Chapter 316: The Hunt for Orochimaru
Sasuke and Marisa, along with Tsunade and her disciples, as well as Naruto and Konan, all set off with great determination to find Orochimaru.
Unbeknownst to Orochimaru, he had stirred up a hornet's nest. He remained oblivious to the gravity of his actions this time.
After all, in his mind, Karin Uzumaki, having been abandoned by both the Akatsuki and Konoha, was like a stray dog without a master—worthless.
At that moment, Orochimaru was in his lair, scrutinising the red-haired girl he had captured.
"Ugh..."
Karin groaned as she woke from the throbbing pain in her head, only to find herself tightly bound to an operating table.
"Awake so soon? As expected of the Uzumaki clan's vitality," Orochimaru remarked, surprised.
He had injected Karin with enough sedative to put an elephant to sleep for days, yet her resistance to drugs was evidently high.
Seeing Orochimaru's ghastly pale face, Karin struggled desperately, shouting in terror, "Let me go, you creep!"
"Tsk tsk, such a fiery temper. Are all members of the Uzumaki clan like this? No wonder your clan was wiped out; you must have made a lot of enemies," Orochimaru mused, examining his captive with interest. The more she struggled, the more excited he became, eager to obtain her vibrant young body.
However, there was a problem. Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation technique worked best when someone willingly offered their body as a vessel. This minimised resistance from the soul during the transfer, reducing risk.
While this might sound far-fetched, for someone like Orochimaru, who excelled in brainwashing and manipulating others, it wasn't difficult. Kabuto, for example, was willing to give everything to Orochimaru.
Unfortunately, Karin wasn't among the willing. Orochimaru didn't have the luxury of time to slowly brainwash her.
Should he forcefully use the Living Corpse Reincarnation? Directly devouring her soul and taking her body?
The risk might be too high.
Orochimaru hesitated, considering his current weakened state and Karin's robust vitality and strong will.
Should he give up? No, absolutely not.
He had already abandoned Sasuke; now, he couldn't let Karin slip through his fingers, too. He was determined to have her body.
After much contemplation, Orochimaru made up his mind.
He turned away from the noisy Karin and walked into an adjacent room to prepare for the ritual, ensuring every measure was in place for a successful transfer.
Two days later.
"Let me go! I need to use the bathroom!" Karin shouted, her face red from frustration.
In the operating room, Orochimaru ignored her, meditating to reach his optimal state.
Suddenly.
Boom.
The ceiling above Orochimaru shook, and dust fell from the cracks.
What's happening?
He looked up, his golden snake eyes filled with suspicion.
His hideout, like all his others, was located in a remote area and underground, supposedly impossible to find.
Could it be an earthquake?
As Orochimaru pondered, another, louder crash reverberated, causing the ceiling to shake violently.
No, it's a chakra reaction.
His pupils contracted as he quickly moved aside.
The next second.
Boom!
The ceiling split open, seemingly punched through by someone, and dust flooded the room.
Thud.
Orochimaru heard the sound of footsteps. Someone had entered.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.
He blew a gust of wind from his mouth, dispersing the dust to reveal the intruder.
"It's you!" Orochimaru gasped, recognising the person.
Karin was equally shocked, seeing the familiar figure with blonde twin tails and a green jacket. She instinctively cried out, "Tsunade-sama, is that you?"
"No," Tsunade replied curtly, not looking back.
Her brusque attitude brought tears to Karin's eyes, feeling overwhelmed.
"Karin, we came with Tsunade-sama to save you!" came the voices from above as Shizune and Anko Mitarashi jumped down, joining Tsunade in rescuing their fellow disciple.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, assessing the sudden appearance of Tsunade and her three disciples. When he saw Anko Mitarashi, he finally understood and said:
"No wonder you found me. Anko, this must be your doing, right?"
Anko responded coldly, taunting Orochimaru:
"You shouldn't have left that Cursed Seal on me. This is your retribution."
