The Cat-Masked Man trembled with rage at his words, but he was powerless to resist the rapid ebbing of his life.
The other Root members were horrified. Without a second thought, they scattered and fled.
"Leaving?"
He couldn't let them reveal his whereabouts and bring the full force of Konoha down on him.
"Pfft!"
Several streaks of searing-red lava shot violently from his body, piercing every Root member through the chest with unerring precision.
In an instant, they were dead.
Hmm!
He'd really shown off!
Sasori could only say: He could've let me show off like that, too.
Of course!
Uchiha Ye wasn't about to pass up the chance to loot supplies.
Hmm!
Quite a haul!
"Chakra Precision Control!"
"Giant Strength Technique!"
Looking at the two scrolls in his hands, Uchiha Ye smiled with satisfaction.
This would go a long way toward making up for his lack of strength.
Two days later!
"Great Eruption!"
Suddenly, flames soared into the sky in the dense forest. A colossal fist of fire roared forth, carrying deadly heat. Every tree in its path exploded and toppled, while rocks burst apart with a thunderous crash.
It only came to a stop after stretching more than seventy meters.
It left a charred path over three meters wide through the forest, with thick smoke billowing everywhere.
"Not bad. Its destructive power has increased by at least half!"
Uchiha Ye looked at his "masterpiece" and nodded with satisfaction.
"Your strength has become much more concentrated, too."
Sasori guided Hiruko forward. Looking at the trees that had fallen along the way and been reduced to charcoal, he couldn't help praising him.
"I'm afraid Hiruko can't defend against you anymore."
He remarked sincerely, "Looks like I'll have to finish building my puppet army as soon as possible. Otherwise, I really will just hold you back!"
Uchiha Ye hurriedly waved his hand, indicating that wasn't the case.
At that moment, a hundred miles away, Orochimaru shivered.
An inexplicable chill swept over him from head to toe, making him tighten his grip on the intelligence report in his hand.
"Uchiha Ye... has he gotten stronger again?"
Orochimaru's narrow eyes narrowed further. "To the point where he can even make a vast lake boil."
He licked his lips. "What a terrifying ability!"
What reason did he have not to claim a body like that for himself?
As one of the Sannin, he couldn't lose!
"Of course, there's also Sasori of the Red Sands. His poison and puppets could be a bit troublesome."
A glint flashed in Orochimaru's eyes. "Looks like I'll have to disturb that lord's slumber this time."
Uchiha Ye's Lava Release was indeed powerful, but that lord happened to excel at Water Release, which countered Lava Release.
"It's a pity I don't have enough time. Otherwise, once I could summon that legendary lord, I wouldn't have to fear Sasori of the Red Sands or Uchiha Ye anymore."
"After I get through this ordeal, I'll have to find a way to reestablish contact with Danzo and begin properly studying that lord's cells."
Setting aside the report, Orochimaru established a detection formation outside his base, then began preparing for battle.
On the level just above it was a huge cage.
It held countless hideous-looking ninja.
They were all failures from Orochimaru's Cursed Seal experiments.
They seemed to sense that a battle was about to begin and grew increasingly violent and restless.
"So this is the place?"
Inside Hiruko, Sasori looked at the secluded, densely wooded area atop Orochimaru's base, then turned to Uchiha Ye, who had stopped beside him.
"This is the place!"
Uchiha Ye withdrew his Observation Haki and opened his eyes.
The Land of Whirlpools wasn't very large!
And there weren't many places suitable for Orochimaru's base.
By searching one place at a time, it was easy enough to find.
How could he mistake that intense, icy aura belonging only to Orochimaru, emanating from beneath the ground?
"He sure knows how to hide!"
Sasori had just said this, and Hiruko was about to move, when the sound of something cutting through the air suddenly came from above them. Two sturdy steel nets swooped down.
Sharp arrows, shuriken, and other weapons also shot toward them like phantoms, so fast they broke the sound barrier.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Uchiha Ye made no attempt to react. He was pierced like a pincushion, then trapped beneath the steel net.
"Pfft! What a joke. Is this all the Akatsuki members can do? I thought you'd be more impressive!"
A disdainful voice rang out from the forest, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere.
But the tail spike behind Hiruko whipped around at high speed, sweeping away all the arrows before tearing through the steel net.
"You've got a little skill. Good. Let's see how long you can hold out!"
A boastful voice rang out from the forest.
But before they could launch another attack, Sasori's voice rang out from inside Hiruko. "I'm saying... even ignorance has its limits, you ants!"
As soon as he finished speaking, two crosses sprang from Hiruko's body, then burst apart, filling the sky with flashes of needles!
"Not good!"
Alarmed cries came from the forest as the sound of people dodging through the air rang out in quick succession.
However!
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
In an instant, the leaves all around them were riddled with holes and scattered in every direction.
One after another, ninja clutched their throats and fell from the trees, their faces full of terror.
Before long, they were dead.
Every last one was a Chunin!
"Whoosh!"
Just then, a shadow slipped behind Hiruko. He produced a stack of Explosive Tags and tried to slap them onto it. "Die, you arrogant bastard!"
But!
"Guren!"
Just as he thought he was about to succeed, Uchiha Ye's lazy voice suddenly rang out, and a blazing magma hound lunged at him.
"What?!"
He had never imagined that Uchiha Ye, who had clearly been "gravely wounded," could still unleash such a fierce attack.
"Ah!!"
He had no time to react before the lava swallowed him whole. A scream escaped him, and then not a trace of his remains was left.
"So, Orochimaru, is this how you welcome us?"
The arrows in Uchiha Ye's body melted away on their own and fell to the ground. The steel net did the same. "One of the mighty Sannin, and you still resort to these little tricks?"
The men who had died in the forest all wore Forehead Protectors engraved with a musical note.
Without a doubt!
They were members of Otogakure, the village Orochimaru had founded.
"Heh heh..."
The next moment, a low, chilling voice rang out. A cold aura swept toward them, and Orochimaru appeared before the two of them, his expression excited. "It's been a long time, you two!"
Behind him, a group of people in hospital gowns and with bloodshot eyes came swarming out like zombies.
"Heh..."
"Grr!"
Low, guttural groans came from their throats.
The instant they saw Uchiha Ye and Sasori of the Red Sands, their eyes lit up.
"Orochimaru, do you think... these useless wretches can stop us?"
Sasori couldn't help sneering at the sight.
Before you continue