Snake Uncle's Gold Coins

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, wore a grave expression as he led Kakashi and Jaku, two Elite Jonin, into the dark passageway.

Meanwhile, the enormous explosion within the secret base startled Orochimaru, who had been immersed in his experiments.

"Heh heh, I thought you would have come sooner, Sarutobi-sensei." Orochimaru slowly turned around, his golden vertical pupils glinting beneath the cold light of the laboratory table.

He was still wearing a jonin flak jacket and a Konoha forehead protector. His golden slit pupils fixed on the three people emerging from the passageway.

"Orochimaru... it really is you..." Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze swept across the laboratory, where culture tanks containing floating organs and all manner of experimental equipment filled the room. The air reeked of disinfectant and blood.

There were even several ninja corpses wearing Konoha forehead protectors.

Although he knew that Orochimaru had become obsessed with research after the Third Shinobi World War, even working with Danzo, Hiruzen Sarutobi still found it hard to believe that Orochimaru would use the village's ninja as living test subjects!

"You dared trample upon the Will of Fire..." Such utterly inhumane acts made Hiruzen Sarutobi feel ashamed before all the previous Hokage.

More importantly, if word got out that the Third Hokage's disciple had captured ninja from the village for live experiments, what would the other clans and civilian ninja think?

Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi had to purge his own disciple!

Wearing White Cat Masks, Kakashi and Jaku flickered in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi, drew their kunai, and assumed combat stances.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's hands formed seals so quickly they became afterimages, then he slammed his palms heavily against the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Bang!

As the runes of the summoning array spread outward, a cloud of smoke rose. Then Monkey King Enma, wearing a Konoha forehead protector, emerged from the smoke with his massive frame.

"Hiruzen, the enemy is—" Enma stood with his arms folded across his chest, but his voice abruptly stopped as he saw the pale face in the shadows.

"Sorry to make you see this, Enma. This time, I have to purge my own disciple." Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke with deep grief.

"With just this, you can't keep me here... Sensei." Orochimaru formed hand seals.

A high-frequency sound wave tore through the air like an invisible blade, making the eardrums of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the two ninja, and Enma throb. Hiruzen Sarutobi even fell flat onto the ground.

By the time the three ninja and Enma recovered, Orochimaru had already flickered to the entrance of the passage behind them.

Orochimaru glanced back, complicated emotions churning in his slit pupils. He looked once at his teacher, then raced out of the passage without looking back.

At the same time, the secret base's self-destruct mechanism activated. Countless Explosive Tags detonated, and the rolling explosions swallowed the base whole.

"Hokage-sama!" Kakashi, Jaku, and Enma immediately shielded Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Outside Konoha, Orochimaru raced through the branches.

How laughably indecisive... Thinking of Hiruzen Sarutobi's actions just now, Orochimaru curled his lips in mockery.

"It's just a pity there wasn't time to move the equipment from the other laboratories. I can only let Danzo have it." Orochimaru did not care much about the equipment itself. All the experimental results were in his head. Given enough time and money, rebuilding several even better laboratories would be effortless.

Still, the thought of letting Danzo get so much experimental equipment for free left him unwilling to accept it.

"That old fox Danzo will never let this chance slip by..."

The pursuers might already be on their way.

Orochimaru continued racing onward.

Before long, he approached Konoha's protective barrier.

But once he left the barrier, Konoha's Barrier Team would detect him. Then Konoha would know exactly which direction Orochimaru had fled, and the pursuing ninja would soon catch up.

Crack—

"Who's there?!"

Orochimaru suddenly leaped from the tree trunk into the air and flung out several kunai.

The kunai sank deeply into the tree trunks, while Orochimaru landed atop another large tree nearby.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Applause sounded from a shadow not far from Orochimaru. Menma, wearing a White Three-Eyed Fox Mask, slowly stepped out, with two strange phantom figures floating behind him.

When Orochimaru saw the three mysterious masked figures, his pupils contracted slightly.

Even Orochimaru, who spent all day in a laboratory, had heard of a mysterious ninja code-named "Asura" who had recently risen to fame throughout the Shinobi World.

Not only had he attacked Konoha and left the two Hyuga clan head brothers severely and lightly wounded respectively, but he had later attacked Kumogakure as well, inflicting considerable casualties. Kumogakure immediately agreed to a truce with Konoha after the attack and issued a bounty of seventy million ryo for the mysterious ninja!

"Heh, it seems you should be a Konoha ninja." A hint of curiosity flashed through Orochimaru's cold snake-like eyes.

"As expected of Orochimaru, one of the Sannin. But you only guessed half right." Behind Menma, the Grim Reaper of Three and the Celestial Maiden of Jade floated through the air like ghosts.

It was only natural for Orochimaru to guess so. Asura had first appeared in Konoha, and his third appearance had also been in Konoha. Now he had accurately blocked Orochimaru's escape route. Clearly, Asura was extremely familiar with Konoha's barrier and was most likely a Konoha ninja!

This could not help but remind Orochimaru of the mysterious ninja from the Nine-Tails Incident three years ago.

Although much of the information about that upheaval had been sealed away, as one of Konoha's higher-ups and the Third Hokage's disciple, Orochimaru still knew what had happened that night.

Although no conclusion had yet been reached about who had controlled the Nine-Tails and attacked Kushina,

many people had seen the Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes.

"Interesting, truly interesting." Orochimaru stared at the three masked figures before him. His instincts gave him an uneasy feeling about the Grim Reaper of Three.

"A powerful figure capable of wreaking havoc in Kumogakure has instead been lurking in Konoha for so long, and now has even accurately blocked my escape route..."

Orochimaru's thoughts raced. The sensation of this mental challenge made him unconsciously stick out his tongue to lick his lips. With a sinister smile, he said, "Then what do you want? Or rather, what do you want to obtain from me?"

The mysterious ninja before him could come and go freely in Konoha and Kumogakure, so his strength had to be extraordinary.

Thus, Orochimaru knew he absolutely could not be delayed here. This was still inside the protective barrier. If they fought, pursuers sent by the Third Hokage and Danzo could arrive at any moment. Once the mysterious ninja simply left, Orochimaru would be the one in danger.

The longer this dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for Orochimaru!

"Oh? You're quite cooperative." Menma chuckled softly and stated his condition. "Hashirama Cells."

!!!

Orochimaru's pupils shook!

There was only one person who knew he possessed Hashirama Cells: Danzo, his collaborator!

"You're not one of Danzo's people!" But Orochimaru immediately rejected his own guess in a firm tone.

"Who I am isn't important. What matters is that if you don't leave now, Kakashi and Kinoe will be catching up soon." Menma's tone was playful, yet he casually spoke a name that threw Orochimaru's mind into chaos.

"Kinoe!"

This experimental subject had survived after Orochimaru implanted Hashirama Cells into him, then Danzo had taken advantage of the opportunity to claim him. Even Orochimaru, who worked with Danzo, only knew the subject's current codename—"Kinoe"!

Just how much does this person know?!

Without the slightest hesitation, Orochimaru's throat writhed. Then he reached his right hand into his throat and pulled out a scroll wrapped in mucus.

"This is what you want!" Orochimaru threw the scroll with a sinister gaze, then rapidly broke through toward the protective barrier.

The instant he broke through Konoha's protective barrier, Orochimaru turned his head and etched Asura's figure firmly into his memory.

He would definitely settle this score someday!