Orochimaru, You Are the Murderer!

At night, the town was still as lively as ever.

Tsunade was gambling, each chip she tossed drawing gasps from the crowd.

Shizune was worrying—they'd won one million two hundred thousand ryo, but now a third of it was already lost. Where was the promised restraint?

Kakashi and Tenzo were writing mission reports and planning their next moves.

Eiji carried Xiao Er, having eaten dinner, and wandered outside.

When he reached a quiet street, he slowly came to a stop.

He clearly saw, in the shadows, a pair of snake eyes fixed intently on him.

Just one look, and he could feel the dangerous aura radiating from the man.

Eiji's slender fingers lightly rested on his sword hilt as he asked in a low voice, "Who are you?"

The response was a hoarse, grating laugh. "Uchiha brat, haven't you been looking for me all along?"

"You're Orochimaru!"

Eiji put on a face of exaggerated surprise. "You're the one who ordered the Masked Man to invade Konoha!"

Orochimaru extended his long tongue, licking his lips, and looked at Eiji like he was an idiot.

"Uchiha brat, your brains really don't work well. If I wanted to invade Konoha, would you still be alive talking to me?"

[As Hokage, it means eliminating every possibility that threatens the village]

[New Mission: Defeat the rogue ninja Orochimaru, extract the secret about the Masked Man from him]

Orochimaru tapped his head. It wasn't easy to catch Eiji alone, so he naturally wouldn't miss the chance.

He suddenly opened his mouth wide, and a slender white snake shot out.

Even stranger, the small snake opened its mouth again and spat out a sharp Kusanagi Sword.

There it was!

I spit a snake, the snake spits a sword!

A cold gleam flashed in Eiji's eyes. Xiao Er left its sheath in an instant, and his figure vanished from the spot.

Crack!

A flash of white light cut through, and the sharp blade sliced through the white snake's head.

Orochimaru formed hand seals rapidly. "Summoning: Thousands of Snakes Technique!"

In an instant, countless venomous snakes surged like a black tide, overwhelming Eiji from all directions.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bite Burst!"

The entire street instantly turned into a vast ocean.

Raging waves covered the ground beneath Orochimaru's feet. The water level rose sharply, soon submerging half his body.

Beneath the violent surface, a whirlpool appeared out of nowhere, carrying immense suction force.

Orochimaru had no choice but to concentrate Chakra on the soles of his feet, barely steadying himself.

As for the countless small snakes, they had already been minced into shreds by innumerable fine water blades.

Eiji stood atop a massive water dragon, looking down at Orochimaru from above.

"Whoever you are, if you threaten the village's safety, I will never let you go."

A sense of helplessness rose in Orochimaru's heart.

Protect Konoha—listen to that. Is that something you Uchiha should be saying?

Does your Uchiha clan even have a tradition of protecting the village?

On the water dragon, Eiji slowly raised one palm, then suddenly clenched his five fingers into a fist.

With Eiji's hand seal, the water level surged again.

The violent current instantly submerged Orochimaru completely.

Countless sharp water blades sliced through his body.

Eiji could even clearly hear the sound of flesh being torn apart, along with Orochimaru's twisted, distorted screams.

Just as Eiji let his guard down, with a thunderous crash, a massive creature burst violently from the ground.

Orochimaru stood atop a purple giant snake, looking somewhat battered.

"Foolish Orochimaru, you summoned me just to use me as a meat shield?!"

Manda let out a deafening roar.

"Lord Manda, this situation is special. Help me defeat this little brat here, and I'll offer you a hundred humans as sacrifices."

Hearing this, Manda felt satisfied.

He carefully sized up the enemy before him and let out a sneer.

"Orochimaru, you can't even beat a snot-nosed brat anymore?"

Orochimaru wanted to say something, but swallowed it back down.

Keep pretending. Though Eiji was just an eleven-year-old brat, his mastery of Water Release had long surpassed his peers.

