Orochimaru

Uchiha Fugaku left, looking thoroughly frustrated.

Suifeng didn't go back with him. After greeting him, he headed toward the distant coastline. He walked about three or four miles before finally stopping. Narrowing his eyes, he surveyed the area, then spoke to the empty space behind him. "Aren't you coming out? There's no one around here anymore!"

"Suifeng, your Sensory Ninjutsu is impressively sharp—far beyond what I expected!" A figure emerged from the darkness. He had shoulder-length black hair and yellow, slit-pupiled eyes.

"Heh. Did that old fool Danzo tell you my sensory skills were poor? He's setting you up, Lord Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru, the venomous snake among the Konoha Sannin—the trio known for gambling, drinking, and poison—was the commander on the Sand Ninja front.

The Sand Ninja front had already erupted into battle, yet Orochimaru had come all the way to the Kirigakure front. If anyone found out, they'd be stunned.

"You don't seem surprised by my arrival," Orochimaru said, watching Suifeng with keen interest. He'd heard Suifeng's name before, but this was the first time he'd met him in person. He'd heard the rumors: a prodigy of the Uchiha Clan, so gifted that some even claimed he rivaled Madara Uchiha. Of course, what interested him most was that the kid had set a trap for Princess Tsunade and managed to fool her.

That was Princess Tsunade, his childhood companion. No one knew that woman better than he did.

He never would have imagined she could be fooled by a child.

Naturally, that made his interest in Suifeng shoot up.

He just hadn't expected to meet him in a place like this, at a time like this. Suifeng's reaction surprised him even more.

"Danzo wants to deal with me, but he's already out of cards. He can only play you," Suifeng said with a knowing smile. "The Root ninjas under him are a bunch of useless hacks. The last time he colluded with Kirigakure and brought in Juzo Biwa, it didn't work. Apart from you, all he has left is the Third Hokage as his trump card. He can't exactly bring the Third Hokage here to kill me, can he?"

Suifeng made no attempt to hide himself from someone like Orochimaru. There was no need.

Trying to conceal his nature from someone like Orochimaru would be a fool's errand. There was no point in wasting effort.

"Heh..." A raspy laugh rose from Orochimaru's throat. In the next instant, countless venomous snakes burst from his sleeves and lunged at Suifeng.

Ninja Art: Hidden Shadow Snake Hands

"Lord Orochimaru, there's no need for such a ridiculous test!" Suifeng's figure blurred and vanished.

"A ridiculous test? Tsk, tsk. Suifeng, you really are arrogant!"

"Am I wrong?"

Suifeng glanced around. Countless venomous snakes writhed and hissed, their tongues flicking as their cries surged like a tide.

Ninja Art: Many Snake Array!

Whoosh!

He vanished. Afterimages streaked through the air, cutting through it with a sharp whistle.

Bang!

An afterimage flashed into view, and Orochimaru's body burst into a cloud of white smoke.

A white-scaled snake shot out from the smoke and quickly coiled around Suifeng.

"Suifeng, you're too careless. Now that your abilities have been exposed, did you really think I wouldn't have made any preparations?"

The snake tightened its coils, making it harder and harder to breathe. Its huge, vicious head circled overhead as foul-smelling venom dripped down, eating holes of various sizes into the ground beside Suifeng.

"Lord Orochimaru, I'm genuinely curious. What exactly did Danzo offer you to make someone like you let him pull your strings?"

"Dead men don't need to know so much." Orochimaru's yellow eyes flashed. The white-scaled snake above him let out a hiss and lunged for Suifeng's head.

Bang! Smoke flashed, and Suifeng turned into a wooden log.

Substitution Technique

"Danzo told you about my speed, but it seems he left out a few details, Lord Orochimaru."

Orochimaru's gaze sharpened, and he sprang backward.

Bang!!

An afterimage flickered. Suifeng's foot slammed into Orochimaru's waist.

