Why Don't You Study the Three Great Sages?

He took a step forward. Chakra surged around him, and the faint image of a white snake appeared behind him.

"Lord Hokage, don't blame me. Blame those eyes of yours... They're too beautiful."

Uchiha En stood still, watching the white snake draw closer. He did not move.

Then he asked:

"Orochimaru, have you ever faced a Sharingan head-on in your life?"

Orochimaru stopped.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing much," Uchiha En said. "I just want to ask..."

He slowly opened his eyes. Against a scarlet background, the Taiji Pattern revolved.

"Who gave you the courage to look directly into a Sharingan?"

Orochimaru's pupils contracted sharply.

He tried to form Hand Seals on instinct, but he was too slow.

A Genjutsu torrent, backed by tenfold mental power, crashed down on him.

Orochimaru had formed only half a seal before his vision went black.

His consciousness sank.

Silence settled over Hokage Rock.

Only the wind moved, blowing past Orochimaru's rigid body.

Uchiha En stood where he was, looked at the motionless figure before him, and clicked his tongue.

"An S-rank Missing-nin... one of the Sannin..."

"That's it?"

He snapped his fingers, releasing one layer of Genjutsu.

Orochimaru's consciousness rose through one layer, but a deeper Genjutsu still held him fast. He opened his mouth, his voice dry and raspy.

"Mangekyō Sharingan..."

"Yeah, the Mangekyō Sharingan," Uchiha En said. "First time seeing it?"

Orochimaru said nothing.

He had spent decades roaming the Shinobi World and weathered every kind of storm. Genjutsu had always been something he used to toy with others.

Today, a single glance from the Mangekyō Sharingan had brought him down.

"Orochimaru," Uchiha En said, "I'm not going to kill you."

Orochimaru's pupils shifted.

"You're not?"

"No," Uchiha En said. "If I kill you, all Konoha gets is another S-rank Missing-nin's