Orochimaru's Oppressive Presence

(Everyone in the village, leave a comment, or I'll start thinking I'm writing this for the White Zetsu Army.)

Sasuke and Sakura were too frightened by the giant snake to move, afraid that even the slightest sound would alert that mysterious person.

But they could not go on like this.

The snake's enormous body had already coiled around Sasuke and Sakura. Its dark red tongue flicked in and out as it stared at them greedily.

Finally, greed filled the snake's eyes. It opened its blood-filled maw and bit toward Sasuke.

With no other choice, Sasuke fired smoke bombs at the giant snake. This was the quietest method he could think of, and the only one available to him right now.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Just as Sasuke had expected, the snake recoiled in pain.

Sasuke panted heavily.

He stared fixedly at the giant snake.

But then, a man actually crawled out of the snake's mouth. Sakura and Sasuke broke out in cold sweats. Of course they knew who he was.

Wasn't he the man Josuke had been holding back?

How could this be? Could it be that Josuke... An ominous feeling rose in Sasuke's heart. No, that could not be. Sasuke immediately rejected his own guess. Someone as strong as Josuke—how could that be possible?

The man inside the snake let out a sinister cackle. The sound was so chilling that it felt as though they had fallen into a bottomless abyss. Sasuke activated his two-tomoe Sharingan and forced himself to remain calm.

"Who exactly are you?"

The man gave a strange laugh. His eyes resembled those of a snake as he mockingly sized Sasuke up. Just a pitiful tragic figure.

Half of the man's body was still inside the snake. Thinking quickly, Sasuke used the Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!

The fierce flames scorched everything, making the giant snake struggle in agony. Its massive body thrashed up and down, creating tremendous noise that allowed Naruto to locate them from not far away.

After unleashing the Great Fireball, Sasuke stared at the charred snake corpse and muttered,

"Is... is it over?"

Probably. Looking at the blackened mass where nothing could be seen, Sasuke tried to comfort himself.

"Hehehehe..."

That terrifying voice rang out again!

Sasuke suddenly woke up to the danger. The voice had come from behind him!

How was that possible?

He had clearly been hit by my Great Fireball!

Sasuke hurriedly used the Body Flicker Technique to put some distance between himself and the man.

Orochimaru was in no hurry. The purpose of his trip had merely been to find a new vessel.

He had not expected it to come so effortlessly.

He was only teasing Sasuke right now.

He had already decided that Sasuke would be his perfect new vessel in the future.

Just thinking about it was thrilling. Those unparalleled Sharingan eyes contained a mysterious power steeped in curses.

Orochimaru's neck stretched out as he lunged at Sasuke, forcing Sasuke to dodge.

In the end, Sasuke had no choice but to take out the scroll and hand it to Orochimaru, hoping he would spare them.

But at that very moment, Naruto arrived and immediately punched Sasuke.

"Wake up, Sasuke! Even if we give him the scroll, he'll still kill us!!"

Naruto's words jolted Sasuke awake.

Sasuke wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and nodded.

"I know."

He then picked up his kunai once more, ready to fight Orochimaru to the death.

Sakura had long since fainted, and Josuke was nowhere to be found. Only Naruto and Sasuke remained of Team 7.

Naruto charged in first and unleashed his signature move, the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!!!

But in an instant, Naruto's prized Shadow Clones were shattered. He himself was captured and had his neck tightly gripped.

Orochimaru's true face emerged from beneath his skin—a pale, sickly visage.

He looked at Naruto with some surprise. "So you're that fox demon?"

The moment Naruto heard those words, he flew into a rage!

"I'm not a fox demon!"

Just as he tried to borrow power from the Nine-Tails inside him, Orochimaru used a sealing technique on his abdomen and knocked him unconscious.

"Naruto!"

Sasuke shouted. He had never expected Naruto to be taken down in a single move, and his face changed drastically.

What terrifying power!

After dealing with the troublesome Naruto, Orochimaru slowly walked over to Sasuke and shed his original disguise.

He revealed his true appearance.

"My name is Orochimaru. I know you need power, and I can give you that power. Join me!"

Without wasting any words, Orochimaru directly extended an invitation to Sasuke.

Sasuke said coldly,

"Why should I believe you?"

In truth, Sasuke's heart had long since ceased to be calm. Power!

He thought about power every moment of every day!

The power to kill that man!

Orochimaru offered no further explanation. He merely bit Sasuke on the neck.

Sasuke cried out in pain.

A three-tomoe-shaped curse mark appeared on Sasuke's neck. In that instant, a dizzying sensation swept through his entire body.

Damn it!

Sasuke stared at Orochimaru. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to tear the man before him apart. Yet he could only watch as Orochimaru disappeared into the forest before finally losing consciousness...

Not long after Orochimaru vanished, he appeared in an open area. Orochimaru stopped and said,

"Show yourself. You've been following me for quite a while, haven't you?"

The person following him was none other than the long-missing Josuke. Rather than saying Josuke had tracked him, it was more accurate to say that Orochimaru had deliberately left openings along the way, allowing Josuke to lock onto him.

Seeing that Orochimaru had discovered him, Josuke stopped hiding.

He emerged from the dense forest and used the Body Flicker Technique to appear before Orochimaru.

Orochimaru studied Josuke with interest. He could not quite understand what this little thing had come to him for.

But Josuke's next words were a bombshell from the very start, catching even a battle-hardened veteran like Orochimaru completely off guard.

After organizing his thoughts for a long time, Josuke finally spoke.

"I want to join you!"

"Oh?"

To be honest, Josuke's answer had genuinely caught Orochimaru completely by surprise. He had not expected Josuke to say something so treasonous.

But upon second thought, the Third Hokage's Will of Fire and all~

Then it was nothing strange.

So Orochimaru said with great interest,

"Why? Your answer truly surprises me."

Orochimaru's question pulled Josuke back to reality. Yes, why Orochimaru?

Josuke said,

"Because of the Hidden Leaf Village. I'm far too weak right now, and the Hidden Leaf Village is my enemy. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. I have nothing to hide from you."

Josuke then switched into full fabrication mode, mixing truth and lies in equal measure.

First, he brought up the Hidden Leaf Village conspiracy theory that had shocked the ninja world.

Josuke began spinning a tale, claiming that someone in the Hidden Leaf Village had been secretly causing trouble, making the villagers and the Uchiha hate each other, and even misleading his older brother.

That had ultimately led to the destruction of the Uchiha clan.

So he hated the Hidden Leaf Village, hated it to the bone. After saying that, he did not forget to put on an expression of grief and anguish. Even Orochimaru felt somewhat moved after hearing it.