The True Purpose

Kakashi abruptly retreated several meters, clutching a short blade as he stared warily at the figure that had suddenly appeared. He gripped the white blade with both hands, pressing down hard to steady his trembling palms.

Such immense strength.

Such a familiar face.

Had he seen him somewhere before?

Ao?

It seemed to be that Uchiha brat who used to follow Obito around...

"Teacher... you go first!"

Uchiha Ao stood in front of Orochimaru, his gaze vigilant as he watched Hatake Kakashi not far away.

This teacher of his really loved to put on a show.

He had clearly already issued a warning, and given Orochimaru's cunning nature, he must have made full preparations.

Yet, he still had Zuijinji from Ryūchi Cave send a message for him to come and provide support.

Wasn't it just to test him once again?

Ao knew this, yet he came anyway; since the teacher enjoyed it, he would play along with his performance.

Ao looked toward the Anbu in the distance, noting the sparse white hair and the single Sharingan...

Kakashi!

He hadn't expected to meet in such a manner.

This was the genius ninja who had always stood ahead of his generation in Konoha.

He never imagined there would come a day when he would cross blades with him.

Kakashi was a bit older than him.

But they could still be considered the same generation of ninjas.

However, when Kakashi was his age, he had already been a Jonin, and now he was an Anbu captain, the elite of the elite.

A genius looked up to by his peers.

Feeling the residual memories of his predecessor and experiencing the burning heat within his heart, he couldn't help but tremble with excitement.

However, just as the two stood in a standoff, an accident occurred.

Kakashi watched the two of them vigilantly, not daring to relax for even a second.

"Ao, it is truly moving that you would disregard the danger to come and support me!"

Orochimaru clutched his chest, saying with an expression full of emotion.

Before Uchiha Ao could reply.

His expression suddenly turned cold, and he pinched his thumb and index finger together, leaning toward Uchiha Ao's ear: "However—the fact that you have been able to pass every test I have set for you perfectly truly leaves me very puzzled."

"It's as if... you are extremely familiar with the layouts I make, as if you know exactly what is in my mind."

"Ao... can I trust you?"

Orochimaru's voice was cold, like the biting wind of midwinter, enough to make one's blood run cold.

"Teacher, you are the one who guides me on the path of scientific research..."

"No matter what choice I make, I will always put your interests first!"

Uchiha Ao replied without changing his expression.

The corners of Orochimaru's mouth curled up, seemingly satisfied with this answer, and he patted Ao's shoulder lightly, showing none of the dejection he had displayed when he was supposedly injured.

He suddenly placed a hand gesture he had prepared long ago to his mouth.

Chirp!

A piercing whistle rang out!

The personnel who had long been lying in ambush among the Anbu moved in an instant.

An Anbu ninja who had been supporting the Third Hokage took advantage of the moment when everyone was distracted to pull out an Explosive Tag, sticking it directly onto his own body before grabbing the Third Hokage in a death grip.

"What are you doing!?"

"Run...!?"

Detonation!

The moment Sarutobi Hiruzen smelled the scent of fire, he blocked his chest with the Adamantine Staff, his face filled with horror as he looked at his subordinate. The Adamantine Staff instantly extended, pushing the man away...

BOOM!

A violent explosion erupted.

Flames soared into the sky!

Everyone's attention was drawn to the sound of the explosion.

"Lord Hokage... has been killed by an Explosive Tag!"

The terrified voice of Namiashi Raidō rang out from a distance.

This instantly drew the attention of Kakashi.

Immediately following this, a series of disturbances erupted as Anbu members began attacking one another.

"Sawada Shota!"

"What are you doing!?"

"Stop! Protect the Third Hokage..."

Urgent voices filled the surroundings, and the entire battlefield descended into chaos in an instant.

Orochimaru seized the opportunity to grab Uchiha Ao by the arm, leaped into the air, and broke through the Anbu encirclement.

"Lord Orochimaru! Go quickly..."

Several elite Anbu Jonin shouted slogans, backstabbing their comrades before surrounding the position of the Third Hokage, using their lives to buy time for Orochimaru to escape.

Ao's advance warning had given Orochimaru time to prepare and notify the confidants he had planted within the Anbu.

The elite subordinates Orochimaru had cultivated in Konoha for years were all exposed at this moment.

Kakashi glanced at the chaotic battlefield and weighed the situation, concluding that those few traitorous Anbu members shouldn't pose a threat to the life of the Third Hokage.

His gaze shifted, lingering on the retreating backs of Orochimaru and Uchiha Ao.

This was the best chance to capture Orochimaru.

Once Orochimaru escaped Konoha with severe injuries, it would be virtually impossible to catch him in the Ninja World again.

