Encounter with Orochimaru

No one knew what had happened in Konoha. All they knew was that, after nightfall, the Konoha Military Police Force had gone out to patrol the village.

Anbu Ninja in their uniforms could be seen leaping across the rooftops from time to time.

Hayato and Shisui had formed their own team, leaping through the forest.

Hayato's face was expressionless. He had hoped Orochimaru would defect as soon as possible, but now the situation was different.

If he'd been teamed up with anyone else, he would've been more than happy to coast. But his teammate was Shisui, so he couldn't make it too obvious.

Besides, Fugaku had said something before they left.

"Pursuing a rogue ninja is only natural. But when you go, I hope you'll take a good look at this village."

As he said this, he'd paid particular attention to Hayato and Shisui's expressions.

Just as Hayato's thoughts began to wander, Shisui spoke beside him.

"Hayato."

Hayato turned his face slightly to look at Shisui.

"What is it?"

"What do you think the clan head meant by that?"

A conflicted look crossed Shisui's face as he asked.

"It's nothing. Orochimaru defected, so it's only natural for us to pursue him." Hayato had no intention of explaining further.

"Hayato, I hope we can give it our all this time and do our part to help the village and the clan get along." Seeing that Hayato didn't want to discuss it, Shisui simply voiced his own thoughts.

Give it their all?

Hayato glanced sideways at Shisui.

Yes, they both had the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, but Hayato, who knew what Orochimaru was really like, had never thought that even with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, he stood a chance of fighting and beating him.

In Naruto, if there was one opponent who was exceptionally hard to kill, it was Orochimaru.

Hayato had no desire to fight someone like that, especially since he wasn't even a match for him.

Sasuke killed Orochimaru with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, too?

That was a joke. What state had Orochimaru been in at the time? He was in the middle of transferring his soul, at his weakest. And although Sasuke destroyed Orochimaru's body, the actual battle had taken place in a mental space, where the Sharingan had an overwhelming advantage.

Even then, Sasuke hadn't been able to completely devour Orochimaru's consciousness. Orochimaru had remained inside his body, and during his battle with Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke had nearly been devoured in turn.

If Itachi hadn't sealed Orochimaru with the Sword of Totsuka, Sasuke might have disappeared altogether.

"Ah, I understand."

Hayato replied calmly. Shisui, you really are that naive.

Seeing Hayato act this way, Shisui couldn't help feeling a little displeased.

The clan members were all like this. If they could pull this off, perhaps the Uchiha Clan would have a chance to sit down and talk things over with Konoha.

And Konoha would get to see the Uchiha Clan's sincerity. It would be good for both sides.

Hayato didn't know what Shisui was thinking. Even if he had, he wouldn't have had much to say.

The Third Hokage seemed to have sent the Uchiha Clan and the Anbu after Orochimaru, but if they actually ran into him, who among them could stop him?

In Konoha at the time, fewer than four people had the ability to do so.

And two of them wouldn't even use their full strength.

At a location suspected to be the site of one of Orochimaru's underground laboratories,

Hayato and Shisui found only ruins, the area reduced to a basin by ninjutsu.

Shisui hurried forward and pinched up a clump of charred soil.

Behind him, Hayato surveyed the area. He truly hadn't expected that a battle would have taken place at one of the locations they'd picked at random from the intelligence reports.

And judging by the scene, it had happened not long ago.

"Hayato, take a look."

Shisui pointed to a part of the ruins in front of him, then turned to Hayato.

Hayato stepped forward and crouched to examine it carefully.

"Can you tell what happened?"

"Yeah. Fragments of scrolls, glass residue burned by Fire Style, and... some organic matter that's impossible to identify." After checking the area, Hayato answered.

He wasn't sure whether their luck was good or bad.

"Exactly. That means we're on the right track."

Shisui looked pleased. The worst thing was having no clues, but now that they had some, they had a chance.

Hayato stood up, his expression unchanged.

Shisui looked at him. "Let's keep pursuing him."

Hayato turned to Shisui and asked, "Aren't you wondering who fought Orochimaru here?"

Shisui froze. Of course he was wondering. But whoever had tracked Orochimaru this far was probably from the Anbu.

With that guess in mind, he wanted to catch up and help as much as he could.

The wind blew through the ruins, carrying a scent from the distance.

Hayato froze, while Shisui immediately sprang into action.

"Hayato! Someone's fighting!"

Shisui leapt away, about to disappear from sight. Hayato frowned, pushed off the ground, and followed.

When Hayato arrived, he saw a sight that made his scalp tingle.

Shisui stood with a Kodachi in hand, watching the person in front of him solemnly. Behind him was an Anbu Ninja clutching his chest, barely drawing breath. His opponent was—

Orochimaru.

"Oh? Looks like there's more than one little mouse."

As Orochimaru spoke, he glanced toward Hayato's hiding place.

Realizing he'd been spotted, Hayato walked out slowly. The moment Shisui saw him, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Hayato still cared about his fellow clan members.

Orochimaru's gaze shifted between Hayato and Shisui. Uchiha Clan members—was this the gift Danzo had said he would send him?

A glint of amusement flashed in his golden eyes, and a strange aura burst forth.

Hayato felt sweat break out in his palms. This was killing intent!

Gritting his teeth, he had no intention of becoming prey. His chakra surged, forcing the killing intent out of his body, and his senses returned.

"Oh?"

Orochimaru was a little surprised. Both Uchiha in front of him had broken free of his killing intent.

"Orochimaru!" Shisui gasped for breath after breaking free, staring straight at him. "By order of the Third Hokage! I'm here to capture the rogue ninja, Orochimaru!"

"Heh—"

Orochimaru let out a mocking laugh. His aura suddenly erupted. "From the Body Flicker Technique you just used to get here, you must be the Uchiha Clan's most famous young genius, Uchiha Shisui, right?"

As he spoke, Orochimaru looked at the Three-Tomoe Sharingan spinning in Shisui's eyes.

"Three-Tomoe, huh? You'd make a fine experimental subject."

There was a hint of excitement in his voice. His gaze seemed to turn into a scalpel, precisely dissecting Shisui's Sharingan.

Shisui turned his Kodachi, shifted one leg back, and said, "Hayato, get this Anbu out of here."