Naruto's trip to Amegakure had also involved Moriyue. Back when Moriyue had been preparing to leave Mount Myōboku, Naruto had kept saying Jiraiya's mission was taking unusually long. Moriyue had no idea what he was thinking, but he had casually mentioned Amegakure to him. That had become one of the reasons Naruto was able to go to Amegakure for rescue today.
As for Moriyue, the shock in his heart was no less than Naruto's and the others'.
Only he and Orochimaru should have known that he was coming to meet up with Orochimaru and deal with Itachi Uchiha. As for those two who had stolen Itachi's corpse, Moriyue felt as if he had seen them somewhere before. Though the memory was hazy, they... seemed to be Zabuza and Haku. But then the timeline did not add up. Those two should have died long ago...
What happened next was even harder for Moriyue to understand. Why were Yugito Nii and the others here? Had someone informed them? No, no explanation made sense.
Orochimaru reacted faster. He knew Yugito Nii and the others were Moriyue's companions, and like Moriyue, he had no idea why they were here. Orochimaru's first thought was that the brat Moriyue had set him up.
"Trying to rob me after the deal...?"
Orochimaru was not in good condition at the moment. He had only gained preliminary control over Sasuke's body. Although his hands could now use ninjutsu, his control over the body was still far from complete. If these people surrounded and attacked him now, he would have to pay a heavy price.
Having made up his mind, Orochimaru acted immediately.
He snapped his fingers with one hand. Before the two sides could exchange a word, a cloud of smoke spread out from around Orochimaru. Though he still