Faced with Orochimaru's bewilderment, Uchiha Sora appeared before him and stared at him as he slowly said, "My Sharingan can see that you're all bluster right now. That powerful chakra of yours doesn't seem to be quite in harmony with this body."
"What?! You actually...?" Orochimaru's expression jolted.
"You must have practiced some forbidden technique that transferred your original chakra and soul into someone else's body, right? And your chakra and soul are suffering a rejection reaction from this body's original chakra and soul, aren't they?" Uchiha Sora continued.
His words came partly from his familiarity with the original story and Orochimaru's secrets, but he had also genuinely noticed some clues through his Sharingan.
Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation was a method of transferring his own soul and chakra into another person's body, then gradually consuming the host's soul and chakra.
In theory, repeated reincarnations would not diminish Orochimaru's chakra and soul. Instead, they would grow increasingly powerful. However, as the number of reincarnations increased, his soul and chakra would become a chaotic mixture unless he improved his method of consuming them.
His chakra could even contain more than one will. That might not be apparent ordinarily, but at a critical moment, it could turn against him.
In fact, that was not Orochimaru's only problem. He also wanted to achieve immortality through the Cursed Seal, and in continually creating Cursed Seals, he was constantly splitting his own soul, will, and chakra.
With problems in both these areas, Orochimaru's actual strength was naturally greatly diminished, despite his maxed-out genjutsu abilities.
An ordinary ninja's genjutsu might not trouble Orochimaru.
But Uchiha Sora's genjutsu was cast through his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and his ocular power had increased enormously. Its potency spoke for itself!
Even Orochimaru, with his vast experience and enormous chakra reserves, could not break through this genjutsu.
Now, upon hearing Uchiha Sora's words, Orochimaru's expression turned extremely ugly.
He had never imagined that this ten-year-old child would see straight through the secret of his reincarnation-and discover his weakness as well.
It was a blow even to his confidence as one of the Sannin.
But Orochimaru was a veteran of countless battles. Even trapped in an illusion, he regained his composure and smiled. "Uchiha Sora, your genjutsu is certainly powerful, but so what? Do you really think it can hold me?"
"You didn't attack me immediately. Now you've lost your chance!"
Orochimaru suddenly opened his mouth. A hand reached out from within, followed by another Orochimaru crawling out of his mouth.
Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique!
This was a substitution technique capable of evading almost any damage from ninjutsu, genjutsu, or taijutsu!
Within the illusion, Orochimaru decisively used his Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique, and Uchiha Sora's Binding Technique immediately lost its effect.
In reality, a new Orochimaru crawled out of his original body and swiftly retreated.
Uchiha Sora inwardly frowned. Orochimaru's methods were indeed bizarre. He had not expected the Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique to be capable of breaking genjutsu as well.
Still, this also had to do with his own genjutsu not being powerful enough. Although his Binding Technique had immobilized Orochimaru's body, Orochimaru could still circulate chakra and speak.
That had given Orochimaru the opportunity to perform his substitution technique.
Fortunately, Uchiha Sora had never intended to fight Orochimaru to the death, so he was not disappointed by his escape from the genjutsu.
By then, Kakashi had finished off one of the giant snakes and swiftly leaped over to Uchiha Sora's side.
Uchiha Sora looked at Orochimaru in the distance and said calmly, "Orochimaru, do you still want to fight?"
Seeing Kakashi arrive, Orochimaru knew he would gain nothing this time and began considering retreat. He shook his head with some regret. "Uchiha Sora, it seems I miscalculated this time. I never expected your strength to have grown this much. Perhaps by our next meeting, you'll have surpassed me?"
"Heh, you flatter me, Orochimaru," Uchiha Sora replied with a faint smile.
A meaningful smile appeared on Orochimaru's lips as he slowly sank into the ground. Before leaving, he stared at Uchiha Sora and sighed. "Konoha has already rotted away. A genius like you deserves a wider sky. As a member of the Uchiha Clan, you're like a bird trapped in a cage in Konoha, forever denied the chance to spread your wings and soar."
Uchiha Sora smiled noncommittally and watched Orochimaru leave without stopping him.
In truth, if he had really wanted a decisive battle with Orochimaru, he could have brought out his powerful trump card, S-rank Wind Release, or another hidden ace like Flying Thunder God long ago.
He had spent so long talking to Orochimaru and allowed him to escape the genjutsu simply because he did not want to expose his trump cards and true strength over him.
After returning empty-handed this time, Orochimaru would likely keep a respectful distance from him in the future.
Naturally, Uchiha Sora paid no mind to Orochimaru's parting words.
