Chapter 99:
"How interesting… Mitsuki, do you know how excited I was when I found out you were Gray Wolf's son? I'm going to do everything to you that Gray Wolf once did to me."
The burly man had his back to Mitsuki as he prepared his torture tools.
Mitsuki sat slumped in the chair, seemingly unconscious, bound tightly. His body was covered in wounds, but thanks to his ghoul physiology, he could fully recover overnight.
Yet the moment he heard the name "Gray Wolf," a faint reaction flickered across his otherwise lifeless face.
"Gray Wolf…"
Mitsuki murmured to himself. The one who had turned him into this state was none other than Orochimaru, who had now become Gray Wolf.
"Yeah, your father—Gray Wolf. Speaking of which, I don't think I've introduced myself yet. I'm Gecko, one of the experimental subjects your father, Gray Wolf, created."
Gecko turned around to face Mitsuki, holding a pair of pliers in his hand as he crouched in front of him.
"What are you trying to do?!"
Mitsuki instinctively sensed danger and began struggling.
"It's useless. I've already gotten rid of all the snakes you could use as substitutes." Gecko spoke as he ripped off one of Mitsuki's toenails with the pliers.
The searing pain made Mitsuki let out a muffled groan, but he quickly clenched his teeth.
"Mm, I like people like you—strong. Watching someone strong cry out in pain during my executions gives me a sense of pride."
There was only one reason Mitsuki could endure this torment—Boruto. Mitsuki believed that once Boruto saw the white snake he left behind, he would come to rescue him without hesitation.
"It looks like you still think there's hope for rescue, huh?" Gecko narrowed his eyes. "In that case, let's add another rule to our little game. During this 'game,' Mitsuki, I want you to count down from one thousand, subtracting seven each time. If you pause or make a mistake, I'll kill you on the spot."
As he yanked out another toenail, Gecko added, "You may begin, Mitsuki."
"…Nine hundred ninety-three…"
It wasn't submission—it was for the chance to see Boruto again.
As long as he could see Boruto, it was enough.
"…Five hundred forty-five…" Mitsuki could feel his body on the verge of collapse, but the will to see Boruto kept him going.
"Alright, Mitsuki, you can rest for now. Honestly, I like you more and more." Gecko began packing up his torture tools. "Oh right—I'll be back this afternoon."
...
Outside the Hidden Leaf Village.
This was the first encounter between the reborn Uchiha Itachi and Orochimaru.
Both were exceedingly cautious by nature, and from the moment they met, neither spoke a word. Instead, they quietly observed each other's subconscious micro-movements.
Feeling the awkward silence, Shunhi coughed lightly and said, "…Your mission is to retrieve an escaped experimental subject from the Umbrella Organization."
As he spoke, Shunhi handed a scroll to Uchiha Itachi.
Receiving the intel scroll, Itachi's feelings were a bit complicated. In the Akatsuki, he had been a pillar—the organization was always assigning him tasks. But here in S.H.I.E.L.D., it was the exact opposite. Aside from a few missions at the beginning, he'd mostly been idle.
He'd even asked Minato and Kushina about it. They too had been doing little more than secretly watching over their grandkids or going on dates lately.
But this also showed something else: S.H.I.E.L.D. was powerful—and they still didn't fully trust people like them.
Seeing the word "ghoul" on the intel scroll, Itachi's eyes grew serious. Creatures resembling zombies—clearly the Umbrella Organization had made another major breakthrough.
"Then I'll leave this mission to you," Shunhi said before sensing one of his Flying Thunder God kunai inside his shop and teleporting away instantly.
Both he and Minato used the same technique, but while Minato used it for combat, Shunhi always used it for travel. It couldn't be helped—Shunhi had always been terrible at throwing kunai.
After Shunhi vanished, Orochimaru finally turned toward the other S.H.I.E.L.D. member beside him. "We meet again, Flaming Cloud Evil God."
Both Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi had the same idea: to avoid doing too much during the retrieval mission and instead observe each other's fighting style to gauge their true identity.
"Mm. Let's go."
Although Itachi and Orochimaru had set out later, because they didn't have anyone dragging them down, they quickly caught up with the four-man rescue team sent to save Mitsuki.
A heavy atmosphere hung over the area.
Itachi's gaze briefly lingered on Boruto and Sarada before shifting to the two unfamiliar faces.
"Who are you?" he asked.
Anyone traveling with Boruto and Sarada warranted caution. Boruto was one thing, but Sarada was Sasuke's daughter—Itachi couldn't afford to ignore that.
"Flaming Cloud Evil God!"
"S.H.I.E.L.D.!"
Sarada and Boruto replied in unison.
After exchanging glances, Zabuza and Haku didn't respond to Itachi. Instead, they launched a surprise attack to seize the initiative.
In truth, Sarada had always had a good impression of Flaming Cloud Evil God—not just because he was also a Uchiha, but because he had once protected her.
Boruto, however, felt differently. Every time he ran into S.H.I.E.L.D., he ended up getting beat up.
"Uncle Yukino! I'm coming to help!"
Just as Boruto was about to charge in, Sarada grabbed him and pointed toward Orochimaru, who stood quietly on the sidelines.
"Idiot, don't you see someone on their side hasn't made a move either? Besides, with our strength, we'd just get in the way of a fight like this."
Boruto glanced at the three who were exchanging simple ninjutsu and probing each other with shuriken. "Huh? Sarada, don't underestimate us…"
But before he could finish, Itachi suddenly unleashed his Susanoo, cutting him off instantly.
"…Sarada, you're right. Saving Mitsuki is more important."
Orochimaru made no attempt to stop Boruto and Sarada as they quietly slipped away. After all, they were the children of Naruto and Sasuke. Just because he'd aligned with S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't mean Orochimaru was arrogant enough to disregard Naruto and Sasuke entirely.
What if, in the end, S.H.I.E.L.D. was wiped out by Naruto and Sasuke?
Backing both sides had always been Orochimaru's way—his key to survival.
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