reward is for Sasuke Uchiha!" Orochimaru extended his neck out at an unbelievable length. "Let's hope you can survive this."

Unable to retaliate in time, Sasuke grunted once Orochimaru had bitten his neck and left behind some kind of mark. Naruto bent his hand into a hand-sign—but Orochimaru swatted him into the bushes.

"I've already made arrangements for three opponents to face you later." Orochimaru told him. "You shall thrive Sasuke Uchiha…"

"And, you, Naruto Uzumaki." Orochimaru grinned. "I hope you won't squander your true potential for much longer—or else you'll perish…"

Unimaginable pain then coursed throughout Sasuke's entire body. Pulses of agony travelled across his muscles as he fell to his knees. Orochimaru smiled at him, sinking into the soil and vanishing for good.

Multiple grunts of pain escaped Sasuke's closed mouth. Deactivating his Sharingan, Sasuke clutched his head while the mark on his neck pulsated more and more. Naruto groaned from his spot in the bushes.

Sasuke soon became unconscious on the ground while Naruto felt exhaustion creep into his bones. Appearing on a tree-branch, Sukuna noticed his teammates and also analyzed their conditions in his head.

Sukuna descended upon them, then landed on the dirt. "Damn it. Orochimaru must have left. And these two look pretty beaten up."

Spotting the Earth-Scroll on the soil, Sukuna picked it up, inserted it into his pouch, and glanced towards Naruto—who was semi-unconscious. Sighing, Sukuna approached his blue-eyed friend.

"He was already pretty beaten up before I woke him up last time." Sukuna crossed his arms. "It would be better if he was well rested."

Knocking Naruto out cold, Sukuna summoned his black-furred wolf and white-furred wolf to carry his teammates on their backs. Sukuna followed his wolf-themed Shikigami from behind, hands in pockets.

Traversing the rough terrain of the Forest-Of-Death, Sukuna instructed his two Shikigami to dump the bodies of his friends on a smooth-surfaced mat of soil. Naruto and Sasuke stayed unconscious.

"Sasuke said he had some food and water, right?" Sukuna took one of his friend's storage-scrolls. "I'm sure these two are gonna be fine."

Popping off the cap of the bottle he had unsealed from the scroll, Sukuna took in massive intakes of water and stored it in his pouch. Knuckles positioned under his chin, Sukuna blinked his four eyes.

Cursed-energy flowed into his eyes and ears to increase the overall quality of his vision and hearing. Sukuna made out the outlines of the three Shinobi from the Sound-Village—who stood in the distance.

It looked as though the three of them were spying on him and his team. Sukuna charged more cursed-energy into his ears to listen in on whatever type of conversation the three from the Sound were having.

"Per lord Orochimaru's orders, we'll strike at dawn."

"Remember, our target is Sasuke Uchiha."

"I can kill the other two, though, right?"

"Of course…"

"How dull." Sukuna cut off the flow of cursed-energy to his ears. "So they plan to strike Sasuke at dawn? I can wait it out for them, then."

(-)

Orochimaru had returned to the area where he had left Sukuna and his blue-scaled snake to battle it out. Much to his fascination, there were only ashes left behind in the air and the faint scent of flames.

"Excellent, he managed to survive!" Orochimaru chortled. "I suppose I will let him live a little longer and see how his abilities shall develop."

Adjusting the conical hat on his head, he smiled. "Everything will soon align for me. I have procured my vessel, one who has the Sharingan."

"The Synchronization-Seal on the nine-tails' Jinchuriki will help him unlock his true strength." Orochimaru thought. "How exciting it is…"

"And Ryomen Sukuna." Orochimaru glanced at the ashes in the air. "I do wonder what other abilities he has at his disposal. Well, no matter."

Orochimaru disappeared.

A/N: Thanks for reading.