Orochimaru

The deeper they went into the woods, the darker it became.

Team 7 changed direction several times, no longer rushing to find anyone.

Sasuke walked at the front and suddenly stopped.

Chiya stopped as well.

Something was wrong with the wind.

The forest was far too quiet. Even the insect calls had grown scarce.

The next moment, the canopy ahead suddenly rustled violently.

A giant snake shot down from the trees, opened its bloody maw, and bit at them.

"Scatter!"

Chiya shouted low, stamping his foot as he darted sharply aside.

Boom!

The giant snake crushed the branch they had been standing on, sending wood chips raining down.

Naruto had just landed on another branch when the snake's tail swept toward him.

Bang!

The tree trunk shuddered violently.

Naruto was sent flying, crashing into a mass of leaves.

"Naruto!"

Sakura's expression changed. She was just about to chase after him when Sasuke grabbed her shoulder.

"Don't go over there."

Sakura bit her lip and forced herself to stop.

Chiya stared at the giant snake, his fingers already hooked around steel wire.

A snake.

Grass Village.

The Forest of Death.

A chill ran down his back.

Orochimaru.

Footsteps sounded from the shadows of the trees.

"That hurt like hell..."

Naruto emerged from behind a tree, rubbing his shoulder with leaves still stuck to his face.

Sakura's eyes lit up.

"Naruto!"

Chiya did not move.

Neither did Sasuke.

"Naruto" took two steps closer and frowned. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Chiya spoke.

"What are we having for dinner tonight?"

They had agreed on a code phrase long ago.

Sure enough, "Naruto" froze for a moment.

"Huh?"

Whoosh!

With a flick of Chiya's wrist, three Shuriken shot out.

At nearly the same time, Sasuke threw two Kunai, cutting off the other's retreat.

"Naruto" flashed aside, sliding along the tree trunk like a snake.

Sakura's face changed instantly.

"A fake."

A Grass Village ninja slowly crouched on a tree branch.

He looked at them, the corners of his mouth gradually splitting into a grin.

"Not bad. Quick reactions."

Both of their Sharingan were already activated.

The Grass Village ninja's gaze first fell on Sasuke, then shifted to Chiya.

"Two Uchiha Clan members."

He licked the corner of his mouth.

"What wonderful luck today."

Sasuke's expression darkened as his hands swiftly formed seals.

"Fire Release, Phoenix Flower Fire Technique!"

Several fireballs shot toward the branches.

The Grass Village ninja swayed, his entire body sliding down from the tree as though boneless. The flames exploded against the trunk, scorching the bark black.

The next instant, he was already behind Sasuke.

Sakura had not even seen how he moved.

Chiya's eyes narrowed as he formed One-Handed Hand Seals.

"Earth Release, Earth Flow Spears!"

Boom!

Several earthen spears thrust violently from the ground, blocking the space behind Sasuke.

The Grass Village ninja paused and slapped his palm against the earthen spears.

Crack!

The spears shattered.

Sasuke took advantage of that instant to turn around and kick at his chest.

The Grass Village ninja raised a hand to block it, the smile on his lips deepening.

"Pretty quick reaction."

Bang!

Sasuke was knocked back by a palm strike, his feet carving a long mark across the tree trunk.

Sakura stood in the direction Naruto had fallen, gripping a Kunai tightly. Her face was pale, but her fingers did not loosen.

"Who are you?"

The Grass Village ninja glanced at her.

With just that look, Sakura's body stiffened.

It was as though something icy crawled up her spine. For an instant, the only sound in her ears was her own heartbeat.

Chiya bit his tongue, forcing himself back to his senses.

This killing intent was too overwhelming.

He knew who the other man was, but knowing was one thing. Standing before him in person still made his body stiffen instinctively.

The Grass Village ninja looked at Chiya, a trace of interest appearing in his eyes.

"You didn't seem surprised at all just now."

Chiya did not answer.

The Grass Village ninja chuckled.

"Do you know me?"

Chiya raised his eyes to meet his gaze.

"Grass Village doesn't have anyone who smells as much like a snake as you."

The smile on the Grass Village ninja's face paused.

Then he smiled even more happily.

"Interesting."

The next moment, his sleeve suddenly twitched.

More than a dozen small snakes shot out, lunging at them.

"Fire Release, Great Fireball Technique!"

Sasuke opened his mouth and spat out a fireball.

Boom!

Several snakes were swallowed by the flames, twisting as they burned and fell.

Chiya stamped his foot, formed One-Handed Hand Seals with his right hand, and slammed his left palm against the tree trunk.

"Earth Release, Rock Binding!"

Crack, crack, crack!

The trunk and ground split open at once. Several masses of earth and stone closed in from every direction, snapping around the Grass Village ninja's ankles.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke did not need to be told. He had already formed seals again.

The fireball crashed toward him.

The Grass Village ninja glanced down at the earth and stone around his feet, seeming not to care at all.

But the next instant, the earth and stone around his ankles suddenly turned red.

Chiya flipped his palm, pouring Fire-nature chakra into it.

"Meteor Release, Red Rock Bind!"

Sizzle!

The glowing rock and earth wrapped around the Grass Village ninja's ankles, clinging to him like red-hot iron.

The fireball struck at that very moment.

Boom!

Flames erupted in an instant.

Sakura's eyes lit up.

"We hit him!"

Sasuke did not relax. His Sharingan stared fixedly at the figure inside the flames.

The next instant, a hand reached out from the fire.

