Orochimaru had exhausted his entire foundation in Konoha because of this pursuit.
The four people following him were still young.
But Baiyu didn't underestimate the four brats. He was giving them one hundred and twenty percent of his strength.
These four were the last of Orochimaru's forces in Konoha.
Each of them gave off a considerable amount of chakra.
"Should we break through?"
Uchiha Itachi asked calmly. The three tomoe appeared in his blood-red eyes. The more dangerous the situation, the more his extraordinary intelligence showed.
"How do we break through?"
Baiyu replied helplessly. Orochimaru was right in front of them, along with four opponents whose strength was at least Chunin level. He didn't know whether the four-person team could transform or not.
There was also Yakushi Kabuto, about his age and likewise a Chunin.
"With my strength, I can hold them off for a while!"
Uchiha Itachi said confidently.
Baiyu was curious where he got the confidence to hold off one Kage Level ninja and four who seemed to be Jonin.
"Well?"
Seeing Baiyu fall silent, Uchiha Itachi asked again.
"We can't escape. Since you're so confident, I'll leave those four to you. I'm afraid you'll tire yourself out dealing with them and won't be able to handle Orochimaru!"
Baiyu thought it over and roughly guessed Itachi's plan.
He meant to sacrifice his life to give Baiyu a slim chance of surviving.
Let Itachi die here?
Baiyu shuddered. He didn't dare think about it.
If Itachi died, an insignificant nobody like him probably wouldn't make it back alive, either.
Unless Itachi's death awakened his Sharingan, letting him gain Mangekyo strength and join the Akatsuki.
But was that even possible?
"That really doesn't sound like you!"
Uchiha Itachi chuckled.
"What kind of person am I? I don't even know myself! I'll leave them to you. I've always been curious about Orochimaru!"
Baiyu mocked himself, gripped his sword hilt, and suddenly charged at Orochimaru.
One of them abruptly rushed out, intending to stop Baiyu.
"You seem to have forgotten about me!"
Uchiha Itachi was very displeased. As a Uchiha prodigy, he had the dignity of a strong fighter.
"Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!"
With just a glance, the man seemed to have his limbs bound by countless shackles, frozen in place and unable to move.
His body could clearly feel the shackles tearing into him, as if enormous iron stakes had been driven into his flesh.
Baiyu confidently left his back to Uchiha Itachi and charged alone at Orochimaru.
"Quite brave! Teacher Sarutobi always manages to raise ninjas who are both foolish and naive."
Orochimaru gave a mocking smile.
The exchange between Baiyu and Itachi had stirred up some unpleasant memories.
"But naivety always comes at a price!"
Orochimaru formed Hand Seals, his hands moving like afterimages as he completed several signs in the blink of an eye.
"Striking Shadow Snakes!"
Countless gray snakes emerged from Orochimaru's body and surged toward Baiyu.
Baiyu didn't slow down. His Sharingan watched the movements of the gray snakes around him.
"Iaijutsu!"
He didn't use a Battojutsu slash. In an instant, he dismantled Orochimaru's attack.
The arrogance of the strong made him disdain using his full strength against the weak.
Baiyu had guessed Orochimaru wouldn't go all out with his first move, so he'd held something back.
With one swing, he cut more than ten snakes in half. Their severed bodies writhed on the ground before turning into smoke and vanishing.
Orochimaru's playful expression faded, and he gradually grew serious.
His body was injured, so he couldn't use Taijutsu. He could only rely on ninjutsu to fight.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Orochimaru raised one hand. A flood of patterned gray snakes poured from his sleeve, opening their mouths to bare their fangs as they lunged at Baiyu.
The snakes seemed to have no limit to their length. They stretched more than ten meters without showing any sign of stopping.
Baiyu marveled at how powerful Orochimaru really was.
The next attack gave him no time to react. In less than a second, the snakes' heads were less than a meter away.
"Battojutsu!"
