Naruto: Cthulhu: Ch. 254

The Venom Shoggoth within Kimimaro's body was recreated by Orochimaru through hypnosis, based on the original Shoggoth. While it retained the Shoggoth's abilities, it was modified so as not to harm Kimimaro's original body.

Of course, this also limited the Venom Shoggoth, preventing it from fully unleashing its power while inside Kimimaro.

However, when the Venom Shoggoth is forcibly pulled out of the body by the Dance of Clematis: Vine, it can then demonstrate its full capabilities.

Faced with the web of black spine and bone spikes, Satori instinctively tried to turn and fly away.

But before its massive body could lift off, the web had already descended, enshrouding Satori like a small beast caught in the woods.

Next, the black spine and bone spikes rapidly contracted. Satori struggled violently for barely a second before the black "net" tightened completely around its body, rendering it immobile.

Roar!

Satori let out an earth-shaking roar from its gaping mouth, but it was already too late. No matter how much its enormous body struggled inside, it couldn't break free from the tenacious Venom Shoggoth.

Meanwhile, Kimimaro was already sprinting full speed toward the immobilized Satori.

Upon reaching it, Kimimaro leapt into the air, plunging a spiraling black bone spear from his other hand straight into Satori's brain.

Roar!

Another roar echoed, but this time it was no longer a roar of intimidation—it was a cry of a dying beast.

The bone spear in Kimimaro's hand drilled into Satori's spherical body like a drill, sending black feathers and blood spraying from the spiral-shaped wound.

Even as it drilled in, the spear itself expanded, until it completely dismembered Satori's body into fragments of various sizes.

Only after Satori had been torn apart into a pile of mangled monster limbs did Kimimaro land back on the ground.

The bone spear slowly retracted into his hand, and the massive black web entangling Satori's remains also began to flow back into Kimimaro's body from the palm of his right hand.

In truth, after replacing all his bones with the Venom Shoggoth, Kimimaro no longer needed to draw his spine from his back when using the Dance of Clematis—he could simply summon it directly from his palm.

At that moment, two figures suddenly appeared beside Kimimaro—it was Orochimaru, who had been watching from a distance.

Orochimaru didn't praise Kimimaro at all. Instead, he gazed proudly at the scattered remains of Satori on the ground and murmured, "A battle between monsters…"

"It seems I have the upper hand, Sage of Six Paths."

But then, Orochimaru's gaze moved past Satori's corpse and landed on the Box of Ultimate Bliss in the distance.

A look of fanatical excitement immediately flashed in Orochimaru's eyes. In a blink, he was already standing in front of the box.

The human face at the front of the box was open, like a dark doorway to the abyss.

Staring into the dizzying black void inside, Orochimaru stepped in without hesitation.

Inside the box, with Satori's death, much of its strange energy had faded.

Aside from the four faces of Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Pleasure each housing a seal personally inscribed by the Sage of Six Paths, the interior held nothing else of note.

Yet those seals were remarkable in themselves. After all, they were created by the Sage before modern ninjutsu existed, relying solely on chakra's raw power. These seals were likely of great value for researching the origins of chakra.

But for once, Orochimaru—who usually lived for research—completely ignored them. He didn't even glance at them.

The musty air stung his nostrils, but Orochimaru didn't care—he was after something far more important.

Scanning the deepening darkness further inside the chamber, Orochimaru's serpentine pupils suddenly widened as he caught a faint glow in the shadows.

There it was.

Without a second thought, Orochimaru pounced forward, greedily clutching the tiny light like a treasure hunter. He was so possessive that he didn't allow even the slightest bit of that glow to escape.

Within the box's darkness, Orochimaru crouched on the ground with no concern for his dignity, both hands shielding the light. Slowly, he brought his trembling face close to the gap between his hands.

Under his palms, a small but exquisitely crafted object gleamed with a silvery light. Spiral vine-like patterns adorned its surface, and even the grooves of the key's teeth were etched with intricate, delicate details.

It defied human description—its craftsmanship seemed unworldly. The fact that it could emit light even in complete darkness spoke volumes of its extraordinary nature.

The Silver Key!

Orochimaru knew it with absolute certainty—this was the very object he had yearned for all these years, the fulfillment of his deepest desire: the Silver Key!

With trembling hands, Orochimaru lifted the key, his snake-like pupils quivering as they stared, afraid it might sprout legs and run away at any moment.

In fact, deep down, Orochimaru wouldn't rule out that possibility. After all, this was the legendary Silver Key—crafted by Yog-Sothoth, the One Who Unites All Things—and might even be Yog-Sothoth itself.

With this key in hand, one could witness the truths of the cosmos, the origins behind the universe itself.

This was the true path to paradise!

For such a mysterious and unfathomable key, Orochimaru wouldn't be surprised if it grew wings and flew away—he'd believe it.

So, the moment the key landed in his palm, Orochimaru clutched it with all his might. He didn't even dare blink, fearing it would vanish if he looked away.

As Orochimaru meticulously examined every spiral pattern on its surface, he made a discovery.

Just as the Necronomicon had described, the Silver Key hidden by the Sage of Six Paths within the Box of Ultimate Bliss was only one-third of the whole.

The version depicted in the Necronomicon resembled an ancient key with a long shaft and toothed end.

The first piece Orochimaru found had been the key's handle; this piece was the shaft.

Which meant the final part was still hidden, as the Necronomicon had said—somewhere in a "secret realm" placed by the Sage of Six Paths.

As for that realm, Orochimaru currently had no leads. The only clue came from the Necronomicon, which described it as a place unreachable by ordinary people.

Where could that place possibly be?

