Naruto: I Became Orochimaru's Apprentice

Orochimaru stepped forward and crouched until he was eye level with Teriyaki. "First, you must understand your body is not just flesh — it is a reservoir of chakra, tissue, instinct, and potential. Eventually I will have you learn to examine and study your own flesh, as I have done, but for now I will do it for you."

He reached out, fingers cold, and pressed them against Teriyaki's stomach. "A clone is usually pure chakra given shape. But that is fragile. Weak. A true snake clone is chakra fused with living matter — your own cells stretched and altered into snakes. This technique is something only I and a few others have learned."

Teriyaki's eyes widened. "That sounds… painful and strange."

Orochimaru chuckled softly. "Painful? Of course. But pain is proof of life, and life is what this technique is all about."

He made Teriyaki sit cross-legged and removed the upper half of his shirt, exposing his thin, pale chest. "Now you look ready to learn." He chuckled.

Orochimaru's fingers formed a rapid sequence of seals, far faster than Teriyaki could follow. The final seal he pressed directly into Teriyaki's skin — a pulse of chakra burned its way into the flesh just above his navel.

Teriyaki gritted his teeth as a burning itch spread through his abdomen.

"This is not a curse mark, although you won't know what that is." Orochimaru explained. "This is a biological key. With it, your chakra will be able to stimulate your own flesh, converting it into temporary serpentine tissue. It will feel unnatural at first — your own body resisting its transformation — but you will learn to control it. I printed my own but since you are young, I have done it for you."

"Now, watch closely." Orochimaru knelt beside him, placing one hand on his own throat. His chest expanded unnaturally, ribs creaking like old wood, and then with a shuddering breath, he vomited a large white snake onto the floor. It slithered a few inches before changing shape — twisting and molding into a perfect copy of Orochimaru, down to the smirk.

Teriyaki's eyes pulsed open, shocked at what he was seeing. It felt impossible, that life could be born just from chakra alone. Now that he had the biological key, was it his turn?

Teriyaki's stomach turned. "I have to… spit it out?"

"Indeed." Orochimaru wiped his mouth delicately. "The clone comes from inside you — your flesh, your chakra, and your mind, it must turn into something that is alive but also part of you. It can move independently, but you will always feel its presence. When it dies, you will feel it tear away, like losing a tooth or a fingernail or a large chunk of hair."

Teriyaki's hands clenched into fists on his knees. "Show me how, I must become stronger."

Orochimaru stepped back, arms folded, watching closely. "Channel your chakra to the seal I placed. Concentrate not just on releasing chakra, but on pulling at the tissue beneath the skin. Imagine your body unraveling into strands — each strand becoming a snake. It will take time, but eventually you will be able to master it and produce clones unlike any other that are perfectly controllable by you."

Teriyaki closed his eyes. His chakra stirred, sluggish at first, like cold iron fluid being forced through his veins. But then the seal responded, tugging at his stomach like invisible fingers were pulling his muscles apart.

His breath hitched. It hurt — a raw, scraping feeling, like his flesh was melting and reforming. His throat tightened as chakra forced its way upward, dragging something solid with it. He gagged, chest heaving, and then —

A snake forced its way out of his mouth.

His mind felt like it was breaking apart, this was a whole new level of self harm.

Teriyaki doubled over, coughing violently as the snake slithered free, landing heavily on the floor. Its scales shimmered with the same brown as his hair, and its eyes — his own eyes — stared back at him in confusion.

Orochimaru's smile widened. "Excellent. Now, give it shape."

The snake trembled, its form unstable, but Teriyaki focused — pouring more chakra into it, forcing it to stretch and mold. Slowly, its body elongated, grew limbs, and skin formed like clay shaping itself into a mirror of Teriyaki.

The clone stood, wobbly but intact. Teriyaki felt a strange double vision — seeing through his own eyes and through the clone's at the same time. His brain ached, overwhelmed, but the connection was there.

"It feels… weird." Teriyaki muttered, touching his stomach. "Like part of me is over there."

"That is the cost," Orochimaru said softly. "Your clones are not independent spirits like shadow clones. They are your flesh, your mind, your life, broken into pieces. They are you, and you are them. Their pain is yours, and yours is theirs. It's a miracle you learnt this technique so fast, your chakra control is excellent, as it should be. It seems you do have your uses."

Orochimaru stepped forward suddenly, kunai flashing in his hand. Before Teriyaki could react, Orochimaru stabbed the snake clone clean through the chest.

Teriyaki cried out, clutching his own heart as a phantom pain stabbed into him. The clone dissolved into snakes, which writhed briefly before melting into dark sludge.

"Why? What is this pain?"

"That pain," Orochimaru whispered, "is the reminder that you are mortal. Every snake you create will take something from you when it dies — be it chakra, tissue, or willpower. Do not waste them, only use them when needed or in a risky circumstance where you have something to gain."

Teriyaki nodded, still panting, sweat pouring down his face. But despite the pain, despite the horror… he smiled faintly.

Because for the first time, he understood.

He could make himself into a weapon. He could produce snake clones from the biological key printed in his stomach. This method did not require hand signs, it was just using the key to form snake clones from his own chakra and flesh.

And somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew Orochimaru was smiling too — Teriyaki had learnt something vital, now he was one step closer to escaping this place.