Baiyu had no choice but to channel chakra into his blade and right hand.
The same scene played out again. He cut off all the snakes' heads.
Baiyu was now less than five meters from Orochimaru.
Close enough to attack.
At last, Orochimaru's expression changed. A trace of surprise appeared, then quickly vanished.
He'd underestimated Baiyu's strength, and hadn't realized that Baiyu's killing move was swordsmanship.
He'd fought so many ninjas that he'd almost forgotten this method of combat used by warriors.
White Fang of Konoha had once brought a brilliant flash of glory to swordsmanship, but had soon fallen.
Now, the Uchiha boy before him had inherited it.
"Thud!"
The sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out.
The strike landed. Baiyu hurriedly retreated, but a trace of regret appeared on his face.
"Yakushi Kabuto..."
It had been such a good opportunity. He'd anticipated most of Orochimaru's moves, but hadn't expected Yakushi Kabuto to take the blow for him.
Baiyu sheathed his sword and panted lightly.
In just two or three seconds, he'd drawn his sword three times in a row. Combined with the calculations in his head and the use of his Sharingan, it had taken a lot out of him.
As he rested, Baiyu glanced at the corner of the system display.
Current progress: 86020/100000. Reward for completing 100000 draws: Thunder Breathing.
"There are still fourteen thousand to go. I didn't expect those ninja snakes to provide so many draws."
"It would've been great if I'd hit Orochimaru just now, even if I'd only grazed his skin!"
Baiyu lamented silently.
He'd coated his blade with a poison he'd concocted on the island over the past five days, one that affected spiritual beings and ghosts. All he had to do was graze Orochimaru with it.
"Kabuto, you didn't have to take that blow for me."
Orochimaru looked at Yakushi Kabuto's battered state and shook his head.
"Lord Orochimaru, he smeared something on his blade."
Yakushi Kabuto smiled bitterly. Baiyu's strike had carved a huge wound into his chest. He'd temporarily stopped the bleeding with medical chakra.
Ever since Baiyu made his subtle move, Kabuto had been watching him closely and had predicted Baiyu's attack in advance.
Despite his unremarkable appearance, Yakushi Kabuto had an exceptionally meticulous talent for analyzing intelligence.
Orochimaru had been distracted by the Uchiha's Sharingan and hadn't noticed Baiyu's small maneuver.
"That really was a devious move!"
Orochimaru settled Kabuto to one side. Once he was standing again, he began praising Baiyu's cunning.
That underhanded, scheming behavior felt familiar to him.
Shimura Danzō!
Danzō had just stabbed him in the back, so Orochimaru was especially sensitive to it.
"Why not come with me? I can give you what neither the Uchiha nor Konoha can."
Baiyu rolled his eyes at that.
Orochimaru was starting in on his recruitment pitch again.
He didn't know how many innocent, unfortunate children Orochimaru had tricked with that silver tongue.
"Do you pay?"
Baiyu tilted his head and asked.
"?"
A question mark flashed through Orochimaru's mind. He was used to talking to people about ideals, needs, the meaning of existence, and so on.
This was the first time anyone had brought up money. His mind froze for a moment.
"Looks like you can't. You're broke yourself, so don't go recruiting subordinates you can't afford to support."
Baiyu smiled.
Would he defect with Orochimaru?
If he couldn't avoid the night of the massacre, he'd consider it.
But not now.
"Heh. I don't usually like snuffing out geniuses, but you've reminded me of someone I despise. You can't serve as a vessel, and you have no value."
A kind smile appeared on Orochimaru's cold face. The purple markings around his eyes shifted slightly, and a trace of cruelty flashed through his golden snake eyes.
The thing that had angered him most this time was Danzō stabbing him in the back at a critical moment.
A treacherous betrayal!
Just as Living Corpse Reincarnation was about to succeed, Danzō had suddenly made his move, throwing Orochimaru's research into a stalemate.
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