The Konoha Rebellion

Orochimaru turned around and looked at the disdainful Mirai, who was holding Hinata's hand and carrying Temari over his shoulder.

Confusion showed in his vertical pupils.

"You were the one talking just now!"

Orochimaru looked at Mirai with great interest.

Clearly, he did not care about what Mirai had said earlier.

He had always looked at facts, because facts would deliver a hard slap to their faces.

"Yes, that was me!"

Mirai nodded and set Temari down from his shoulder.

Temari lowered her head and silently stood to one side, not daring to speak.

"Orochimaru, what brings you to Konoha today? Don't tell me you're planning something!"

The moment Mirai spoke Orochimaru's name, Orochimaru grew curious.

"You know me?" Orochimaru licked the corner of his lips.

"Is knowing you supposed to be strange?"

Mirai replied speechlessly. He had not expected Orochimaru to be so narcissistic.

"Y-You're Orochimaru of the Cold Wind, one of Konoha's Three Legendary Sannin!"

Temari, who had been keeping her head down, raised it the moment she heard the name Orochimaru.

Now that she saw Orochimaru acknowledge his identity, she was utterly stunned.

Her mouth hung wide enough to fit an egg inside.

"Oh? Even a junior like you knows me. Judging by your forehead protector, you're from the Sand Hidden Village, aren't you?"

Orochimaru looked at Temari with interest. Clearly, he had not expected someone from the Sand Hidden Village to know him.

Hinata listened silently without saying anything.

Yet she too stared at Orochimaru, her eyes full of confusion.

One of Konoha's Three Legendary Sannin... so that meant he was a Konoha ninja.

Why had she never heard his name before?

"Why aren't you running? If Konoha learns you're here, they won't let you off!"

"Kid, it seems you know quite a lot!"

"But if I want to leave, I'm afraid Konoha won't be able to keep me!"

"You're that confident?" Mirai grinned.

"I am immortal!"

"Aren't you just constantly reincarnating through Curse Marks? The method may be disgusting, but that's indeed the truth!"

Thinking of Orochimaru's reincarnation method made Mirai feel a little sick as well.

"Looks like you know quite a bit. I want to take you with me!"

Orochimaru licked the corner of his lips, leaning forward slightly as he prepared to attack.

"Then let's see if you have what it takes." Mirai was completely fearless.

To put it arrogantly, there were only a handful of people in the ninja world who could rival him now.

"Mirai, hurry and call for help! Orochimaru is stronger than even a jonin!"

"You have no chance of winning against him!"

Knowing Orochimaru's background, Temari explained anxiously to Mirai.

For some reason, she did not want this hateful man before her to lose his life.

"Q-Mirai..."

Hinata clenched her fists nervously. Clearly, she had not expected Orochimaru to be this powerful.

Would Mirai be in danger facing an enemy of this strength?

"No chance of winning?" Mirai turned to look at Temari.

"He's just a snake. How could I have no chance of winning?"

Mirai turned back, and the Sharingan in his eyes began to bloom.

"A member of the Uchiha Clan? No wonder you have such nerve!"

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Orochimaru flicked both hands, and dozens of white snakes shot toward Mirai.

"Instant Kill!"

The Sharingan spun, transforming into the shape of a four-bladed pinwheel.

The white snake that had been darting through the air suddenly broke into several pieces and fell to the ground.

This was the ability of the Mangekyo's left eye. It could displace space and create spatial slashes.

Moreover, it was completed instantly, making it an invisible means of killing.

"Mangekyo Sharingan? I never expected your eyes to have become this powerful!"

"You don't only have this much strength, do you? I'd be very disappointed if that were the case!"

Seeing Orochimaru's surprise, Mirai gave an evil smile.

"Myriad Serpent Formation!"

Orochimaru opened his mouth, his throat writhing as countless white snakes shot out from within.

Temari and Hinata's faces immediately turned pale at the sight of this ninjutsu. They were clearly disgusted.

"Instant Kill!"

Bang...

White snakes continued to shoot out, only to be mysteriously sliced apart and fall to the ground.

In no time at all, the ground was completely covered with snake corpses.

"I see. Instant Kill formed through spatial distortion!"

Orochimaru stopped casting the ninjutsu and looked at Mirai with great interest.

From that brief exchange, Orochimaru had already seen through Mirai's ninjutsu.

It was a space-time ninjutsu, one with immense power and strong unpredictability.

Mirai was not at all surprised that Orochimaru had figured out the principle behind his ninjutsu so quickly, given his knowledge and experience.

After all, Orochimaru was deeply obsessed with ninjutsu. His pursuit of it was far more fervent than ordinary.

"In that case, take a look at this!"

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Orochimaru bit his finger and slapped his palm against the ground.

With a bang, a gigantic snake appeared out of thin air.

Orochimaru stood atop the giant snake's head and looked at Mirai.

"Manda, attack!"

Manda flicked out its tongue, opened its enormous jaws, and bit down at Mirai.

Yet when it tried to clamp down, it discovered that it could not bite through him at all.

Giving up on the bite, Manda raised its head again.

"Why is it so hard?!"

Just as it was about to complain to Orochimaru, it suddenly noticed that something was wrong with the person before it.

A massive skeletal upper body suddenly enveloped Mirai.

The skeletal body consisted only of bones, with no head, limbs, or lower body.

"What is this thing?"

The giant snake stared curiously at the skeletal body before it, wanting to know what it was.

"Susanoo! I never thought you could use Susanoo too!"

Even the ever-calm Orochimaru was shocked at this moment.

He had never expected Mirai to be capable of using Susanoo.

The last time he had seen this technique had been not long ago.

The one who had used it then was Uchiha Itachi.

Compared to Itachi's Susanoo, Mirai's current Susanoo was much weaker.

"As expected of Orochimaru. You really know a lot!"

Mirai's Mangekyo had now turned into the Eternal Mangekyo, the black six-pointed star replacing the four-bladed pinwheel.

"It seems things are a little different now!"

Orochimaru gave a sinister chuckle and turned to look in a certain direction.

"It seems they'll be here soon as well!"

With a bang, Orochimaru dispelled the Summoning Jutsu.

"We'll meet again next time!"

After saying that, Orochimaru's entire body exploded, turning into white snakes that scattered and fled.

Mirai deactivated his Eternal Mangekyo, and the Susanoo dispersed as well.

"No need to wait until next time. We'll be seeing each other again shortly, Orochimaru!"

Mirai spoke to himself as he turned and walked over to Hinata and Temari.

"Q-Mirai... that ninjutsu just now..."

Hinata was clearly stunned by Mirai's Susanoo. She had obviously never expected Mirai to be so powerful.

Even the usually composed Temari was no exception, her face filled with astonishment.