The voice that accompanied the appearance of Orochimaru was none other than Orochimaru, who had shed his disguise.
Hidan, Hiruzen Sarutobi Itachi Uchiha were all unaware of each other's strength.
Orochimaru's sudden intrusion complicated what was originally a simple matter of deciding a winner through a single match.
Orochimaru is a troublesome guy. He used to be Akatsuki. Could he be teaming up with them?
This scoundrel is a bit troublesome. He's also Konoha missing-nin; could he possibly team up with the other?
Orochimaru was also somewhat guilty; he had been hiding so well, yet he had been discovered. Itachi's reaction both surprised and delighted Orochimaru.
What's surprising is that he already knows what kind of Akatsuki is; it would be very difficult to join forces with them.
To everyone's delight, Itachi's performance was better than expected, making Orochimaru even more eager to possess him.
An awkward silence fell over all three parties as they analyzed the current situation.
Well, on the Akatsuki, only Kakuzu was analyzing the situation, while Hidan was thinking about the order of the next sacrifices.
In the end, it was Hiruzen Sarutobi who broke the silence.
"Orochimaru, you..."
The words had barely left his mouth when Orochimaru interrupted him, as he didn't want to get involved with the two from Konoha Orochimaru.
"Teacher Sarutobi, you're not my target. If possible, could you please hand Itachi over to me?"
Orochimaru's words caused a shift in the mindset of the remaining two sides.
Considering Itachi's price on the black market, 5 million ryo, five times that of Jonin, and judging from our recent contact, there's still a lot of room for the price to rise.
Kakuzu, who had originally planned to let Itachi go this time, decided to hand Itachi over to Orochimaru after hearing Orochimaru's words. It was just a pity for such a promising talent.
Just then, Orochimaru's words came again.
"Kakuzu- san, your target should be Teacher Sarutobi. How about we each take one?"
"No problem!"
Kakuzu agreed very readily.
"You Orochimaru, do you not take me seriously? Why do you only ask Kakuzu me?"
Hidan, carrying his giant scythe, shouted arrogantly, drawing everyone's attention to himself, and then spoke again.
"I've heard you're a traitor to the Akatsuki. Today, I'll offer you as a sacrifice to the Lord Jashin!"
Kakuzu really wanted to strangle Hidan at that moment, and he also raised his voice.
"Shut up, Hidan! We agreed you weren't allowed to interfere in my business!"
Hidan, whose brains seem to make him appear taller, suddenly had a sudden Hidan of inspiration.
"Once you encounter Orochimaru, that traitor to Akatsuki, it's no longer your business, Kakuzu. Orochimaru is mine!"
After saying Hidan, Hidan threw his scythe, which spun rapidly and attacked Orochimaru.
"Fly..."
Seeing Hidan without a word, Kakuzu swallowed his words, quickly Hand Seals, and launched Ninjutsu at the two from Konoha.
Lightning Release: False Darkness!
As Hidan made his Hidan, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately began Hand Seals. Originally intending to use Earth Release Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped himself after seeing Kakuzu Hand Seals.
He swiftly changed his Hand Seals, striking first despite being behind, and used his Ninjutsu simultaneously with Kakuzu.
"Wind Release: Cyclone!"
The massive bolt of lightning was instantly shattered by the tornado that rose from the ground.
Even with Earth Grudge Fear Kakuzu, who possessed five elemental Five Basic Nature Transformations, was no match for Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Itachi, who wasn't idle either, immediately buffed Hiruzen Sarutobi's cyclone, creating a massive fire tornado that hurtled towards Kakuzu at an even faster speed.
Orochimaru easily dodged Hidan's scythe attack, then ignored Hidan, whose Taijutsu was mediocre.
Seizing the moment when Itachi was breathing fire, it sprinted forward at top speed, its neck stretching even faster, its teeth becoming sharper and elongating, aiming at Itachi's neck at an uncanny angle.
The scene became extremely chaotic!
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
Fire Style: Searing Migraine!
Facing Kakuzu's combination of wind and fire Ninjutsu, he also used a combination Ninjutsu to block it. At the same time, a monster that looked like a combination of blood vessels and hair appeared next to Kakuzu.
"Water Release: Water Curtain!"
A pool of clear water appeared on the other side, and jets of water rose from it, heading towards Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The only players on the field who showed any sense of teamwork were Hiruzen Sarutobi and Itachi Uchiha.
"Weasel!"
Orochimaru Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to help Orochimaru after his sudden attack, but when he looked at Itachi, he received a reassuring look from him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi then stopped paying attention to Itachi's battle, believing that Itachi's strength was no match for Orochimaru.
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not question it, not because he trusted Itachi so much, but because of a strange trust that naturally arose from being suppressed by Ren for a long time.
Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't trust Itachi, he trusted Ren because he was assigned the same mission as Uchiha Yushu.
Since Itachi believes he can handle it, all he needs to do is trust him.
This feeling of fighting side by side and mutual trust was something Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't experienced in decades, and he never imagined he would experience it again with a teenage Uchiha Clan boy.
It was strange, it was ironic.
But even Hiruzen Sarutobi had to admit that the feeling was really good, reigniting a spark of passion in his otherwise decaying body.
Faced with the rapidly approaching water column, Hiruzen Sarutobi Hand Seals and used his most proficient Earth Release.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
A giant dragon head emerged from the ground, continuously spraying streams of earth forward.