Senior Orochimaru, Let's Make a Deal

Yes. Once a battle broke out inside this massive tree hollow, given Orochimaru's destructive power and temperament, innocent people would inevitably be caught up in it. Were they really going to let these innocent, pitiful members of the Iburi Clan die because of Orochimaru?

If these people had merely been strangers—Orochimaru's followers with no connection to Konoha—that would have been one thing. But Kakashi had clearly realized, prompted by Yuzuru Hyuga, that half of their current misery was in fact connected to the Root.

At the very least, Konoha could not possibly wash its hands of the children's tragic deaths as test subjects.

Yamato's appearance here also implied something that disappointed Kakashi even more: Root and Orochimaru could not possibly be unrelated. Root—and Danzo—might even have been the ones helping Orochimaru with his experiments.

And after that, might others have tacitly approved of it as well?

For instance, the Third.

Kakashi might not originally have considered these dark truths, nor would he have connected Root's affairs to the Third. But Yuzuru Hyuga, standing beside him, had not merely hinted at the suspicious details behind it all—he had practically spelled them out. How could Kakashi possibly remain unmoved?

His original determination to carry out the Third's mission and swear to bring Orochimaru back had gradually turned into a negative emotion because of Yuzuru's words and actions.

Yuzuru Hyuga had calculated this precisely. He had not only grasped the Iburi Clan's mindset, but also used their feelings to force Kakashi into agreeing with what he was about to do!

"So, our priority in this temporary operation is to protect the Iburi Clan, who have permanently lost their futures and loved ones because of Konoha's negligence."

Yuzuru Hyuga set the tone for the operation.

Kakashi remained silent and did not object, merely replying vaguely, "If Orochimaru is seriously injured, and the two of us are capable of keeping him here..."

"You don't need to tell me. If Orochimaru really looks like he could be knocked over with a push, I won't miss the opportunity either." Yuzuru Hyuga spoke casually, but he did not believe for a moment that he and Kakashi, as they were now, could truly hold Orochimaru.

If Orochimaru's combat ability was an eight, then his ability to preserve his own life was definitely a ten. In terms of sheer survival instinct, Yuzuru Hyuga considered Orochimaru the strongest in the ninja world.

Yuzuru Hyuga's skill points were all invested in taijutsu, while Kakashi's were all invested in killing. Which of them had the ability to "capture alive" an Orochimaru whom even the Third could not take down?

Even if they fought to the death, who knew what hidden techniques Orochimaru had mastered by now?

Yuzuru Hyuga had always been cautious. There was no way he would risk his life cleaning up the Third's mess.

Having decided that persuading Orochimaru to leave would take priority, Yuzuru Hyuga brushed Kakashi off with a few words and devised several standard tactics. Then they quickly used the Transformation Technique—one taking on Yukimi Iburi's appearance, the other Yamato's—and quietly slipped out. They hid behind cover and watched in silence. Before long, Orochimaru appeared at the entrance.

Orochimaru looked rather disheveled at the moment, filthy all over, with traces of blood staining his usually pallid face. Only those beastlike eyes remained as cold and composed as ever.

Facing several Iburi Clan members whose expressions seemed complicated, Orochimaru merely revealed an unreadable smile. Looking at Gota Iburi before him, he said calmly, "Gather the clan members first. I have something to say."

Amid the spreading mist, the Iburi Clan members slowly took shape. At the front, Gota Iburi merely stared coldly at Orochimaru. "Lord Orochimaru, can you tell me where those children went?"

The instant Orochimaru saw their expressions, he realized this group of Iburi Clan members seemed to have discovered something. Completely unconcerned by their reactions, he simply swept his cold gaze across them before licking his lips.

"Where is Yukimi?"

Orochimaru possessed a secret technique that allowed him to acquire another person's bloodline for a short time by consuming their blood. The reason he had detoured to find the Iburi Clan was precisely to obtain their blood and gain the ability to turn into smoke, allowing him to escape Konoha's pursuit.

But this secret technique had a limitation—he needed to consume a child's blood.

An adult's blood might work, but its quality and duration were far from enough to support his escape plan. Only Yukimi Iburi, the Iburi Clan's sole surviving child, was his target.

Who had made these foolish fools wake up?

"Come out."

Orochimaru had no intention of wasting words on the Iburi Clan.

With only a slight tilt of his head, the Iburi Clan members felt the backs of their necks turn scorching hot. In the next instant, their entire bodies went numb, leaving them unable to move. Forget turning into smoke—they found even moving their bodies extremely difficult!

