A cruel smile spread across Orochimaru's pale features. Although the distance was considerable, preventing him from witnessing the battle scene directly, the sounds of fierce combat still reached his concealed position, causing his cold-blooded heart to quicken with excitement.
These shinobi had appeared here with the sole intention of claiming his head and the enormous bounty that came with it. Now they were leaving their lives behind instead.
"Hehehe..."
A strange, unsettling laugh echoed through the empty forest, carrying an ominous tone that would chill any listener's blood.
"OROCHIMARU!"
A furious roar erupted from behind him. Orochimaru turned in surprise upon hearing the familiar and rage-filled voice.
Jiraiya's face remained completely expressionless as he stared at Orochimaru with cold intensity, the chakra within his body beginning to surge and boil with barely contained power.
During their last confrontation as the legendary Sannin, Jiraiya had been in poor condition and unable to fight at his full potential. Now circumstances were different—he was going to kill Orochimaru, his former companion and friend, here and now.
Ever since Orochimaru had murdered their beloved teacher, the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, Jiraiya no longer considered him a friend. The only relationship remaining between them was that of mortal enemies.
"Ah, Pervy Sage! I'm going to kill Orochimaru myself!"
A flash of ominous red flickered in Uzumaki Naruto's eyes. This wasn't his first encounter with Orochimaru, and he naturally understood that the snake sage had murdered Sarutobi Hiruzen in cold blood. Overwhelming anger filled his heart as he prepared to take immediate action.
Nine-Tails chakra began emanating from his body in visible waves. Uzumaki Naruto's eyes started radiating the dangerous aura of a wild predator, his fingernails grew longer and sharper, and his teeth became more pronounced and fang-like.
"Naruto, remember everything I've taught you! Calm yourself and don't allow Nine-Tails' hatred to consume your mind!"
Seeing that Uzumaki Naruto was approaching a berserker state, Jiraiya quickly shifted his attention to his student. At this critical moment, Naruto's wellbeing remained his highest priority.
"Hehehe..."
Orochimaru released another sinister chuckle. "I never expected that the first person to appear before me would be you, Jiraiya!"
"Tsunade must trust you tremendously to allow you to lead the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki outside of Konoha's protective barriers!"
"Orochimaru, I will end your life today! This is for our teacher's sake!"
Jiraiya glared at Orochimaru with frigid contempt and took time to voice his curse, but he didn't dare move away from Naruto's side. He feared that something catastrophic might happen if Nine-Tails' influence overwhelmed his student.
Orochimaru stood in the distance, momentarily speechless at the scene unfolding before him.
Even in such a tense and dangerous situation, these two always managed to create moments that were simultaneously comedic and exasperating.
"Ha! Found you!"
"Hey, Orochimaru! Stay exactly where you are and don't move!"
"Kakuzu, Orochimaru is here!"
Hidan emerged from the dense woods carrying his bloody triple-bladed scythe. He was completely covered in fresh blood and appeared like a demon that had crawled out of the deepest pits of hell.
Hidan's eyes lit up with murderous excitement when he spotted Orochimaru for the first time. He was about to rush forward with his weapon raised, but suddenly remembered something important and turned around to shout to his partner.
"Shut up!"
"If you alert other enemies to our location, I will kill you myself!"
"Tsk!" Hidan curled his lips dismissively, paying no attention to Kakuzu's sharp reprimand that followed. "Put down that corpse you're carrying first!"
Kakuzu shook his hand, which had transformed into long tentacle-like appendages, causing blood to drip steadily onto the forest floor. His other hand gripped the lifeless body of a defeated shinobi.
"This guy's bounty isn't insignificant either—a full eight million ryō!"
"I just managed to claim him after considerable effort. If you cause me to lose this prize, I will kill you."
"Tsk, I'm the one who killed that man," Hidan retorted while gripping his Bloody March Scythe, completely indifferent to the gore covering his entire body.
Kakuzu completely ignored both Orochimaru and the presence of Jiraiya and Uzumaki Naruto standing nearby. He retrieved a storage scroll and sealed the corpse within it. Only then did he stand up and survey the tactical situation.
"Hmm? Jiraiya?!"
"Who is that supposed to be?"
