Fighting Orochimaru

Outside Konoha Village, Clang!

A shower of sparks erupted from the collision of metal.

"Oh, not bad," Orochimaru remarked, looking at the broken kunai in his hand, his pale golden pupils glinting with a hint of excitement.

The elongated red hair slowly faded away as Naraku's figure reappeared, his face twisted into a grimace.

With his Kagura Mind Eye active, he could sense the immense energy contained within Orochimaru's body; to him, it was an insurmountable mountain.

"The Uzumaki Clan, heh, what an interesting race. It's a pity they were wiped out."

Orochimaru chuckled, a cold, sinister smile never leaving his face. "Hidden Shadow Snake Hands."

Suddenly, Orochimaru flicked his right hand, and a dozen venomous snakes lunged from his sleeve in an instant.

Hiss! Hiss!

The snakes opened their maws wide, snapping toward Naraku.

"Wind Style: Wind Blade!" Naraku kicked off the ground, retreating a step before weaving hand signs in a blur. A crescent-shaped blade of wind slashed fiercely forward.

Bang, bang, bang!

The snakes struck by the wind blade vanished into puffs of smoke.

"My dear nephew is quite capable, isn't he?" Seeing his attack dismantled, the smile on Orochimaru's face turned even more chilling.

He scrutinized Naraku's body as if admiring a piece of prey.

"Uncle, that's enough, isn't it? If you keep this up, I won't be able to hold on!"

Naraku's expression remained sour.

Why hasn't Master Jiraiya returned?

Naraku thought of Jiraiya, recalling that in the original story, Jiraiya was inside the village when Orochimaru defected.

It seems some things have changed, Naraku mused.

He carefully weighed the current situation, searching for a way to escape.

He couldn't fathom Orochimaru's true intentions, and he didn't believe for a second that the man would spare him just because of Jiraiya.

But he might not kill him either.

This is truly troublesome!

"Time is running out, nephew. Let me see your true strength," Orochimaru murmured, his figure vanishing the next second.

"Oh no." Naraku's pupils constricted. Although his Kagura Mind Eye allowed him to sense Orochimaru's position, his body couldn't keep up with the man's speed.

Bang!

Naraku had barely moved before Orochimaru's fist landed on him. A surge of immense force slammed into him, sending his body flying backward uncontrollably.

In this moment, Orochimaru finally revealed his Kage-level strength; even in taijutsu, a field he didn't specialize in, he was terrifyingly powerful.

Naraku slid back several meters, and just as he managed to stabilize himself, Orochimaru launched his second wave of attacks.

"Evil Snake Wrist Explosion!"

A cloud of smoke appeared on the field as several giant snakes coiled around Naraku. His hair stood on end; ignoring everything else, he thrust two pale golden chains from his back into the ground, using them to vault himself rapidly into the air.

"Explode!"

Orochimaru let out a low shout.

A look of tension crossed Naraku's face as he flooded the chains with a massive amount of chakra.

The next moment, a third chain erupted from his back, and with the extra support, his ascent speed increased significantly.

"Boom!"

A series of deafening roars echoed as Naraku's figure was swallowed by the blast in the blink of an eye.

"Ugh!"

Yamato, who had been unconscious, was jolted awake by the massive explosion, but Orochimaru was already beside him, kicking him squarely in the shoulder.

Yamato's body flew away like a sandbag.

Ignoring Yamato, Orochimaru looked up at the sky. The explosions had ceased, but Naraku was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, sensing something, Orochimaru looked down at his feet. A pair of arms shot out from the ground and grabbed his ankles.

It was Naraku. In truth, he hadn't taken much damage while in the air; instead, he had used the chaos of the explosion to mask his movements and dive into the earth.

Naraku exerted all his strength, dragging Orochimaru into the ground, where the solid earth pinned him in place.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

Seizing the opportunity, Naraku unleashed another powerful ninjutsu.

A massive fireball erupted from Naraku's mouth, the scorching flames searing the air with a crackling roar.

Boom!

Flames slammed heavily into the spot where Orochimaru had been standing, instantly carving a massive crater into the ground.

A charred, blackened body lay silently within the pit, but a moment later, it gradually dissolved into a pile of scorched earth.

"As expected, he escaped using an Earth Clone."

Uzumaki Naraku felt no surprise; as a Kage-level powerhouse, there was no way Orochimaru would be finished off by him so easily.

Naraku closed his eyes, carefully sensing for Orochimaru's location.

After a long while, his brows furrowed slightly, and he opened his eyes, his gaze filled with confusion.

"He has already left this place?"

Naraku found it strange. Why would Orochimaru retreat? He certainly didn't believe the man had fled out of fear of his own strength.

"Captain Naraku."

At that moment, Yamato's voice sounded from behind him. Naraku turned to see him walking over, clutching his shoulder.

"Forget it." Unable to make sense of it, Naraku shook his head slightly. Orochimaru's departure was a good thing for him.

With that, the two of them left the area.

Inside a hidden cave, Orochimaru, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open.

"Oh, Uzumaki Naraku, and that [Failed Experiment]," Orochimaru's eyes glinted with a cold light.

"How truly interesting."

The next day, in the Hokage's office.

The Anbu who had been sent to pursue Orochimaru returned one by one to report to the Third Hokage, and without exception, they had all failed.

The Third Hokage said nothing about this; it was all within his expectations.

After accepting the mission reports from the Anbu, the Third Hokage dismissed them to attend to their own duties. As for the mission to pursue Orochimaru, he officially assigned it to Jiraiya, who was currently traveling abroad.

Once everyone had left, the Third Hokage began to review the documents submitted by the Anbu.

Most of the reports were essentially identical, all claiming they had not encountered Orochimaru.

The Third Hokage nodded to himself. Whether these reports were true or false, they were exactly what he wanted to see.

However, his pupils constricted the next moment, his face filled with surprise.

"Go and call Tenzo here," a raspy voice echoed through the room.

Tenzo was Yamato's codename within the Anbu; generally, no Anbu operative used their real name while on a mission.

Not long after, Yamato, wearing his mask, arrived in the office.

Yamato then reported the details of their encounter with Orochimaru to the Third Hokage, leaving nothing out.