Tap, tap.
The newcomer wore shoes dampened by a little rainwater.
The candle flames on either side of the walls spread in the newcomer's direction.
Little by little, the underground gloom was illuminated.
Leaning against the stone wall, Haruma watched the slowly approaching figure with interest.
He wore black ninja clothing, with Konoha's distinctive forehead protector tied around his forehead.
Shoulder-length black hair, golden slit pupils, and purple eyeshadow that extended from the corners of his eyes to the sides of his nose.
He was clearly a man, yet he gave off an incongruous air of seductive danger.
Haruma had not expected such a coincidence either.
This was the last base.
Yet right at the end, he had run into Orochimaru himself, arriving from the entrance.
"I didn't expect a visitor so late at night..."
As Orochimaru approached, he first looked over the mysteriously dressed, utterly unafraid Haruma.
Then he lowered his head expressionlessly and glanced at the corpse on the ground.
His voice was hoarse and icy as he said, "Your methods of framing someone are hardly clever, my guest."
Haruma waved a hand, his tone casual. "Whether they're clever doesn't matter. As long as someone spreads word of everything they see here, that's enough."
"There aren't as many smart people in the village as you imagine."
"If I made it complicated, I'd worry they wouldn't understand."
At this point, Haruma's tone grew more teasing. "Take White Fang's death back then. Didn't that prove there were plenty of idiots in the village?"
"Hmm?"
"It seems our guest knows quite a lot about Konoha's affairs."
Orochimaru flicked out his tongue, his tone chilling. "Could our guest be someone from our village?"
Haruma spread his hands, the amusement in his voice deepening. "Who knows?"
The chill in Orochimaru's eyes intensified. "As you said, my guest, all this only means something if someone sees it."
"But if everyone who sees it dies... then it won't matter."
"Wouldn't you agree... my guest?"
Haruma nodded casually and answered with clear agreement, "That's true."
Orochimaru flicked out his tongue. "Then... die!"
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Hiss, hiss.
Dozens of venomous snakes suddenly shot from his sleeve, baring slender fangs as they surged toward Haruma.
The dozens of snakes bunched together in midair, like a cannonball covered in countless gaping, bloody mouths!
Boom!
Stone fragments flew!
The snake projectile passed through an afterimage, its force so great that it blasted a hole into the underground rock wall.
"You really are decisive...
"As expected of Orochimaru, one of the Sannin."
The voice came from behind him!
What a fast Body Flicker Technique!
Orochimaru's pupils contracted, and he spun around!
He sank toward the ground, his hands rapidly forming hand seals.
"Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes!!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!!"
Venomous snakes poured endlessly from Orochimaru's trouser legs and mouth.
They seemed poised to cover the entire passage in one go!
At the same time, A-rank Wind Release Ninjutsu filled the space above the passage!
In an instant, the intense wind pressure carved scars across the thick stone walls!
Haruma's eyes lit up. Orochimaru truly was one of the Sannin, with extensive combat experience.
The instant he realized how fast I was, he took advantage of the narrow underground passage.
He immediately used area-of-effect Ninjutsu that could cover the entire passage.
But...
Unfortunately, Haruma knew more than just the Body Flicker Technique.
With a relaxed expression, Haruma took a light step forward and vanished before Orochimaru's eyes.
Orochimaru frowned. The feedback from the venomous snakes filling the passage indicated that no living person was there.
What that mysterious man used might not have been the Body Flicker Technique...
But a more sophisticated Space-Time Ninjutsu, similar to Flying Thunder God!!
As realization struck, Orochimaru's gaze sharpened! He swiftly scanned his surroundings!
He was both watching for the mysterious man's sudden appearance and searching for a possible teleportation medium!
In other words, a Flying Thunder God Mark that provided Haruma with coordinates!
After a moment's thought,
Orochimaru turned to look at the corpse that had been lying on the ground.
Countless venomous snakes had crawled over it.
Its exposed skin rapidly turned a lurid purple at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Just as Orochimaru was about to unleash Ninjutsu to pulverize the entire corpse!
"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
The narrow, damp passage could not possibly contain the enormous, ferocious crimson dragon!
The instant the Ninjutsu activated, a huge section of the passage exploded open!
Pitter-patter, splash!
The red dragon burst through the passage and soared straight into the sky, meeting the rain filling the air!
Countless venomous snakes turned to ash the instant the dragon roared.
Seen from high above, the underground base now...
Resembled a massive well that had just been violently excavated!
The torrential rain fell, drop by drop.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle.
Clouds of white steam rose from the scorching passage as the rain poured over it.
Completely unscathed, Haruma slowly descended from midair to the ground.
Tilting his head slightly, Haruma looked at a patch of ground nearby and waited quietly.
A short while later,
A figure slowly emerged from the patch of earth Haruma was watching.
Looking at Orochimaru, who was likewise unharmed, if somewhat disheveled, Haruma said with a hint of disappointment, "That wasn't very powerful. It didn't even scratch you."
Back on the surface, Orochimaru's eyes held a grave look.
"What exactly is your objective?"
Realizing he could not easily deal with his opponent, Orochimaru chose to stop.
This was Konoha, after all. That commotion had probably already drawn quite a few people's attention.
The mysterious man before him had very likely mastered Space-Time Ninjutsu and could retreat at any time.
But Orochimaru did not want to be caught at the scene by the Anbu just yet.
Seeing that Orochimaru had no intention of continuing the fight, Haruma gave a soft sigh as well.
It had been a rare opportunity for actual combat, but unfortunately, it had fizzled out into such a hasty conclusion.
"Working with Danzo isn't a smart decision."
"I'm sure you understand that old man Sarutobi's hypocrisy too, Orochimaru, after failing to become Hokage."
Haruma spread his hands. "I guarantee that once these human experiments are exposed..."
"Danzo will immediately dump the blame on you."
"And even though Sarutobi knows Danzo is involved, he'll only deal with you, without holding him accountable."
"As for how you'll end up, Orochimaru..."
Haruma paused here. "You'll simply be treated as a missing-nin by the village."
"If you escape, you can still count as a missing-nin..."
"If you don't, you'll just be a dead ninja~"
After hearing Haruma's analysis, Orochimaru said calmly, "I anticipated all of that long ago. It's nothing difficult to understand."
"Oh?"
Haruma asked with considerable interest, "Since you already guessed Danzo would dump the blame on you if this came to light, why help him?"
"If you exposed the laboratory first and then dumped the blame on Danzo, I think there would still be room to turn things around."
"Even now, I won't tell anyone that you appeared here."
Orochimaru sneered. "The human experiments can't stay hidden for long."
"Someone of sufficient standing has to take the blame."
"Teacher clearly won't give up on Danzo... so the choice was decided long ago."
"As for why I'm helping Danzo..."
Orochimaru ran his large tongue over his lips, a fanatical gleam flashing in his eyes. "Because he has something I need."
Haruma nodded faintly. "I see. So it's because of the Hashirama Cells..."
For Orochimaru, who frantically pursued immortality and the truth of life,
The temptation of researching Hashirama Cells was indeed impossible to resist, even knowing how it would end.
Orochimaru's pupils suddenly trembled!
He stared fixedly at the person before him, scrutinizing him from head to toe, over and over.