Lush trees flew past rapidly.
Although Orochimaru had shaken off the Third Hokage for now, a deep sense of crisis lingered in his heart — the instinct of someone who had survived countless wars.
He followed a pre-arranged escape route.
This was a path he had planned long ago, populated by his subordinates — some loyal, others coerced or controlled — all working to obscure his trail.
Of course, such a plan wouldn't hold up long against Konoha's formidable tracking abilities.
But it only needed to buy him enough time to leave the village.
As for the Konoha shinobi who might pursue him later — as one of the Sannin, he was confident he could handle them.
"Where did it go wrong?"
The village's strength was relatively scattered at the moment.
The Third Hokage wouldn't go all out due to sentiment.
Danzo was... predictable.
Jiraiya was off at Mount Liang, suppressing the Revolutionary Army.
Tsunade was on a mission outside the village.
Namikaze Minato was guarding the Land of Fire's border from possible Cloud Shinobi incursions.
And the one he feared and admired most — Hanyu Rida — was deeply engaged in the Rain Country battlefield.
Logically speaking, the only person in Konoha capable of posing a real threat to him right now… was his own teacher.
Orochimaru raced through the trees at full speed, quickly putting distance between himself and the village.
However, Konoha's pursuit units had already begun converging from multiple directions.
Orochimaru glanced left and sneered.
"Byakugan? What a pain."
As a reconnaissance dōjutsu, the Byakugan was especially effective in a situation like this.
The moment he was spotted, a flare shot up into the sky.
Orochimaru chuckled coldly and used the Body Flicker Technique to close the distance to the perimeter.
Suddenly, a massive purple serpent burst forth.
"Orochimaru! What now?!"
The giant snake, Manda, thundered through the forest like a locomotive, shaking the very earth beneath it.
"Help me escape Konoha," Orochimaru said calmly, a slight smile on his face.
Manda's vertical pupils narrowed.
It knew logically that such an escape would be difficult.
But the bloodlust in the air — the killing intent from the approaching Konoha shinobi — was unmistakably real.
"Hmph. This time, I want a thousand human sacrifices."
Unlike the toads of Mount Myōboku or the slugs of Shikkotsu Forest, the snakes of Ryūchi Cave didn't fight for free.
Though Orochimaru had a contract with them, every summoning came at a price.
For Manda, that price was simple — human offerings.
Orochimaru's lips curled into a sinister grin. "No problem. If you can get me out of Konoha, I'll give you whatever you want. Even virgins, if you like."
Manda's mood immediately lifted.
Its tongue flicked out, tasting the air, its massive body rolling through the forest, flattening trees and clearing a path through the dense underbrush.
Like an unstoppable juggernaut, it charged straight at the trio of Konoha shinobi blocking their path.
"Engage him!"
The Konoha shinobi's expressions turned grim.
As ninjas, they loathed nothing more than traitors — especially one of Orochimaru's caliber.
He wasn't just a Sannin — he was a disciple of the Third Hokage.
He knew far too much about Konoha.
If he managed to escape, the intelligence loss would be devastating.
Capturing defectors was always a top priority for any village.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
A stone wall erupted from the ground, trying to block Manda's charge.
"Overreaching."
Manda (Ten Thousand Snakes) sneered.
His massive, train-like body smashed straight into the dirt wall.
At the same time, he opened his enormous mouth. Orochimaru, standing atop Manda's head, stretched out both hands.
Strips of white bandages shot from his cuffs, wrapping around the three enemy ninjas.
Before they could react, the three were swallowed whole by Manda.
"Go in this direction," Orochimaru ordered, pointing.
Then, he formed hand seals and created a shadow clone.
His real body darted off in the opposite direction from Manda's path.
Manda stared briefly at Orochimaru's back, then turned and slithered away at full speed in the direction pointed out by the clone.
Night gradually fell.
Orochimaru had finally shaken off the Konoha pursuit unit.
He arrived at a stream and bent down to wash his face.
Staring at his reflection in the water, he let out a long sigh of relief.
"If I've made it this far, those guys from the Akatsuki probably won't catch up…"
He looked cautiously at the woods behind him, eyes narrowing slightly.
Yet for some reason, the ominous feeling lingering in his heart still hadn't faded.
Meanwhile, Manda's massive body was now covered in wounds, surrounded by over a dozen Konoha shinobi.
"Orochimaru, you can't escape!" one of them shouted coldly, glaring at the clone still standing on Manda's head.
Manda gave a chilling smirk.
