Snake and Scorpion (2)

When Sasori spoke, Orochimaru's expression didn't change, but a faint murderous intent showed in his eyes.

As one of the Konoha Sannin, he held a very high standing in the Ninja World. Though he admitted that Sasori was a shinobi on his level, the man had still dared to make such a brazen claim, as if he held Orochimaru's life in his hands. This filled Orochimaru with fury.

"Oh? Then I'd like to see what you can do, Sasori of the Red Sands." Orochimaru licked his lips and smiled.

Since Sasori had come to him, this was the perfect chance to test the strength of his new body.

But the man beside him, whose eyes possessed an unknown Kekkei Genkai, still made Orochimaru wary. It wasn't only the air of strength about him; more importantly, it was the way Sasori had treated him just now.

"Are you going to come at me together, or one at a time?" Orochimaru probed. He was confident he could deal with Sasori, but if the other man was on Sasori's level—or even stronger—Orochimaru would have no choice but to run.

Sasori made Hiruko take a few steps forward, then said calmly, "I'm all you need to worry about."

Before the words had even faded, the mechanical tail at Hiruko's rear, shaped like a scorpion's, shot toward Orochimaru. Its tip gleamed black, clearly coated in poison.

No one dared underestimate the poisons Sasori made, and Orochimaru was no exception. He swiftly dodged the incoming scorpion tail and charged at Hiruko.

"Hiruko: Needle Eight Waves!"

Hiruko's mouth opened, and countless poisoned needles shot toward the charging Orochimaru like a dense rain. But Orochimaru brought his hands together, and his body turned as supple as a snake.

With his incredible serpentine movements, Orochimaru twisted and weaved through the barrage like a snake, dodging every attack without a scratch.

Sasori was about to retreat and evade Orochimaru, who was nearly upon him, when four thick brown snakes suddenly burst from the ground beneath Hiruko. They bit down hard, leaving Hiruko—and Sasori—unable to move.

"Earth Release: Earth Rising Spear!"

Orochimaru completed the Hand Seals for an Earth Release attack. Several sharp earthen spikes shot up from underground, piercing Hiruko through.

But Orochimaru showed no joy at seeing Hiruko destroyed, because he realized he had only taken down one of Sasori's Sand Clones.

In that instant, Sasori had moved with incredible speed, withdrawing Hiruko into a Storage Scroll and creating a Sand Clone to fool Orochimaru while he escaped with a substitution technique.

"As expected of Sasori of the Red Sands. You're not so easy to kill." Orochimaru turned to look at Sasori, who had revealed his true form behind him.

Sasori was actually in his thirties, but after fleeing Sunagakure, he had turned himself into a Human Puppet. His puppet body would never age, and he had kept the appearance of a boy in his teens.

Looking at Orochimaru, Sasori knew he had to show his true strength or he would never defeat him.

He took a scroll marked with the character for "three" from his sleeve. Amid a puff of smoke, a male Human Puppet with blue hair and a gray cloak appeared beside him.

"That's..." Orochimaru's expression turned thoughtful. Then, his snake-like pupils contracted sharply in shock.

"That's the Third Kazekage! I never thought the Third Shinobi World War had been caused by you, Sasori of the Red Sands!"

The Third Shinobi World War had been triggered by the Third Kazekage's disappearance. No one had learned what had happened to him, even by the end of the war. But now that Orochimaru had seen Sasori using the Third Kazekage as a Human Puppet, the truth was obvious.

Orochimaru soon recovered from his surprise, his expression instead turning to one of keen interest. He licked his lips and said, "I've always wanted to study the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release."

Sasori remained expressionless. "Then your chance has come." His voice had also changed to that of a boy.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

"Senju Sōbu!"

Dozens of brown venomous snakes suddenly burst from Orochimaru's right hand and lunged toward Sasori and the Third Kazekage puppet. At the same time, a mass of mechanical arms extended from the puppet's right hand, under Sasori's control.

The two very similar techniques collided. Orochimaru's snakes were clearly far weaker than the puppet's mechanical arms; they were torn to shreds in an instant.

"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Drizzle!"

Just then, the Third Kazekage puppet opened its mouth, and a dense rain of black Iron Sand blanketed the area where Orochimaru stood.

Magnet Release and Iron Sand were the Third Kazekage's unique Kekkei Genkai. The Iron Sand, refined from highly concentrated Chakra by the Third Kazekage, was far heavier and more destructive than ordinary Sand Release techniques. That was also why he had been called the strongest Kazekage.

Anyone struck by the Iron Sand would suffer excruciating pain. The Third Kazekage could also use it to interfere with their Chakra, leaving them unable to fight.

Faced with the Third Kazekage's powerful Magnet Release, Orochimaru didn't dare let his guard down. He immediately used one of his strongest defensive techniques to block the attack.

