If You Want to Fight, Fight. If Not, Get Lost.

Uchiha Gray moved swiftly, showing no mercy.

Even Uchiha Shisui, who had grown somewhat accustomed to Gray's actions, couldn't help feeling shocked.

Decisive and swift.

Uchiha Shisui couldn't help admiring him.

Gray was far more suited to being a leader than he was!

A ninja like Uchiha Gray could make the Uchiha Clan submit and follow him, earning their respect from the bottom of their hearts!

What the Uchiha Clan truly needed was a powerful and decisive leader.

Shisui was also well aware of the weaknesses in his own personality.

He could make friends with many people and earn their trust.

But he lacked leadership.

That was Uchiha Gray's strength, and Gray also had incredible judgment and keen perception.

Even Shisui, who had been regarded as a genius since childhood, couldn't compare!

"What a cold-blooded person."

Orochimaru glanced at Gato's corpse, his pupils narrowing as he licked his lips.

His hostility toward Uchiha Gray gradually gave way to an admiration laced with animosity.

The speed and precision Uchiha Gray had just displayed were at least those of an elite Chunin.

An elite Chunin at eight or nine years old!

Orochimaru found it hard to believe. Though he, too, had been called a genius at the age of eight, he hadn't been nearly as resilient or ruthless as Uchiha Gray!

He had initially thought Gray was just a brat from the Uchiha Clan.

But now it seemed Uchiha Gray was a true genius, and geniuses often had a pride of their own.

Most importantly, the Third Shinobi World War was already over. The new generation of ninjas in this peaceful era tended to be cowardly and soft-hearted.

But Uchiha Gray was nothing like that!

"A genius of the Uchiha Clan who saw through this world at such a young age? That makes me even more interested in hunting him!"

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The sound of blades cutting through the air rang out.

Uchiha Gray flung more than a dozen Kunai straight at Orochimaru, their terrifying speed and force sending them hurtling through the air.

Gray hadn't expected that to defeat Orochimaru. As he watched Orochimaru dodge them with ease, Uchiha Gray's gaze turned icy.

"If you want to fight, fight. If not, get lost!"

With a ninja like Orochimaru, every move was part of a plan.

So the best thing to do was not waste time talking and just attack. With Uchiha Shisui backing him up, Gray was eager to test his current strength!

"Shisui, cover me. I'll handle Orochimaru," Uchiha Gray said calmly.

His gaze casually swept over a patch of forest not far away.

Uchiha Shisui immediately understood. His Sharingan discreetly searched that part of the forest.

In an instant, Shisui's expression remained unchanged, but a storm raged in his heart.

There were more than a dozen ninjas hiding in that forest, watching them!

They were several hundred meters away. Unless someone deliberately searched for them, even someone with a Mangekyō Sharingan couldn't directly sense their presence!

But how had Gray detected them?

Gray smiled calmly. With his Sage Body and blue-buff enhancement, his senses had been amplified to an unimaginable degree.

If he wanted, no living being within three thousand meters could escape his detection!

That was the terrifying power of the Sage Body.

A perception ability that was practically a cheat!

"Such an arrogant brat!" Even Orochimaru couldn't help feeling irritated.

As one of the Sannin and a Kage Level ninja, how could an eight-year-old brat ignore him like this?

At the same time, he noticed the exchange of glances between Uchiha Gray and Uchiha Shisui.

They were looking toward the forest behind him.

Was something wrong with the forest behind him?

Or were the two of them planning to ambush him there?

Orochimaru was puzzled. He didn't have the Sharingan, so he lacked that terrifying ability to sense his surroundings!

"Don't look elsewhere during a fight, senior!" Uchiha Gray said without mercy, then vanished in an instant.

A streak of golden light trailed behind him.

In Orochimaru's eyes, Uchiha Gray looked just like the Yellow Flash!

"Yellow Flash!"

Orochimaru's eyes flickered with deep-seated hatred.

It was only because of the Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato, that he hadn't been able to become Hokage.

"This is bad."

Uchiha Shisui looked worried. Gray was incredibly fast now, and a golden glow radiated from him, making him look just like the Yellow Flash!

Orochimaru was letting the grudge he'd held against Namikaze Minato all those years ago spill over onto Uchiha Gray!

Uchiha Gray didn't care.

Besides, once Namikaze Minato had made a name for himself in the Third Shinobi World War, there was no chance Orochimaru would become the Fourth Hokage.

Orochimaru had originally been the Fourth Hokage candidate favored by the Third, but Namikaze Minato had risen to prominence during the Third Shinobi World War, earning a good reputation with his gentle personality.

Orochimaru's only advantage was that he was Sarutobi Hiruzen's student.

But Namikaze Minato also belonged to the Hokage's circle and was Jiraiya's student. So while the Third may have felt closer to Orochimaru, Minato's connections were no weaker than Orochimaru's.

Namikaze Minato also had the support of Konoha's villagers.

More importantly, Orochimaru had never bothered to communicate with the other clans affiliated with the Hokage's circle.

Namikaze Minato, on the other hand, had built strong friendships with the Ino-Shika-Cho clans.

Orochimaru's defeat had never been due to any single reason.

With so many relationships intertwined, it had always been obvious who would become the Fourth Hokage.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

In an instant, the sound of something tearing through the air rang out.

Along with the hiss of long, terrifying snakes!

Using his ultimate move right from the start. Orochimaru must really hate Namikaze Minato, Gray thought with a chuckle.

But he wasn't worried at all. His eyes flashed.

Let me show you the terrifying power of ninjutsu boosted by the Sage Body and blue buff.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Orochimaru wasn't worried either.

It was just a standard Uchiha Clan ninjutsu. He'd already thought of how to counter it.

But in the next instant, Orochimaru's expression changed.

He looked up at the Great Fireball Technique, which towered dozens of meters high.

It blotted out the sky, like the wrath of the apocalypse.

"Th-this is still the Great Fireball Technique!?"

Orochimaru was completely dumbfounded!

He couldn't help swearing. That Great Fireball Technique was practically on par with Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!

More importantly, a Great Fireball Technique dozens of meters across was impossible to dodge!

It was outright cheating!

Ever since Orochimaru had started believing in science, he had always been the one cheating while others suffered. When had he ever been on the receiving end?

Orochimaru's face darkened. This was unbelievably frustrating!

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu."

But Orochimaru was Orochimaru. He came up with a countermeasure in an instant.

He would use Earth Release to evade the Great Fireball Technique's terrifying power.

But just then, his vision blurred. A pair of strange Three-Tomoe Sharingan stared at him from afar.

The entire world began to change dramatically, and his body froze for several seconds.

"Damn!"

Cold sweat ran down Orochimaru's back.