Naruto: I Became Orochimaru's Apprentice-Chapter 55: After Everything I’ve Done For You

Itachi stood there, coldly.

The blade plunged into Teriyaki's chest. Fire spread through his veins, igniting every nerve with unbearable agony. Before he could even gasp, another slash tore through his leg—then his ribs—his arms—again—again—again.

Each wound erased itself instantly, only to be reopened. His body was forced to endure endless destruction, rebuilt just to be shattered once more.

He screamed, but in this world of endless crimson, no one could save him.

The sky fractured further, darkness stretching into infinity. Time twisted, stretching each moment into an eternity of suffering. He lost track of how many times he was cut, how many times he was torn apart and stitched back together. Reality itself faded, leaving only pain and despair.

And then, it ended.

Teriyaki collapsed, his body trembling violently, yet he could not truly move. His limbs refused to respond, his mind barely clinging to awareness. He was nothing more than a husk, a remnant of what he had been moments before. All he knew was pain. Every breath was empty and hollow.

"Wake up."

But Teriyaki's body did not respond, even after he triggered the curse mark.

"His injuries are in the mind?"

"He needs rest." Itachi turned to Orochimaru. "And without him, you will die now."

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Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, gasping slightly from the overwhelming fear ripping it's way through his mind.

"This killing intent..." Orochimaru chuckled grimly. "How long have you wanted this Itachi?"

No words were spoken from Itachi, who only watched Orochimaru closely.

He had prepared for illusions, devised countermeasures against them—but none of it mattered. He had not expected Itachi to wield such devastating power in the span of a single heartbeat. He had not expected Teriyaki to fall so fast.

The moment Orochimaru made to move, their eyes met again. Itachi's sharingan spun swiftly.

"You're already in my-." Itachi's words were cut short.

A deafening roar ruptured their earbuds as the ground trembled beneath them. In an instant, massive coils burst from the earth, and Manda, the colossal serpent king, emerged in a blur of movement. Without hesitation, Manda swallowed up Orochimaru and Teriyaki, taking them in whole.

Itachi jumped back and flipped down unto the ground. He wiped the dirt off his sleeves and looked up at Manda.

The giant snake reared back, its piercing yellow eyes locking onto Itachi for a brief moment before disappearing into the ground, vanishing in a swirl of dust and displaced earth. The battlefield was silent once more.

Itachi exhaled quietly, his crimson Sharingan still spinning as he lowered his gaze. He had anticipated many of Orochimaru's tricks—but summoning Manda in the fraction of a second before a Genjutsu could take hold was a new one.

"He knows his own weaknesses well."

"He uses the boy like a puppet," Itachi mused silently. "I shouldn't reveal all my techniques. The moment I do, his threats will have value."

And with that, the Uchiha turned away, the shadows casting his figure into darkness, that very same darkness swallowing him whole.

Orochimaru had vanished into the darkness, his hoarse annoyed pants echoing off the stone walls.

The two were covered in whatever was inside of Manda.

And as he escaped, he whispered, "Teriyaki, once again you've failed me."

Orochimaru frowned before kicking him in the ribs.

"GET UP."

Teriyaki gasped, forcing himself onto his hands and knees.

And as he stared at the stone floor, his hands shaking, he vowed—

I will kill this snake. Even if I have to be his slave for another 10 years.

Teriyaki lay motionless on the cold stone floor of Orochimaru's lair, his body trembling, his breath ragged. Seventy-two hours of relentless agony had just ended, but his mind still felt trapped in that nightmarish world. Worse of all, instead of rest he only recieved more pain.

Even as reality returned, his muscles still convulsed, phantom pains searing through his nerves. He could still feel the blades, still see the crimson sky, still hear the quiet, merciless voice of Itachi Uchiha.

His stomach churned, bile rising in his throat. He barely had the strength to turn his head before vomiting onto the floor beside him.

Orochimaru watched.

He stood over Teriyaki, his arms crossed, golden eyes gleaming with amusement. "Well, well," he purred. "Still breathing? You think you can just fail me and then rest?"

