"Kakashi, I want you to lead this mission," Tsunade commanded, her tone leaving zero room for debate. "Take this headband for Pakkun and the ninken to scent-track. Your squad will consist of Neji, Rock Lee, Tenzo...who will go by the codename Yamato from this point forward... and my student Sakura. Shikamaru, Shino, you two are off duty. Take the rest of the week to recover."
"Understood," Kakashi replied, his posture straightening instantly.
A few moments later, the door opened again. Yamato, Sakura, and Rock Lee entered into the room, their expressions eager and ready for a new assignment.
"Sensei, you called for us?" Sakura asked, pulling the straps of her medical gloves tight around her wrists as she looked between Tsunade and Kakashi.
Tsunade looked directly at the Wood Release user. "Tenzo, drop the ANBU mask. For the duration of this operation, you will be known as Yamato."
She leaned forward, her expression darkening as she set the gravity of the situation. "This will be an S-rank mission. It involves crossing paths with both Otogakure's remnant forces and active Akatsuki units."
Reaching into her lower desk drawer, Tsunade pulled out a thick dossier containing the structural extractions Inoichi Yamanaka had managed to tear from Kimimaro's mind during his captivity. She slid the detailed map across the table toward Kakashi and Yamato.
"This contains a comprehensive layout of Orochimaru's base network and hideouts," Tsunade said. "It should prove useful. Dismissed... and bring them back."
~~
The road leading to Otogakure's western abandoned hideout was long swallow-tailing into dense timberland, half a day's march lay ahead of them. Orochimaru moved at the head of the group with the gliding stride that was uniquely his, flanked by Kabuto's quiet steps and Sasuke's sullen silence. A few paces behind them, Kimimaro walked at the behind.
"Lord Orochimaru," Kimimaro began, his voice flat devoid of physical strain from his illness. "I believe we should fetch Karin. Her sensing ability would allow us to anticipate any incoming threats well before they reach our perimeter."
Orochimaru didn't slow his pace. Precautions were for those who feared death, and Orochimaru had long since outgrown the concept. He was a creature of sheer endurance and infinite contingency; he was the man who had looked into Itachi Uchiha's Sharingan, fully aware of the Genjutsu mastery that awaited him, simply to measure the depth of the prodigy's power. Fear was an emotion he had discarded decades ago.
"Why the sudden apprehension, Kimimaro?" Orochimaru murmured, a pale tongue darting across his lower lip. "It is merely a pair of Akatsuki stragglers. So long as it is neither Pain nor Itachi, we have nothing to fear."
"I must insist, Lord Orochimaru. Please, reconsider."
The air around them grew heavy instantly as Orochimaru at the front had stopped. Kimimaro's persistent insistence was a subtle agonizing reminder of Orochimaru's current state... his ruined arms hanging lifelessly at his sides, rendering him incapable of forming hand seals.
Before anyone could react, a massive muscular viper exploded from beneath Orochimaru's robes. The Binding Snake Glare Spell coiled violently around Kimimaro, pinning his arms to his sides and squeezing with terrifying force. The bone armor above Kimimaro's skin... the White Knight... began to groan and crack under the pressure, splintering with loud, wet snaps.
Yet Kimimaro's expression never flickered. There was no fear in his eyes, no instinct to fight back... only uncompromising loyalty. Orochimaru stared into those steady eyes for a long silent second before the snake hand whipped back, hurling Kimimaro violently.
Kimimaro hit the ground, but almost immediately, the broken bone amour began to stitch itself back together.
A few feet away, Sasuke's jaw tightened imperceptibly. He adjusted the strap on his back, making a grim mental note. He wasn't ready. Not yet. He couldn't even put a scratch on Kimimaro's bone armor, yet a weakened Orochimaru had shattered it without as much as taking a single step. Kabuto had already warned that Orochimaru's body rejection had entered its third phase, accelerating the timeline for the host transfer. With a fully overpowered Kimimaro guarding the Snake Sage, the danger had grown exponentially.
"I need to get stronger, faster," Sasuke thought, his inner monologue burning with cold panic. "I can't die here. Not before I kill Itachi."
Kimimaro pushed himself up, brushing the dirt from his armor chest as if the attack had been nothing more than a gust of wind. He looked straight at Orochimaru once more. "Lord Orochimaru... I cannot bear to see you put at unnecessary risk. Please, call for Karin."
Orochimaru exhaled a soft annoyed sigh, turning his back on them. "Do whatever you want."
Kimimaro turned his pale eyes toward Kabuto. "Go to the southern hideout and fetch her."
Kabuto adjusted his glasses with the tip of his finger, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "And why can't you retrieve her yourself? It's not as though you've forgotten the layout of the southern facility, Kimimaro."
"My place is at Lord Orochimaru's side," Kimimaro replied simply.
Kabuto stared at him for a second, realized Kimimaro wasn't going to budge, and resigned himself to the task. With a light flicker of movement, he vanished into the canopy, leaving a swirl of leaves in his wake.
As the three of them resumed their march toward the western hideout, Kimimaro fell into step a few feet behind Sasuke. His gaze lingered on the back of the Uchiha's neck where there was curse mark.
"Did you know?" Kimimaro said softly, his voice barely carrying over. "Naruto has already given up on you. He believes Lord Orochimaru has already taken your body."
He watched Sasuke closely, probing for a reaction, testing the boy's intentions.
Sasuke didn't even turn his head. His eyes remained fixed on the path ahead unbothered.
"Good," Sasuke muttered, his voice with indifference. "It's better that way. Next time we cross paths, he won't hesitate to try and kill me. And that will make it all the easier to put an end to him... and sever my final tie to Konoha."
~~
patreon.com/aizenDuchiha0