"Come out."
After Orochimaru's four followers had all been killed by Madara Uchiha, the entire forest fell deathly silent. Orochimaru could even hear his own heartbeat.
Now Orochimaru was alone, both hands crippled, while his pursuer was Madara Uchiha, a genius of the Uchiha Clan who had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Never in Orochimaru's life had he faced a moment as dangerous as this.
"Orochimaru, it's been a long time."
A pair of blood-red eyes appeared in the darkness. Then Madara Uchiha, dressed in black combat gear, walked out of the shadows toward Orochimaru, one step at a time.
"Uchiha Itachi."
Orochimaru looked at Madara's youthful face and smiled wearily.
I really should have killed this child when he was still little!
"To think a Hokage candidate like you would stoop to hunting me down. What, are you really that fond of that old fossil, the Third Hokage? If you died by my hand too, Teacher Sarutobi would never rest in peace."
Orochimaru was like a king cobra confronted by a threat, using words to make himself seem more formidable, hoping his display would frighten his opponent away. Unfortunately, his opponent was Madara Uchiha.
Orochimaru's threats did not stir the slightest ripple in Madara's heart. Madara simply stood before him, quietly waiting for him to say everything he wanted to say.
"You helped cultivate the Hashirama Cells in Danzo's body, didn't you?"
According to Root's secret intelligence, Orochimaru had once worked on cultivating Hashirama cells. He had even successfully produced a ninja capable of using Wood Release.
Considering the uproar Orochimaru's disciple Kabuto had caused near the end of his previous life, along with the strength Hashirama and the others had shown in the final battle, Madara Uchiha was certain Orochimaru possessed that technology.
Orochimaru had never expected