Compared with the people Suifeng had kicked before, this felt downright bizarre. It was like kicking a rubber post. The impact sounded dull, and Orochimaru's body bent at the waist as an immense springiness pushed back. In the next instant, Suifeng vanished again.

"This is straight-up the power of the Rubber Fruit!"

It had to be said: Orochimaru's body, after his Soft Physique Modification, really did rival the Rubber Fruit's powers.

At least when it came to absorbing blows and bouncing them back.

Ordinary attacks had no effect on him at all. Even a Gentle Fist strike would feel like a tickle.

"I have to admit, Suifeng, I underestimated your speed."

"It won't work, Lord Orochimaru." Feeling the changes in Orochimaru's chakra, Suifeng's expression grew increasingly gloomy. "I've made a new breakthrough in speed recently. You're strong—stronger than I am—but you can't catch me, so there's nothing you can do about me. We might as well talk and figure out how things got to this point. What do you think?"

Orochimaru didn't answer. He merely swept his sleeves, and the giant snakes around them vanished without a trace. The foul smell disappeared as well.

Suifeng was right. He was far too fast—much faster than Danzo's intelligence had suggested. Or perhaps the information Danzo had received about Suifeng was simply wrong. He hadn't even figured out just how fast Suifeng was.

With speed like that, it was no wonder Suifeng could remain so confident and speak so calmly even in front of him. After two exchanges, Orochimaru realized that catching him at such an absurd speed was nearly impossible.

You're an Uchiha, and instead of focusing on improving and evolving your Sharingan, you've devoted yourself to speed and taken it to this unbelievable level. What are you trying to do, fly into the sky?

"You're much more interesting than I expected, and completely different from what they told me, Suifeng. Tell me, what do you think would happen if I told the old Third Hokage and Danzo about what I've seen?"

"I can understand why you'd tell the Third Hokage. But why tell Danzo? Is he your superior? Do you belong to Root? Or is he the Hokage? Is that why you have to run errands and kill for him, then report every little thing that happens? Lord Orochimaru, I really want to know—what exactly is Danzo?"

"Danzo is the leader of Root, and he's also my partner. We're collaborators." Orochimaru's pupils contracted, and his expression darkened.

Though he didn't want to admit it, Suifeng's words had genuinely upset him.

And Suifeng wasn't wrong, either. What was Danzo, exactly?

At most, he was an assistant to the Hokage and the leader of Root.

Root was just one of Konoha's departments. Orochimaru wasn't under its authority. When it came down to it, Danzo was merely a little older and had a close relationship with the Third Hokage. What right did he have to order Orochimaru around?

No, Danzo hadn't ordered him around. They were in a mutually beneficial arrangement—a business deal. Damn it, that kid had almost talked him into seeing things differently!

"Collaborators? Why work with him? What qualifications does he have to be your partner? His useless Root ninjas? Or his close relationship with the Third Hokage, which could help you become the Fourth Hokage?"

"You know more than I expected."

Orochimaru certainly wasn't going to tell Suifeng about the laboratories he and Danzo had worked on together. But the fact that Suifeng, at such a young age, could bring up the possibility of him becoming the Fourth Hokage already exceeded Orochimaru's expectations.

Those weren't the words of an eight-year-old.

The funniest thing was that neither the Third Hokage nor Danzo seemed to have said anything about Suifeng's intelligence or scheming. They'd only emphasized his strength and combat ability, treating him like a mere tool of the Uchiha Clan. But after hearing him speak, could he really be just a tool of the Uchiha Clan?

And that absurd speed, too. Danzo, looks like you've gotten yourself into serious trouble this time.

From Suifeng's words, it was easy to tell that he didn't merely dislike Danzo—he truly hated him. He took every opportunity to insult Danzo, every sentence a veiled hint, every word an attempt to drive a wedge between them. He practically wanted Orochimaru to start a fight with Danzo right away and knock that old cripple out of the running for good.

That wasn't something an ordinary child could do.