"How am I supposed to trust you?"
After a long silence, Hoshizuki Hyuga asked.
She kept feeling that something about this was unusual.
Besides, a prehistoric beast from a thousand years ago, carrying senjutsu chakra, clearly would not be easy to deal with.
Even with her immense confidence in herself, she had no absolute certainty of victory.
The most sensible approach would have been to have ninja from all over the world work together to deal with it.
Yet now she was supposed to face it alone?
"Miss Hoshizuki, I have no reason to deceive you. Besides, that lord was the one who gave me the information about this beast, as well as its coordinates."
"The presence you observed earlier with your Tenseigan clearly belonged to that lord, yet you found me waiting here instead. That was on his instructions."
"Of course... if you find this too difficult, you can withdraw."
"But then, finding that lord again will be rather difficult..."
Orochimaru spoke unhurriedly, his tone calm throughout.
He precisely grasped every shift in Hoshizuki Hyuga's emotions, and every word he spoke struck home.
Hoshizuki Hyuga remained silent for a long time, standing motionless in the sky.
Below them, inside the swirling swamp, the prehistoric beast's movements grew increasingly violent.
Even the entire surface of the swamp, stretching over a dozen li in every direction, began to glow with crimson chakra.
The whole sky was stained a murky blood-red, painting a scene of impending doom.
A boundless ocean of senjutsu chakra was boiling!
Clearly, the prehistoric beast would emerge soon.
The two floated there in the sky, falling into a brief silence as they watched the rare spectacle of the prehistoric beast's emergence.
"You had better not be lying to me."
Hoshizuki Hyuga finally broke the silence, speaking softly.
Her