Ambush and Escape

To deal with the newly established Sea Ninja Village, Kirigakure had dispatched quite a few people this time. Besides the three Jonin—Suikazan Fuguki, Momochi Zabuza, and Kisame Hoshigaki, who served under Suikazan Fuguki—there were also a double-digit number of Chunin.

As for Genin Cannon Fodder, unless a Total War was truly about to begin, they generally would not be sent out during preliminary reconnaissance activities.

Just as, during Konoha's peacetime, Genin could at most carry out C-rank missions—meaning they might fight people such as Ordinary Bandits, but would not participate in battles between ninja—the rules throughout the Ninja World were more or less the same in this regard.

Of course, while this rule might have been intended partly to protect young seedlings in Konoha, in Kirigakure it was purely because Genin were completely useless in such missions and would only get in the way.

Ninja villages also had success-rate requirements for missions. The higher the success rate and the greater the reputation of a ninja village, the more missions it could naturally take on. Thus, from a certain perspective, ninja villages would not casually drag weak ninja into dangerous missions for the sake of mission success rates.

After Suikazan Fuguki and Momochi Zabuza exchanged a few words at the docks, the two sides directly Parted Ways. Though Fuguki was theoretically the leader of this mission, Zabuza, also a Jonin, clearly had little desire to obediently serve under him and simply took his Subordinates away on his own.

Since Suikazan Fuguki had Other Ideas, he did nothing to stop Zabuza. Not only that, he soon sent all his Subordinates out and had Kisame Hoshigaki command them in his place, while he himself quietly slipped away using the Transformation Technique.

The Sea Ninja Village was located at what had once been Orochimaru's Secret Base. The Traffic Conditions there were not particularly good, but with ninja possessing Supernatural Power, that was not really much of a problem.

Suikazan Fuguki sneaked to the shore near the Sea Ninja Village and found a Hidden Cave. When he spotted a mark resembling scratch marks on a rock beside the Cave Entrance, he immediately checked his surroundings before walking inside.

"I told you, under normal circumstances, don't contact me so frequently!... It's you! Orochimaru!"

Upon seeing the Konoha Ninja he was supposed to meet, Suikazan Fuguki's face filled with shock. He immediately drew the spiked club-like greatsword from his back and held it before him, staring at the other man with utter vigilance.

It could not be helped. A man's reputation was like a tree's shadow. Though Suikazan Fuguki could be considered a Prominent Figure throughout the Ninja World, aside from figures like the Kage of the Major Ninja Villages and Jinchuriki, there were not many ninja who could be considered his match.

But the man before him possessed strength comparable to a village's Kage. If Orochimaru truly wanted to kill him, his chances of success were at least fifty to sixty percent.

And that was only in an Encounter Battle. In an Ambush Battle, his chance of escaping with his life would not even be one in ten.

"Hehehe, Suikazan Fuguki, you're supposedly the leader of the legendary Seven Ninja Swordsmen. Why do you look like a Mangy Dog with its spine broken?"

Standing within the cave, Orochimaru licked the corner of his mouth. With a smile on his face, he spoke calmly.

"Cut the nonsense, Orochimaru! You're already a Konoha Rogue Ninja. Why did you contact me this time?!"

Suikazan Fuguki spoke sternly. In truth, this Kirigakure ninja had always maintained certain ties with Konoha and could be considered one of Konoha's collaborators within Kirigakure.

A ninja of his rank was almost impossible for Konoha to buy off, but cooperating with other ninja villages for his own interests was perfectly normal.

Especially since Kirigakure itself had little cohesion, and its various policies could practically be called perverse. Suikazan Fuguki was also a sharp-nosed fellow who had vaguely sensed that something was wrong with Kirigakure, so he had long since prepared a Way Out for himself.

If he had encountered Orochimaru one or two years ago, it would have been perfectly normal. After all, Orochimaru himself was highly skilled at Underground Intelligence. It could be said that, in all of Konohagakure, aside from a certain Pot Kage, Orochimaru was the most adept at this sort of thing.

But now, Orochimaru had already defected from Konoha! Who knew what this fellow wanted by appearing before him?

"How cold! I remember that when I first spoke with Fuguki-kun, you weren't this guarded!"

"However, since Fuguki-kun doesn't wish to talk about Feelings, I'll be direct. I'm quite interested in the greatsword Samehada in your hands. I wonder if Fuguki-kun would be willing to Part with it?"

The instant Orochimaru finished speaking, Suikazan Fuguki's expression changed. The greatsword Samehada, which had originally been wrapped layer upon layer in Sealing Cloth, abruptly burst free, revealing its true spiked club-like form as it slashed directly toward Orochimaru's head.

With a thud, blood splattered from Orochimaru's head, red and white spilling everywhere. Yet moments later, the flowing blood and Brain Matter turned into Gray-brown Soil. His entire Physical Body collapsed to the ground and became a pool of mud. It was clearly only an Earth Clone.

However, Suikazan Fuguki had not expected that attack to truly injure Orochimaru. If Orochimaru, one of the famed Sannin, could be instantly killed by him so easily, then he ought to change his surname to Otsutsuki.

The moment he brought down his blade, he also leaped backward. Ninja were different from warriors; because of their immense destructive power and survival ability no different from ordinary people, theirs was a profession that depended heavily on intelligence.

Theoretically, so long as an ambush was arranged cleverly enough, even a village's Kage could be taken down by dozens of Ordinary Ninja!

Thus, having stepped into this cave with the situation unclear while facing a ninja of Orochimaru's level, Suikazan Fuguki's first thought was to escape as quickly as possible.

But just as he was about to reach the Cave Entrance, Purple Glow suddenly flashed there. Orochimaru had set a seal at the Cave Entrance from the very beginning.

"Arghhhhh!"

The moment he struck that purple wall of light, Suikazan Fuguki immediately let out a series of agonized screams. His entire body seemed to have been cooked by Purple Flames, then turned into a pool of Boiling Water amid a cloud of smoke.

Orochimaru slowly rose from underground, licking the corner of his mouth with a Strange Smile on his face. "A Water Clone... It must be an Improved Special Clone Ninjutsu. It actually fooled even me. Suikazan Fuguki has some tricks up his sleeve."

"However, a clone cannot be too far from its Main Body. Hehehe, it seems it's time to let those modified ninja undergo a real Combat Exercise!"