Encountering Orochimaru

No one knew what had happened in Konoha; they only knew that overnight, the Uchiha Police Force had been mobilized to patrol the village.

From time to time, ninjas clad in Anbu attire leaped across the rooftops.

Hayato and Shisui formed a team of their own, leaping continuously through the forest.

Hayato's face remained expressionless. Previously, he had hoped for Orochimaru's defection to come as soon as possible, but now, the situation was entirely different.

If he had been paired with anyone else, he would have truly wanted to slack off, but since his teammate was Shisui, he could not make it too obvious.

Moreover, Fugaku had said a few things before they departed.

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

When he said this, his gaze had specifically lingered on the expressions of Hayato and Shisui.

Just as Hayato's thoughts were drifting, Shisui, who was by his side, spoke up.

"Hayato-kun."

Hayato turned his head slightly to look at Shisui beside him.

"What is it?"

"What do you think the Clan Head meant by those words?"

A hint of conflict appeared on Shisui's face as he asked the question.

"It's nothing. Orochimaru defected, and we are pursuing him; it's perfectly normal." Hayato did not intend to offer much of an explanation.

"Hayato, I hope we can do our best this time, to contribute to the village and to the harmony of our clan." Seeing that Hayato did not want to discuss it, Shisui stated his own thoughts directly.

Do his best?

Hayato glanced sideways at Shisui.

Yes, although both of them possessed the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, Hayato, who knew Orochimaru's true nature, had never once felt that he could fight Orochimaru and win just because he had awakened the Three-Tomoe.

In the world of Naruto, if one were to name the most difficult opponent to kill, there was only one.

That was Orochimaru.

Hayato truly had no desire to cross blades with such a person, let alone when he was no match for him.

Did Sasuke kill Orochimaru when he had the Three-Tomoe?

That was a joke. What was Orochimaru's situation at the time? He was in the middle of a reincarnation cycle, his weakest period, and although Sasuke destroyed Orochimaru's physical body, the real battle took place in the mental realm—a domain where the Sharingan held an absolute advantage.

Even then, Sasuke hadn't been able to completely devour Orochimaru's consciousness; Orochimaru had remained inside his body, and by the time of the battle against Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke had almost been consumed in return.

If it hadn't been for Itachi's Sword of Totsuka sealing Orochimaru away, Sasuke might have already ceased to exist.

"Ah, I understand."

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

Seeing Hayato's demeanor, Shisui felt a flicker of inexplicable displeasure in his heart.

The clansmen were all like this; if this mission could be accomplished, perhaps the Uchiha clan would have a chance to sit down and have a proper talk with Konoha.

And Konoha, in turn, could see the sincerity of the Uchiha clan through this; it was a win-win situation for both sides.

Hayato did not know Shisui's thoughts, and even if he did, he would not have much of a response.

The Third Hokage appeared to have sent the Uchiha clan and the Anbu to pursue Orochimaru, but in reality, if they actually encountered him, which of these people could hold Orochimaru back?

In the current Konoha, there were no more than four people with the means to do so.

And among them, two would not even use their full strength.

At a location suspected to be one of Orochimaru's underground laboratories.

After Hayato and Shisui arrived, they found only a ruin that had been leveled into a basin by ninjutsu.

Shisui stepped forward quickly, his fingers pinching a clump of charred soil.

Behind him, Hayato scanned the surroundings. He truly hadn't expected that one of the random intelligence locations they had chosen would actually be the site of a battle.

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

"Hayato, take a look at this."

Shisui pointed to a section of the ruins in front of him and turned to look at Hayato.

Hearing this, Hayato stepped forward a few paces and crouched down to examine it carefully.

"Did you find anything?"

"Ah, some remnants of scrolls, residue of glass melted by Fire Style, and... some unrecognizable organic matter." After confirming, Hayato spoke.

He didn't know whether to call their luck good or bad.

"Exactly, this proves that our route is correct."

Shisui's face lit up with joy. The thing he feared most was having no leads, but now that they had one, it meant they had a chance.

Hayato stood up, his expression unreadable.

Shisui looked at Hayato and said, "Let's continue the pursuit."

Hayato turned to look at Shisui and asked, "Aren't you curious about who fought Orochimaru at this location?"

Shisui was taken aback. How could he not be curious? However, he assumed that whoever had tracked them here was likely Anbu.

With this assumption, his only thought was to catch up and provide whatever assistance he could.

The wind blew through the ruins, carrying the scent of the distance.

Hayato froze, while Shisui, standing beside him, moved in an instant.

"Hayato! Someone is fighting!"

Watching Shisui's figure leap away and vanish from sight, Hayato frowned, stepped forward, and followed immediately.

When Hayato arrived, he witnessed a scene that made his scalp tingle.

Shisui held his short blade, gazing solemnly ahead. Behind him lay an Anbu ninja clutching his chest, gasping for air, and the person standing opposite them was none other than—

Orochimaru.

"Oh? It seems there is more than one little mouse."

Orochimaru spoke, glancing sideways toward where Hayato stood.

Realizing he had been discovered, Hayato stepped out slowly. Seeing Hayato, Shisui breathed a sigh of relief.

Hayato still cared about his clansmen.

Orochimaru's gaze shifted back and forth between Hayato and Shisui. Members of the Uchiha clan—was this the gift Danzo had promised him?

A flicker of mockery crossed his golden pupils, and an eerie aura erupted from him.

Hayato felt his palms sweating; this was killing intent!

Gritting his teeth, he refused to accept the role of prey. He unleashed the chakra within his body, forcibly pushing the killing intent away and regaining his senses.

"Oh?"

Orochimaru was slightly surprised that both Uchiha before him had broken free from his killing intent.

"Orochimaru!" Shisui, having broken free, panted heavily, his eyes locked onto Orochimaru. "By the order of the Third Hokage! I am here to apprehend the rogue ninja Orochimaru!"

"Heh—"

Orochimaru scoffed at the words, his presence suddenly exploding outward. "Judging by the Body Flicker Technique you used to arrive just now, you must be the most famous genius of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Shisui, right?"

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

"Three-Tomoe, eh? That makes for a fine experimental subject."

His tone carried a hint of excitement, his gaze feeling like a scalpel, precisely dissecting Shisui's Sharingan.

Shisui shifted his grip on his short blade, moved his leg back, and said, "Hayato, take this Anbu and leave."