The Hidden Leaf was now behind him.A trail of whispers, broken tiles, and unspoken fear.
Asmodeus walked through the dense forests of the Land of Fire, his presence cloaked in nothingness.He didn't rush.He didn't hide.Because no one could see what moved like the night itself.
The devoured essence of Hiruzen still pulsed within him—raw, old power soaked in decades of will, memory, and mastery.
But Asmodeus was not satisfied.He had seen what lay beneath the Hokage's strength… and now he craved more.
The power of a Kage was not the end.It was the beginning.
"I now know what a peak looks like. And it's still not the summit I seek."
His footsteps echoed through the wilderness.He was heading to where true monsters dwelled.
A small, dusty inn stood on the edge of a forgotten town. Smoke coiled from its chimney like a dying breath. Asmodeus entered without a word. The innkeeper, an old shinobi, flinched as soon as their eyes met.
Asmodeus dropped a silver coin.
"I want maps. Of the Five Great Nations. And rumors… of ghosts."
The man hesitated.
But then he saw it—the void in the boy's eyes.And he obeyed.
By midnight, Asmodeus sat alone with a candle flickering beside an open scroll.His eyes scanned the parchment.
Land of Earth: Brutal, militant. Tsuchikage old, but cunning.
Land of Lightning: Home to raw power. Raikage fast, explosive, unstable.
Land of Wind: Bleeding after civil war. Kazekage ruthless, paranoid.
Land of Water: Silent. The new Mizukage—whispers say she's colder than the sea itself.
Land of Fire: Konoha… broken, grieving, still unaware of the ghost that devoured its flame.
And then, the last note. Handwritten.
"Beyond the Kage... there are those who never wear crowns, but command the world's rot."
Asmodeus's smile returned.He folded the map.
The following nights were drenched in blood.
Bandit camps. Rogue ninjas. Missing-nin.He hunted them all.
Not for justice. Not for coin.
But to refine.
He experimented with Devour:
Eating just the chakra core.
Eating the memories only.
Eating the age, and spitting back the soul.
Eating everything—leaving no trace.
He began to notice something new.
Sometimes, he didn't even need to speak the word anymore.
His hand would touch death…And death would obey.
"I'm evolving."
A rustle.A hiss.A letter slid under the door of his rented room.
No seal.No scent.Just a name.
"We know what you did.""We watched the Hokage fall.""We invite you to a place where power is worshipped.""Follow the serpent's path."
At the bottom: A sigil. Three tomoe wrapped in a snake's eye.
Orochimaru.
Asmodeus didn't flinch.He already expected the invitation.
But he didn't move immediately.
"I walk no one's path. Not even the snake's. But… I'll visit his den."
One week later, a figure stood at the edge of a cliff, watching the moon bathe the valley in silver.
A woman in crimson robes appeared beside him. Her chakra masked, her breath silent.
"You're Asmodeus."
"You followed me for three nights. Speak."
She knelt. "I am from the Sound. Lord Orochimaru bids you welcome."
"I don't serve."
"He doesn't ask for that. He wants only to show you… what lies beneath the world."
Asmodeus didn't answer immediately.He was staring at the stars.
"You have two choices," he finally whispered. "Guide me to his lair… or become my meal."
She nodded.
They traveled underground—tunnels winding endlessly beneath the surface of the earth.
The walls whispered secrets.The deeper they went, the heavier the air became.
Chakra residue. Experiments.Madness.
And then…A massive hall, lined with statues of failed vessels.At the end, seated atop a black stone throne, waited Orochimaru.
He opened his arms like a priest welcoming a devil.
"Ahhh… so the one who devoured the Third finally visits me."
Asmodeus didn't bow.
"You're late," he said. "The Hokage's power was stale. But it taught me one thing: the world is filled with aging titans waiting to be eaten."
Orochimaru's grin widened.
"Then let's raise a glass… to extinction."
End of Chapter 12