Zou Hyuga, who stood guard in front of Oto, had already begun replenishing her natural chakra.
Although Oto still had plenty of chakra, it was better to keep her in peak condition. A Fire Release attack on that scale would drain her chakra after a dozen or so uses, leaving her weakened.
Watching this magic replenishment, Orochimaru became certain that Zou Hyuga had mastered senjutsu.
Although Orochimaru lacked the talent to learn senjutsu and could not master Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode, his research into natural energy allowed him to sense its presence.
So, even as he kept his guard up against his opponents, he was thinking about how to improve his next experiment.
Restored to peak condition, Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha turned their attention back to Orochimaru. His ninjutsu remained as varied as ever.
After a pause, Zou Hyuga called out to Orochimaru:
"Lord Orochimaru, aren't you going to summon that Purple Giant Snake? We have absolutely no way to deal with a large summoning beast."
Orochimaru ignored Zou Hyuga's words. Nine out of ten things that fellow said couldn't be trusted.
He still remembered their first formal meeting, when Zou Hyuga, then only a genin, had claimed he was just a medical ninja who couldn't even hurt a fly.
Had that "fly" been a tailed beast?
Never mind Orochimaru himself-even that old man, the Third, couldn't take a Gentle Fist strike of that caliber head-on.
In short, Orochimaru had decided to watch the battle from the sidelines for real. Leaving a teammate to die didn't count as attacking him, and he had been sick of Sasori for ages.
Looking at Orochimaru atop the Rashomon gate, Oto Uchiha wanted to unleash another ninjutsu, but Zou Hyuga stopped her.
"Don't waste your chakra. Orochimaru is practically impossible to kill. Our