"What a foolish move, Sarutobi-sensei..."

Sending the Anbu to pursue after him appeared incredibly foolish in Orochimaru's eyes. While he had never served in the Anbu himself, he had strategically placed numerous pawns within—Kakashi being just one of them.

Furthermore, he served as the deputy to Danzo, the leader of the Root, and even commanded the Root for a certain period. The Root, a branch of Anbu, was connected with various matters, albeit adopting a little more ruthless approach than Anbu.

Failing to eliminate him at the first opportunity allowed him to escape. Orochimaru knew that his once-respected sensei sharpness and determination have been mellowed by the years. A sigh? No, it was more like sadness and fear. He hoped to never succumb to such weakness.

'Immortality! I won't die! That is my true pursuit!'

His own path clashed with Konoha's values and ethics. Rather than persisting in this, it was better to sever the ties early, leaving the village to pursue his ideals and life wholeheartedly.

Running through the forest in the dead of night, a smile that couldn't be restrained played on his lips, with a sinister expression. Hiss long tongue licked his lips lightly.

Freedom, as well as hos dreams awaited him. As for the chasing Anbu behind him, Orochimaru paid them no mind. He was well aware of the Anbu's capabilities. Despite their impressive strength, assembling teams of more than four can pose a significant hindrance to him. However, the premise was being able to catch up with him.

Although he was stopped by Jiraiya for a while earlier, now he was moving at full speed, with the Anbu's pursuit abilities it was impossible to match up with his speed. Just as he was lost within his thoughts, flames suddenly erupted behind him, a fiery wave consuming the forest, hurtling towards him. Seeing the flames so close to him, Orochimaru frowned.

"Earth Realest - Mud Wall!"

At the same time Orochimaru jumped, he formed seals with his hands, conjuring a massive earthen wall behind him. The flames crash against the earthen wall, exploding on impact.

While successfully thwarting the Fire jutsu, Orochimaru movements momentarily paused. Two figures swiftly rushed out from behind, appearing before him, blocking his path.

Orochimaru recognized them, a male and female Anbu, wearing the iconic Anbu mask. A sly smile curled on his lips as he remarked, "I didn't expect both of you to personally show up. Why? Do you also intend to stop me too?"

Despite his smile, Orochimaru was secretly on high alert. The man and woman were his former senseis's eldest son and daughter-in-law, Sarutobi Takeshi and Sarutobi Masaki. They were from the same generation as him but different from the Sannin. Displaying remarkable talents early on, they ascended to Anbu and assumed leadership roles.

Later on, it took them two years to become team leaders. With their continuous improvement and achievements, they were now respectively thr Minister and Deputy Minister of Anbu, and controlled all the members of Konoha's Anbu. Individually, they might not match a Sannin's strength, but together, Orochimaru believed they could pose a serious challenge. Taking these two as opponents was much more troublesome than Jiraiya.

"Come back with us. If possible, we don't want to see the blood of our former comrade!"

Takeshi took a step forward, addressing Orochimaru. Because he was wll acquainted with the Sannin.Orochimaru being the most talented among them, and has always been a role model for Takeshi. In Takeshi's view, Orochimaru has always been someone capable of overcoming nearly any obstacle.

At the moment when Orochimaru defected, Takeshi found it hard to believe that Orochimaru would betray the village so decisively. Conducting evil human experiments using ninjas from the same village... Even if the experiments were necessary for jutsu and medical ninjutsu research, Orochimaru could have applied through official channels or taken up a position in Anbu. Takeshi couldn't accuse Orochimaru, but certain things can't be said openly.

"It appears I'm being underestimated. But, I presume it wasn't Sarutobi-sensei's decision for both of you to intervene?" Orochimaru asked.

"This has nothing to do with Hokage-sama's will. Hokage-sama may show leniency as your former sensei, but we won't. Any ninja threatening the village is the Anbu's responsibility to eliminate them." Takeshi spoke indifferently.

Masaki beside him also stood tall, delivering a cold statement: "The knowledge, intelligence, and technology you possess are invaluable assets to Konoha. If this power no longer belongs to Konoha, then your only fate is to be destroyed! Returning with us is your only way out!"

Orochimaru sighed inwardly, realizing that this battle was unavoidable.

These two people, despite being his sensei's family, they weren't so indecisive. Even if they were not as extreme as Danzo's stance, they will ruthlessly eliminate any potential threats to Konoha. The murderous aura emanating from the two of them was much more than that on him.