Tsunade glanced back at her three disciples, her gaze briefly lingering on Karin before instructing Shizune and Anko:
"Take her outside. I'll handle Orochimaru."
Orochimaru laughed as soon as he heard this:
"Tsk tsk, so confident, Tsunade. Or do you just underestimate me?"
Before he finished speaking, he quickly formed hand seals.
"Hiss hiss hiss!"
Countless poisonous snakes shot out from the dark corners, attacking Tsunade and biting her.
Such a level of ninjutsu couldn't kill Tsunade, but it was enough to hold her off for a while.
Whoosh.
Taking advantage of Tsunade being entangled by the snakes, Orochimaru dashed forward, aiming to attack her three disciples.
Only foolish ninjas would engage enemies in a fair fight on the battlefield.
Experienced ninjas like Orochimaru excelled at attacking the enemy's weak points, and Tsunade's weak point was undoubtedly her three disciples.
Therefore, he planned to defeat Tsunade quickly and with minimal effort.
"Don't even think about it!"
Tsunade shouted angrily.
Having fought alongside Orochimaru for years, she knew his tactics all too well.
Swish.
A pair of crimson Sharingan with three tomoe appeared in Tsunade's eyes.
These eyes not only provided enhanced dynamic vision, allowing her to track Orochimaru's movements but also increased her reaction speed.
With a snap.
Tsunade swiftly grabbed Orochimaru's wrist and squeezed hard, a cracking sound echoing.
"Ah!"
Orochimaru screamed in pain as the bones in his forearm were crushed by Tsunade.
He glanced at Tsunade in shock, locking eyes with her Sharingan, feeling a surge of panic.
Just as Tsunade's other fist was about to strike his face, Orochimaru abruptly retreated, sacrificing an arm and leaping backwards.
The underground space was too cramped. Without enough distance, being forced into close combat with Tsunade, a taijutsu master, was a disadvantage.
Whoosh whoosh.
Tsunade, Shizune, and Anko also reached the surface, facing Orochimaru from about seven or eight meters away.
"Those eyes..."
Orochimaru stared at Tsunade's Sharingan, a sinister smile curling his lips, "Did Uchiha Danzo give them to you? Tell me, Tsunade, what did you do to get those eyes? How many times did you sleep with him? Did you kneel at his feet like a dog..."
"Shut up, you bastard!"
Tsunade, enraged, felt as if flames were burning in her eyes. She lunged at Orochimaru, launching a series of furious attacks.
She fell for it.
Orochimaru's words were meant to provoke Tsunade, making her lose her composure.
Bang!
Tsunade punched Orochimaru, only to find that his body turned into a pile of dirt—it was a shadow clone.
Not good.
She turned around abruptly, but it was too late.
Orochimaru's real body appeared behind Shizune and Anko, swiftly knocking them out.
He then reached for Karin, intending to take her away.
Orochimaru wasn't afraid of Tsunade. Even after losing an arm, he was confident he could defeat her head-on.
But he wasn't foolish.
Since Tsunade had come looking for him, other Konoha ninjas could appear at any moment.
Even if just two Uchiha with Mangekyo Sharingan showed up, Orochimaru would have a hard time escaping. Not to mention the person he feared most—the Sixth Hokage, Uchiha Danzo.
Escaping with Karin was the best strategy.
Unfortunately, today was not Orochimaru's lucky day.
Whoosh!
With a sharp sound, a two-meter-long paper spear flew from the forest, aimed straight at Orochimaru's heart.
Another master?
Startled, Orochimaru had to withdraw his hand and retreat temporarily.
Snap!
The paper spear missed him but pierced a large tree nearby, demonstrating its immense power.
This special paper ninjutsu, could it be...
Orochimaru glanced in the direction from which the spear came, and sure enough, he saw a man and a woman emerging from the forest.
It was Naruto and Konan.
"Glad we made it in time."
Konan, seeing that Karin was safe and sound, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Now, they could report back to Uchiha Dan.
