Orochimaru: I'm Dead?

"Puff..."

As Naruto exhaled the last mouthful of lake water, Rock Lee finally stopped squeezing his chest.

Naruto dizzy and mesmerized.

"What... what's wrong with me?"

"Naruto, thank goodness, you're finally awake!" Hinata said with a sigh of relief.

"Wasn't I fighting before...? Oh right, where's that bastard?" Naruto suddenly woke up, struggled to sit up, and looked around.

The belated reinforcements, Might Guy, Neji, and Anko Mitarashi, shook their heads and said, "When we arrived, the enemy had already left, and only Hinata was desperately trying to rescue you."

Naruto then noticed that Sai and the others were also lying on the ground, disregarding their image, rubbing their bellies with a look of utter despair, clearly having drunk too much lake water earlier.

"Damn it, did they seal the Isobu after all?" Naruto slammed his fist on the ground in anger, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that several familiar faces seemed to be missing from the crowd. He asked in horror, "Wait, where are Sakura, Ino, and Shizune?"

"They were captured by the enemy. They said they wanted the Hokage to exchange a Sage Mode training scroll from Shikkotsu Forest for them," Hinata said weakly, because she didn't know what Sage Mode was.

"Sage Techniques..." Kakashi pondered for a moment, "I think I've heard that Jiraiya- sama is called the Toad Sage because of the existence of Sage Techniques."

"The perverted sage... is residing on Mount Myoboku?" Naruto pondered.

Anko frowned and recalled, "I also heard Orochimaru mention that his summoning beast Manda's Ryuchi Cave also possesses a power called Sage Art."

"Shikkotsu Forest, Mount Myoboku, Ryuchi Cave ..." Kakashi for a moment, then exclaimed in surprise, "If the enemy really came for Sage Mode, then his next target should be Orochimaru, which is why he took Yakushi Kabuto and that Crystal Release female ninja with him."

Naruto then added, "So, once he gets Sage Mode from Orochimaru, his final target will be... the Perverted Sage!"

"Then we must hurry up and send the information back to the village, and find a way to inform Jiraiya. Although Lord Jiraiya is one of the Three Sannin, with great strength and fame throughout the Shinobi World, the enemy is also an unimaginable monster. We must make Jiraiya be on guard!" Yamato said anxiously.

"Now that I think about it, Roy's words to Hinata were probably a warning to us, to make Jiraiya hand over the Sage Mode of Mount Myoboku. Otherwise... his so-called 'goodwill' towards Konoha won't last long." Kakashi's expression turned solemn, and he gave up the idea of pursuing them. If they chased after them again, he was afraid that they would not hold back at all.

"Wow, so handsome! He's strong and gentle too. Why doesn't he kidnap me too?" A resentful voice echoed by the lake.

"Mizukage, Mizukage!" The ninja wearing an eyepatch couldn't stand it any longer and spoke up to remind him.

"Huh, what?"

"The enemy has already gone far away, should we still follow them?"

"Damn it! Did we let the enemy escape without warning?!"

Are you sure you didn't get distracted because the enemy was too handsome?

"Hmm?" Mei Terumi drawled, her voice full of dissatisfaction. "Am I that kind of person? Actually, the enemy is too strong, and this hasty action is unlikely to be effective. After much consideration, I decided to temporarily avoid battle."

"Besides, you've seen what happened to those people from Konoha. It's one thing that those three female ninjas were taken away, but as the Mizukage, how can I risk my life alone and fall into the enemy's hands?"

"Mizukage, why do I hear regret and sorrow in your tone? You are..."

"Qing, you talk too much!"

On Deidara's giant bird, because of the matter of Yūkimaru, Guren no longer hesitated to reveal Orochimaru's secret hideout.

Yakushi Kabuto, on the other hand, observed coldly. Although he didn't know the other party's purpose, he was a smart man and naturally knew what questions he should ask and what questions he shouldn't ask.

Shizune and Ino were also surprised, not expecting that the enemy's target would be Orochimaru, just like their initial pursuit mission.

Sakura was in a state of turmoil, her mind racing with wild thoughts. "If I see Orochimaru, does that mean I'll see Sasuke too? But what if Sasuke sees me captured by the enemy and rushes to my rescue without thinking? Even if he trained with Orochimaru for three years, he's still no match for that monster Roy!"

Each of them had something on their mind, so after determining the direction the large bird was flying, the sky became quiet and desolate.

They remained silent the entire way.

Finally, above a serpentine cave, the large bird began to circle in place.

"We've finally arrived! I can't wait to let that traitor experience the charm of art!" Deidara said excitedly as he controlled the giant bird to land.

"By the way, Brother Roy, what should we do with these five troublesome guys? Should we knock them out and leave them aside?"

"It's alright. Just relax your Chakra flow a little and let them catch up. Anyway, with me here watching, they can't run away even if they want to. But..." Roy closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, "There's a scent of blood in the wind. Has someone gotten there first... or are they killing each other?"

The group looked at Roy in shock. Could it be that Orochimaru's stronghold had been breached?

Although Sakura and the others felt they couldn't smell anything, given Roy's strength, there was really no need for him to deceive them on such a matter.

Before they could react, Roy had already stepped into the snake pit. The five of them exchanged glances and silently followed. It was best not to use any tricks in front of that vicious guy.

Sure enough, not long after entering the cave, corpses were laid out on the ground, their expressions calm, as if they had not realized that anything had happened and had been killed by the enemy.

In the dim light, blood mist filled the air, and severed limbs and remains were everywhere, as if they had suddenly entered a gloomy ghost realm. Fortunately, none of them were rookies who had just entered the Shinobi World, so although they felt uncomfortable, they were able to endure it.

As they walked down the long corridor, passing a fork in the road, Yakushi Kabuto suddenly said, "The third house on the right is where Lord Orochimaru usually rests."

Guren, standing to the side, sneered, "I never thought you would betray Lord Orochimaru in the end."

"I just want to know, in the end, who will survive, Sasuke or Orochimaru?"

"Orochimaru... Sasuke, what exactly do you mean?" Sakura asked, her eyes wide open.

The Yakushi Kabuto lowered his eyelids, clearly indicating that he was not going to answer.

Inside the dimly lit room, the White Phosphorus Snake's body was split in two, its vertical pupils still holding an expression of disbelief.

"Orochimaru... has been killed!" Shizune covered her red lips. She still clearly remembered that Orochimaru, who had lost both hands and could not form hand seals, was still able to hold his own against Tsunade and Jiraiya's combined attack. She never expected that the once ferocious Orochimaru would die in such a small and dark room.

"Everyone else has been killed. Perhaps... Lord Orochimaru has truly failed!" Yakushi Kabuto said in a low voice.

"Damn it, who is it that stole my prey!" Deidara said angrily.

Roy remained silent to himself, thinking that the biggest deception in the Naruto World was the death of Orochimaru.

You thought I was dead? No, I'll be resurrected in a few dozen episodes!

You all thought that since my soul was sealed away, I was completely dead. No, the finale is coming soon, so I've decided to come out and make my presence known!

Of course, none of this mattered to Roy. He simply looked calmly at Yakushi Kabuto, "If I give you this corpse, will you be able to find the secret of Ryuchi Cave's Sage Technique?"

Yakushi Kabuto, who was initially at a loss due to Orochimaru's death, suddenly had a chilling glint in his eyes. "Give me enough time, and I will definitely be able to do it."

"If you spend more than half a month, you lose your value."

"...good!"