Naruto: Cthulhu: Ch. 245

Orochimaru suddenly snapped the red-covered book shut and tucked it back into the scroll, while Kabuto watched his every move with a sneaky, quiet curiosity.

That red book was the Necronomicon. So far, Orochimaru had collected a total of six such books.

These six Necronomicon had never been shared with anyone else. He only occasionally read some of the stories from them aloud to Kabuto.

Beyond the ancient tales and forbidden knowledge, he had also discovered remnants from antiquity by following certain clues from the Necronomicon.

For example, the statue of Bokrug.

As for why Orochimaru was searching for this statue, he hadn't even told Kabuto. But Kabuto believed that if Orochimaru was doing something, there had to be a very important reason.

In order to search for the statue in the Demon Desert, Orochimaru had even gone as far as infiltrating the Chunin Exams held in Suna, only to be eventually exposed by the Fifth Kazekage.

Logically speaking, Suna and Konoha should now know that the Snake Sannin is still alive.

Although he might soon face renewed pursuit from Konoha and could no longer move freely in the shadows, Kabuto didn't sense even the slightest hint of regret on Orochimaru's face.

What exactly is he thinking?

As Kabuto pondered and struggled to guess Orochimaru's true intentions, a series of footsteps echoed into the cave from outside.

At the edge of the flickering firelight appeared a tall, brightly dressed kunoichi leading a small child, followed closely by a stern-looking man.

"Orochimaru-sama, we've brought Yūkimaru."

"Well done, Guren."

Just that one bit of praise from Orochimaru made the kneeling Guren blush with excitement.

However, Orochimaru paid no mind to her little moment and slowly walked over to Yūkimaru, who was so terrified by his snake-like face that he backed away repeatedly, only to bump into Sasuke's leg after a few steps, with nowhere left to retreat.

Yūkimaru looked up at Sasuke, his innocent, pleading eyes silently begging for help.

Sasuke sighed inwardly and then spoke, "What exactly do you plan to do with this child?"

His words halted Orochimaru mid-step. The Sannin paused and replied, "It's nothing major. Just capturing the Three-Tails."

The Three-Tails!

Upon hearing that, Kabuto, Guren, and Sasuke all felt a sudden shock. They already knew that Yūkimaru possessed the ability to suppress the Three-Tails, perhaps even had the potential to become a jinchūriki.

But he was still very young, and his physical strength was lacking. If they tried to use him to control the Three-Tails at this stage, the risks would be enormous.

Unless someone first weakened most of the Three-Tails' power, and then had Yūkimaru suppress and eventually seal the beast inside himself—similar to what the Fourth Hokage had once done.

Though the Three-Tails wasn't nearly as powerful as the Nine-Tails, every Tailed Beast was formidable. With just the three of them in this cave, the plan seemed extremely reckless.

"Isn't it a bit hasty to try weakening the Three-Tails with only the three of us? There are many skilled ninjas back at the base who could help act as bait."

"Totally unnecessary." Orochimaru flatly rejected Guren's suggestion. "They have their own roles to play, just not in this mission."

"Ever since the Fourth Mizukage died, the Three-Tails perished along with its jinchūriki. But the death of a tailed beast is not a true death. Tailed beasts are masses of chakra. Their chakra will eventually re-form somewhere in the world after a few years, becoming a free entity once again."

"This time, the place where the Three-Tails—Isobu—has been reborn is a lake located somewhere in this region. And according to the instructions in the Necronomicon, this region was once known, in the previous era, as Mnar."

The Necronomicon again.

Upon hearing this familiar term from his mouth, Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly.

It wasn't the first time he'd heard the Sannin mention that book, but in over two years, he had never once seen it with his own eyes. It seemed Orochimaru was intentionally keeping the book out of his reach.

Meanwhile, Kabuto, standing behind Orochimaru, widened his eyes upon hearing the word Mnar, as if something had suddenly clicked for him.

So that's it.

"Don't worry, Sasuke. Capturing the Three-Tails will benefit you as well. Before I left Akatsuki, I heard their goal was to collect all of the tailed beasts."

"If I manage to capture the Three-Tails, your brother might be sent to retrieve it. When that time comes, the two of you… So Sasuke, all you need to do is cooperate with me."

With that, Orochimaru slowly walked toward the mouth of the cave and looked up at the sky.

Under the clear night sky, a full moon hung high overhead. A sly smile appeared on his face.

"Tonight just so happens to be the night of the full moon. A perfect time for dancing."

Bathed in moonlight, the surface of the great lake shimmered like silver, calm and breathtakingly beautiful. This vast lake had no inflowing streams and no rivers draining from it, and yet, over countless ages, it had remained crystal clear.

At the top of a high cliff beside the lake, four tall figures and one smaller figure stood silently in the gentle breeze.

The one standing at the forefront of the cliff was, of course, Orochimaru. Behind him stood Guren, Yūkimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke.

Orochimaru stopped two meters short of the cliff's edge, then drew a scroll from his robes and unrolled it on the ground.

"Summoning Technique!"

When the smoke cleared, a sea-green stone statue stood in front of him.

The statue had a strange design—cylindrical, over twice the height of a person, covered in ancient, indecipherable runes and crisscrossed carvings not from this era. Its shape vaguely resembled some coiled or curled-up creature.

This was the very statue he had gone to great lengths to find in the Demon Desert—even at the cost of exposing that he was still alive.

After putting away the scroll, he signaled for Kabuto to place two torches on either side of the statue. Then he took a deep breath… and began to dance in front of it.

His dance was twisted and erratic, with no fixed steps, his position shifting wildly side to side, full of primal, untamed energy.