Naruto quickly stepped forward, helped Karin up, and with a tone full of apology, said:
"Karin, I'm sorry."
"Naruto, and even Konan-sensei, you both came too?"
Karin looked utterly shocked as if she were dreaming. She never expected that aside from Lady Tsunade, even Naruto and Konan would come to rescue her.
Was she really that important?
Orochimaru's face turned grim.
"Naruto, it seems you've truly sided with Uchiha Dan, even giving up your Rinnegan and possibly your life to him. So, rescuing Karin, was that an order from the Sixth Hokage as well?"
Orochimaru probed, his gaze burning into Naruto.
He finally realised that targeting Uzumaki Karin might have been a colossal mistake.
This red-haired girl wasn't an abandoned stray but bait used to lure him in.
Realising this, Orochimaru felt a strong urge to retreat.
Facing Tsunade, Naruto, and Konan, even though Naruto had lost his Rinnegan and the status of Jinchuriki, Orochimaru couldn't handle all three of them together.
Karin, he had to give up.
Naruto frowned at Orochimaru, about to launch into a speech, but this time, Konan beat him to it.
"Orochimaru, give up resisting.
You should know that you will eventually be caught even if you escape today, under the pursuit of the Uchiha clan and Konoha.
Stop struggling."
Konan looked at Orochimaru with pity and spoke coldly.
To her, Orochimaru was already at the end of his rope, facing inevitable destruction.
Upon hearing this, Orochimaru merely smiled nonchalantly, replying cryptically:
"The white snake never dies."
With that, his expression hardened, and he slammed his hands onto the ground.
Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes!
In the next second, countless venomous snakes surged from all directions, flooding towards Tsunade, Naruto, and Konan like a tidal wave.
Whoosh.
Using the snake horde to buy himself time, Orochimaru turned and fled, covering tens of meters in the blink of an eye.
But just then, he collided with a strong figure.
"Ora~"
A somewhat youthful but powerful shout echoed like thunder in Orochimaru's ears, and then he saw a massive fist growing larger and larger.
Bam!
The ambushing Marisa punched Orochimaru right in the nose, causing blood to spray wildly as he was knocked back.
Thump thump thump.
Orochimaru landed, stumbling back more than ten steps before barely regaining his footing. Yet, a greater sense of danger loomed from above.
Swoosh!
A blade of light descended from the sky, and although Orochimaru tried to dodge it, he couldn't completely avoid it. Another arm fell to the ground, with blood gushing from his shoulder like a fountain.
Uchiha Sasuke had arrived.
Two more troublesome brats.
Now, Orochimaru couldn't smile anymore, his face pale and serious, drenched in cold sweat.
The Konoha ninjas slowly closed in, surrounding him.
Sasuke, with a stern expression, stood opposite Orochimaru, holding his sword.
"Marisa, you should step back now."
He instructed his cousin, then looked at Tsunade and Naruto, saying, "Tsunade-sama, and you... Uzumaki Naruto, please do not interfere. Leave Orochimaru to me."
As he finished speaking, the eerie and elegant Mangekyou Sharingan appeared in his eyes.
Seeing Sasuke so determined, Tsunade frowned but gave him the nod, while Naruto and Konan exchanged glances and decided to watch for now.
Let's see how Sasuke deals with Orochimaru.
Hunt?
You think of me as your prey, a Uchiha brat who doesn't know his limits?
Orochimaru, too, was enraged, his murderous intent flaring.
Since Uchiha Sasuke was so eager to fight, he captured Sasuke and used him as a hostage to ensure his escape.
With that thought.
"Alright, I'll play with you, Sasuke."
Orochimaru smirked devilishly, his shoulders writhing as two wet arms sprouted from his body.
Regenerating limbs was nothing difficult for Orochimaru.
Sasuke charged without wasting any words.
The battle erupted.
However, within a few minutes, the fight reached a decisive conclusion.
After constantly being defeated and battered, this time Sasuke finally...
Won.
(End of Chapter)