Seeing Orochimaru also secretly gaining momentum, Takeshi and his wife acknowledged the inevitability of this battle. Orochimaru had resolved to rebel against the village, and mere words wouldn't convince him to return.

Though they were reluctant to engage in a deadly battle with a former comrades, considering Orochimaru's possession of knowledge, intelligence, and technology, allowing him to escape would definitely be a significant loss to Konoha.

"Let's get this over with. Killing the both of you is an equally wise choice!" Orochimaru smiled coldly, extending his arms. Several large snakes emerged from his sleeves, their mouths gaping, launching at Takeshi and Masaki.with a bloodthirsty intent.

"Snakes? How boring and predictable." Takeshi unsheathed his sword from his back. Instantly, fiery energy wrapped around the sword, slicing through several snakes lunging towards him.

The fallen snakes on the ground promptly ignited into flames, turning the snakes body into charred remains.

Capitalizing on the opportunity, Orochimaru stepped back, swiftly forming hand seals.

"Wind Release - Great Breakthrough!"

Originally, it was just an ordinary C-rank ninjutsu, in Orochimaru's hands, it unleashed a violent hurricane from his mouth, uprooting the surrounding trees.

In the storm, the two Anbu infused chakra into the soles of their feet, firmly fixing themselves to the ground to resist being blown away by the storm. At this moment, a huge shadow eclipsed the moon, casting darkness upon the two.

The two looked upward, spotting a gigantic snake.

The snake, about ten meters in length, opened its gaping mouth, hurtling towards them. Swiftly biting, the snake crushed the ground with its massive mouth. However, the two had already disappeared.

The snake, too, reacted, its bloodthirsty golden vertical pupils fixated on a tree where Masaki, stood on a branch, looking down at it. It swayed its body, leaving a shadow on the ground, swiftly moving towards the tree. Its supple body coiled around the tree Masaki was located, preparing to ascend and attack her.

Masaki gaze remained calm. While an average ninja might find such a huge creature troublesome, for a Jōnin of her caliber, it was like a pet-level summoned beast. It seemed to be a creature Orochimaru casually acquired from Ryuuchi cave or a human-made he experimented with.

Seizing the snake's attention on Masaki, Orochimaru concentrated on Takeshi. Handling two opponents simultaneously was troublesome, dealing with them individually would be more manageable.

As Orochimaru was on his thoughts, Takeshi brandished the fiery sword, swinging it towards Orochimaru. Before he could get close to Orochimaru, a thick grey python erupted from Orochimaru's cuff, transforming into an afterimage, attacking Takeshi.

Takeshi altered the trajectory without panic, severing the python's head with a single stroke of his right hand. At the same time, his left hand unfolded a seal, and released ninjutsu almost at the short range.

"Fire Release - Flame Explosion!"

Boom!

The terrifying explosive flames immediately engulfed a large area, transforming the surroundings into a scorching environment with a terrifyingly high temperature.

Orochimaru rolled on the ground, bearing burn marks on his body.On the other hand, Takeshi stood there without any damage at the distance, he fixed his sharp, murderous gaze on Orochimaru.

"Hehe.... your sword is quite interesting."

Orochimaru didn't care about the burns on his body, but turned his attention to the sword in Takeshi's hand with great interest. If his observation was accurate, when he indiscriminate attacks occurred, the sword absorbed all incoming attacks.

In Orochimaru's eyes, the sword likely held considerable value. Not only did it had excellent chakra attribute enhancement, but also absorbed ninjutsu with change in nature, which was very suitable for use within the environment.

Without uttering a word, Takeshi, despite winning a minor victory, remained vigilant in Orochimaru's presence. Before him stood a monster that had weathered a bkoody storm. Such tactics would only result in minor injuries, and they could only be used once. The next use would just be a waste chakra. In the next battle, they had to go all out.

Suddenly, the eyes beneath Takeshi's mask widened. He kicked off the ground, charging toward Orochimaru once again.

Orochimaru calmly maneuvered past him. The sword infused with fire chakra was quite dangerous. Touching it meant getting burned.

Takeshi attacked relentlessly, denying Orochimaru a chance to breathe. Their objective was to entangle Orochimaru, awaiting additional Anbu support to bring him down. Taking down a ninja of Orochimaru's caliber with just two people was unrealistic.

Orochimaru also inew this but showed no impatience on his face. Even if he was surrounded by latge number of Anbu, he remained confident in escaping safely.

Right at tha moment, a blue lightning flash streaked across the forest, silently closing in behind Orochimaru. Without hesitation, it delivered a thunderous blow to Orochimaru's back. It was Kakashi, launching a surprise attack from behind.

