Orochimaru has his own information channels.
Based on the detailed intelligence he obtained from Root, he now has a fairly comprehensive understanding of ' Aoki Tsuki, ' the monitor sent by Akatsuki.
That night, the moonlight was bright, Aoki Tsuki sat cross-legged on the canopy of a lush tree, meditating and cultivating as usual.
Hiss... hiss...
In a daze, a small white snake climbed up the tree trunk, raised its head, flicked its tongue, and stared at him without moving.
"Oh? Biodetection... So it was finally discovered."
His perception can only detect Chakra, but biological detection is different; it can detect smells, heat, and so on, making it impossible to guard against.
As long as Orochimaru is willing to spend the time to confirm that someone is in the vicinity, a thorough search will eventually lead to their discovery.
Just as he was pondering, a powerful Chakra appeared below. Orochimaru, to avoid being sensed, used Earth Release to come from underground.
Swish...
With a flash, he appeared on the treetop.
"We've finally met. You seem to have many identities: a ninja from Amegakure, the Azure Dragon of Akatsuki, the Swordmaster of the Moon, or perhaps the evil leader of the rumored Jashin Cult."
This means that I know a great deal about you, and that you have been monitoring me for a long time.
I caught you today!
" Lord Orochimaru may simply call me 'Moon.' I am but a junior, unworthy of your concern."
"You're being modest. I heard you also worked in the base for a while. In a way, we were colleagues. Last time I wasn't at the base, I neglected you, and that was my fault."
"But you, why did you leave without even saying goodbye?"
Entering without permission is theft!
Aoki Tsuki immediately explained, "I also followed a thief here and saw him sneak into the base, intending to steal items."
In desperation, I had no choice but to act. I truly did not know this was Lord Orochimaru's territory; I am truly sorry.
Where is the thief?
"The body was naturally left in the wilderness; it's probably been eaten by wild animals by now."
"Thank you so much! Please come to my base and sit for a while. I'm quite interested in Akatsuki," Orochimaru invited.
Aoki Tsuki didn't dare to actually go; he was afraid of becoming a test subject.
Never underestimate Orochimaru's ruthlessness. Snakes are inherently greedy, and given the chance, they will not hesitate to bite their prey to death.
He shook his head and declined, saying, "I'm afraid that won't work. I have other tasks to attend to and it's inconvenient for me to bother you."
"Heh... What if I insist that you go?" Orochimaru persisted.
"I've had dealings with Lord Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade, the Sannin. It would be great to witness Lord Orochimaru's prowess today."
"You're quite arrogant."
Orochimaru's right arm suddenly transformed into several venomous snakes, lunging at Aoki Tsuki who was standing close by.
Multiple Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!
call out...
Aoki Tsuki's seated figure vanished, and a white blade of light burst forth from Orochimaru's side, disappearing in a flash.
puff...
Orochimaru's body was cut in two at the waist, but countless tiny snakes sprouted from the broken ends and instantly connected back together.
Click... click...
He twisted his waist, looking completely fine, and stuck out his tongue to lick his lips.
"It's been a long time since I've done this, I'm a bit rusty. I hope you can let me have some fun later."
"I've long heard that Lord Orochimaru's snake-style Ninjutsu is unique in the Shinobi World, and seeing it today has truly broadened my horizons," Aoki Tsuki exclaimed.
An ordinary person would die from Kunai by a kunai, but Orochimaru was cut in two just now, yet he was completely unharmed.
"I know a lot of Ninjutsu, and besides that, I also have some knowledge of swordsmanship."
Orochimaru took a deep breath, his stomach swelled up, and he slowly spat out a sword from his mouth and held it in his hand.
"This is the Kusanagi Sword, just like the Futsu Sword you have, it's a divine weapon."
Orochimaru had clearly recognized the weapon in Aoki Tsuki's hand.
"Oh dear, nothing escapes your discerning eye. Very well, let's have a swordsmanship contest, and stop when we've reached our limit."
The next second, the two engaged in fierce combat. Orochimaru's swordsmanship was in no way inferior to Aoki Tsuki's, and the two exchanged blows in the treetops.
They said they'd stop short of causing serious harm, but every move they made was deadly.
At one point, Aoki Tsuki secretly used Rain Breathing during a break. He couldn't compete with Orochimaru's experience in conventional techniques; not only could he not gain the upper hand, but he was also subtly at a disadvantage.
" Countercurrent Fang "
A massive, light blue canine pierced Orochimaru's abdomen, lifting him up.
"Ah..."
Orochimaru let out a mock scream, but his neck suddenly stretched out, and his head shot out like a cobra, heading straight for Aoki Tsuki's neck.
Aoki Tsuki quickly jumped away, his hands forming hand Hand Seals rapidly, unleashing " Lightning Release: Imperial Lightning Snake ".
thunderbolt...
A lightning snake rose from his arm and headed straight for Orochimaru.
Upon seeing this, Orochimaru immediately retracted his neck, formed hand Hand Seals, and swelled his chest, unleashing the " Wind Release: Great Breakthrough " technique.
