Defeat You!

The moment Yei finished speaking, a round of applause came from one direction.

Then, a man dressed in a white kimono stepped out from behind a large tree with unhurried strides. His skin was pale, his pupils were vertical and golden, and purple eyeshadow lined his eyes. A feminine smile rested on his face as he spoke in a distinctively hoarse voice. "As expected of a member of the Hyuga Clan. Your senses are truly sharp—you actually noticed my approach?"

After Orochimaru revealed himself, Yei did not dare let down his guard and continued using Observation Haki to keep him locked on.

Yei feigned surprise, deactivated his Byakugan, then bowed to Orochimaru and asked, "So it was Lord Orochimaru. What are you doing here in the Death Forest as well?"

As one of the Sannin, Orochimaru held a very high position in Konoha Village. Even ordinary Jonin would have to address him as "Lord."

Orochimaru looked at Yei with interest and answered, "Naturally, I have my own purpose..."

"Then I won't disturb you, Lord Orochimaru." Yei showed a look of understanding, nodded, and prepared to leave, though his Observation Haki continued to watch Orochimaru's every move.

"Yei-kun, don't be in such a hurry to leave. This time, my target is you..." Orochimaru's tone turned teasing as his narrow eyes sized Yei up and down.

"Me? What business could Lord Orochimaru have with an ordinary Special Jonin like me? If there's some mission, I'll do my utmost." Yei withdrew the foot he had stepped out with, pretending to be surprised, as though he did not understand why Orochimaru was looking for him. His tone was exceedingly respectful.

However, his vigilance had already risen to its peak. He's even investigated my name? It seems that even if I hadn't come here on my own this time, Orochimaru would have made a move against me sooner or later...

Orochimaru spoke teasingly. "Heh heh heh, a mission? No, not at all."

Yei feigned confusion. "Then what does Lord Orochimaru want with me?"

Orochimaru ran his tongue across his face. His golden vertical pupils stared at Yei like a venomous snake eyeing its prey, and he spoke neither quickly nor slowly. "Of course... I want to study the secrets hidden within you!"

At this moment, Yei also "seemed" to notice Orochimaru's malice. A grave expression appeared on his face. "The secrets on me? Could it be that you have your eye on my Byakugan? Then you've miscalculated. I'm from the Hyuga Branch Family. Once I die, my eyes will destroy themselves."

Upon hearing that, Orochimaru said darkly, "While I am interested in the Byakugan, I'm not ignorant enough to not know that the eyes of the Hyuga Branch Family cannot be taken because of the Caged Bird Seal."

"Alright, Yei-kun, let me be frank. What other secrets are you hiding? I once sensed a fluctuation from you that resembled Tailed Beast Chakra..."

Yei's heart tightened, but his expression remained unchanged. "Lord Orochimaru must be joking. I'm merely an ordinary member of the Hyuga Branch Family. How could I possibly possess something like Tailed Beast Chakra..."

Yet inwardly, he became incomparably serious. I thought Orochimaru had only grown curious because I was building a laboratory here. I didn't expect there to be another reason. No wonder—if there hadn't been something that interested him, he probably wouldn't have set his sights on me...

A fluctuation similar to Tailed Beast Chakra... Was it the Chakra that leaked from my body when I was healing the injuries left behind by repairing the Hollow Mask? I still wasn't cautious enough. If I'd waited until all that Chakra had completely dispersed before leaving, this probably wouldn't have happened...

Yei did not show it on his face, but inwardly he cursed himself. He still had not been cautious enough!

But he had not expected Orochimaru to target him for this reason.

Tailed Beast Chakra was something worthy of attention no matter where it appeared, much less in the eyes of a scientific madman like Orochimaru!

His coveting of the Tailed Beasts had been displayed vividly in the original story...

Now that he had noticed some clues on a member of the Hyuga Branch Family, Orochimaru naturally would not remain indifferent. He would certainly find a way to investigate it thoroughly!

"Whether it is or not, I'll investigate it myself. That is merely one of the reasons I came for you..." Orochimaru's tone was teasing as he gave a cold smile. His meaning was already obvious—he had no intention of letting Yei go!

He had also guessed that Yei would never admit it. Matters concerning Tailed Beasts were of enormous importance. As long as the slightest hint surfaced, it would surely be thoroughly investigated. If Yei truly possessed some secret connected to a Tailed Beast, there was no way he would reveal it!

But that did not matter. As long as he captured Yei, no secret would be able to hide from him!

Orochimaru did not intend to kill Yei. He indeed had other purposes.

He had now reached a bottleneck in his research on the First Hokage Cells...

Through his experiments, he discovered that ordinary shinobi simply could not withstand the power of the First Hokage Cells. They would be devoured and eventually turn into large trees. Every test subject had met the same fate...

Therefore, he had set his sights on Konoha's two great shinobi clans: the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan!

Perhaps only shinobi born with Kekkei Genkai could endure the power of the First Hokage Cells!

As for Yei, he could only be called unlucky. His strange act of constructing a laboratory, the suspected Tailed Beast Chakra fluctuations within his body, and his status as a member of the prestigious Hyuga Clan—these three factors all intrigued Orochimaru...

One of his purposes? Yei was puzzled, but he did not dwell on it at this moment. He pulled out a kunai and assumed a combat stance, shouting coldly at Orochimaru, "Making a move against shinobi of the village without cause—regardless of whether you are the Third Hokage's disciple or one of the Sannin famed throughout the Shinobi World, the village will still hold you accountable!"

Orochimaru chuckled at those words. In his hoarse voice, he slowly said, "Every day in the Shinobi World, who knows how many people vanish without reason. Even if you are a member of the prestigious Hyuga Clan, there are so many people in the Hyuga Branch Family. As long as you aren't from the Main Family, no one will care much no matter how many members of the Branch Family disappear!"

"Heh heh... Don't worry, I won't kill you. I merely want to study you..." As he finished speaking, Orochimaru habitually ran his tongue over his face, lowered his head slightly, and revealed only a pair of golden vertical pupils from within the shadows.

He was in no hurry to act. Like a venomous snake watching its prey, he was full of patience—and Yei was his prey!

As expected, this can't be avoided... Yei sighed inwardly. Though he had long been prepared, now that the moment had truly arrived, he could not help feeling that it was utterly fucked up!

The next moment, Yei's aura changed, becoming sharp and fierce. "It seems making moves against shinobi of the village isn't your first time..."

"Not bad aura..." Surprise appeared in Orochimaru's eyes. Was he still brave enough to fight when facing one of the Sannin?

However, he still did not take it too seriously. "Yei-kun, do you wish to resist me? Fine. Let me see your trump card—that thing resembling Tailed Beast Chakra..."

"Resist?" Yei murmured. Then he raised his head, and in an instant, his gaze turned sharp as his entire aura underwent a complete transformation. "No. I'm going to... defeat you!!"

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly, as though he suspected he had misheard. He repeated it, his tone somewhat strange. "Defeat... me?"