Tahm, the Teammate Seller

"Kakashi?"

"Hm?" Kakashi had no idea what Tahm wanted to say at a time like this.

"It's nothing. I just want to know—if three Kage-level opponents ganged up on you, how long could you hold out?" Tahm asked Kakashi a terrible question with a perfectly serious expression.

Kakashi immediately looked at Tahm as if to say, Are you kidding me? He said nothing.

"Can you manage two minutes?"

"Heh." Kakashi began missing his reliable old teammates again.

"You laughed, so I'll take that as a yes!"

The three of them—Orochimaru, Sasori, and Kakuzu—looked at Tahm with amusement, wondering how he planned to struggle free.

"Orochimaru, how about you let us go?" Tahm suddenly spoke. "I can go back and help you kidnap Uchiha Itachi to use as your reincarnation vessel."

Orochimaru looked at Tahm with a hint of shock. "It seems you really do know a lot. Could it be that the Great Toad Sage's prophetic abilities were actually passed on to you?"

"Of course. I'm Mount Myoboku's prophet. Want me to tell you more secrets? Whether it's the Sharingan or the Rinnegan."

"Oh?" A hint of interest appeared on Orochimaru's face.

Seeing that his words had drawn some of Orochimaru's attention, Tahm suddenly made his move. Riftwalk!

A flash of purple light streaked past, and Tahm suddenly appeared in front of Orochimaru, catching him off guard. Tahm had never displayed a Flying Thunder God-style ability like this before.

Devour! Tahm immediately chained into another skill and swallowed Karin in one bite, as she had been classified as one of his teammates.

Back in Konoha, Tahm had experimented with Hinata and confirmed that he could still use his other skills while swallowing someone, unlike in the game, where there were all sorts of restrictions.

As Orochimaru stared in shock, Karin vanished from his arms. Then another flash of purple light appeared, and the toad had already fled several hundred meters away.

Tahm did not relax. Instead, he used Riftwalk twice more in succession, escaping nearly two kilometers away.

Orochimaru was furious. This Tahm actually possessed a spatial ability like the Flying Thunder God Technique. But at such a short distance, could he really get away?

Orochimaru moved, his entire body shooting after Tahm like a bullet leaving the barrel, even kicking up a sonic boom. At that speed, covering two kilometers would take only a few seconds.

Meanwhile, Tahm was rapidly spitting Karin out, preparing to activate Abyssal Dive and escape through a long-range displacement. Taking someone along with him required a teammate to jump in voluntarily, so Tahm could only risk being caught and let Karin out of the alternate dimension first.

The instant Tahm activated Abyssal Dive, he suddenly gained a strange perspective, allowing him to clearly see every corner of the Shinobi World.

So this skill can teleport that far? Tahm was using his ultimate skill for the first time, and he finally understood what it meant: "The world is a river, and I am its king. There is nowhere I have not been, and nowhere I cannot go."

Tahm had originally planned to flee with Karin first, then return and find an opportunity to take Kakashi with him. The plan was actually very problematic. Whether the three Kage-level opponents, after letting Tahm escape once, would allow him to succeed a second time was an unpredictable variable. But now that he had discovered Abyssal Dive could teleport such a great distance, Tahm suddenly had an even bolder idea.

Activate! A ripple of water covered in strange patterns suddenly appeared beneath Tahm's feet, while his enormous mouth opened in an eerie fashion.

"There's no time to explain. Get in!"

Karin understood and was just about to jump inside when Orochimaru arrived.

Orochimaru suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a huge mass of venomous snakes. They intertwined and condensed into a pillar that smashed toward Tahm.

This is bad! Taking damage will forcibly interrupt the skill! Tahm's heart tightened.

In the blink of an eye, Tahm suddenly remembered another ultimate skill he had never used before: Divine Protection!

A golden holy light suddenly descended from the sky and condensed into a golden sphere around Tahm. When the terrifying mass of snakes crashed into it, it did not even create a ripple. This was true absolute defense.

Tahm finally understood. These two skills combined were essentially an invincible escape skill.

With one final surge of water, Tahm and Karin vanished.

Orochimaru spread out his snake-based sensory perception, only to discover that Tahm's presence had completely disappeared from the surroundings.

This was a long-range spatial ninjutsu!

"Damn it!" Orochimaru, who had been certain of victory, suddenly understood how Sasori had felt moments ago. A toad with the physical abilities of nothing more than an ordinary elite jōnin actually possessed so many bizarre methods, one after another.

When had Mount Myoboku gained someone like this? As a successor of one of the Three Great Sacred Lands, Orochimaru suddenly felt as if he could no longer understand the world.

After finding nothing, Orochimaru returned to his companions.

"Where's that toad?"

"What about the money?"

Both teammates asked with concern, though their priorities were different.

"They're both gone!" Orochimaru, usually so indifferent, spoke through gritted teeth. "He has a special long-range spatial ninjutsu and escaped."

"Tch." Sasori, who had always been at odds with Orochimaru, clicked his tongue in displeasure, his heart aching even more. The toad got away. Who am I supposed to demand my trump-card puppet from now?

"Ten billion! We actually let ten billion slip away!" Kakuzu complained indignantly. "And now that he's escaped, our organization has been completely exposed. Orochimaru, your reputation is enough to attract plenty of attention."

It couldn't be helped. Who could have imagined that three Kage-level powerhouses with long-established reputations would intercept an elite jōnin and a toad, only for one of them to slip through their net?

"But..." There was a hint of viciousness in Sasori's voice. "He seems to have forgotten that he still has a teammate."

The unfriendly gazes of the three powerhouses immediately fell on the inconspicuous Kakashi standing to the side, making his scalp prickle.

"That's right." Kakuzu's gaze sharpened as well. "Ten billion got away, but there's still a fifty-million Konoha technician here. We can't let him go to waste."

Kakashi swallowed, cold sweat emerging on his brow.

Although he knew that having someone escape under these circumstances was already the best possible outcome, he still couldn't help roaring inwardly with the feeling of I have one MMP to say:

This shameless giant toad lectured me the day before yesterday, saying, "Anyone who doesn't know how to value their companions is worse than trash." And now he turns around and leaves me behind among three Kage-level powerhouses!! Are pretty little lolis the only ones he considers teammates?

Seeing the three enemies drawing closer, Kakashi began missing his departed best friend again.

Obito, you really were the best!