Teriyaki groaned, gripping the stone beneath him. The moment he tried to push himself up, his arms gave out. He collapsed again, panting.

Orochimaru crouched beside him, his voice laced with mock sympathy. "That was your first taste of Tsukuyomi, wasn't it?" His lips curled into a wicked grin. "How does it feel? To be so utterly, completely at someone else's mercy?"

Teriyaki gritted his teeth.

Orochimaru chuckled. "Oh, don't be so resentful. It was inevitable that you'd crumble. No one—no one—simply walks away from that technique unscathed. But..." He tilted his head, his expression darkening. "That doesn't mean you should be this pathetic. After everything I've done for you."

Teriyaki's fingers twitched, curling into a weak fist.

Orochimaru's smile widened. "Good. You still have some fight in you. That means you're ready for your lesson."

Teriyaki's body tensed. "Lesson...? Please-."

Orochimaru grabbed him by his sleeves and yanked him up, forcing him to sit. Teriyaki's body protested, every nerve in his system screaming.

"You see," Orochimaru mused, "I never expected you to resist Tsukuyomi. That would be absurd." He chuckled. "But I did expect you to recover faster. I thought I trained you to be better than this. And since you failed me so miserably in that regard..."

His fingers curled around Teriyaki's chin, lifting his head so their eyes met.

"...I'll fix that. You need more pain tolerance."

A sharp pain exploded in Teriyaki's side.

He gasped. Orochimaru's fingers had plunged into his ribs, not enough to be lethal, but enough to send fire ripping through his nerves.

"Wh—"

Another stab.

Teriyaki howled in pain, his body jerking involuntarily.

Even if he wanted to resist the curse mark was there, but his body was already in a dehabilitated state due to the Tsukiyomi.

Orochimaru sighed theatrically. "Pathetic. You survived seventy-two hours of hell, yet you're still reacting like this? Truly disappointing."

Teriyaki gasped for air, sweat dripping from his brow. "Wh—What... are you doing?!" This isn't even pain tolerance, this is just him venting his anger onto me! 

Orochimaru grinned.

"Training your pain tolerance."

The next few hours were almost worse than the Tsukuyomi.

Orochimaru's lesson was simple: break Teriyaki over and over again until pain became meaningless.

Cuts. Bruises. Burns. Dislocations. Teriyaki's body was flexible and trained, so it needed even more breaking than usual.

Each time Teriyaki reacted—each time he flinched, screamed, or fought back—Orochimaru simply did it again.

Kabuto came in occasionally, to do some healing, but that only meant more pain could be sent unto Teriyaki.

"Pain is an illusion," Orochimaru said at one point, watching as Teriyaki gasped for breath, sweat and blood mixing beneath him. "If you believe you are suffering, then you will suffer. But if you accept it—if you control it—you can make pain your servant instead of your master."

Teriyaki barely heard him. His body was a mess of wounds, his mind teetering between rage and delirium. But somewhere, in the depths of his exhaustion, he understood.

He had felt this before—not just today.

Every time Orochimaru punished him. Every time the Curse Mark flared up. Every time he was forced to kneel.

The only way to win... was to train your mind into a husk that only knew killing.

And so, as Orochimaru stabbed him one last time, Teriyaki did something different.

He didn't scream.

He didn't flinch.

He didn't react at all.

Orochimaru's golden eyes gleamed with amusement.

"Oh?" He twisted the blade slightly, watching for a reaction.

Nothing.

Teriyaki simply stared at him. His breathing was slow, steady. The pain was still there—burning, pulsing—but it no longer owned him.

Orochimaru chuckled, withdrawing the blade. "Now you're starting to get it. Now you're acting right."

Teriyaki collapsed onto his back, his vision swimming.

"I'll make you suffer again soon," Orochimaru mused, standing. "But for now, rest. We'll see if you've really learned anything."

He turned to leave.

Teriyaki, through heavy eyelids, managed one final thought before unconsciousness claimed him.

All this pain... When is it my turn?