Fight If You Want To Fight, Get Lost If You Don't

Uchiha Gray's movements were swift and merciless.

Even Uchiha Shisui, who had grown somewhat accustomed to Uchiha Gray's actions, could not help but feel shocked.

Decisive and swift.

Shisui could not help but admire him from the bottom of his heart.

Gray was far better suited to be a leader than he was!

A ninja like Uchiha Gray was better equipped to make the Uchiha clan submit, follow him, and foster genuine respect from the depths of their hearts.

For the Uchiha clan, a powerful and decisive leader was exactly what they truly needed.

At the same time, Shisui was well aware of the weaknesses in his own personality.

He was capable of gaining many people's friendship and earning their trust, but he lacked leadership.

This was precisely where Uchiha Gray held the advantage, and Gray also possessed astonishing judgment and keen perception.

Even he, who had been regarded as a genius since childhood, felt inferior by comparison!

"What a cold-blooded person."

Glancing at Gato's corpse, Orochimaru's pupils constricted slightly as he licked the corner of his mouth.

The hostility he originally held toward Uchiha Gray gradually transformed into a hostile form of appreciation.

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

An eight or nine-year-old elite Chunin!

Orochimaru found it somewhat incredible; although he had also been called a genius at eight, he had nowhere near the tenacity and ruthless decisiveness of Uchiha Gray!

He had originally thought Gray was just a brat from the Uchiha clan.

But now it seemed Uchiha Gray was a true genius, and geniuses often possessed their own arrogance.

Most importantly, now that the Third Shinobi World War had passed, the new generation of ninjas in this era of peace were generally cowardly and soft-hearted.

But Uchiha Gray showed absolutely none of those traits!

"A genius of the Uchiha clan who saw through this world early on? If that's the case, I'm even more interested in hunting you!"

"Swish, swish, swish!"

The sound of air being pierced rang out.

Uchiha Gray threw over a dozen kunai directly, which shot out with terrifying speed and force.

Gray never expected this to defeat Orochimaru, and as he watched Orochimaru dodge them with ease, his gaze remained cold.

"If you want to fight, then fight; if not, get lost!"

For a ninja like Orochimaru, every action was part of a plan.

Therefore, the best approach was to stop talking and just act. Besides, with Uchiha Shisui covering him, he was eager to test his current strength!

"Shisui, cover me. Leave Orochimaru to me," Uchiha Gray said indifferently.

His gaze inadvertently swept across a forest not far away.

Uchiha Shisui understood instantly, his Sharingan imperceptibly scanning that patch of forest.

In an instant, Shisui's expression remained unchanged, but his heart was churning with turbulent waves.

In that forest, there were actually over a dozen ninjas spying on them!

The opponents were hundreds of meters away, so without deliberate observation, even with the Mangekyou Sharingan, one could not directly sense the presence of ninjas there!

Yet, how had Gray sensed them?

Gray smiled calmly. With the Sage Body and the blue buff bonus, his sensory perception had been amplified to an incredible degree.

As long as he wished, no living being within a 3,000-meter radius could escape his detection!

This was the terrifying aspect of the Sage Body.

A sensory ability that was practically a bug!

"What an arrogant brat!" Even Orochimaru could not help but feel annoyed.

As one of the Sannin, he was a Kage-level powerhouse. How could a mere eight-year-old brat ignore his existence like this?

But at the same time, he noticed the eye contact between Uchiha Gray and Uchiha Shisui.

It was directed toward the forest behind him.

Was there something wrong with the forest behind him?

Or were these two planning to ambush him in that forest?

Orochimaru was full of doubt; he did not have the Sharingan, so he lacked that terrifying investigative power!

"Don't look elsewhere during a fight, Senior!" Uchiha Gray said mercilessly, his figure vanishing in an instant.

A golden streak of light was drawn out behind him.

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

"Yellow Flash!"

Deep-seated hatred flickered in the depths of Orochimaru's eyes.

It was precisely because of the existence of the Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato, that he had been unable to become Hokage.

"Oh no."

Uchiha Shisui's expression was full of worry. Gray's speed was incredibly fast right now, and with golden light radiating from his entire body, he looked just like the Yellow Flash!

Orochimaru was projecting the grudge he held against Namikaze Minato from all those years ago onto Uchiha Gray!

Uchiha Gray remained indifferent.

Furthermore, ever since Namikaze Minato had made a name for himself during the Third Shinobi World War, it had become impossible for Orochimaru to become the Fourth Hokage.

Although Orochimaru had originally been the candidate for Fourth Hokage favored by the Third Hokage, Namikaze Minato's rise during the Third Shinobi World War had earned him a stellar reputation and a gentle temperament.

Orochimaru's only advantage was being the student of Sarutobi Hiruzen.

But Namikaze Minato also belonged to the Hokage's lineage as the student of Jiraiya, so while Orochimaru might have been closer to the Third Hokage in terms of personal sentiment, Namikaze Minato was not at a disadvantage in terms of connections.

Namikaze Minato also had the support of the Leaf villagers.

More importantly, Orochimaru had never deigned to communicate or interact with the other clans affiliated with the Hokage's lineage.

Namikaze Minato, however, had built strong friendships with the Ino-Shika-Cho clans.

Orochimaru's defeat was never due to a single factor.

Amidst this intricate web of relationships, the successor to the Fourth Hokage was naturally obvious.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

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

Along with it came the hair-raising hissing of long snakes!

He's using a major move right off the bat; it seems Orochimaru's hatred for Namikaze Minato runs deep, Gray chuckled.

But he was not the least bit flustered. His eyes flickered as he thought, Let me show you the terror of a ninjutsu unleashed with the Sage Body and a blue buff.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Orochimaru was not flustered either.

It was just a standard Uchiha clan ninjutsu; he had already devised a countermeasure.

But the next moment, Orochimaru's expression changed.

He looked up at the Great Fireball Technique, which stood dozens of meters tall.

It was overwhelming, like the apocalyptic wrath of heaven.

"This... is this f*cking still the Great Fireball Technique!?"

Orochimaru was completely dumbfounded!

He couldn't help but curse; this Great Fireball Technique was f*cking comparable to the Majestic Destroyer Flame!

The most important point was that a Great Fireball Technique with a range of dozens of meters was f*cking impossible to dodge!

This was clearly cheating!

Ever since Orochimaru had started believing in science, he had always been the one cheating and making others suffer. When had he ever faced a situation where someone else was cheating?

Orochimaru's face turned ugly; it was truly f*cking frustrating!

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu."

But Orochimaru was Orochimaru for a reason; he instantly thought of a countermeasure.

He would use Earth Style to evade this terrifyingly powerful Great Fireball Technique.

But just then, his vision blurred, and a pair of eerie Three-Tomoe Sharingan gazed at him from afar.

The entire world began to undergo a cataclysmic change, and his body froze for a few seconds.

"Damn it!"

Cold sweat streamed down Orochimaru's back.