"You!" Gota Iburi's eyes widened in fury, but in the next instant, Orochimaru mockingly seized his head with one hand, leaving him unable to move.

A small snake crawled out from Orochimaru's left hand and coiled around Gota Iburi's neck, hissing.

"If you still refuse to come out, then I can hardly guarantee—"

Before Orochimaru could finish, a Kunai whistled toward him.

Yuzuru Hyuga, transformed into Yamato, charged at him in silence from the distance. Orochimaru merely narrowed his eyes. "Kinoe? No... if it were really Kinoe, he would have chosen Wood Release as his opening move. So who is it?"

Orochimaru tilted his head, his smile slightly terrifying. "So, are you still going to keep hiding?"

With a wave of his hand, small snakes crawled out from beside him, their targets a group of Iburi Clan members who could barely resist.

Having lost their ability to turn into smoke, many of the Iburi Clan members had little combat ability to begin with. Now, with their bodies weak and limp, they were even more helpless.

"If you do that... I'm afraid you'll never see Yukimi again."

Yuzuru Hyuga had no choice but to speak. At the same time, the moment his Transformation Technique was released, blue light already shimmered around his fists as he struck toward Orochimaru from afar with Gentle Fist chakra.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. As his hands rapidly formed seals, he spoke in an interested, hoarse voice. "So it's you—"

"Are you interested—" Before Orochimaru could finish speaking, his hand seals were complete. A gigantic python appeared before him, blocking the Gentle Fist chakra. At the same time, he appeared behind Yuzuru Hyuga without a sound. His neck stretched and contracted freely like rubber, his head flying forward to bite at Yuzuru Hyuga's neck.

"No, thank you."

"Rotation!"

Yuzuru Hyuga first answered Orochimaru's unfinished question, then spread his hands.

Orochimaru's head curved around Rotation's chakra vortex, but the lightning erupting behind him made him glance sideways.

"Lightning Blade!"

Kakashi's silver hair whipped wildly as the Three Tomoe in his red Sharingan spun at high speed. He confined the piercing shriek of lightning within his palm, turning it into a dull, explosive crackle of electricity.

Orochimaru's snake eyes were icy. With his head separated far from his body, his entire body suddenly collapsed into a grotesque, putty-like heap.

A massive snake disgustingly poked its head out of his mouth, then twisted around and lunged at the incoming Kakashi in a bite meant to take them both down.

Kakashi had no choice but to swing his Lightning Blade, smashing the python's head into two charred halves. He flipped through the air and landed beside Yuzuru Hyuga.

Only then did Orochimaru slowly emerge from the shadows. It turned out that from beginning to end, he had never entered the tree hollow in person. He had used nothing but a shadow clone to deceive the Iburi Clan.

That rubbery Orochimaru body also exploded into a cloud of smoke with a bang. Several Explosive Tags drifted slowly to the ground, yet he did not set them off.

He had actually placed Explosive Tags on the shadow clone beforehand, specifically preparing for the possibility of facing a large number of enemies.

The reason there had been no explosion now was likely because of the Iburi Clan members. Orochimaru had already made up his mind: if he could not find that little brat Yukimi, he would first drain the blood of these adult Iburi Clan members to ease his injuries a little, then use his incomplete smoke transformation to flee as far as he could.

Facing Yuzuru Hyuga's Byakugan, he merely curled his lips, his eyes holding both admiration and a faint trace of greed. "As expected of a genius of the Hyuga Clan. What a pity—you're from the Branch House."

Orochimaru's bewitching words carried a chilling power. "Well? Would you like to come with me? Perhaps I have the power to change your Caged Bird. Your father couldn't possibly let the Main House activate the Caged Bird directly and take your life."

"Sorry, I have no intention of becoming your test subject, and I don't like gambling."

Yuzuru Hyuga smiled faintly, warmth in the voice beneath his mask. "Still, Senior Orochimaru, you don't look to be in very good shape right now."

"What a pity." Orochimaru tilted his head, abandoning those unrealistic thoughts.

With his arms folded before his chest, it was impossible to tell how badly he was injured. It was as though Yuzuru Hyuga's remark that he did not look well had been nothing more than an illusion. "No reinforcements summoned in advance, no ambush, and you didn't even tell Kakashi beforehand that it was merely one of my shadow clones. Yuzuru Hyuga, tell me—what do you want?"

Communication between intelligent people was always especially convenient.

Yuzuru Hyuga held back Kakashi, whose eyes were filled with killing intent, and said leisurely, "Senior Orochimaru, how about we make a deal?"