You Can Hide It from Me for a While, but Not Forever

"Just one person!" Sakura looked confident. There was only one enemy, nothing to be afraid of.

But in Naruto's eyes, it was not one person at all, but thousands upon thousands of snakes. Absolute strength brought absolute oppressive force.

This was the second time he had seen Orochimaru, and he was still frightened by him. But unlike the first time, he was now facing Orochimaru head-on.

Sakura glanced at Sasuke and found that even with the enemy already at their doorstep, Sasuke was still sitting blankly by the river, lost in thought. It was far too strange. This was nothing like the Sasuke she knew.

The female ninja from the Hidden Grass Village revealed a sinister smile, like a venomous snake spotting prey. She tore off the skin of her face with one hand, her eyes bulging wide as a terrifying aura leaked out.

Only then did Sakura realize something was wrong. Her entire body had gone stiff, and her limbs would not obey her. She could not move even half a step.

"Summoning Technique." The female ninja from the Hidden Grass Village waved her hand disdainfully and effortlessly summoned a giant snake dozens of meters long. Sakura's face turned ashen at the horrifying sight.

"Na... Na... Naruto... who... exactly... is... that person...?"

Naruto used every ounce of strength he had to slowly regain control of his body. His hands and feet began moving bit by bit.

"Oh?" The female ninja from the Hidden Grass Village was somewhat surprised. She had not expected this brat to still be able to move under her overwhelming aura.

Naruto clenched his fists tightly and successfully regained control of his body, overcoming his fear of Orochimaru in his heart. With two swift motions, he threw two kunai.

The female ninja from the Hidden Grass Village did not even spare them another glance. She casually raised a hand and caught Naruto's kunai, then gave a look that commanded the dozens-of-meters-long snake to charge at him.

Naruto first shoved Sakura aside and faced the snake alone. The charging serpent opened its massive, blood-soaked jaws and swallowed Naruto whole in one bite, its expression turning satisfied.

Sakura, who had been pushed aside, got back to her feet, her face filled with despair. Then she suddenly remembered Sasuke and hurriedly looked in his direction.

The female ninja from the Hidden Grass Village was slowly approaching Sasuke, while Sasuke remained seated by the river in a daze. He seemed as though he had fallen asleep.

"Sasuke!" Worried for his safety, Sakura raised her kunai and charged at the female ninja from the Hidden Grass Village without hesitation.

"Heh heh..." The female ninja from the Hidden Grass Village gave a strange laugh and spat out a tongue nearly ten meters long. Sakura felt sick at the sight. That enormous tongue moved as flexibly as a snake and lashed out with lightning speed, giving Sakura no chance to react before sending her flying and knocking her unconscious.

"Sasuke! We finally meet!" The female ninja from the Hidden Grass Village approached Sasuke step by step, but Sasuke showed no response at all.

In truth, the female ninja from the Hidden Grass Village had noticed Sasuke's abnormality long ago. Yet she could not understand why he was acting so strangely, without the slightest reaction a normal person would have.

Confident in her own strength, she had no fear of Sasuke trying anything and walked straight toward him.

"Shadow Clone Technique!" Naruto's voice came from inside the snake's belly. After being swallowed, he had been trapped within its stomach, so he used the Shadow Clone Technique and created a massive number of clones inside it, forcibly bursting the snake's body apart.

Naruto broke free from the snake's belly and panted heavily as he glared at Orochimaru. At that moment, Orochimaru developed a trace of interest in him.

At the same time, in another hidden location within Konoha Village, the lights were dim. A man with bandages wrapped around his head and right eye lay beneath the covers.

He slowly sat up and glanced toward the corner, staring at it suspiciously for quite some time. I keep getting a strange feeling. It seems like someone is hiding in that corner, yet it also seems empty. Is it just my imagination?

"Danzo Shimura! It has been a long time." Orochimaru's figure emerged from the shadows in the corner.

With a swish, two masked ninja appeared, weapons in hand as they stood before Orochimaru, seemingly protecting Danzo Shimura.

Seeing Danzo Shimura's personal guards, Orochimaru let out a cold laugh. "Heh heh..."

"Orochimaru?" Danzo Shimura narrowed his eyes and carefully examined him. This Orochimaru looked somewhat strange. Perhaps it had been too long since they last met, but something about the Orochimaru before him felt off.

"Danzo, don't you have something you still haven't returned to me?"

"..." Danzo remained silent for a long while before saying, "You are already a rogue ninja of Konoha, yet you still dare to return."

"I was not as fortunate as you." Orochimaru spoke in an odd tone. "The ugly things you have done are no better than mine. I became a rogue ninja and left Konoha, while you remain in Konoha."

"What did you come back for?" Danzo demanded angrily.

"Of course, I came to find the only ninja in the world today who can use Wood Release." Orochimaru's face looked especially eerie beneath the dim lighting as he calmly uttered two words. "Yamato!"

Danzo Shimura frowned. He had felt that this Orochimaru was somewhat off before, but that feeling vanished completely now. He was certain that the person before him was the real Orochimaru.

Because very few people in this world knew of Yamato's existence.

Back then, to deal with the threat of the Nine-Tails, the Third Hokage had led a secret research project, with Danzo Shimura and Orochimaru assisting him.

The project used the First Hokage Hashirama Senju's cells for research, transplanting Hashirama Senju's cells into others in the hope that they could use Wood Release, since Wood Release was capable of suppressing the Nine-Tails.

The research was extremely cruel. Every person involved in the experiments died. After so many lives had been lost, the Third Hokage decided to terminate the project, halt the research, and permanently seal away the records of that dark chapter.

But Danzo Shimura was unwilling to accept this. He believed that Wood Release was an extremely important weapon. If Hashirama Senju's cells could be used to revive Wood Release, it would become a powerful weapon for Konoha Village.

So Danzo Shimura secretly colluded with Orochimaru and continued the research in private, abducting many children from villages across various regions to serve as test subjects.

As one test subject after another died, Orochimaru saw that despite all their efforts, they had gained nothing in the end. He gave up on the project and prepared to begin an entirely new line of research.

Unexpectedly, after Orochimaru gave up, one child survived and successfully fused with Hashirama Senju's cells, becoming a Wood Release ninja. He was—Yamato.

However, Danzo Shimura had never told Orochimaru about this. Instead, he concealed Yamato's existence.

Pulling himself out of those memories, Danzo Shimura asked, "How did you learn of Yamato's existence?"

"Because I am Orochimaru. You can hide it from me for a while, but how could you hide it from me forever!"

"..." Danzo Shimura fell silent.

"Now you know why I returned to Konoha."

"Yamato is not here with me."

"Where is he?"

"With the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi."