The True Purpose

Kakashi abruptly retreated several meters, gripping a short sword as he warily watched the figure that had suddenly appeared. He held the white blade in both hands, pressing down hard on his trembling palms.

What tremendous strength.

What a familiar face.

Where had he seen him before?

Ao?

He looked like that Uchiha kid who used to follow Obito...

"Sensei... You go on ahead!"

Uchiha Ao stood in front of Orochimaru, warily watching Kakashi Hatake, who stood some distance away.

This teacher really loved putting on an act.

He had already warned Orochimaru. Given his cunning nature, he must have made all the necessary preparations.

And yet he had still asked Zuijinji of Ryūchi Cave to send word and have Ao come support him.

Wasn't it just another test?

Ao knew that perfectly well, but he came anyway. If his teacher wanted to put on a show, he'd play along.

Ao looked at the Anbu in the distance. The rare white hair and the Sharingan in one eye...

Kakashi!

He hadn't expected their meeting to happen like this.

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

He never thought he'd get the chance to fight him.

Kakashi was a little older than him.

But they were still from the same generation of ninjas.

When Kakashi had been Ao's age, he was already a Jonin. Now he was the Anbu Captain, one of the elite of the elite.

A genius his peers could only look up to.

As he felt the remnants of his predecessor's memories and the fervor surging within him, Ao couldn't help trembling with excitement.

But while the two faced off, something unexpected happened.

Kakashi warily watched the pair, not daring to let his guard down for even a moment.

"Ao, you came to help me despite the danger. I'm truly touched!"

Orochimaru clutched his chest and spoke with heartfelt gratitude.

Before Uchiha Ao could reply,

his expression suddenly turned cold. Pinching his thumb and forefinger together, he leaned close to Ao's ear. "But you've passed every test I've set for you with flying colors. It's left me deeply puzzled.

"It's almost as if... you know all my plans and can read my mind."

"Ao... can I trust you?"

Orochimaru's voice was cold, like a bitter winter wind that sent a chill through the body.

"Sensei, you're the one who guided me on the path of research..."

"Whatever choices I make, I'll always put your interests first!"

Uchiha Ao answered without changing expression.

Orochimaru's lips curled upward, apparently satisfied with the answer. He patted Ao on the shoulder, no longer looking like a wounded man on the verge of collapse.

He abruptly brought a hand sign he had prepared to his lips.

Tweet!

A piercing whistle rang out!

The men already lying in wait among the Anbu sprang into action.

An Anbu Ninja supporting the Third seized the moment when no one was watching, pulled out an Explosive Tag, slapped it against himself, and clamped both arms around the Third.

"What are you doing!?"

"Run...!"

The tag detonated!

The instant Sarutobi Hiruzen caught the acrid scent of fire, he raised the Adamantine Staff in front of his chest. His face filled with horror as he looked at the subordinate beside him. The staff instantly extended, forcing the man away...

BOOM!

A violent explosion erupted.

Flames shot into the sky!

Everyone's attention was drawn to the blast.

"Lord Hokage... He's been killed by an Explosive Tag!"

Namiashi Raidō's horrified voice rang out in the distance.

It immediately caught Kakashi's attention.

Then a series of disturbances broke out. The Anbu were actually fighting one another.

"Sawada Shota!"

"What are you doing!?"

"Stop! Protect Lord Hokage..."

Urgent shouts rang out all around them, and the entire battlefield instantly descended into chaos.

Orochimaru seized the opportunity to grab Uchiha Ao by the arm. They leapt up and burst out of the Anbu's encirclement.

"Lord Orochimaru! Go!"

Several elite Anbu Jonin shouted the signal as they stabbed their comrades in the back, then rushed toward the Third's position. They risked their lives to buy Orochimaru time to escape.

Ao's forewarning had given Orochimaru time to prepare and alert his trusted men hidden among the Anbu.

At that moment, all the elite subordinates Orochimaru had cultivated over many years in Konoha revealed themselves.

Kakashi glanced at the chaotic battlefield and weighed the situation. He judged that the few Anbu spies who had charged in to die probably couldn't threaten Lord Hokage's life.

He turned his gaze and watched Orochimaru and Uchiha Ao disappear into the distance.

This was his best chance to capture Orochimaru.