The scene left Guren and the others completely puzzled. But Kabuto understood—Orochimaru was imitating the dance of the Thuum'ha performed before this very statue.

After five minutes, Orochimaru stopped dancing and slowly approached the statue, then, with a sudden shove, he pushed it off the edge of the cliff and into the water below.

Sploosh!

The statue spun twice in the air before plunging into the lake, the massive splash briefly breaking the stillness of the night—only to fall silent just as quickly.

Now came the waiting.

Everyone fixed their eyes on the lake, watching as the once-sparkling surface slowly dimmed and began to glow with a pale green light.

The eerie glow wasn’t emanating from the surface, but rather from deep beneath the water, refracting through the lake and spilling out into the night air.

But that wasn’t the only change. A thick, ominous green mist began to rise from the lake.

It was as if the mist were alive—rolling forth from the center of the lake, drifting in all directions regardless of the wind. Even the high cliff where Orochimaru and his group stood was quickly swallowed by the murky green, as if fate itself had cast a shroud over them.

From afar, the mist made the lake seem like a world separated from reality.

Within the green mist, Yūkimaru’s body trembled uncontrollably, his frightened eyes darting about nervously.

In the past, Guren might’ve placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder to calm him, her maternal instincts providing a brief sense of security. But now, even she was completely entranced by the bizarre, dreamlike scene before them, momentarily forgetting his presence.

She stared into the sky-filling mist—so dense, so mysterious, yet strangely, it didn’t obscure visibility much at all. For some reason, she could see everything clearly, even the faraway lake surface remained perfectly visible.

And on that calm surface, faint dark-green apparitions slowly rose from the water, drifting like lost souls.

They had distinct features—grossly swollen lips that couldn’t close fully, bulging frog-like eyes, and oddly shaped ears.

Even Orochimaru, who had remained composed until now, couldn’t keep his face from shifting in response to the grotesque sight.

Though he had already read about this in the Book of the Dead, seeing it in person was another matter. The raw fear stirred something in him.

Yet Orochimaru’s expression wasn’t one of terror, like the Sarnathians in the tale—it was one of sheer excitement. Or perhaps exhilaration.

To see with his own eyes that the ancient legend was true, that the souls of the Thuum'ha really did linger—this feeling overwhelmed any trace of fear. His body trembled with anticipation.

Sasuke, on the other hand, didn’t feel excited. In the midst of the green mist, all he sensed from those dark-green apparitions was an overwhelming unease.

He couldn’t stay silent anymore. He shouted toward Orochimaru, who stood in front of him, “What are those things?!”

The mist was eerily quiet. The spirits didn’t make any noise—not even as they walked atop the water but Orochimaru acted as if he hadn’t heard Sasuke at all.

As Sasuke moved forward to demand an answer, Kabuto quickly spoke up.

“Those are most likely the souls of the Thuum'ha.”

Sasuke hadn’t heard the story Orochimaru read, so he was utterly confused.

“This place was once called Mnar. At the center of the lake stood the city-state of Ib, where the Thuum'ha lived.”

“But the Thuum'ha were massacred by humans, and their bodies were thrown into this lake. So, all these green spirits are likely their souls.”

Kabuto, despite the tension, kept calm thanks to having heard the tale earlier, and gave a concise explanation of what they were seeing.

Hearing this, Sasuke quieted down a bit, but kept his eyes fixed on the spirits drifting across the water. His right hand slowly moved to the hilt of the Kusanagi Sword at his waist.

Guren, beside him, clenched her fists tightly—not just shocked by what she saw, but also feeling a pang of jealousy toward Kabuto.

“Yūkimaru, it’s time to summon the Three-Tails.”

Orochimaru’s sudden command broke the moment. Kabuto immediately pulled out a device and attached it to Yūkimaru.

“This is a brainwave amplifier—it’ll give you the power needed to draw out the Three-Tails. And this medicine is different from the last one. It’ll ease your pain significantly. Come on now—if we don’t finish this, we won’t be going home.”

Kabuto coaxed and half-lied to the boy while administering the drug and attaching the device.

After swallowing it, Yūkimaru was calm for a few seconds—then suddenly his body jerked like he’d been electrocuted. He clutched his throat in pain, then let out a primal roar.

From his body, blue chakra burst forth in waves, disturbing the lake’s surface and sending ripples far and wide.

Among the hundreds of Thuum'ha souls swaying with the waves on the lake’s surface, another figure began to emerge—something far larger—its shape obscured by the pale green glow of the lake.

A shadow, colossal and dark, rose slowly from the depths, eclipsing the glow with its bulk.

The water bent and broke around it as it emerged—like a submerged city lifting from the depths.

It was a giant turtle-like beast, covered in spines, its shell and legs mottled gray. Only the flesh beneath its shell was pink. On its head was a single eye glowing a fierce red. And behind it, three massive tails lashed through the air—undeniable proof of its identity: the Three-Tails, Isobu.

It thrashed its tails as if trying to swat away the ominous green mist that clung to its body. But the mist clung tight, like ghostly chains, impossible to shake off.

Orochimaru and the others stared in awe at the beast surfacing from the lake.

“It worked.” Kabuto’s voice was shaky, not because he doubted the summoning, but because he feared Yūkimaru wouldn’t be able to hold the beast for long.

And before Kabuto could even voice his concern, Orochimaru gave another order.

“Kabuto, have Yūkimaru release control of the Three-Tails.”

“But if he does that, the Three-Tails will go berserk!”

Orochimaru sneered and replied coldly, “It’s fine.”

“To clear out the things hiding in the lake… He will appear.”

In the direction he was staring, the depths of the lake began to glow even brighter—like an emerald blazing from the darkness. The light grew, illuminating everything.

And within that light, something—something with form—began to rise.