Had he not flooded his entire body with chakra at the last moment, forced out a mass of snakes with the Many Snakes Formation to cushion the impact, and quickly performed an incomplete Substitution Technique, he would probably have vanished from this forest entirely.
"What truly... extraordinary ninjutsu."
Orochimaru murmured, his voice tinged with excitement and greed. He looked up in the direction Toru Kujyo had gone, a strange gleam flickering in his eyes. "That power... that control over chakra... it's nothing short of art.
"To think Konoha was hiding a monster like you... no, perhaps you aren't a Konoha ninja at all. Whoever you are, you've surprised me."
He felt the chakra rapidly replenishing inside him, yet the weakness refused to fade. He knew he might not survive another strike. This was no time to prolong the fight. He licked his lips and turned his gaze toward the direction Sasuke had disappeared in, his hunger for the Sharingan and the Uchiha bloodline growing even stronger.
"Sasuke Uchiha... your potential far exceeds my expectations. This power is worth a greater investment." Orochimaru gave a sinister chuckle, his gaze seeming to pierce space and fix itself on Sasuke. "I'll come for you again... until then, grow strong, my little snake."
He lingered no longer. With a flicker, he vanished like a ghost from the scorched earth, leaving only blackened traces and the lingering smell of blood in the air.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the Forest of Death.
"What's going on?!" Mitaraishi Anko's expression was graver than ever. She leaped down from a tree, her eyes fixed on the distant flames and smoke soaring into the sky. Even from so far away, that surge of chakra made her heart pound with dread.
"Lady Anko, is... is this an earthquake?!" an