Inability

Zeus's time in the laboratory turned out much more strenuous than he had initially predicted. However, it was not because of the occasional pain or bursts of chaotic energy entering his body, but rather it was because of his inability to do anything.

Every time Zeus woke up, he would be injected with some substance, thus putting him back to sleep. The timeframe between waking up and going back to sleep was barely enough to come up with a solution to escape. Additionally, his mind always felt foggy and lost, as if he was getting out of hibernation.

The time itself felt stretched and imaginary. Furthermore, in each instance that he opened his eyes, Zeus felt his body grow weaker and weaker, while the seal remained, leaving no option to channel the chakra and flee. However, despite this, Zeus never lost himself and remained determined to escape.

Thankfully, all this time had not been completely for naught. Despite his confusion every time he opened his eyes, Zeus managed to gather some valuable information. His way of fleeing this perdition was through the curse mark on his neck.

Essentially, Zeus could compare it to a parasite. Slowly but surely, it was spreading its disorderly energy throughout his body, traveling through his system from neck onward like some poison. Of course, Zeus long time ago already understood the way to force it out of his body, for it was a joke compared to some hexes Zeus combated against.

However, Zeus decided not to do so. He simply didn't want to alert Orochimaru, who would most likely detect this change and take some unwanted actions. Moreover, with the help of this curse mark, Zeus could have a chance at removing the chakra-suppressing seal placed on his stomach, which was a much bigger issue at hand.

Since coming into this world, Zeus was never interested in achieving prowess through cleverness or knowing a bunch of jutsu, for Zeus simply enjoyed the pure feeling of going into the battle with bare fists and lightning. However, even Zeus understood that the seal placed on his body was much more complicated than anything he had come across.

There was no way Zeus could figure it out and unseal it himself, that's why he had come up with a much more violent way of doing that. Every seal in this world had a simple yet crucial weakness...they could overload.

Similarly how Tailed Beasts could break away from their seals by influencing the Jinchuriki emotions, thus enabling them to release a greater amount of chakra and eventually eradicating their restrictions.

Naturally, doing it within his own body would not be too pleasant, but it was the best option Zeus thought of. Though, there was another issue. For that to work, Zeus needed at least a few minutes and some privacy, so he wouldn't be disturbed by others. Otherwise, his insides could very well fall out altogether.

'It's different.' Zeus once again felt his thought coming through, as he took a deep breath and opened his eyes weakly. Darkness greeted him, followed by Orochimaru's face, which loomed over him from above. Slowly, Zeus came back to his senses.

Firstly, Zeus came to the realization of how powerless did he feel, almost as if he had been evading food like a plague for an entire year. Then the deep coldness of the ground beneath him forced him to grunt his teeth in pain. Even keeping his eyes open required much more energy than ever.

"Welcome back to the world, Zeus," Orochimaru mumbled, still sounding crazy as ever, yet somehow different. More elderly, or sick. Upon closer examination, Zeus understood that the man's hair had grown a lot longer in comparison.

Zeus tried to channel some chakra and was revolted to not feel any energy within him. Then, Zeus tried to open his mouth, but his throat felt too dry to produce any sound. Orochimaru smiled in response. "I understand that it is quite difficult. After all, years have passed since your arrival here. Your mind and body might feel alien by now."

Zeus frowned in response, his brows furrowing as far as they could. With his willpower alone, Zeus pushed himself upwards, eventually coming into a sitting position, as he took a look at himself. Even though Zeus could practically see his own bones through the skin, Zeus had indeed grown much bigger.

'No way...years?' Zeus cursed internally, feeling Orochimaru's shadow falling onto his back. The rage and fury once again clouded his mind, as Zeus thought of all that time that he had been stolen off. Not even understanding where his power was coming from, Zeus jumped from the spot, producing a backflip kick toward Orochimaru.

The man smirked, grabbing Zeus's leg in mid-air and throwing him away. Zeus collided with the ground, this little interaction causing much more pain than a punch from that red fox. Grunting, Zeus stood up, his knees shaking.

"Incredible. Even after so many years, I am still impressed." Orochimaru clapped with his hands. "Not only is your body something unexplainable, but even your willpower is not falling short. As Danzo has said, you are a monster."

Zeus ignored the man, instead focusing on the violent energy coming from his neck. He wanted to try to break the seal immediately but ultimately subdued himself. It wasn't the time. Although a few years passed, Zeus didn't want to meet Hades so fast.

"The reason why I have taken you into this laboratory was because I wanted to make you the next body I was going to transfer to. To do that, I have been using a jutsu called 'The Living Corpse Reincarnation', which essentially enables me to transfer my soul to another person." Orochimaru talked more than Zeus was used to, but he simply continued to listen. "However, like every jutsu, there is a catch. Besides having to overpower the person's soul, I also need to have a part of my chakra permanently infused into the individual. That's why I have come up with Curse Marks."

"However." Orochimaru pointed straight toward Zeus. "You are a phenomenon that I can't explain, for your body has been rejecting my Curse Mark ever since. In fact, you pushed it away like it was nothing, which made me feel even more excited about taking over your body. Yet, no matter what I tried, whether it is starving, poisoning, or pushing more of my chakra into you, you kept defying me. Consciously or unconsciously."

Zeus didn't say anything, though he understood that it was just a normal phenomenon. He might be a mortal now, but the seed of divinity had never left his soul, and some puny curse would never stand a chance against it.

Instead of listening to Orochimaru, Zeus concentrated on recovering some of his strength. He feared that he might get knocked back out at every instant, so he was already prepping a way how he could wake up later and finally condone his plan. However, Orochimaru suddenly appeared before Zeus, causing him to lift his head and make direct eye contact.

Orochimaru suddenly opened his mouth widely, saliva dripping from his mouth. Then, Orochimaru gagged out one single sword, its sheath white. He grabbed it with his hands, pulling out, eventually closing his mouth.

"Coming to the realization that such means were useless, I thought that maybe deadly experiences might force your body to surrender to the Curse Mark." Orochimaru threw the sword toward Zeus, who caught it with one hand. "Fight as if your life depends on it because I am not going to intervene. You are the most fascinating person I had seen in a long time, but if I can't take your body over, then you hold little value to me."

With that, Orochimaru disappeared from the spot, leaving Zeus alone in the darkness. He looked around, expecting the enemies to come out immediately, but was rather surprised that no one came. However, that wasn't for long. Soon, Zeus heard a shout of a monster.

***

Gif: Hospitalized

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