Battle with Orochimaru

When Byakuya saw Orochimaru's figure come to a halt not far from him, he felt a chill run through his entire body.

Orochimaru had once said in the underground base of Root that he had memorized his scent.

Yet, noticing a flicker of surprise in Orochimaru's eyes, it seemed he had not expected to run into him here either.

Byakuya's heart calmed just a fraction.

"Shuten-doji, heh, Lord Danzo truly dotes on you, to have personally bestowed such a legendary name upon you as a codename."

"Greetings, Lord Orochimaru." Byakuya kept his gaze locked onto Orochimaru; even while bowing in salute, he dared not let his guard down in the slightest.

Orochimaru hissed with laughter like a serpent, deliberately approaching Byakuya at a very slow pace.

The mountain-like pressure made Byakuya increasingly afraid to act rashly.

"Did you cross paths with Pakura of Sunagakure in the Land of Rivers?"

"Yes, this subordinate was lucky to escape from Pakura's hands."

Orochimaru admired the Shuten-doji mask with great interest and said softly, "Pakura has been fighting consecutive battles in the Land of Wind, and the injuries she sustained have yet to fully heal. If she were in her prime, you would never have returned to Konoha."

Listening to his words, Byakuya secretly sensed the Flying Thunder God formula he had left behind; if Orochimaru showed any killing intent, he would leave at the first opportunity, even at the cost of exhausting his body.

"Tell me about Pakura's Scorch Release."

Byakuya held nothing back and informed Orochimaru about her Scorch Release: Extreme Steam Killing.

He furrowed his brows: "In your opinion, is there any possibility of winning Pakura over?"

"Not at the moment."

"Heh, interesting. What do you mean by 'not at the moment'?"

"As of now, Pakura remains entirely loyal to Sunagakure."

Orochimaru's brow immediately smoothed out: "You mean, she might become disillusioned with Sunagakure in the future?"

Byakuya nodded.

"Haha..." Orochimaru threw his head back and laughed uncontrollably, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

It took a long while before he could finally stifle his laughter.

"Shuten-doji, what about you? Are you loyal to Konoha?"

"Why must Lord Orochimaru ask?"

"Oh, I almost forgot. You once told me that you are very interested in power. With your current strength, the village's rules cannot hinder you. When you reach my level, you will have no choice but to abandon the village and dedicate yourself solely to the pursuit of power. Shuten-doji, you, you are even more cold-blooded than I was in my youth!"

Orochimaru seemed to see his own reflection in Byakuya—not the reflection of his younger self, but of who he was now.

He continued, "But it is not enough. One cannot accomplish things with cold-bloodedness alone."

"This subordinate will keep Lord Orochimaru's teachings in his heart."

"Are you not afraid of death?" Orochimaru asked suddenly.

Byakuya knew he was referring to the Ryūchi Cave sage arts: "This subordinate is afraid of death, very afraid of death."

"Interesting. Since you are afraid of death, why collect information on Ryūchi Cave?"

"That matter? I simply became curious after encountering that large blue-black snake in the Land of Rivers."

"Curiosity killed the cat, kid. Where did you hear the name Ryūchi Cave? In the current Konoha, very few people know of it."

Byakuya's expression behind the mask remained unchanged, and his tone did not waver as he said with extreme sincerity, "I heard it during a conversation between ninjas from the Anteater Bounty Group."

"The Anteater Bounty Group? An organization from the Bounty Exchange?"

"Yes. After I joined Root, my first mission was to kill two ninjas from that bounty group."

"I see."

This explanation barely convinced Orochimaru. After all, the ninjas of the Bounty Exchange came from diverse backgrounds, and it was possible they might know news of Ryūchi Cave, but it was only a "barely" believed explanation.

Orochimaru stepped closer and closer; Byakuya could even feel the hot air he exhaled.

He had thought that even Orochimaru's body temperature would be as cold as a snake's, but unexpectedly, he possessed the warmth of a human.

"What did they say?"

"The location of Ryūchi Cave."

"Quick! Tell me! Tell me everything they said, without missing a single word!"

Watching the anxiety on Orochimaru's face, Byakuya couldn't help but think: Could it be that Orochimaru does not know the location of Ryūchi Cave at this moment?

Then where did he get his summoning beasts?

Was what he said at the underground base of Root just to deliberately whet my appetite?