Kakashi, however, became highly wary upon hearing them and could not help saying, "Sora, don't let a rogue ninja like Orochimaru lead you astray!"
Uchiha Sora smiled slightly. "Don't worry, Captain Kakashi."
"Good, then. You're not hurt, are you?" Only then did Kakashi breathe a sigh of relief and ask with concern.
Earlier, the giant snake had held him up and blocked his view with its body, so he did not know the details of Uchiha Sora's confrontation with Orochimaru.
"I'm not hurt. Orochimaru probably showed up this time to place a Cursed Seal on me, but I dodged it. He didn't succeed," Uchiha Sora replied.
"A Cursed Seal? They say his student Mitaraishi Anko has that power too!" Hearing this, Kakashi could not help worrying. "It seems this Cursed Seal is no simple matter. We must report this to Lord Hokage as soon as possible."
Just then, Uzuki Yugao and Eagle also broke free of the giant snakes and regrouped with them.
Both had only suffered a few scrapes and were otherwise fine.
"Sora, I was worried sick! Are you all right after being targeted by someone as terrifying as Orochimaru?" Yugao came to Sora's side and looked at him anxiously.
Naturally, Uchiha Sora shook his head to indicate that he was unhurt.
Only then did Yugao breathe a sigh of relief.
Eagle suddenly spoke up from the side. "Sora, how did you hold off Orochimaru, one of the Sannin? With his strength, you shouldn't have been able to escape completely unscathed, should you?"
"Eagle! What's that supposed to mean? Did you want to see Sora get hurt?" Yugao immediately frowned.
"That's not what I meant. I was just curious." Only then did Eagle realize he had been too eager, and he hurriedly waved his hands.
Uchiha Sora smiled faintly. "It's simple. Orochimaru may be strong, but I'm no weakling either."
"Uh, is that so?" Eagle gave an awkward smile and fell silent again.
"All right, all right. We can discuss this once we're back. Our priority now is to get back to Konoha!" Kakashi stepped in.
The group set off, racing toward Konoha.
However, after Eagle's behavior earlier, a strange atmosphere seemed to hang over the team.
Yugao traveled alongside Uchiha Sora, while Eagle was left isolated.
Trailing behind, Kakashi watched his three subordinates and sank into thought.
Uzuki Yugao met the ANBU's standards in every respect, except that she became strongly emotional whenever anything involved Uchiha Sora.
Her earlier willingness to step forward regardless of the danger when they encountered Orochimaru, and her later clash with Eagle to defend Sora, were enough to suggest that her feelings for Uchiha Sora went beyond their apparent relationship as teammates.
As for Eagle, his departure from his usual taciturn manner to question Uchiha Sora also cast some suspicion on his motives.
And Uchiha Sora himself commanded even greater attention from Kakashi.
Just as Eagle had asked, Kakashi was also puzzled. How strong had Uchiha Sora become? How had he remained completely unscathed against Orochimaru and held out until Kakashi could support him? Orochimaru had even offered such an assessment before retreating.
None of these details could be overlooked.
By that evening, the group had returned to Konoha.
The three dispersed and went their separate ways.
To celebrate the successful completion of their mission, Uchiha Sora and Yugao went to a barbecue restaurant together for a feast.
Kakashi, meanwhile, went to Naruto's office to give the Third Hokage a detailed report of the mission.
After hearing Kakashi's report, the Third Hokage frowned deeply. "That Orochimaru remains just as restless even after leaving Konoha. It seems letting him escape back then truly was a mistake!"
After a pause, his tone shifted. "Still, for Uchiha Sora to receive such an assessment from Orochimaru, he must be truly exceptional. Kakashi, the Uchiha Clan is extremely prone to extremes. Uchiha Sora is only ten. As his captain, you must never let him follow Orochimaru's old path!"
"I understand!" Kakashi nodded firmly.
While the Third Hokage was instructing Kakashi, elsewhere, in a dimly lit underground base, Danzo, the leader of Root, was also giving orders to the subordinate before him.
"Eagle, intensify your surveillance. If Uchiha Sora shows even the slightest sign of dangerous thinking, kill him on the spot!" Danzo coldly told the man before him.
"Yes, Lord Danzo!" Eagle answered respectfully.
Had Kakashi been there, he would certainly have recognized this subordinate of Danzo's called Eagle as his own subordinate, Eagle!
He had been loyal to Danzo from the start, planted beside Uchiha Sora as a pawn to monitor him and gather intelligence.
Even the Third Hokage had been kept in the dark about all of this.
An extra update today! Another chapter this afternoon!
Before you continue