Yet, Orochimaru seemed to have eyes on his back. His body swayed in place before disappearing from the sight of Takeshi and Kakashi. Orochimaru was like a slippery snake, impervious to both frontal and surprise attacks.

Beside them, Masaki waved away the blood from her hands. At her feet lay the massive snake, over ten meters long, seemingly sliced into pieces by a thousand swords. Simultaneously, two Anbu arrived from Kakashi's team, ready to apprehend Orochimaru as well.

"Orochimaru, surrender now. Don't cling on to your foolish resistance." Masaki ordered, lowering the blood-stained sword, her gaze piercing towards Orochimaru.

"Don't assume that three more trash like you would be able devour me. It's about time, I no longer have the luxury to play stupid games with you!" Orochimaru formed complex hand seals.

"Stop him!"

Takeshi, Masaki, and Kakashi attacked Orochimaru from different directions to prevent him from performing whatever jutsu he was about t release.

An extremely sinister smile adorned Orochimaru's face. He put a finger in his mouth, bit it, then pressed his hand on the ground, a a black seal spread.

"Summoning!"

A massive long shadow emerged, prompting shock on the faces of the approaching trio.

The overwhelming aura surged all over and it differed significantly from the previously summoned creature. With a huge body exceeding 20 meters, it exuded an unparalleled intimidating force, simply coiled there.

The two weaker Anbu, witnessing this, felt their souls tremble as the massive snake appeared.

It had a black and purple ring-shaped pattern. The moment it came out it cast its fierce gaze towards the Anbu.

"Destroy them, Manda." Orochimaru on top of the snake and ordered.

"Huh, the enemies are actually Konoha ninjas? Orochimaru, you seem to have done something interesting as of recent." Manda sneered, delaying its attack."Since when did you become interested in my affairs?" Orochimaru replied coldly.

"Of course, I'm not interested. What I mean is, after you're done with your fun, leave me a hundred living sacrifice to devour. I haven't had a proper meal in a long time!"

"I'll compensate you later." Orochimaru responded indifferently. Truthfully, he disliked Manda's rude attitude, but sometimes, he still needed to rely its power to secure victory. Perhaps it was because Manda's strength was comparable to his.

"Manda? It seems like a big trouble has been summoned."

Takeshi murmured, eyeing Manda with a hint of concern. Dealing with large summoned beasts wasn't his specialty. He and Masaki exchanged glances. Masaki nodded in understanding, vanished from her spot, and fearlessly running towards Manda.

"You're seeking death, human woman!"

Despite facing its imposing presence, Manda hissed at the audacity of the attack. Reacting swiftly, it coiled its body, emanating a violently destructive aura, sweeping everything away with its tail.

A swath of trees in the forest crumbled, and the ground was deeply gouged and overturned. This was merely the aftermath of Manda's casual movements.

It showed the challenge posed by large summoned beasts. Even a slight sway of their body could trigger a mountainous attack, rendering ordinary ninjas helpless the eyes of these creatures.

Masaki narrowly evaded Manda's tail sweep.Feeling a slight sting from the powerful wind before her, but she focused on wielding her weapon. The sharp Chakra scalpel condensed in her hand, cutting into Manda's body, causing blood to spurt out.

"Human!" Manda hissed in pain, its eyes turning red.

The audacious human had wounded its precious body. Although Manda was angered, it was also secretly shocked. An ordinary sword wouldn't leave a mark on its body, but the woman's chakra scalpel was able to directly into its flesh.

Despite the anger, Manda put away its contempt. It couldn't afford to be careless, a moment of carelessness might lead to a defeat.

"Hidden Snake Hand!"

Orochimaru, on top Manda, initiated an attack. Dozens of long snakes darted from his cuffs, biting and entwining, targeting Masaki.

Click!

The fire infused chakra sword swept through, severing the heads of all dozen long snakes. The headless snakes twisted and writhed grotesquely in the air, evoking a disgusting sensation.

Orochimaru frowned as he sensed danger approaching from behind. He slightly swayed his body, thrusting towards the sword wrapped in lightning.

Turning around, Orochimaru stretched his hand towards Kakashi's neck, seemingly about to strangle him. Kakashi, well-versed in evasion, swiftly moved backward, avoiding Orochimaru's attack.

"Too slow." Orochimaru's voice echoed from behind. Before Kakashi could turn to react, Orochimaru kicked him, sending him rolling over Manda's body.

As Kakashi attempted to stand, Orochimaru appeared before him again. His fist rested on Kakashi's abdomen, wearing by a playful smile.