There weren't even many in Konoha who could match him.

And besides...

What struck Orochimaru as strange was—did Eiji's Chakra never run out?

Maintaining such a massive jutsu, yet he hadn't even broken a sweat.

This kid definitely had some secret hidden on him!

"Go, Lord Manda!"

"Shut up! I don't need your orders!"

Manda opened his blood-soaked maw, bringing a stench of gore, and swallowed Eiji whole in one bite.

"Alright, Orochimaru, when's the sacrifice—"

"Wrong!"

Orochimaru's pupils shrank sharply. The Water Release hadn't dissipated.

That fool Manda hadn't bitten a real body at all!

Before the words faded.

With a splash, Eiji's figure burst out of the water like a ghost from beneath Manda's flank.

He gripped Xiao Er tight, the blade wrapped in surging currents, and drove it viciously into Manda's purple scales.

"Hiss!" Manda howled in pain, thrashing his massive body wildly, kicking up towering waves.

Eiji landed his strike, then vanished again, leaving several Explosive Tags planted in Manda's wound.

"You little bastard, come out of the water and fight me if you've got the guts!"

Manda roared, churning the waves into a frenzy.

"Your grandpa's here!"

Eiji's voice rang out again beside Manda's enormous head.

This time, Xiao Er pierced clean through his lantern-like right eye.

Tapping the hilt with his toes, Eiji formed a hand seal.

"Ha!"

"Art is an Explosion!"

Boom boom boom!

The Explosive Tags detonated in rapid succession!

Blast after blast of fire and shockwaves surged higher and higher, tearing Manda's colossal body apart—flesh and blood flying, charred and mangled.

Finally, like a collapsing mountain of meat, he slumped limp into the receding pool of water.

Eiji wiped the blood froth from his forehead, used the blade tip to lift the shredded pieces of Orochimaru.

"You should be dead by now, right?"

He flicked his wrist, shook the grime off Xiao Er's blade, and sheathed it with a sharp clang.

The moment he took a step, a cold, slick sensation coiled around his upper body.

"Crap!"

Several white snakes, tough as ropes, cinched tight around his arms and torso.

Orochimaru crawled out from the shadows in some corner, his whole body slick with mucus.

Bedraggled, yet carrying that nauseating excitement.

"That perfect body belongs to me now!"

Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with greedy, feverish light, his long tongue licking his lips.

"Foolish Orochimaru, when did you get the illusion that I was under your control?"

Eiji's voice rang out from behind Orochimaru, sending a chill down his spine.

He whipped his head down—only to realize there was no Uchiha bound there at all.

Wrapped tight in the constricting giant snake was none other than himself.

Orochimaru's voice carried a note of confusion. "Tch, your genjutsu has reached this level..."

Eiji let out a laugh, the Three Tomoe in his eyes spinning rapidly.

"Die, trash who harms Konoha."

Eiji drew his blade again, and the water's surface seemed pulled by some force, churning restlessly.

Eiji raised his sword, and the remaining water, like a living thing, rapidly gathered along the blade, coiling and compressing.

Finally, it condensed into a colossal, gleaming azure water-giant blade, cold and sharp.

"Go to hell, trash!"

Eiji roared in fury, the five-meter-long water blade tearing through the air.

With the momentum to cleave through everything, it came crashing down toward the bound Orochimaru's head!

[Orochimaru is cunning by nature, and ordinary shinobi struggle to find a way to completely kill him]

[Mission Progress Update: Eliminate Orochimaru in progress]

Tch. Eiji watched Orochimaru's remains, cleanly split in two by the water blade, and clicked his tongue.

That guy really could survive—even killing all the aliens this way wouldn't finish him off.

Still, Eiji collected Orochimaru's body and sealed it into a scroll.

After all, it was his achievement.

Just then, his two companions and Lord Tsunade finally arrived, taking their time.

Eiji suddenly grinned wide. "Lord Tsunade, I win this time."