Encountering Orochimaru Again

Jin quickly turned his head. Upon seeing the other person, he let out a huge sigh of relief and smacked his forehead. "So it's Konoha's Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi! We're old acquaintances too! You scared me half to death! I thought you were Orochimaru!"

"Hiss—hiss, oh ho ho ho! It really does feel good to trick people!" His appearance changed, and Orochimaru's original face appeared before Jin.

Jin and White both took a step back. Jin asked, "Are you really Orochimaru? Then show me one of Orochimaru's signature ninjutsu!" Jin had already prepared to flee. If anything went wrong, he would immediately use his unique secret technique, teleportation, to escape and get away from the enemy's attacks!

"So you're that afraid of Orochimaru! I thought the person Orochimaru mentioned would be interesting. He actually said you were incredibly powerful. Turns out you're just a big liar!" The man's face changed again, becoming that of a burly man.

Jin silently assessed the other party's strength and found that the pressure he exuded was something he simply could not withstand. That aura felt familiar, as though he had encountered it before. Jin suddenly knew the answer. "Orochimaru! You're Orochimaru! There's no mistake!"

"**Hiss—**Not bad, you figured it out so quickly! It seems we need to have a fight. What a pity, what a pity! The world is about to lose another interesting fellow!" Orochimaru licked his face.

"Haha, so you really are Orochimaru! I knew it. Not just anyone could have seen Orochimaru's face. Speak! What are you here for?" Jin asked calmly.

"Interesting! I'm here to find bodies for myself. I want both people beside you. As for you, I'm not interested yet! Sigh, I haven't exercised in so long! My body's gotten a little stiff!" Orochimaru said as he continued licking his face.

A thought surfaced in Jin's mind. Why isn't Orochimaru attacking? With his strength, he could easily attack us. Is he injured? Or is there some other reason? Fine, I'll take a gamble. At worst, I'll use my unique secret technique to escape! Jin smiled. "Orochimaru, this really doesn't suit your personality. Are you injured? Do you think you're still not my match? Are you trying to scare me?"

"Fine! I won't hide it from you! I am injured. But dealing with you would still be easy!" Orochimaru had returned to a woman's appearance.

Jin suddenly understood. "Orochimaru, keep pretending in front of me! Others may not know your true condition, but I know it very well. You just finished reincarnating, yet instead of resting properly in your snake den, you dared come out and cause trouble for me! You know it too—with our current strength, neither of us would gain anything from fighting. Let's each take a step back. You go your way, and we'll go ours! If we meet again in the future, we can spar then! That way, neither of us will have any regrets!" Jin was gambling, gambling that Orochimaru had yet to return to his peak.

"Very well! Until we meet again! We'll let today's matter end here! But if I run into you again, I won't be so polite!" Orochimaru said with an angry smile.

"Whew! Orochimaru finally left! Damn, he scared me to death!" Jin said to the other two with a long exhale.

"Yeah! He was terrifying!" White said.

"What? He really was Orochimaru? One of the legendary Three Ninja? But isn't Orochimaru a man?!" the boy asked in shock.

The two nodded. Jin explained, "Orochimaru invented the forbidden technique—Living Corpse Reincarnation. This forbidden technique allows him to take possession of another person's body, though there must be a three-year interval between reincarnations. What you just saw was his new body. I guessed he hadn't been reincarnated for long. His strength hadn't recovered yet, so I took a gamble. Fortunately, I bet right! Let's go somewhere else. If Orochimaru follows us, we probably won't have any good days ahead!"

The three headed into the distance.

"Hiss—hiss, that damned old man! You definitely won't escape the palm of my hand!" Orochimaru emerged from behind a tree.

Jin whispered to the two, "Orochimaru is right behind us. Once we pass the bend ahead, close your eyes. I'll use a secret technique to shake him off! You absolutely must not open your eyes until I tell you to!"

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1!" Jin said, gripping both of their hands. "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" The scene shifted five times in rapid succession.

"You can open your eyes now! We're safe!" Jin said with a smile.

"The Land of Water! Is that the Land of Water ahead of us?" White asked excitedly.

"Easy! Sigh, one of my trump cards has been exposed just like that. You won't betray me, right?" Jin teased.

"Grandpa, you must be joking. You saved my life. I'm not some ungrateful scoundrel!" the boy said.

"If you're going to address me, call me Jin! Actually, I'm not even older than you!" Jin explained.

"What? You're not older than me? Aren't you already..." the boy said urgently.

Seeing that there was no one around, Jin removed his disguise.

"My god! Are you some kind of prodigy? Did you start cultivating your strength in your mother's womb?" the boy asked in shock.

Jin laughed loudly. "Hahahaha, your expression is exactly the same as White's when she first saw me. Let me tell you, it's because I'm a genius! So I'm afraid people will get jealous! A disguise is necessary! We'll have to keep disguising ourselves like this for the next two months. Since you don't seem to have anywhere to go, travel with White and me! What's your name?"

"Jin, my name is Kaguya Kimimaro. Please take care of me! From now on, I'll definitely be your loyal companion!" Kimimaro introduced himself.

"And me, Water Release White. The three of us are companions!" White chimed in.

"Alright! We'll take another path and let Orochimaru search for us in the forest. I used up a lot of chakra just now, so I need to rest for a while. I'll leave guard duty to you two during that time!" Jin put his disguise back on and led the two away.

Several kilometers away, Orochimaru was racing through the forest.

"**Hiss—**Where did those three run off to? No matter how fast they are, they can't be faster than me! Damn it! I actually lost them! Damn! Wind Release! Great Breakthrough!" Orochimaru knocked down a large swath of trees before him.

Jin thought to himself, Damn it, when I use this teleportation technique alone, it doesn't consume much chakra at all! But bringing two people with me used up sixty percent of my chakra! If I teleport again, won't all my chakra be drained? I need to find Ranmaru quickly, then return to Konoha. The outside world is too terrifying! One Orochimaru already forced me to use a trump card. If they all come out, won't I be dead?