Seeing Byakuya suddenly fall silent, Orochimaru knew he wanted something in return: "What do you want?"

Byakuya said, "Executing Root missions is dangerous. I wish to master as many trump cards as possible to deal with the danger."

"Heh, you've asked the right person."

Orochimaru glanced at the forest. "Someone is coming. Wait a moment; allow me to kill him."

Byakuya knew it was Hatake Kakashi. "Please, Lord Orochimaru, show mercy. I still have use for this person."

"Oh? Is he one of your people?"

"Namikaze Minato's student, Hatake Kakashi."

"So it's Kakashi, is it? He's useful to you? Kid, I'm starting to like you more and more. You are truly interesting."

In an instant, both men vanished from where they stood.

Both had utilized a Body Flicker Technique.

However, Orochimaru seemed determined to kill Kakashi; he flickered into the shadows, his vertical pupils locked onto the boy...

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Byakuya, as if he had anticipated the strike on Kakashi, grabbed the boy beforehand and used the Storm Release: Body Flicker Technique to evade the attack. Yet, the technique possessed a tracking effect, leaving Byakuya no choice but to stand before the bewildered Kakashi and weave hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall."

Countless venomous snakes slammed into the water wall one after another, sending ripples splashing everywhere, accompanied by the faint rumble of lightning.

Watching the Water Formation Wall that protected Byakuya and Kakashi from every angle, Orochimaru murmured, "The Second Hokage Senju Tobirama's Water Release: Water Formation Wall. I didn't expect this kid to know this technique—no, there is even a nature transformation of Lightning Release infused within it."

When the snakes stopped slamming against the wall, Byakuya still dared not dispel it; heaven only knew what ninjutsu Orochimaru might use to ambush them the moment the defense vanished.

Byakuya whispered to Kakashi, "During our spar, what was the ninjutsu you used to hide underground?"

Though still shaken, Kakashi quickly replied, "Earth Release: Subterranean Voyage."

"What is the principle behind it?"

"Using chakra to turn the soil beneath the surface into a liquid state, allowing one to swim through the earth like a fish."

"Can you use this technique to escape?"

Hatake Kakashi shook his head. "I'm sorry, Senior, I cannot."

"I understand."

Byakuya suddenly shouted, "Senior, is the joke over yet?"

There was no answer, only the vague chirping of insects and the calls of unknown birds in the forest.

Cold sweat beaded on Byakuya's forehead.

If he had to choose between Pakura and Orochimaru as a mortal enemy, he would choose Pakura without a second's hesitation; to be even a second slow against Orochimaru would be a sign of disrespect.

"Kakashi, do you realize I just saved your life?"

"May I ask... Senior, who, who was trying to kill me?"

"Never mind who was trying to kill you. Do you acknowledge that I saved your life?"

The killing intent radiating from the darkness of the forest was so palpable that Hatake Kakashi nodded immediately. "I acknowledge it. Senior has truly saved my life, and I owe you a great debt."

"Good. Grab my hand."

"Yes."

Byakuya did not hesitate any longer.

He gathered his chakra, sensing the Flying Thunder God marker he had left on the outskirts of the forest.

A portion of his internal chakra converted into spatial energy.

Hatake Kakashi's heart hammered against his ribs, feeling as if it might leap out of his throat. He wondered how his senior intended to save him next... or perhaps, would he simply leave him behind to be killed by the unknown enemy in the darkness?

When the spatial energy was sufficient to carry two people through the jump, Byakuya immediately activated the Flying Thunder God technique.

Hatake Kakashi felt his vision blur, and suddenly, he saw that his senior had brought him to another location.

Although it was still on the outskirts of the forest, they were now a great distance from where they had been.

"Quick, hurry away..."

"Senior!"

Kakashi hurriedly hoisted his senior, who had fallen unconscious immediately after speaking, onto his back and rushed back toward Konoha at his top speed.

Orochimaru slowly emerged from the darkness.

His expression was uncharacteristically serious.

"That child is as cunning as I am. I had hoped to capture Hatake Kakashi and force him to reveal information I didn't already possess."

It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Of course, it wasn't about information from Ryūchi Cave.

What was Ryūchi Cave, anyway? Manda himself came from there.

Orochimaru wanted to know why Danzo valued him so much!

That was what mattered!