"Orochimaru, if you don't offer enough sacrifices this time, I swear I'll kill you."
The clone of Orochimaru chuckled.
"Relax. Once I leave Konoha, do you really think I'll lack for sacrifices?"
Suddenly, his expression changed to one of surprise as he looked to the side.
"Oh? I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly…"
Everyone turned in the direction of his gaze.
A man with long white hair, wearing a red vest ninja uniform, stepped into view.
It was Jiraiya—Orochimaru's former teammate.
"Orochimaru… tell me this is all just a lie," Jiraiya muttered, his face cast in shadow.
His clenched fists trembled.
He and Simu had been on their way back to Konoha, a two-day journey.
But Katsuyu had brought them shocking news—Orochimaru had defected.
The moment Jiraiya heard, he pushed himself to the limit, ignoring chakra consumption to rush back.
Along the way, he noticed the massive commotion caused by Manda and headed straight for it.
Now, Orochimaru stood calmly atop the serpent's head, arms crossed as he looked down at Jiraiya.
"Isn't it obvious?" he said.
Jiraiya looked up, disappointment clouding his eyes.
But in the next second, that sorrow turned into resolve.
"Orochimaru… I'll bring you back—no matter what!"
Hearing Jiraiya's absurd declaration, Orochimaru smirked mockingly.
"Bring me back? Then what? Execute me?"
"T…" Jiraiya faltered, unable to answer.
Orochimaru pressed on.
"If you don't kill me… how will you make up for the lives of the ninjas I've taken?"
He stared at Jiraiya coldly.
"Enough childish talk, Jiraiya. It's time to grow up."
"No matter what, I won't let you leave this place!"
With that, Jiraiya stopped speaking and formed hand signs with both hands.
A massive stream of toad oil spewed from his mouth.
With a flicker of flame, the brown oil ignited and transformed into a roaring sea of fire, engulfing Manda.
Manda looked up at Orochimaru in fury.
"Remember—I want a thousand virgins!"
With that, Manda vanished in a puff of smoke, unable to endure the flames any longer.
Orochimaru opened his arms wide and dove into the blaze.
"Goodbye, Jiraiya."
Under the searing flames, the sound of burning echoed—and Orochimaru's clone was gone.
"It was just a clone…" one of the Konoha shinobi muttered.
The squad that had been chasing him for hours fell into silence, disheartened.
They hadn't expected a clone to endure their full pursuit.
Jiraiya's expression darkened as well.
Suddenly, he turned sharply as a thought struck him.
"Wait—where's Simu?"
Simu had left with him when they got the news.
So where had that guy gone?
Could it be…
Somewhere far away, the real Orochimaru slowly opened his eyes.
As the original, he had just received all the memories from his clone.
"Jiraiya… even after all these years as a ninja, you're still so naïve."
A glint of disdain flickered in Orochimaru's eyes.
To him, friendship, family, and loyalty between master and disciple were all worthless.
Such emotions only held people back.
To uncover the ultimate truths of the world, one had to cast aside such meaningless burdens.
"I agree… I've always thought Jiraiya-sensei was too naïve."
A voice echoed from above.
A streak of light descended from the sky, and Hanyu Simu landed in front of Orochimaru.
The cloak of justice on his back flapped slowly from the descent.
Orochimaru's pupils contracted.
His heart skipped a beat.
He hadn't even sensed Simu's presence until he spoke.
Simu, seeing Orochimaru's confusion, shrugged and explained casually:
"Oh, I just fell from a few hundred meters up. It's normal that you didn't notice."
"It took some time to track you down," Simu continued. "After receiving the news, I split into dozens of shadow clones and spread out across the forest."
He had learned the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu from the Third Hokage a year ago but had rarely used it.
The enormous chakra this forbidden technique required posed no issue for Simu.
Combined with his powerful Observation Haki, his army of clones acted like a network of human radars.
Far more efficient than even the Byakugan.
Seeing Simu so thoroughly prepared, Orochimaru was slightly shaken.
"So… this was all a trap set by you?"
Unlike Jiraiya, Orochimaru was no fool when it came to politics.
In fact, he was something of a master.
It wasn't hard to figure out.
Just ask: who benefited the most from his defection?
The answer stood right before him—Hanyu Simu.
After this incident, Hiruzen Sarutobi would suffer a massive blow to his authority.
And with Danzo's usual scheming…
It wasn't impossible that the Hokage might be forced to step down.
And in the entire village, only one person had the strength, reputation, and support to take over the mantle.
Hanyu Simu.
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