"Orochimaru?"
Moriyue muttered the name under his breath. Hearing that Moriyue recognized him, the other man simply tore off his disguise completely. Chunks of skin cracked and fell away like layers of shed snakeskin. After a scalp-crawling crackling sound, Orochimaru's original appearance emerged before Moriyue.
"You know me?"
Orochimaru extended his long, slender tongue. No expression could be read on his cold face, while the purple eyeshadow gave him an eerie air. His long black hair was tied into a ponytail behind him to keep it from obstructing his vision.
Moriyue stood where he was and did not make any rash moves. He had no idea what Orochimaru wanted.
"What do you want?"
Though he knew it might be a pointless question, Moriyue asked anyway. What if he could talk-no-jutsu him like Naruto? It would be great if he could just assimilate the man into someone who answered every question.
Unfortunately, Moriyue was not Naruto and did not possess max-level talk-no-jutsu. Orochimaru did not seem interested in wasting words on him either. There was no need to explain his intentions to others. If he could accomplish his goal directly, why bother talking?
"Hehe..."
A chilling smile appeared at the corner of his lips. His eyes, placid as ancient wells, now seemed to burn with roaring flames. His gaze upon Moriyue gradually grew fervent, as though he were admiring a work of art.
Yet his movements showed no mercy whatsoever. With his tongue flicking out, he charged toward Moriyue, his feet sliding across the ground as if they had been greased.
Since the other man had attacked on sight, Moriyue could not just stand there and let himself be struck. Orochimaru was no harmless opponent. He was one of the legendary Sannin, on the same level as Jiraiya and Tsunade.
Moriyue