He held the newly acquired segment of the Silver Key in both hands. For now, he didn't concern himself with where the so-called "Hidden Realm" might be; instead, he focused on storing this crucial piece safely.

He first tucked the Silver Key into his pocket with some hesitation. Then, without wasting time, Orochimaru performed a summoning technique, calling forth a massive brown python.

A quarter of the snake's body stood upright before Orochimaru. He spoke to it in a serpentine language no one else could understand. The snake flicked its tongue, seemingly understanding his command.

Wrapped within the forked tongue was the original segment of the Silver Key Orochimaru had obtained.

He retrieved that piece and joined it with the one he had just placed in his pocket. A miraculous sight followed.

The break between the two pieces of the Silver Key fit together with perfect precision—so seamless that not even the faintest black line, where a seam should've been, could be seen.

When Orochimaru let go, the two segments had already fused into one whole. The process of their merging was completely invisible—it just happened naturally and effortlessly.

Orochimaru knew that the Sage of Six Paths had originally used a magical array to divide the power of the Silver Key into three parts—not through physical means. So, this was merely a magical rejoining of energy, and not particularly surprising.

However, this further confirmed that the Silver Key in Orochimaru's hands was no ordinary object. It truly transcended the ninja world—perhaps even this dimension itself.

Placing the now-complete Silver Key back on the snake's tongue, Orochimaru ended the summoning. The brown python vanished with a puff.

Orochimaru turned and exited the box. At the door, Kimimaro was still respectfully waiting. Kabuto seemed to have just returned, with two strangely shaped individuals standing behind him.

Neither Kimimaro nor Kabuto asked what Orochimaru had been doing inside. But judging from the smile on Orochimaru's face, they could tell that whatever he had intended to do—he had succeeded.

At this moment, Kabuto reported, "Orochimaru-sama, I just went back to the basement but didn't find Guren or Yūkimaru. But I did find these two."

The two bizarre-looking figures behind Kabuto cautiously introduced themselves in Orochimaru's presence.

"My name is Kigiri, Lord Orochimaru."

"I'm Nurari. Like Kigiri, I was one of Guren's subordinates."

Normally, Orochimaru wouldn't waste his time speaking to underlings of underlings. But in his current good mood after acquiring the Silver Key, he asked, "So, aside from you two, are the others all dead?"

"I-I think so," Kigiri replied vaguely.

But Nurari suddenly added, "Gozu might still be alive. He said he was going to look for Guren-sama, and then never came back."

Orochimaru smiled faintly, and Kabuto leaned over to whisper, "Could Guren have taken the Three-Tails jinchūriki and betrayed you?"

Kabuto deliberately emphasized the word "betray," attempting to lower Guren's standing.

But Orochimaru simply shook his head and said calmly, "That Three-Tails jinchūriki is of no use to me anymore. Let Guren take him."

In truth, Kabuto was unaware that this had been Orochimaru's plan all along.

Yūkimaru's ability to control the Three-Tails came solely from his unique physical constitution. His actual strength was so poor that he could barely qualify as a ninja.

So Yūkimaru was never going to become a combat asset like the other Jinchūriki of the Great Ninja Villages. At most, he was a container for the tailed beast's chakra—of limited value to Orochimaru.

But Orochimaru knew that Akatsuki regarded all tailed beasts and their hosts as targets to capture. If Yūkimaru stayed here, he would become a dangerous burden.

Orochimaru had long noticed that Guren harbored a mix of guilt and affection for Yūkimaru—after all, she had killed his parents under Orochimaru's orders.

So Orochimaru decided to go along with it. He saw through Guren's intentions but chose not to expose her, silently allowing her to take the "hot potato" away once his plan was complete.

The only downside to this plan was that it would certainly provoke Sasuke's dissatisfaction.

Because when the plan to capture the Three-Tails was first proposed, Orochimaru claimed it might draw out Itachi from Akatsuki.

But Orochimaru knew how powerful Akatsuki were. As long as they didn't interfere with his quest for the Silver Key, he didn't want to provoke them.

So for this operation, he left Sasuke behind at the base. Once everything was over, Guren's departure with the Jinchūriki would be a done deal.

He could only hope Sasuke wouldn't react too explosively when he returned.

With the plan now complete, Orochimaru turned and walked out of Hōzuki Castle, with Kabuto and Kimimaro following without hesitation.

Kigiri and Nurari stood dumbfounded, unsure whether, now that their direct superior had fled, they could still follow Orochimaru.

"What about us?"

"You two, come along as well."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama!"

Upon receiving Orochimaru's approval, the two gratefully followed behind Kabuto and Kimimaro.

As the five-man group departed under the final rays of the sunset, figures began to emerge from the prison cells of Hōzuki Castle.

These were the prisoners who had been hiding during the earlier battle. Now that the fighting had ended, they finally dared to come out.

"Please take us with you!"

"We're willing to follow you to the death!"

Prisoner after prisoner dropped to their knees, begging to be taken along.

After all, their chakra had been sealed. Without help, they couldn't even escape this island, which was surrounded by sea on all sides.

But this time, Orochimaru showed no mercy. He tilted his head slightly and gave them a devilish smirk—shaking his head, an unspoken declaration of their death sentence.

Thus, Orochimaru, Kimimaro, Kabuto, Kigiri, and Nurari strode out of Hōzuki Castle into the setting sun, leaving behind a crowd of despairing prisoners wailing in sorrow.

---

Meanwhile, in the only cell with a closed door, a noble, dark-skinned man in a flamboyant robe watched the entire scene unfold through the small window.

His towering, majestic figure slowly turned away, clearly out of place in such a tiny cell.

In the corner, a prisoner was so terrified he could no longer speak. The floor beneath him was soaked, and he stared ahead blankly.