Hidan appeared confused, as he had no knowledge of Jiraiya's reputation or identity.
Kakuzu shifted his gaze to examine Uzumaki Naruto more carefully. The Nine-Tails aura bursting forth from the young shinobi made him take notice with serious interest.
Is this a Tailed Beast Jinchūriki?
Which one specifically?
Konoha Village's Nine-Tails Jinchūriki?
Kakuzu felt somewhat uncertain about this assessment. He didn't believe Konoha would allow their village's tailed beast Jinchūriki to travel outside the village's protective barriers, so he harbored doubts about Naruto's true identity.
However, at this moment, Orochimaru represented the most important target.
"Orochimaru, traitor to our organization!"
Kakuzu finally focused his attention on Orochimaru, and tentacle-like appendages began emerging from various points on his body—a clear sign that he was preparing to engage in serious combat.
"Hidan, keep watch over Jiraiya!"
"He and Orochimaru are both members of Konoha's legendary Sannin!"
"Oh, leave that to me!"
Hidan displayed a ferocious smile across his blood-stained features while gripping his triple-bladed scythe in one hand. He regarded Jiraiya with obvious provocation and anticipation.
Although Orochimaru had indeed attacked Konoha and killed Sarutobi Hiruzen, no one outside the village could be completely certain that the two Sannin had truly become enemies. Therefore, maintaining surveillance over Jiraiya remained tactically necessary.
As for Jiraiya, he frowned while observing Hidan's menacing grin, his expression becoming increasingly serious and concerned.
Hidan and Kakuzu wore identical uniforms, clearly indicating they belonged to the same organization.
Moreover, Jiraiya retained some knowledge about Akatsuki from previous intelligence gathering. He had discovered some information about the organization during past investigations, though the details had been frustratingly incomplete.
"So Orochimaru defected from this organization?"
"Perhaps this group is targeting Orochimaru solely for the bounty money?"
Jiraiya's mind filled with questions and uncertainties, but he still needed to monitor Naruto's condition, so he remained in his current position.
BOOM!
The ground beneath Kakuzu's feet suddenly exploded with tremendous force. He appeared directly in front of Orochimaru as if he had teleported instantaneously, driving his powerful fist toward the snake sage with devastating intent.
Orochimaru's body twisted unnaturally, as if his bones had vanished entirely and his flesh had become completely malleable. The moment he dodged the incoming punch, his neck instantly elongated and curved behind Kakuzu. Several summoned snakes burst forth from his extended arms and attempted to bite Kakuzu's exposed neck.
Swish!
Multiple black threads twisted rapidly and emerged from Kakuzu's body, piercing through all the summoned snakes with lethal precision. Blood splattered instantly across the forest floor.
Before Orochimaru could react to this development, the black threads condensed into a concentrated mass and shot through the air, wrapping around him and binding him tightly in mere seconds.
Snap!
Kakuzu applied crushing pressure, causing the black threads to bloom into extremely strong restraints that tightened around Orochimaru's body, digging deep into his flesh and drawing blood.
Splurt!
Orochimaru's mouth suddenly opened wide, and a completely intact figure burst forth and rushed toward Kakuzu once again.
Great Serpent Body Replacement Technique!
A substitution technique that could be executed instantly without requiring any hand seals whatsoever!
Snap!
Orochimaru's fangs sank into Kakuzu's neck, and numerous curse seal markings began appearing across Kakuzu's body, binding him firmly in place with supernatural force.
Victory?
Jiraiya observed this exchange and initially thought Orochimaru had achieved triumph.
He had witnessed Orochimaru's curse seal techniques before, and their binding power was indeed terrifyingly effective.
It appeared that this Akatsuki member had been careless and underestimated his opponent.
Just when Jiraiya concluded that the battle's outcome had been decided, the skin across Kakuzu's back began cracking ominously. A massive number of black threads instantly erupted outward, bombarding Orochimaru at point-blank range with overwhelming force.
This is bad!
Orochimaru's eyes hardened with alarm as he instantly compressed his body to its smallest possible form.
Whoosh!
Orochimaru moved with incredible speed, his body undulating like a serpent as he twisted and rapidly distanced himself from Kakuzu, successfully avoiding the devastating attacks of the black thread barrage through pure agility and reflexes.
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