"Rashōmon!"

A massive gate carved with the face of a demon rose from the earth and stood in front of Orochimaru.

With a deafening crash, the Third Kazekage puppet's mechanical arms and Iron Sand rain struck Rashōmon. The gate held for a moment before the powerful assault brought it crashing down.

But it had bought Orochimaru enough time to evade Sasori's attack. Using Rashōmon to block Sasori's assault, Orochimaru circled around behind it and emerged at Sasori's flank. He rapidly formed Hand Seals, and his body transformed into dozens of snow-white snakes, each as thick as a human arm, that lunged at Sasori.

"Something's wrong with that move!" Pain, watching through his Rinnegan, immediately spotted the hidden danger in Orochimaru's technique.

But Sasori, facing Orochimaru, didn't have such an ability and failed to notice the trap hidden in the technique.

"Magnet Release: Iron Sand World Method!"

After the Third Kazekage puppet flew into the air, a vast amount of black Iron Sand poured out of its body and formed countless spreading spikes, covering the entire area.

But to Sasori's shock, the white snakes Orochimaru had become passed right through the Iron Sand barrier, as though they had no physical form.

There was no time to dodge. Dozens of white snakes swarmed over and bit down hard on Sasori. The parts they bit began to freeze, until his entire body was covered in ice and snow, forming a huge block of ice.

The technique Orochimaru had used was called Huanluo Snake Substitution. It was a clone technique he had developed with Yusuke by combining genjutsu with elemental Chakra. Yusuke used crows for his clones, while Orochimaru used snakes.

Because these clones had no physical form, they were incredibly strange, and usually caught anyone encountering them for the first time off guard. Unless an opponent discovered the technique's true nature, there was no way to counter it.

"A genjutsu clone combined with Ice Release? I've never heard that Orochimaru could use Ice Release." Pain, who was watching from the side, still had an expressionless face, but inside he was deeply puzzled. He had never heard of Orochimaru possessing an Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.

Pain had no way of knowing that Orochimaru was no longer using his original body. Through a forbidden technique, he had taken over the body of a young shinobi with the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.

Orochimaru stepped out from the huge block of ice that had encased Sasori. He was certain his Ice Release had trapped Sasori's real body.

He was about to seize the Third Kazekage puppet floating in midair when he saw it suddenly spit a spear of Iron Sand from its mouth and thrust it at him. Orochimaru dodged at once, his mind filled with questions.

"Sasori's real body is definitely inside the ice, and the Third Kazekage puppet should be without an operator. So why is it still moving?" Orochimaru wondered as he cautiously scanned the area.

"There!" Orochimaru suddenly spotted a figure in a black cloak hiding behind a tree, controlling the Third Kazekage puppet with Chakra Threads.

As Sasori was being frozen by Orochimaru, he had realized there was no time to escape. So he released a new puppet body, while the Regeneration Core that housed his soul left his original body and attached itself to the new puppet.

"Sasori, let me handle this."

Pain stopped Sasori from continuing to fight and prepared to defeat Orochimaru himself.

In that brief exchange, Orochimaru had come out on top. In Pain's view, Sasori was unlikely to defeat him alone.

"Tch."

At Pain's words, Sasori clicked his tongue and said nothing more. Orochimaru turned to look at Pain.

Without warning, Orochimaru's body stretched rapidly. In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Pain.

"I'll take those eyes!"

Orochimaru didn't know Pain's eyes were the Rinnegan, but instinct told him the unfamiliar eyes were no ordinary ones.

Pain's face remained cold as Orochimaru looked at him with excitement.

"Shinra Tensei."

A tremendous force struck, sending Orochimaru hurtling away. But since his body had undergone Soft Body Modification, an impact like that couldn't do much damage.

Pain watched Orochimaru land in the distance, dazed and still unsure what had happened, then slowly extended his right hand.

"Banshō Ten'in."

Under the influence of Pain's Banshō Ten'in, Orochimaru felt a powerful force pulling his body back toward Pain, in the opposite direction from where he had just been sent flying.

But Orochimaru had been through countless battles, and his reflexes were beyond ordinary. He immediately came up with a countermeasure.

He quickly formed Hand Seals and used Huanluo Snake Substitution again, transforming into dozens of white snakes that bit at Pain as they closed in.

As the dozens of white snakes lunged for him, fangs bared, Pain remained composed. A long, slender black rod emerged from his left sleeve.

"Die!"

Behind the dozens of white snakes, Orochimaru's vicious face seemed to appear.

As always, thanks for your support!!!

A reader pointed out in the previous chapter that the rope tied around Orochimaru's waist was a type of traditional Japanese clothing. I've revised and added to that part of the previous chapter.

Also, Orochimaru's reincarnated body isn't Haku's, but that of an unnamed shinobi with Ice Release.