The Adorable Little Panda

"What exactly do you know?"

Orochimaru was stirred into a state of agitation by what Kyoshin had said.

First, there were the hypotheses regarding the physiology of the Uchiha clan, and then there were the cells of Madara Uchiha.

The crux of the matter was that Kyoshin's grasp on his intelligence was far too precise.

As for this Kintsuchi, Orochimaru had not previously placed much importance on him.

He had only tasked Kabuto Yakushi with gathering intelligence on Kintsuchi, but the results had been minimal.

Kyoshin stood high in the air, deliberately maintaining a certain distance from Orochimaru: "I understand your current state of mind, but please believe that I harbor no malice."

"If you are interested, come find me in Iwagakure. Of course... there is no need to bring any 'gifts' that might frighten people."

Hehehe~

There is no need for such trouble.

Orochimaru's expression remained unchanged, yet a trace of crisis welled up within Kyoshin's heart.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~

From all directions, giant pythons as thick as bowls suddenly lunged out, using rocks and trees as leverage, surging toward Kyoshin in an overwhelming tide.

Kyoshin narrowed his eyes slightly.

Because he had been overly low-key all these years and lacked any notable achievements, his reputation in the ninja world was mediocre.

He hadn't even exerted much influence on the original plot.

This led Orochimaru to misjudge Kyoshin's strength, and ultimately, after being completely crushed in terms of intelligence and tempted by the bait, he decided to strike.

The three tomoe in Kyoshin's eye sockets spun rapidly, gradually coalescing into a simple circular pattern as his Mangekyō Sharingan emerged.

Dense chakra was mobilized by Kyoshin, condensed outside his body by the power of his Mangekyō, and quickly formed a visible white chakra skeleton.

Susanoo, initial form.

Those giant pythons opened their blood-red maws, their sharp fangs gnashing against the Susanoo, yet they failed to shake it in the slightest.

A second before Kyoshin was attacked, Orochimaru had already drawn his Kusanagi Sword, waiting for an opportunity to launch an assault.

But the next second.

Orochimaru's body suddenly stiffened; dense, pinprick-like holes appeared all over his torso, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

"What?!" Orochimaru furrowed his brows, gritting his teeth as he glanced toward the harbor, a flicker of shock passing through his eyes.

He was all too familiar with these wounds; they were the exact result of a summoning technique involving snakes.

Orochimaru's body began to soften and collapse, his mouth stretching open to an eerie degree as a pair of hands extended from within, shedding the "husk" entirely.

After using the Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique to evade the damage, the look Orochimaru cast toward Kyoshin held a hint of wariness.

That kind of eye again.

He had to obtain it!

But for now...

His own presence had been locked onto by a certain good-for-nothing disciple.

If the experts from Konoha arrived, leaving would not be so easy.

He hadn't expected this guy to be so troublesome, despite being the same age as Sasuke.

"I will pay you a visit." Orochimaru's voice was hoarse and sinister, yet somewhat weak.

This was because he had just been playing house with Team 7, consuming a portion of his chakra, and he had used the Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique twice in a short period.

Having been battered by Itachi Uchiha and now Kyoshin Uchiha in succession, Orochimaru's desire for the Uchiha bloodline had reached its peak.

He now had two directions for his plans.

First: Sasuke Uchiha.

Cultivate him and take over his body.

Second: Kyoshin Uchiha.

His abilities were bizarre, and his chakra was in no way inferior to his own.

He could only try to see if he could utilize the methods the other party had mentioned through cooperation.

Clones...

Madara Uchiha's cells, was it?

That should be a decent choice.

But for now, since the play had already begun, it had to continue.

Orochimaru usually only trusted the judgments he reached in his laboratory; he didn't have much time left. If he could obtain Sasuke's body, then going to find Kyoshin would naturally be even better.

Only children make choices~

Orochimaru's body transformed into countless small white snakes, which burrowed into the surroundings and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Kyoshin Uchiha deactivated his Susanoo and Mangekyō Sharingan, raised a hand to adjust his mask, and turned to look behind him.

Kankuro instinctively took a step back, cold sweat drenching his body as he trembled and asked Gaara, "Do we really not need to run? If he decides to kill us..."

They had witnessed everything that just transpired.

Of the three genin from Konoha's Team 7, Sasuke and Naruto had displayed immense strength, while only the girl looked like a burden.

That strange Grass ninja, however, possessed strength that was truly unfathomable.

If they were to face Orochimaru, Gaara and his team would undoubtedly be wiped out.

Yet, hovering above them was a ruthless expert who had forced Orochimaru to retreat with ease.

Is this really still the Chunin Exams?

Temari watched Kyoshin with vigilance; she agreed entirely with Kankuro's sentiment, but unfortunately, their team was led by Gaara.

Gaara was in an exceptionally good mood at the moment. After the voice of Shukaku faded from his ears, he discovered that he could actually control his temper slightly.

For instance, right now, he didn't order his older brother and sister to shut up.

Gaara stared directly at Kyoshin and asked, "Should I call you Kyoshin Uchiha, or Kintsuchi?"

Kankuro felt a faint trace of killing intent almost immediately; it was an instinctive reaction from Kyoshin, who had spent years hiding his identity, upon hearing his real name spoken by a stranger.

"Of... of course..." Kankuro stammered, "Of course it's Kintsuchi, unless we don't want to live anymore."

He looked up at Kyoshin, "Believe me, we didn't see anything."

Believe you?

I really find that hard to do.

The three-tomoe Sharingan rotated slowly beneath his mask, and a genjutsu was unleashed.

Kankuro and Temari's expressions went blank as the "real memories" of the recent events in their minds were tampered with.

Kyoshin knew that these people would all eventually turn over a new leaf, but for the short term, he was only willing to show sincerity to those with value to be recruited.

"This is for the sake of the scroll." Kyoshin descended slowly from the sky, a faint glimmer of chakra lighting up his fingertips.

Gaara could clearly sense the sealing power contained within it.

Kyoshin reinforced the seal on Shukaku for Gaara, and the latter asked blankly, "Why help me?"

"You will know soon enough, three or four years at most." Kyoshin's voice was very calm, and he didn't seem as difficult to get along with as he appeared.

"Although Iwagakure and Sunagakure have had grievances in the past, they have also cooperated."

"However, as brothers in misfortune due to our geographical locations, we shouldn't be turning a blind eye to one another."

Gaara was the future Kazekage; helping him was equivalent to securing a relatively friendly and moderate attitude from the future Sunagakure toward Iwagakure.

Moreover, even if Sunagakure allied with Konoha and eventually found ways to effectively control Shukaku, they would inevitably be extorted by Konoha...

For Kyoshin, reinforcing Gaara's seal was merely a trivial matter done in passing.

It would neither affect Gaara's rampage in the upcoming Chunin Exams nor hinder Iwagakure's plans, while still earning some goodwill.

Why not do it?

"Th... thank you." Gaara said, looking somewhat unaccustomed to it, "Kintsuchi, believe me, I won't leak your information."

Perhaps not used to interacting with people this way, Gaara's expression was actually somewhat "introverted," his dark circles shifting restlessly.

Hahaha~

What a cute little tanuki.

Kyoshin patted him on the shoulder, "The future relationship between our two sides will depend on you. Goodbye."

With that, Kyoshin flew toward the Central Tower.

At the same time.

Inside Gaara's sealing space.

A tanuki, gasping for air under the weight of heavy chakra: "..."