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The sun was nearing its peak.
Three members of the Uchiha clan had gone missing, but for now, no one had noticed anything amiss.
Orochimaru's sudden disappearance, however, had been reported by the ANBU to the Third Hokage.
Unfortunately, the ever-hesitant old man still could not bring himself to confront his former student.
Especially without concrete evidence.
…
Sunlight bathed the streets of Konoha as crowds moved about, lively as ever.
Anko had no mood to admire any of it.
Today was different.
She was so nervous that she had forgotten to eat breakfast.
Since eight in the morning, she had stood alone on the balcony, staring blankly at the street below, her eyes constantly searching for a familiar figure.
"Little girl."
"You look a bit down. Want to tell me who bullied you."
A cold voice sounded behind her.
Anko spun around in surprise and found Orochimaru standing there, smiling faintly, though she had no idea when he had arrived.
"Sensei."
She smiled awkwardly.
"Come on."
Orochimaru did not waste words. He lifted her and leapt straight onto the rooftops.
To shake off the ANBU searching for him, Anko was held securely in his arms.
The speed and movement techniques of one of the Legendary Sannin were terrifying. From Anko's home to beyond the borders of Konoha, not a single ninja noticed their escape.
He did not fight openly. The route he chose was precise and covert.
Neither the Third Hokage nor Jiraiya, the two strongest figures in the village besides himself, realized that Orochimaru was defecting.
Whoosh.
Outside Konoha.
Orochimaru carried Anko as they bounded across tree branches, occasionally glancing at their surroundings.
"Get down."
"We'll rest here for a bit."
Orochimaru spoke calmly.
A strange glint flickered in his eyes, as if some scheme was already taking shape.
"Sensei."
"Why are we stopping here."
Anko asked curiously.
This forest lay directly along the route taken by anyone leaving through Konoha's main gate. It felt more like a place for an ambush than a resting spot.
And there were no laboratories or research bases of Orochimaru's anywhere near here.
"This is about Uchiha Shisui."
"You have probably heard of him. He is only one or two years younger than you."
"I need his bloodline and his eyes."
"And I need him alive."
Orochimaru said it plainly.
Anko was already considered one of his own. He intended to train her properly, so there was no reason to hide such things. Before long, she would see it for herself anyway.
"The Uchiha clan."
Anko thought quietly.
It seemed her teacher had begun to take an interest in bloodline limits. But without Uchiha blood, how could the power of the Sharingan truly be used.
Kakashi was the perfect example.
He had inherited Uchiha Obito's Sharingan, but could never deactivate it, constantly draining his chakra and preventing his reserves from ever growing.
"Our prey is finally here."
Orochimaru licked his lips, the golden light in his eyes flickering with excitement.
Anko immediately looked toward the distant forest.
Three dark figures were moving swiftly through the trees, heading straight toward them.
Though she could not see clearly, she could make out that there were three young men. The one in the center stood out the most.
A handsome boy with short black hair.
Though only eleven years old, he already carried the aura of someone who had survived real battle.
Uchiha Shisui.
"Stop."
"There is a strange stench up ahead."
Shisui frowned.
He failed to notice Orochimaru and Anko hiding more than a hundred meters away. What caught his attention instead was the foul stench drifting from ahead.
"As expected of a prodigy."
"Even your nose is sharp."
Orochimaru licked his lips, his excitement growing.
He had already laid his trap here in advance. The Ten Thousand Snakes Formation. A summoning array meant to unleash endless serpents. He had not expected this child to sense something was wrong so quickly.
Worthy of the genius who would one day wield the ultimate genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami, even if he had not awakened it yet.
Orochimaru felt a flicker of relief.
Fortunately, this timeline was still early.
If Shisui had already awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, even Orochimaru could not guarantee a clean victory.
"There is nothing here."
Shisui's two teammates cautiously tested the area.
Everything ahead was quiet. No traces. No signs of danger.
"But the smell is strange," Shisui muttered.
"It is like a swarm of snakes."
A swarm.
"Move. Now. It is a trap."
Realization struck, and Shisui's expression changed instantly as he shouted.
Snakes. Traps. In Konoha, there was only one man who fit that image.
Damn it.
"That reaction speed really is impressive. Too bad you are still too late."
"Ten Thousand Snakes Formation."
Orochimaru smiled darkly as his hands completed the seals.
The ground beneath Shisui's teammates exploded.
Within a radius of dozens of meters, the earth split open as if struck by a tidal wave. A sea of serpents surged out at terrifying speed.
"Scream."
The two boys were swallowed whole in an instant, leaving nothing behind. The snakes continued to spread outward in all directions.
Ten thousand. Maybe a hundred thousand.
Shisui could not tell.
He did not have time to.
Hearing his companions' final cries, grief surged through him. He retreated rapidly, forcing himself to stay calm.
Every ounce of focus sharpened.
A kunai was already in his hand. His eyes blazed crimson as the three-tomoe Sharingan spun to life. He did not dare blink.
Against someone like Orochimaru, a single opening was enough to die ten times over.
"As beautiful as I imagined."
"The Sharingan."
A chilling voice echoed through the forest.
Before Shisui's eyes, a pale man stepped out from the shadows, still wearing Konoha's jonin vest.
One of the Legendary Sannin.
The Third Hokage's most prized student.
Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru-sama."
"Why are you doing this."
"This will provoke conflict between the Uchiha clan and Konoha's leadership."
Shisui spoke steadily, buying time.
His mind raced, searching desperately for a way out. With his current strength, defeating Orochimaru head-on was impossible.
Body Flicker was devastating in combat, but terrible for escape.
Who knew how many traps Orochimaru had prepared in this area.
"Come with me."
"Or I break you first and take you anyway."
Orochimaru said flatly, leaving no room for negotiation.
Silence.
Shisui tightened his grip on the kunai.
In the next instant, his hands blurred into afterimages as he formed seals at extreme speed.
"Fire Style. Great Dragon Flame."
Three massive fire dragons erupted from his mouth.
At the same time, he activated Body Flicker, his Sharingan casting genjutsu with the sole purpose of delaying Orochimaru for even a fraction of a second.
The kunai in his hand had already been swapped for a Fuma Shuriken.
Orochimaru only smiled coldly.
He sidestepped the fire dragons effortlessly.
As for the genjutsu.
His current soul was far beyond what a three-tomoe Sharingan could threaten.
"No way."
"That movement."
"Could it be that thing."
Cold sweat slid down Anko's forehead as her body trembled involuntarily.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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Thank you so much for your support and for reading! Cr