In the mountain forest.
The two traveling together gazed at the cave ahead, concealed behind the bushes.
This cave was Hiruko's secret base. As a fellow missing-nin, Orochimaru had plenty of ways to contact his old classmate.
As far as he knew, his old classmate was not doing particularly well these days. His circumstances could even be described as miserable. Still, he possessed the strength of a jonin, barely meeting Pain's requirements for recruiting new members.
Before long, the two standing in front of the cave caught Hiruko's attention.
Hiruko appeared at the entrance, eyeing Orochimaru and Sasori of the Red Sand warily. Cut off from outside news, he did not recognize Sasori, but he could recognize his former classmate, Orochimaru, one of the Sannin.
With his arms folded across his chest, Hiruko felt somewhat uneasy about Orochimaru's arrival.
This was his lair, equipped with layer upon layer of barriers and traps, as well as numerous modified summoning beasts.
By all rights, he should not have feared Orochimaru. But just a day earlier, he had fought a brutal battle that ended in a draw, leaving him to watch helplessly as those kekkei genkai orphans escaped.
Now, badly wounded, he could not possibly be a match for Orochimaru.
But the less confident he felt, the tougher a front he had to put up to avoid being exposed.
After considering for a moment, Hiruko frowned and said to Orochimaru, "Well, if it isn't Orochimaru of the Sannin. How did you find the time to visit a missing-nin like me? Did your village push you out?"
Orochimaru regarded Hiruko with a thoughtful smile, paying little heed to his words.
Sasori, meanwhile, had already looked Hiruko over. "Hey, Orochimaru, the man you want to recruit doesn't look like much. His chakra is rather limited."