Hunting Orochimaru

As Itachi watched Orochimaru's departing figure, he was momentarily lost in thought.

But he instantly realized the current situation, immediately suppressing all inappropriate thoughts and focusing all his attention on the swarm of snakes rushing towards them.

In no time, the venomous snakes swarmed in from all directions, blocking all of his and Kou's escape routes.

But the weasel remained calm, not even glancing at the dangerous swarm of snakes.

He simply turned his head instinctively and looked at Kou beside him.

Feeling Itachi's gaze, Koko's initial pleasure at seeing Itachi humiliated instantly sank.

Although he was very unhappy, he had to admit it.

There was indeed a damn unspoken understanding between me and this annoying guy—we could read each other's minds with just a glance.

Kouchi glanced away with displeasure, deliberately avoiding eye contact with Itachi.

Itachi looked at Kokoro, who turned his head away, and silently withdrew his gaze without saying anything more.

Chakra condensed beneath their feet at the same instant, causing them to rise into the air and temporarily suspend themselves in mid-air.

Two pairs of scarlet, Three Tomoe Sharingan simultaneously looked down at the dense sea of snakes, and their hands began to rapidly Hand Seals in the same instant:

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" x2

Two blazing fireballs simultaneously erupted from the mouths of Koko and Itachi.

The snakes were instantly incinerated by the terrifying heat the moment they came into contact with the flames.

Countless venomous snakes didn't even have time to struggle before they were transformed into twisted black shadows in the crimson sea of fire.

However, the fire did not spread outwards even slightly. After burning the last snake, the two flames extinguished instantly at the same time.

Their superb Fire Release techniques were on full display at this moment!

Itachi and Koko landed simultaneously on the scorched earth. Before their robes had even completely fallen, their postures had already regained their usual composure.

If an uninformed person were to witness this scene, they would likely mistake these two equally handsome, perfectly coordinated black-haired youths for brothers who have been close friends and comrades-in-arms for many years.

Itachi instinctively looked at Koko beside him.

The moment his gaze met Kou's cold, handsome profile, memories uncontrollably flooded his mind of a long time ago, when Kou temporarily served as the Jonin leading his squad, guiding him and his two teammates on a mission...

Recalling the past, even Itachi, who considered himself to have excellent control over his emotions, couldn't help but fall into a moment of daze.

"... Uchiha Itachi, what have you done?!"

As the angry growl rang out, Itachi was instantly jolted awake from his momentary daze.

He snapped back to his senses and saw that Kou had turned around and was looking at him coldly.

Those Sharingan were filled with deep anger and disdain.

Itachi opened his mouth, but the word "Kou-nii" that should have flowed out naturally tumbled out of his mouth tumbled in his throat for a moment before he swallowed it back down.

He lowered his head, a flicker of sadness crossing his eyes, which he quickly suppressed back into the deepest recesses of his heart.

I've known this for a long time.

From the moment he made up his mind, everything—past, present, and future—was already destroyed by his own hands.

And he, Uchiha Itachi, was already prepared to bear all of this when he made that decision!

Kou, of course, had no idea about the complex emotions Itachi was feeling at that moment.

He feigned a gloomy expression, looking down at the itachi before him, and said in a cold voice:

"You should know what you've done, right?"

Itachi was silent for a moment, then raised his head, Sharingan that had regained their calm, his tone steady and composed:

"It was my misjudgment that caused me to miss the best opportunity to capture Orochimaru... I'm sorry."

Listening to Itachi's honest response, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

He had prepared a whole bunch of sarcastic remarks in his mind, but Itachi's straightforward admission left him at a loss for words.

Kou was silent for two seconds, then clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"After this mission is over, I will proactively report the details to the leader and receive the appropriate punishment."

Itachi looked at Kokoro and said calmly.

"I don't accept apologies afterward."

Knock coldly stared at him:

"No need for punishment. Just commit seppuku. That would be more sincere... The leader would be very happy to hear that."

(Obito: Yes!)

Itachi lowered his head in silence, saying nothing more.

Looking at Itachi's suddenly dejected appearance, a sense of doubt arose in his heart.

"Why is this murderer suddenly acting all emotional? Could it be that Izumi's ghost is pressing down on his bed while he's asleep?"

He muttered to himself, feeling a sense of unease.

In his original plan, he intended to use Orochimaru to distract Itachi, deliberately leading him to believe that he had misjudged the situation and let Orochimaru escape.

Then, while he was deep in thought, she used her silver tongue to relentlessly pressure him, interrupting his train of thought and preventing this overly clever fellow from discerning any clues.

Under the pretext of hunting Orochimaru, they could then conveniently lure him to the vicinity of that tomb to see if they could find any clues about the Totsuka Blade...

But now it seems that I haven't even felt any pressure yet, and this guy has already entered an emo state?

"When did Treasure Pika's ability to withstand pressure become so poor?"

Could it be that while giving his younger brother a full- Tsukuyomi massage, he secretly transferred his stress resistance to Sasuke?

Kou glanced at Itachi suspiciously, temporarily suppressing this less important question in his mind.

"This... should be considered a good thing, right?"

He collected his jumbled thoughts, reverted to his cold and stern expression, and said to Itachi in a deep voice:

"There's no point in saying this now. Let's catch up as soon as possible. We can't let Orochimaru get away like this."

Looking in the direction Orochimaru had left, he said meaningfully:

"An opportunity like this... won't come twice."

Before he finished speaking, his figure had already vanished silently from the spot, leaving only a few wisps of lightning that had not yet dissipated emitting a very faint hiss in the air, rushing rapidly in the direction where Orochimaru had disappeared.

Itachi watched Kotori's retreating figure, moving so fast it was almost invisible, and temporarily suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his mind. He gathered his Chakra in his feet and followed as fast as he could...

The two traversed the dense forest at near-maximum speed.

The branches of the ancient trees receded rapidly from both sides, becoming increasingly dense, as if we had entered the depths of the forest.

Under such intense, high-speed pursuit, that familiar figure finally reappeared in their sight.

Orochimaru's Shadow Clone was fleeing at full speed ahead, its long black hair trailing in the wind like a straight ink line.

The moment Itachi saw Orochimaru, he reacted immediately, his hands rapidly Hand Seals, preparing to unleash Ninjutsu to stop the snake as quickly as possible.

But Kou reacted faster than him.

Just before Itachi prepared to Hand Seals, he had already given Orochimaru's Shadow Clone the command to accelerate.

Orochimaru's speed suddenly increased, and he changed direction at an almost bizarre angle in the forest.

Just as Itachi was about to make his move, Orochimaru disappeared into the entrance of a cave that was completely hidden by vines and rocks.

Itachi's eyes changed abruptly the moment Orochimaru entered the cave entrance.

His steps slowed, and he finally stopped in front of the dark cave entrance.