"Go! Kakashi, reinforcements for the village have arrived..."

The voice of Uzuki Yugao rang in Kakashi's ear, dispelling his final shred of hesitation.

Following this, more than a dozen fresh Anbu arrived on the battlefield and quickly joined the fray.

The disturbance caused by a few traitors could not stir up any significant waves.

Seeing this, Kakashi nodded at Uzuki Yugao and chased in the direction where Orochimaru and the others had fled.

Uchiha Ao supported Orochimaru as they moved rapidly toward the outskirts of Konoha.

The massive shockwaves from the battle had already attracted a large number of Konoha ninja.

The longer they delayed, the greater the danger they would face.

"Ao, you truly did not disappoint me..."

"But, when did your Chakra become so vast?"

Orochimaru said with a pale complexion.

He noticed that Uchiha Ao's strength had undergone another earth-shaking change, and a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.

Only a few days had passed.

The amount of Chakra that had just broken through to the level of a Chunin was now faintly catching up to his own.

It was at least at the level of an elite Jonin.

"Teacher, what exactly are you planning? Causing such a huge commotion can't just be about leaving Konoha!"

"And calling me over—does this involve some kind of research?"

Ao inquired.

He had a faint suspicion; Orochimaru must have been eyeing something in Konoha, which was why he chose to risk staying in the village.

Unlike the original timeline where he was caught off guard by the Third Hokage in his laboratory, leaving behind all his belongings and plans to flee in a panic, leaving everything to Shimura Danzō.

During that escape, he was severely wounded by the Third Hokage and forced to perform the Living Corpse Reincarnation prematurely, causing his strength to plummet significantly.

This time, it seemed more like he had intentionally stayed in the village to wait for the Third Hokage, choosing to set the battlefield within Konoha.

"Actually, Teacher, you had the chance to escape when you sent me away, right! Why create such a grand scene and almost lose your own life?"

Ao asked with a probing gaze.

Could it be that Orochimaru had some special masochistic hobby he hadn't discovered?

He looked back and saw that Hatake Kakashi was already closing in.

At the same time, several squads from the Konoha Police Force had detected their movements and were closing the net.

Uchiha Inabi, leading the group, had already blocked their path ahead.

"I suppose I can't hide it from you, Ao."

"I didn't want to just give up everything and leave; I wasn't willing to accept that!"

"I have already destroyed all the materials in the lab that I couldn't take with me, so that bastard Danzō won't get anything... At the same time, I am going to take Danzō's most important collection... as compensation for his betrayal."

Orochimaru touched the wound on his chest and said through gritted teeth.

"Teacher... actually, this is all under your control, isn't it? A wound of this degree could be easily healed with the Snake Slough Technique..."

Uchiha Ao glanced at his wound and spoke.

"You saw right through me, Ao."

Orochimaru noticed Uchiha Ao's gaze and chuckled, showing not a hint of embarrassment at being exposed.

Ao was truly to his liking, having grasped his inner thoughts so quickly.

He no longer bothered to put on any pretense.

Snake Slough Secret Technique...

Releasing it once more, Orochimaru instantly transformed into a giant snake, and then his figure slowly crawled out from the snake's mouth. The moment Orochimaru detached, the snake body lost its vitality, collapsing onto the ground as a pile of withered snakeskin.

The wound on Orochimaru's body had recovered as if it had never been there.

Aside from his complexion being slightly pale, there was nothing unusual.

Uchiha Ao noted this scene, guessing that Orochimaru had likely transplanted First Hokage Cells into his body. Through his intervention, this low concentration of First Hokage Cells could enhance the body's self-healing capabilities without any side effects.

Combined with the Snake Slough Secret Technique, any non-fatal wound could be healed with ease.

Including the puncture wound in his chest.

Orochimaru had just been putting on an act.

"My target is the Second Hokage Laboratory beneath the Hokage Rock."

Orochimaru did not continue to hide it and spoke honestly.

He had already prepared foolproof measures for this operation. If he couldn't defeat his teacher, he would have his trusted Anbu subordinates intervene to stir up chaos and buy some time.

That would allow him to escape easily.

At the same time, he could take the opportunity to sneak into a restricted area of Konoha—a secret research facility located beneath the Hokage Rock, rumored to be a laboratory left behind by the Second Hokage, and take away some precious experimental data.

It contained the research data on forbidden techniques that the Second Hokage had once conducted.

Nowadays, it was controlled by Danzo.

To sneak inside, he had to attract the attention of the vast majority of people in the village.

That was why he had caused such a massive commotion.

He had even gone so far as to sacrifice the informants he had buried within the Anbu.