"Let's go back."

Boom!

Like a kite with a broken string, Kakashi spat blood and rolled on the ground, colliding with a distant big tree before barely stopping.

Panting, Kakashi clutched his abdomen, silently cursing Orochimaru's ruthlessness. However, in their brief intersection, Kakashi understood Orochimaru's next mission for him.

In that fleeting moment, Orochimaru had whispered a single sentence into Kakashi's ears— 'Take care of Anko for me'.

'Take care of Anko? Mitarashi Anko?'

Kakashi knew Anko well, a disciple Orochimaru had taken in Konoha a few years ago. Even a cold-blooded snake had a trace of tenderness toward its disciples. Or was it guilt?

Kakashi had heard from Shiraishi that Orochimaru's first disciple was Tsunade's younger brother, who died in front of his eyes due to an enemy ambush. It has been a lingering heartache for the Sannin.

This unresolved sadness probably explained Orochimaru's special attachment to the notion of "disciple."

Kakashi's eyes flickered as he observed the intense battle in the distance, deciding to abandon the idea of continued combat.The mission was clear, and his role now was to pretend to be defeated and conceal himself.

On Orochimaru's side, the last order he had for Kakashi had been personally conveyed, and he has confirmed Kakashi's reliance, staying here seemed futile.

Defeating Takeshi and Masaki came at a high cost. Pursuit by the remaining Anbu team might lead to unforeseen complications.

"Manda, help me escape, and I'll reward you with two hundred living people later." Orochimaru said while standing on Manda's head.

Manda hissed in pain, and glared fiercely at Takeshi and Masali, he found the both of them detestable

Despite its formidable resilience, the constant assault from the chakra sword and chakra ccalpel could gradually deplete its strength. Dealing with such ninja types was the least favored situation for Manda.

Just as it thought about retreating leaving Orochimaru alone, Orochimaru doubled the reward offered.

"Hmph!!"

Manda disliked Orochimaru's insidious methods, but the prospect of a lavish feast of two hundred living sacrifice was tempting.

Satisfied with Manda's hum, Orochimaru knew that Manda had acquiesced.

As Manda's head descended, Orochimaru glanced at Sarutobi Takeshi and Sarutobi Masaki, then swiftly retreated towards the forest shrouded in darkness, disappearing.

"Wait, stop!"

Takeshi wouldn't allow Orochimaru to escape. Deciding to give up the snake Masaki, he pursued Orochimaru.

Manda grinned ferociously, and a bloodthirsty scarlet gleam flickered in its vertical pupils. It used its body to obstruct Takeshi who was about to pursue Orochimaru, crushing a row of trees and causing the earth to rumble.

"Trying to leave?. You haven't asked for my permission. I'm going to devour you!"

Manda swiftly swooped down, stopping them in their pursuit.

As for the two uninjured Anbu,.they went unnoticed, as at this level, they would be swiftly killed in seconds even if they caught up to Orochimaru.

"Damn it!"

Takeshi gritted his teeth, the obstruction from Manda was proving to be a major headache.

While he could restrain Manda with his abilities, pursuing Orochimaru alone was too dangerous. And sending his wife on this dangerous mission was out of the question.

Furthermore, Kakashi was seriously injured and was unable to participate in the battle at the moment. Even if he could participate in the battle, it would be very ineffective against ninjas at the Sannin level.

Hence, Takeshi could only watch Orochimaru escape the battlefield.

....

The sound of the ongoing battle faded from Orochimaru's ears.

After running for an unknown amount of time, the effectiveness of Manda in blocking their path became evident. Sarutobi Takeshi and Sarutobi Masaki were effectively intercepted.

However, this outcome was anticipated by Orochimaru. Knowing Sarutobi Takeshi's cautious nature made it impossible for him to saty alone to restrain Manda, while leaving the pursuit mission to Masaki.

So, Orochimaru continued running non-stop toward the border of the Land of Fire. Freed from the pursuing Anbu, he was genuinely out of harm's way.

Raising his head, Orochimaru sensed something and turned to look east.

As the morning glow ascended, a red sun gradually rose, casting warm light upon the forest and Orochimaru's pale, bloodless face.

"It's dawn..."

He glanced back at Konoha's direction, a complex and nostalgic emotion briefly crossing his eyes. Yet, this sentiment quickly disappeared, replaced by his characteristic cold-blooded demeanor.Continuing resolutely in the opposite direction of Konoha, Orochimaru pursued the truth he yearned for...

Immortality.

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