Lightning Release: Shadow Clone!
"Ughhh..."
Violent lightning writhed over Orochimaru's body like crazed serpents. He screamed as his body began to convulse!
Compared to the Crow Clone's explosion, the Lightning Clone did not deal much damage, but its paralysis effect was exceptionally powerful!
Orochimaru's movements were forcibly interrupted. The paralysis left him unable to put up any effective resistance, and Red Scorch and Chidori struck him at the same time.
Boom—!
Screech—!
Time rewound to before Uchiha Mo and Uchiha Shisui entered the forest.
"Big brother, it's already been a month. Do we really need to be this on edge?"
Although Shisui was especially happy about the far greater attention his brother had been giving him lately, a whole month had passed and Mo was still so vigilant that Shisui could not help worrying about his mental state.
"Shimura Danzō is one of the village elders. He has plenty to do. Maybe he's already forgotten about us?"
Mo stopped Shisui with one hand, his eyes narrowing slightly as he focused. Clairvoyance activated, and he carefully swept his gaze across the forest.
Since he had discovered that Danzo had contacted Orochimaru after settling his conflict with Mo, Mo naturally could not let down his guard so easily.
Although he did not have Wind Ear and had no idea what they had discussed specifically, the worst-case scenario was undoubtedly that the two had joined forces to make a move against him.
And if that was the case, then even inside the village, nowhere was truly safe.
As an advisory elder, Danzo could easily use his authority to create a "loophole" somewhere in Hidden Leaf, allowing Orochimaru to enter and swiftly end the battle.
Moreover, Mo knew that the best location was the Naka River, where he and his brother came almost every day without fail!
Sure enough! Not long after that thought crossed his mind, Mo spotted four figures in black robes crouching motionlessly on tree branches within the forest!
His gaze sharpened, and he looked upward. A pale-skinned man with an eerie face, wearing a jonin flak jacket, stood atop an exceptionally high branch... It was Orochimaru!
Mo's pupils contracted. He withdrew his gaze and turned to Shisui.
"Shisui, go home."
"What?" Shisui tilted his head in confusion.
"Go home," Mo repeated calmly.
Shisui looked toward the forest, then at his expressionless brother. He seemed to realize something.
"What about you? Can't we just avoid them?" He knew his brother possessed a powerful sensory ninjutsu, so he immediately guessed the reason.
Mo shook his head. "We can't hide forever. Since they've come, we need to find a way to deal with them. Running away isn't the Uchiha way."
As he spoke, he formed a cross-shaped hand seal.
Poof!
Smoke burst forth, and a Lightning Clone appeared beside him. Mo then handed Futsunomitama to it, created a Shadow Clone, and used the Transformation Technique to turn himself into Shisui.
It was not that Mo did not want to use two Lightning Clones. The Lightning Clone consumed too much chakra, and this arrangement was the only way to keep his main body's combat strength from being affected too heavily.
The Snake's Death?
Thud!
With a dull crash, a charred humanoid figure slammed to the ground.
At the four corners of the purple barrier, the bodies of the four black-robed men began trembling visibly.
"This guy... this guy... actually... killed Lord Orochimaru!"
"The Uchiha... are too terrifying!"
Although Root's training had left these ninja with little personal emotion, the scene before them was simply too shocking! And it had nothing to do with personal feelings—it was a pure shock born from a ninja's understanding of the world!
A ten-year-old boy had killed Orochimaru!
No one would ever believe it if word of this got out!
"Do we... still need to maintain this barrier..." One of the black-robed men swallowed unconsciously as he looked at the figure standing in the field.
"This..."
"Go back and report to Lord Danzo!"
After a brief exchange, the four reached a decision. They then watched Uchiha Mo warily, intending to undo the barrier and flee in different directions at the first opportunity.
Mo glanced at the black-robed man who had made the decision, ignored him, walked up to the mud-and-stone sculpture, pulled out Futsunomitama, and returned it to its sheath.
The next moment, the Four Violet Flames Formation slowly dissipated. Yet before the black-robed men could react, a dark figure shot out like an arrow released from a bow!
They froze instantly, because the one fleeing was... Uchiha Mo!
Immediately afterward, an unsettling sound of skin tearing echoed through the forest. The charred corpse slowly split apart, and then...
A brand-new, dripping-wet Orochimaru crawled out from within it.
Snake Style Substitution Technique!
"Lord Orochimaru..." The Root ninja were immediately stunned.
What was going on?
Orochimaru narrowed his snake-like eyes. Ignoring them, he stared straight in the direction Uchiha Mo had left. He did not pursue, merely murmuring in a hoarse voice.
"How interesting... He seemed to know I wasn't dead... Mo-kun, I'm becoming more and more interested in you. What exactly can those eyes of yours see that I cannot...?"
As he spoke, Orochimaru extended his long, narrow tongue and licked the corner of his lips again. Combined with the wet slime covering his entire body... the gesture looked especially disgusting...
Even the Root ninja turned away in discomfort, but Orochimaru did not care in the slightest. He merely whispered:
"Such a perfect body... It truly is intoxicating..."
Elsewhere.
Uchiha Mo's pupils shrank slightly. He turned to look behind him, then frowned in disappointment.
"He didn't follow me..."
As he spoke, he looked up at the forest above, which was filled with all kinds of shuriken, kunai, and Fuma Shuriken. Many of the kunai and shuriken bore red-and-white Explosive Tags, all of them premium goods acquired from Cat Granny.