If he let Orochimaru escape Konoha seriously wounded, there would be almost no chance of catching him in the Ninja World in the future.

"Go, Kakashi. The village has sent reinforcements..."

Uzuki Yugao's voice sounded in Kakashi's ear, dispelling his final hesitation.

More than ten fresh Anbu arrived on the battlefield and quickly joined the fight.

The commotion caused by a few spies was nothing to worry about.

Seeing this, Kakashi nodded to Uzuki Yugao and set off in pursuit of Orochimaru and the others.

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

The immense shockwaves from the battle had already drawn a large number of Konoha ninjas to the area.

The longer they delayed,

the greater the danger they faced.

"Ao, you really haven't disappointed me..."

"But when did your Chakra become so abundant?"

Orochimaru spoke with a pale face.

He had noticed that Uchiha Ao's strength had undergone another dramatic transformation, and a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes.

It had only been a few days.

Ao's Chakra, which had only just reached Chunin level, was now almost catching up to his.

At least the level of an elite Jonin.

"Sensei, what are you planning? You've caused all this commotion. You're not just trying to leave Konoha, are you?"

"And you called me here too. Does this have something to do with your research?"

Ao asked.

He had a vague suspicion that Orochimaru had stayed in the village at such great risk because he had his eye on something in Konoha.

Unlike in the original story, where the Third caught him in his laboratory completely off guard, he hadn't packed anything or made any arrangements, and had fled in a panic, leaving all his belongings to Shimura Danzō.

During his escape, the Third had also wounded him badly, forcing him to perform Living Corpse Reincarnation ahead of schedule and greatly weakening his strength.

This time, it seemed more like he had deliberately stayed in the village to wait for the Third, choosing to make his stand inside Konoha.

"Actually, you had a chance to escape when you sent me away, didn't you, Sensei? Why make such a spectacle of it? You nearly got yourself killed."

Ao gave him an appraising look as he asked.

Did Orochimaru have some kind of masochistic streak that Ao hadn't noticed?

He glanced back and saw that Kakashi Hatake had caught up with them.

At the same time, several squads from Konoha's Police Force had noticed their movements and were closing in on them.

Uchiha Inabi, at the head of the force, had blocked the path they were about to take.

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

"I don't want to give everything up and leave just like that. I can't accept it!"

"I've destroyed all the materials in my laboratory that I couldn't take with me. That bastard Danzō won't get a thing... And I'm going to take his most prized possession as compensation for his betrayal!"

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

"Sensei... You're in control of everything, aren't you? A wound like that could be healed easily with the Snake Slough Technique, couldn't it?"

Ao glanced at his wound.

"You saw through it, Ao."

Orochimaru noticed Uchiha Ao's gaze and chuckled sheepishly. He didn't seem embarrassed in the slightest to have been found out.

Ao-kun really was his kind of person. He'd figured out what Orochimaru was thinking so quickly.

He stopped pretending.

Snake Slough...

He used it again. In an instant, Orochimaru transformed into a giant snake. His figure then slowly crawled out of the snake's mouth. The moment he emerged, the snake's body lost its vitality and collapsed onto the ground in a heap of dried, withered skin.

The wound on Orochimaru's body had already healed completely.

Other than his slightly pale face, there was nothing unusual about him.

Watching this, Ao guessed that Orochimaru had probably transplanted the First Hokage Cells into his body too. With Ao's intervention, such a low concentration of First Hokage Cells could strengthen the body's healing ability without causing any side effects.

Combined with the Snake Slough Secret Technique, any wound that wasn't fatal could be healed with ease.

Including a wound that pierced through his chest.

Orochimaru had been pretending the whole time.

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

Orochimaru finally told him the truth.

He had prepared every contingency for this operation. If he couldn't beat his teacher, he would have his trusted Anbu step in, throw the situation into chaos, and buy him some time.

Then he could escape with ease.

At the same time, he could take advantage of the chaos to sneak into a forbidden area of Konoha: a secret research facility beneath Kage Rock, rumored to have been left behind by the Second. He could take some precious research documents with him.

It held records of the forbidden techniques the Second had once studied.

Now it was under Danzō's control.

To sneak inside, he had to draw the attention of most of the people in the village.

That was why he had caused such a huge commotion.

He had even been willing to sacrifice his spies hidden among the Anbu.