Swish!
Drawing and swinging his blade, Kakashi Hatake sliced several venomous snakes in the woods in two. His expression turned grave, and he immediately warned Naruto, "Naruto, we've been spotted. I'll cover your retreat."
Snake ninjutsu-could it be the Fourth Hokage of this time?
Kakashi quickly ran through the ninja skilled at using venomous snakes in his mind. Aside from Orochimaru, there was only his student Anko. Lord Orochimaru's other student, Lord Nawaki, had not learned his snake ninjutsu.
"Such fluid slashes. I never expected anyone else in the shinobi world to know Senior Sakumo's Hatake Swordsmanship. Your eyes look a little like his, too. Are you a hidden ninja of the Hatake Clan?"
A cold, hoarse voice sounded nearby. The next second, Kakashi Hatake saw two enormous pythons lunging toward him.
Swish, swish!
Two white streaks flashed past, followed by a faint glimmer of lightning in the dim woods. Kakashi Hatake swiftly severed both pythons with two strokes, only to discover that their bellies were covered inside with explosive tags. Cold sweat immediately poured down his body.
But after he and Naruto jumped away, Kakashi realized that the explosive tags inside the snakes' bellies were fake. On this quiet night, using so many explosive tags would simply alert the patrolling ninja. Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, would not be so foolish.
His target is Naruto!
The instant Kakashi jumped away, he realized Orochimaru's objective. He had just revealed some of his strength, so taking him down quickly might not be realistic. The other, younger-looking one would be easier.
Just as Kakashi had thought, the Orochimaru they had seen earlier was an Earth Clone. The real Orochimaru had already crept up on Naruto, and it was too late for Kakashi to rescue him now.
"Hiss!"
Several snake hisses sounded in