Driven Back to Ryūchi Cave?

In just a few seconds, the Black Scale Serpent could no longer endure the pain of being scorched by the flames. It dispelled the Summoning Technique and returned to Ryūchi Cave, leaving behind strands of steel wire whose surfaces were still burning.

Seeing this, Uchiha Gen also stopped supplying Chakra, causing the flames on the steel wires to extinguish instantly.

Then, without caring about the flames on the ground or the wires still glowing red-hot, Uchiha Gen ran without hesitation in the direction of the river.

Although he had defeated the Black Scale Serpent smoothly in a short time, it had still taken one or two minutes.

He needed to relocate as quickly as possible and erase his scent again.

Meanwhile.

Orochimaru tossed the bell in his hand as he traveled atop the head of a Brown Giant Serpent.

Beside his legs, Utsuki Ruri sat on the giant serpent's head with him after losing her bell, curiously experiencing what it felt like to ride a large summoned beast.

"Oh? It was actually beaten back to Ryūchi Cave?"

An interested expression appeared on Orochimaru's face as he formed hand seals.

"The summon was refused. Could its injuries be too severe? Interesting."

This made Orochimaru even more curious about what had happened on the Black Scale Serpent's side.

Orochimaru knew the Black Scale Serpent's strength well. It was absolutely not something an ordinary Genin could handle.

Whether in defense or destructive power, it was not something a ninja at the Genin level could confront head-on. Successfully escaping from it would already have been impressive.

Yet this Black Scale Serpent had been defeated by a newly graduated Genin, to the point where it believed its life might be in danger and had no choice but to return to Ryūchi Cave. Its injuries were so severe that even his summoned call had been rejected.

Orochimaru reached out and patted the Brown Giant Serpent beneath him.

The latter immediately understood and twisted its massive body forward.

Before long, the three arrived at the battlefield where Uchiha Gen had fought the Black Scale Serpent. They saw the lingering flames burning in the forest, as well as the Shuriken and Elastic Steel Wire scattered around the area before they could be collected.

"These traces should belong to Gen," Utsuki Ruri said as she looked at the marks of battle covering the ground.

Sarutobi Enju could not manipulate Shuriken with such precision.

Orochimaru also knew it had been Uchiha Gen. After all, Fire Release combined with wire-controlled Shuriken was a common combat method of the Uchiha Clan.

He looked over the surrounding trees, then sniffed the air and briefly inspected the traces of battle.

With his experience, he could reconstruct part of the battle's details from these traces.

"It should have taken very little time. His tactical application was still slightly lacking, but he set this up quickly during an unexpected encounter. His reactions weren't slow."

After examining the scene, Orochimaru gave his assessment.

"Back at the Ninja Academy, Gen had always ranked first in theory. After I entered the elite class, he scored nearly full marks on every theory exam. Naturally, he's excellent when it comes to tactical theory," Utsuki Ruri said softly.

"Being good at theoretical tactics and being good at applying tactics in actual combat are not the same thing."

Orochimaru commented with his arms crossed, though he looked quite satisfied.

Nearly full marks in every theory exam?

Not bad. That was quite like him as well.

"Let's go. We'll look for Uchiha Gen."

Orochimaru patted the Brown Giant Serpent beneath his feet again.

The serpent immediately extended its tongue, catching the pheromones Uchiha Gen had left in the air.

Two minutes later.

Following the scent, the three chased all the way to the river that ran through the Forest of Death.

The scent vanished here.

Clearly, Uchiha Gen had entered the water and fled, using the flowing river to wash away his scent. By now, he had surely emerged somewhere else and continued escaping.

In other words, they had lost him.

Orochimaru was not surprised in the slightest.

He had only come here to confirm it. If Uchiha Gen had not possessed that much sense, then Orochimaru would have been disappointed.

But now Orochimaru could be certain that with Uchiha Gen in this team, even if he was absent during some future mission, they would not be so easily wiped out in danger.

Very good. Only the living could speak of other things; otherwise, no matter how noble one's origins, they were meaningless.

This was the most precious realization Orochimaru had gained after Nawaki's death.

And what he intended to teach these three disciples was how to survive—including how to grow stronger.

Orochimaru stared at the churning river surface as though he had sensed something. He formed hand seals and summoned a White Phosphorus Snake.

Amid its hissing, Orochimaru raised his head and looked toward the vast Forest of Death.

"Since we've lost him, let's find the other one. He's already been discovered."

Elsewhere.

Relying on his greater agility, Sarutobi Enju finally shook off the Two-headed Snake's pursuit and let out a relieved breath. Just as he swallowed a Ration Pill to restore his Chakra, he was startled to discover that countless snakes had already emerged all around him.

Snakes thick and thin, long and short, poked their heads out from the surrounding tree trunks.

Even amid the lush vegetation nearby, he could vaguely make out multicolored swarms of snakes, their long bodies coiling and writhing across the ground.

"Well, looks like my position's exposed now."

Sarutobi Enju sighed, took a bottle from his ninja tool pouch, and poured a mouthful of oil into his mouth.

Unlike his fight with Uchiha Gen a few days ago, the freer combat environment of the forest gave him plenty of opportunities to use Fire Oil.

He had escaped that Two-headed Snake earlier by using Fire Oil to unleash a large-scale Fire Style, igniting a vast stretch of forest. The flames disrupted the snakes' infrared sensing, while the thick smoke interfered with the scent detection of their forked tongues.

But escaping the Two-headed Snake's pursuit had cost him too much time, allowing the other snake swarms to surround his location.

If he could not fight his way out, that Two-headed Snake—and the other giant snakes—would likely arrive here very soon.

Worse still, Orochimaru surely already knew what was happening here and was most likely on his way.

Once Orochimaru arrived, his elimination would basically be certain.

"Even though there's still plenty of time left, I can't conserve Chakra anymore. If I can break through, I might still have time to recover and last the full hour. But if I can't break out, then I'm done for."

Feeling his Chakra gradually replenish under the effects of the Nara Clan's specially refined Ration Pill, Sarutobi Enju puffed out his cheeks.

"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"

More than ten minutes later.

Sarutobi Enju was gasping for breath, his body stained with blood. Snake corpses carpeted the ground beneath his feet, while three enormous giant snakes surrounded him, including the Two-headed Snake that had driven him into such a miserable state.

There were as many ordinary snakes in Ryūchi Cave as one could want; their deaths did not matter. Only if these stronger giant snakes died would Orochimaru feel any heartache.