The Grass Village ninja slowly walked out. The ring around his ankle had been burned black, and part of his Grass Village outfit was scorched as well.

He looked down at his foot.

"Good coordination. My turn now."

The moment he finished speaking, he vanished from where he stood and instantly appeared behind Chiya!

"Chiya!"

Chiya reacted quickly, kicking backward.

The two clashed in taijutsu. The man's taijutsu was extremely strong; even with the Sharingan's support, Chiya could only match him evenly.

Chiya threw a Shuriken with his left hand, and the Grass Village ninja tilted his head to evade it.

"Heh heh, that won't hurt me."

The next instant, Chiya yanked hard with his left hand and teeth. A thin steel wire pulled the Shuriken in a circle before sending it flying back.

With a snap, it wrapped him against the tree trunk.

At the same time, Chiya formed One-Handed Hand Seals with his right hand, and Sasuke reacted as well.

"Meteor Release, Lava Bullet!" "Fire Release, Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

A fist-sized meteor and a dragon-headed blaze shot toward him!

Boom! They exploded in an instant.

The man and the tree stump behind him were blown apart together!

Sasuke let out a breath.

"Did we get him?"

Chiya said nothing. Come on, that was Orochimaru. There was no way something like that could kill him.

Sure enough, the next instant, a figure emerged from a nearby tree.

"Heh heh heh, you surprised me. I'm very satisfied."

His tongue slowly licked across the corner of his mouth.

"One-Handed Hand Seals, Earth Release, Fire Release, and that strange fused ninjutsu."

"You surprised me even more than Sasuke-kun."

Before they could say anything, the next instant—

The Grass Village ninja suddenly vanished.

"He's gone!"

Sakura abruptly looked up.

A chill ran down Chiya's back. Without hesitation, he leaned backward.

The next instant, the Grass Village ninja appeared before him.

That face was terrifyingly close. His neck stretched unnaturally as he opened his mouth and bit toward Chiya's throat.

Crack!

What he bit into was a shell of earth.

The instant the earthen shell broke apart, a mass of crimson magma burst from within.

Bang!

Scalding mud splattered across the Grass Village ninja's lips and chin, hissing.

The Grass Village ninja retreated and wiped at the corner of his mouth.

The flesh had been burned open slightly.

Chiya flipped down from behind a tree trunk on the other side, breathing a little hard.

Thank goodness.

He had blocked that attack, but Sasuke was in danger!

"Sasuke!"

Chiya shouted sharply.

Sasuke had already moved.

He did not freeze in place. With a stomp, he leaped backward while flinging shuriken to block the path ahead.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The Grass Village ninja swatted the shuriken away.

Sasuke formed hand seals.

"Fire Release, Great Fireball Technique!"

Boom!

A fireball smashed toward him head-on.

The Grass Village ninja slipped out along the edge of the flames, his body bending at an unnatural angle.

With a flick of Chiya's wrist, steel wire shot out from the side and snapped around the Grass Village ninja's shoulder.

Seizing the chance, Sasuke drove a kunai straight at the man's throat.

Their coordination was swift.

But the Grass Village ninja was faster.

His body contracted like a snake, forcibly slipping out from between the steel wire and kunai.

The next instant, he appeared behind and to Sasuke's side.

Chiya's pupils contracted.

"Get back!"

Sasuke heard him, but it was too late.

A snake suddenly shot out of the tree trunk and wrapped around his ankle with a snap.

Just that half-instant.

The Grass Village ninja's neck stretched impossibly long as he viciously bit Sasuke's neck.

"Ah—!"

Sasuke screamed, his body suddenly going rigid.

Sakura's face instantly went pale.

"Sasuke!"

Clutching his neck, Sasuke dropped to his knees on the branch. A black Cursed Seal crept out from the wound, spreading toward his face like fire.

Just then, Naruto's furious roar came from deep within the forest.

"Bastard!"

Covered in leaves, Naruto charged out with scrapes on his face. The moment he saw Sasuke kneeling on the ground, his eyes went red.

"What did you do to Sasuke?!"

He formed hand seals.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

Poof! Poof! Poof!

White smoke burst forth, and more than a dozen Narutos pounced on the Grass Village ninja at once.

The Grass Village ninja raised a hand and swept it out.

A violent gale exploded outward.

The Shadow Clones were blown apart and slammed into trees, vanishing one after another with pops. Naruto's real body, however, gritted his teeth and charged through, driving his fist straight at the Grass Village ninja's face.

The Grass Village ninja's gaze turned cold.

"You're in the way."

He pressed his palm against Naruto's abdomen.

"Five Elements Seal."

Smack!

A black formula flashed.

Naruto's body stiffened, and he fell straight from the tree.

Sakura lunged forward and caught Naruto with gritted teeth. The impact drove her back a short distance, scraping her arm bloody against the bark.

She looked up at the Grass Village ninja, her eyes reddening.

"You bastard..."

The Grass Village ninja ignored her.

He looked at Sasuke, then at Chiya.

"Chiya Uchiha, I'll remember you."

With that, his figure flickered and vanished into the shadows of the trees.

Only Sasuke's pained breathing remained in the forest.

Sakura supported the unconscious Naruto, blood still flowing from her arm.

Chiya landed beside Sasuke and pressed a hand to his shoulder.

Sasuke's body was frighteningly hot, and the Cursed Seal was still spreading outward.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke clenched his teeth, his eyes forced wide open, yet he could not say a single word.

Chiya looked toward the direction Orochimaru had vanished, the hand inside his sleeve still trembling faintly.