They were also the burial gifts Mo had carefully prepared for Orochimaru!
Uchiha Mo knew that Orochimaru possessed the disgustingly effective Snake Style Substitution Technique, so the Lightning Release: Shadow Clone he had used at the start was meant to be delivered right to Orochimaru's side, restraining him at the critical moment to see whether it could prevent him from using that substitution technique.
Unfortunately, Orochimaru had ultimately used that move to avoid fatal damage.
The reason Mo had known the result in advance was because the panel had shown no reaction whatsoever...
Orochimaru was an exceptionally rare ninja who possessed all five elemental attributes as well as Yin and Yang. Though he did not specialize in any single release, from what Mo understood, the Wind Release, Earth Release, and Yang Release proficiency he could provide would definitely not be low.
Yet the panel had not changed in the slightest, so Mo naturally guessed that Orochimaru was not dead.
"Forget it. Orochimaru isn't Danzo's dog. After a fight like this, Danzo should behave himself. At least until he finds a better method or a stronger pawn, he probably won't make another move. But..."
As he spoke, Uchiha Mo pictured Danzo's gloomy face.
"If I don't get rid of that rabid dog... I won't be able to rest easy..."
However, just as his words fell, a series of footsteps suddenly sounded from the forest ahead.
Mo immediately looked up and saw the anxious Shisui rapidly approaching with a somewhat stooped old man in tow.
Seeing Mo standing there completely unharmed, Shisui immediately looked delighted. He used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Mo and hurriedly asked:
"Big brother, are you all right? I was afraid you wouldn't be able to handle it, so I brought the Great Elder."
As they spoke, Uchiha Setsuna also arrived beside them. He raised his somewhat clouded eyes and looked Mo over from head to toe before asking in a low voice:
"Mo, what happened?"
Uchiha Mo rested a hand on the hilt at his waist and replied calmly, "Nothing. Just a rabid dog coveting the Uchiha Clan's power."
Setsuna narrowed his eyes at those words. After thinking briefly, he asked, "Shimura Danzō? He made a move against you?"
"It was him, but Orochimaru was the one who attacked. He was in the forest, but he's already fled."
As soon as those words fell, Setsuna's eyelid twitched violently.
"Orochimaru?! You just fought Orochimaru?"
Mo glanced at Setsuna's shocked expression and nodded without expression.
Uchiha Setsuna looked at the calm and composed Mo, swallowing in disbelief.
"You can actually contend with one of the Sannin already... No, if it's you, then I suppose that's only natural..."
Setsuna no longer knew how to describe his feelings at that moment, but Mo felt no great stir in his heart.
In truth, Mo had a clear understanding of his own strength. If it came down to a direct clash, his current basic stats were still quite a ways from those of a Kage Level expert...
At the very least, in today's battle, if his basic stats had reached the threshold of Kage Level, Orochimaru could never have escaped alive... But that was reality.
He still was not strong enough, not even close.
That was Mo's own assessment, but likewise, he did not believe he was inferior to anyone.
Smack!
Setsuna suddenly placed his right hand on Mo's shoulder. His expression abruptly turned resolute and grim, and his eyes fixed seriously on Mo's.
"Since Danzo dared to attack you, he's declaring war on the Uchiha Clan! Come with me, old man. We'll gather our people and wipe out Root! Since he even called in Orochimaru, even Hiruzen Sarutobi won't have anything to say!"
Fierce killing intent erupted from Setsuna's clouded old eyes. It felt as though his most beloved junior had been bullied by outsiders, and no matter how terrible the price, he was determined to get even.
Their eyes met, and the air suddenly fell silent.
"..."
Mo looked away and abruptly turned around.
"There's no need. Revenge only has meaning if I take it myself..."
With that, Mo lowered his head and looked at Shisui.
"Shisui is in your care, Great Elder."
"Mo..."
Uchiha Setsuna hurriedly raised a hand, wanting to say something, but Mo had already vanished from the spot with Body Flicker...
The Molting Snake, Infiltration
"What did you say?! You let him get away!"
Shimura Danzō's cane instantly punched a depression into the floor. Stone fragments scattered everywhere, and the fury in Danzo's eyes was nearly tangible as he practically roared those words at Orochimaru.
"Hmph~" Orochimaru chuckled dismissively.
"Danzo, don't get so worked up. Isn't it just a Sharingan? We can simply choose another target. I nearly died at Mo-kun's hands. His strength is nothing like what you described."
"Died at his hands? What kind of joke is that! You're one of the Sannin. No matter how talented Uchiha Mo is, he's only a ten-year-old brat. A few months ago, he only killed Baki through petty tricks."
Danzo stared at Orochimaru, his tone agitated and utterly unconvinced.
Orochimaru gave a cold retort.
"Petty tricks?"
The entire course of that battle surfaced in his mind once more.
Now that he thought it through, Orochimaru understood. From the very beginning of the battle... no, it should be said that even while the two of them had been facing off, the rhythm of the fight had already been firmly controlled by Uchiha Mo.
Everything that happened afterward was nothing more than one of the mighty Sannin being led around by the nose by the brat Danzo had spoken of. From displaying his strength in their initial taijutsu clash and making Orochimaru lower his unnecessary guard, to manipulating his emotions at the end and luring him into dropping his guard around "Shisui"...
Every part of it had been within Uchiha Mo's calculations! If his own hard power had not been strong enough, if his advantage in basic stats had not been great enough, then one of the mighty Sannin truly would have died at the hands of a ten-year-old brat...
Before you continue