Orochimaru had already made up his mind to study Yang Release Taijutsu. His grasp over the Yang attribute wasn't exceptional, so mastering it would likely demand significant time. As for Ripple (Hamon) training, there were many aspects still shrouded in mystery that he wanted to research.
At that moment, Orochimaru resembled a child who had gotten a new toy—without another word to Ishiki, he turned and walked out of the range of Ishiki's Stand, Heavy Rain and Raging Wind.
Ishiki stared at the shattered earth and had no intention of lingering. The battle had been loud enough to alert half the Hidden Grass shinobi. Even if they were blind, the noise alone should have drawn attention. Staying meant only more trouble.
He wasn't in the mood for a bloodbath. So, relocation was the smart choice.
Before leaving, Ishiki thoroughly cleared the battlefield—burnt snake corpses, chakra scorch marks, and all traces of combat. He couldn't risk anyone linking this location or this battle to Orochimaru.
After the cleanup, Ishiki gave one final glance to the surroundings and turned away.
The ravaged mountain forest fell silent again—briefly.
A long-limbed, tail-swaying creature with short claws and yellow slit-pupils appeared in the trees. Its nose twitched, its throat hissed gutturally. Smaller figures emerged from behind its legs and scattered through the forest.
Orochimaru still had many questions. For instance, Ishiki's eye—what was the true nature of it?
But Ishiki wasn't talking. And Orochimaru knew there was nothing he could do to pry it from him directly.
Until recently, Orochimaru hadn't cared much for the Uchiha's Sharingan. Despite its formidable insight and genjutsu, the transplant came with major drawbacks—non-Uchiha bearers had to feed it chakra constantly to keep it active. The cost outweighed the gain.
But after encountering Ishiki, his perspective shifted.
If one could find a way to master the Sharingan without needing Uchiha blood... the possibilities were intriguing.
Besides, Danzo had always placed extreme importance on the Sharingan. That alone gave Orochimaru more incentive.
Whether the Uchiha Clan would come knocking afterward wasn't something that concerned him.
Decision made, Orochimaru stepped beyond the area affected by Rainbow's subliminal influence, then rolled up his sleeve.
His body had started morphing again—serpentine—scales blooming across his arm.
"Using one subconscious overlay to block another—effective, but only for a time," he murmured.
Yet the scales soon faded. His arm reverted to human shape.
"But for now, it's enough to resist Ishiki's jutsu," Orochimaru's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Branding one's own mind is easy through genjutsu suggestion and hypnosis. But planting a subconscious imprint into others, without their awareness... how the hell does Ishiki do it?"
Even now, he hadn't unraveled the full secrets of Rainbow. He only knew: if you saw the rainbow—you'd already been marked. And that mark was notoriously difficult to purge.
"Maybe it's Ripple-related..." he muttered, giving even more weight to the technique in his mind.
While Ishiki clashed with Orochimaru, one of his shadow clones had already brought Hyūga Tokuma to another Konoha encampment.
This camp felt much lighter in atmosphere than the tense border zone near the Grass Village. Ever since the end of the Third Great Ninja War, the Land of Rain had pulled back its forces. Internal strife plagued them. With Hanzō the Salamander still active, they'd stopped all foreign aggression.
Even if Konoha and Iwagakure ever reignited conflict, their focus would stay on the Grass Country.
Especially after the appearance of Turtle Island, the area had seen no real combat in ages.
Only the intel-gathering missions into Amegakure still posed real danger. But those were handled by specialist infiltrators—not the frontline ninja deployed here.
The commander in charge of this camp was none other than the Uchiha prodigy: Uchiha Shisui.
Young in years but high in regard. His status came not just from his strength, but from his nature—always patient, always kind. Yet when decisions had to be made, he acted swiftly and without hesitation.
After Ishiki handed Tokuma over and explained the situation, Shisui wasted no time.
He activated his Sharingan, layering a powerful genjutsu over the subconscious programming Ishiki had placed. Tokuma's body responded immediately, shifting under the influence.
The snailification slowly reversed—this time, no interruptions. Inch by inch, his body returned to human form.
"What a powerful jutsu..." Shisui muttered, visibly impressed.
He hadn't even used his Mangekyō Sharingan, yet the standard genjutsu had barely managed to erase Tokuma's strange self-perception—that deep-seated belief: "I am a snail."
Ishiki exhaled, relieved.
His theory had been correct: a genjutsu, if powerful enough, could indeed affect the subconscious.
Still, there were clear differences from Heavy Rain and Raging Wind.
For one, the target had to completely lower their mental defenses. Only then could the genjutsu reach deep enough to overwrite subconscious beliefs.
Second, not everyone could cast genjutsu at that level.
Even Shisui had to spend serious time and effort removing the imprint from Tokuma.
Ishiki suspected Shisui was holding back. If he'd activated his Mangekyō, the cure would've been faster. But that kind of power came with a price—burning through eyesight.
If breaking the imprint required overusing Mangekyō, you might heal one mind... only to blind the caster.
After thanking Shisui, Inuzuka Zawa and Muta led Tokuma out of the tent.
But as Ishiki turned to leave, Shisui called out.
"Ishiki... your eye?"
He'd noticed earlier. Now, with only the two of them present, he voiced the concern directly.
"It's a side effect of a family jutsu. Don't worry." Ishiki removed his sunglasses. He knew better than to think he could hide chakra anomalies from the eyes of a seasoned Uchiha.
The chakra coursing through his right eye was drastically different—like a flickering flame in the night to Shisui's gaze.
"My apologies," Shisui bowed. He had thought something was wrong. But now that he saw Ishiki's eye and heard the explanation, he felt slightly embarrassed.
"I get it, Captain. You're just looking out for me." Ishiki didn't mind at all.
He appreciated that Shisui confronted it directly. If the Uchiha had kept silent and brooded alone, that could've led to worse complications.
He had no plans to reveal the secrets of the Saint's Right Eye, but neither could he avoid using it. He'd already prepared himself for exposure.
That's why the shades.
With the Saint's Corpse now confirmed to exist in this world, Ishiki had no doubt there were other parts out there.
And fate... fate would bring the bearers to him.
So exposing his eye to everyone was unnecessary. Better to let only the close or the keen-eyed observe it.
Shisui had more questions—curiosity lingered on his tongue. But he swallowed them, instead casually sweeping a message scroll off the desk. One freshly arrived from the village.
He stood. "Ishiki, there are still a lot of wounded in the camp. Since you're here, come help me check on them."
"Sure." Ishiki noticed the hesitation, but didn't pry.