Thud...
A hurricane appeared out of nowhere and scattered the Lightning Snake.
The leaves on the tree crown were also swept away and stripped off, leaving only bare branches standing under the moon, like a girl whose clothes had been stripped off.
"Hmph, you think you can bully me just because you know more elemental attributes? Fire Release: Fire Dragon Technique."
roar...
A bright orange fire dragon rose into the wind, its imposing presence awe-inspiring.
Orochimaru smiled slightly, crossed his hands, and a water dragon of the same size flew out, colliding with the fire dragon, and white mist filled the air for a moment.
" Body Flicker Technique "
Orochimaru's vision was obscured by the white mist, and he failed to intercept the sudden attack. Aoki Tsuki seized the opportunity and kicked him from the tree to the ground.
Thud...
The impact created a deep crater in the ground.
Aoki Tsuki then leaped down and launched another attack, " Marsh Rain Breathing - Moon Shadow "
A massive, crescent-shaped Vacuum Blade slashed down at Orochimaru.
Click...
Orochimaru immediately bit his thumb, pressed it lightly to the ground, and Summoning Technique: Rashomon."
Rumble...
A gate rose from the ground, with bells hanging from the eaves at the top, and the gate was painted with the face of a demon, as if mocking the enemy.
The Vacuum Blade flashed by, splitting the door in two.
Hiss... hiss... hiss...
Suddenly, countless venomous snakes emerged from the deep pit where Orochimaru was, surging like a spring, wave after wave, piling up into a tower in the blink of an eye.
They attacked Aoki Tsuki relentlessly.
Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave
Waves of water surged outwards from Aoki Tsuki's center, engulfing countless venomous snakes in the water.
Then, lightning flashed from his hand, and he gently slapped the surface of the water.
Sizzle... Sizzle...
The water surface was immediately covered with the corpses of venomous snakes.
Orochimaru, however, is nowhere to be found. He is proficient in all elemental Ninjutsu and could not possibly be defeated by lightning.
The opponent must have guessed that he was proficient in Water Release, and that each time he used Water Release techniques, it was to set up a move for what was to come. He had been fooled once before, and the same trick wouldn't work anymore.
Soon, the water receded, and Orochimaru slowly emerged from the ground, clearly having hidden himself underground.
"Moon, your strength is quite impressive. Are all the fighters in Akatsuki as skilled as you?"
"I'm sorry, I've only recently joined and I'm not very familiar with the organization. Orochimaru, however, you seem quite interested in our organization."
The fight between the two sides just now was merely a warm-up; if it continues, they might get serious.
This is completely not worth it. We have no past grudges or present grievances, so it's really not worth it for such a trivial matter.
Therefore, both sides expressed a willingness to cease fire.
"Oh, that's a real shame. I really admire you guys, Xiao. I wonder if I could have the honor of joining you?"
Having observed me for so long, you should know that my abilities will be of great help to you.
Akatsuki is both mysterious and powerful; such an organization must have some important, unspeakable goal, which intrigued Orochimaru.
"I will convey your request to the chief. If he agrees, I will contact you. I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave."
Aoki Tsuki disappeared from Orochimaru's sight in a flash; now that Orochimaru had discovered him, the surveillance had become meaningless.
"The leader of Akatsuki? That's something to look forward to..."
Orochimaru felt excited; the fact that the other side had sent someone to monitor him meant they were paying close attention to him.
With his abilities and technical skills, he has no fear of being rejected from joining the company.
Unbeknownst to him, during his battle with Aoki Tsuki, his stronghold had been ransacked.
Jue emerged from the rock wall and said, "I've searched this area thoroughly, but I haven't found anything."
"Damn Orochimaru, where on earth did he hide him?"
Bang...
Obito kicked over the experimental table in front of him, scattering various research materials all over the floor, but he didn't care at all.
"Could it be that they've been moved?" Black Zetsu replied.
"It's alright. If he really took it, then we'll just search all his hideouts. Speaking of which... he should be back soon, right?"
"Yes, he's very vigilant and won't stay out too long."
Obito turned and looked at the laboratory, saying with disgust, "Burn this place down."
"Haha... I love this kind of thing the most, leave it to me!" White Zetsu happily raised his hand in response.
Space spun and twisted, Obito disappeared from the laboratory.
boom...
Flames then spread out of the room, and thick smoke billowed out through the passageway.
Orochimaru stood at the entrance of the base with a gloomy expression. He knew that the other party had ill intentions from deliberately revealing information about Aoki Tsuki to him.
I thought they were Aoki Tsuki's enemies, but it turns out they were just raiding his base.
Although he had already moved the important items inside, the base still cost him a considerable amount of money, as did the fixed assets such as equipment.
It's immoral to burn everything down in one fire.
"Yue, I'll accept your gift for now."
Orochimaru wouldn't believe the nonsense about helping catch the thief; there was definitely some secret he didn't know about.
In the end, he'll be the one to take the blame, so we'll just have to settle this score another day.