In front, a handsome young man wearing a Sound Village forehead protector stood on the treetop, as if he'd been waiting for Kaito for a long time.
This person was none other than Orochimaru, disguised as a Genin.
"Orochimaru! Why are you waiting for me here?" Kaito asked directly, a hint of seriousness in his eyes.
Orochimaru's snake-like gaze narrowed, a flicker of intrigue flashing through them. "As expected from the one who wiped out the entire Root. When did you notice me?"
"You don't need to know that. Why are you here? What do you want?"
"Nothing much. I just need Kaito-kun to stay here for a bit." Orochimaru peeled off the human skin mask from his face, a grotesque smile forming as his tongue slithered out.
"Disgusting," Kaito muttered inwardly.
He instantly expanded his electromagnetic field to scan the surroundings—and in the next moment, he understood Orochimaru's intentions.
Another presence with the same magnetic signature as Orochimaru had appeared near Naruto and the others. Kaito immediately recognized it—it was a clone.
In other words, Orochimaru intended to stall him while the clone targeted Sasuke.
Though weakened from his Reanimation Jutsu experiments, Orochimaru was still a Kage-level threat. Even a clone of his wasn't something Naruto and the others could easily handle.
"A clever setup. The original body delays me, while the clone targets Sasuke," Kaito sneered.
After a pause, he added, "Honestly, you didn't need to go this far. I'm not close with Sasuke. Even if you attacked him with your real body, I wouldn't step in—as long as no one dies."
"Haha! So cold-hearted, Kaito-kun! Such indifference to your comrades!"
"Are you done? If so, I'm heading off to find Hinata and the others," Kaito said, frowning, his tone growing impatient.
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Kaito-kun. I can't be certain you won't interfere. I've been preparing for Sasuke for a long time, and I won't allow any loose ends."
"So you're not backing down?" Kaito's expression darkened, a dangerous aura starting to leak from his body.
"Now, now. There's no need to be hasty, Kaito-kun. Just wait here for five minutes. After that, you're free to go wherever you want," Orochimaru replied smoothly, pretending not to notice the killing intent directed at him.
"Besides, I wanted to share my plan with you. I think you'll find it very interesting."
Whoosh!
In a flash, Kaito soared into the air. Red lightning sparked around his hands, and within moments, a long sword formed entirely from crimson lightning took shape.
"I'm not interested in your plan," Kaito said coldly—and with a swing of his blade, he struck.
Snap!
The sharp sword cleaved straight through Orochimaru and the treetop beneath him. The cut was clean and scorched.
Boom!
The tree trunk crashed to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
"Kaito-kun, you're so quick-tempered," Orochimaru said with a grim expression, now standing on another tree nearby.
Truthfully, Orochimaru didn't want to fight him. His plan wasn't fully in motion yet, and a battle might alert Konoha.
More importantly, he feared Kaito's power.
He knew just how formidable Danzo had been—especially after having implanted a Sharingan enhanced with Hashirama's cells. Danzo wasn't just strong—he had absurd survivability.
Yet Kaito had annihilated Danzo and the entire Root with forbidden jutsu.
Which meant Kaito's strength… was at least on par with his own.
"I need to stall him… just a bit longer… until the clone finishes the job," Orochimaru thought grimly.
Crack! Crack!
Suddenly, a crackling sound rang above Orochimaru's head—lightning flashed dangerously in the air!
A massive thunder sword, glowing like a focused beam of energy, swept toward him with terrifying speed!
Orochimaru didn't retreat. Instead, he rushed toward Kaito.
He raised his arms—
Two enormous snakes burst from his sleeves!
The serpents hissed violently, tongues flicking as they lunged at Kaito.
"Disgusting," Kaito muttered again, clearly unimpressed.
Without hesitation, he formed hand seals rapidly. Chakra surged to his mouth.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Song Technique!"
Five massive dragon-shaped flames erupted from his mouth, radiating blistering heat.
Two of them collided with the snakes, while the remaining three targeted Orochimaru.
Boom! Hiss!
The moment the fire touched the snakes, they went up in flames. Amid their screeches, the snakes were reduced to charred corpses. The air carried the scent of seared meat.
"Where did you learn such a high-level Fire Style technique?!" Orochimaru croaked, full of curiosity.
As the three remaining flame dragons closed in, Orochimaru vanished with a flicker.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The flaming heads slammed into a massive tree, shaking the forest with their explosive impact.
Snap! Crash!
A thick tree trunk collapsed with a thunderous crash, smoke and fire billowing around it.
"If I'm not mistaken, that jutsu is unique to the Uchiha clan. How do you possess it?"
Orochimaru reappeared behind Kaito silently, his neck extending unnaturally, fangs gleaming as he lunged for Kaito's neck.
His goal: to mark him with a cursed seal.
Crack!
But Orochimaru's fangs pierced nothing. His head passed through thin air—and at that instant, powerful electricity surged through his body!
"A space-time jutsu?!" Orochimaru's eyes widened.
Enduring the shock and pain, he quickly recoiled.
"I've been waiting for this… Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!"
A calm voice echoed behind him.
Kaito stood there, holding a Rasenshuriken crackling with intense wind chakra—its destructive energy pulsing like a storm.
A chill ran down Orochimaru's spine.
Danger. Extreme danger.
His instincts screamed, but it was too late.
Agonizing pain erupted across his back.
At that same moment—
His body was sent flying!
He twisted uncontrollably through the air, spasming violently as the Rasenshuriken tore through him like a vortex of blades.
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