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While Kimimaro was being mentally broken by Kitagawa Gen, the battle between Jiraiya and Orochimaru had also reached a fever pitch.
These two, however, knew each other far too well. There was no need for excessive probing or testing. From the very first move, they went at each other with ruthless ferocity.
"Ninjutsu: Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Faced with Jiraiya's relentless assault, Orochimaru did not hesitate for even a moment. He simply extended his hand, and in an instant, a swarm of venomous snakes burst forth in a writhing mass, their fangs bared as they lunged straight at Jiraiya.
"Why are you still obsessed with creating such revolting things?"
Jiraiya felt a chill crawl down his spine at the sight of those serpents. His scalp tingled with discomfort, but although he cursed under his breath, his hands did not slow for even a second.
"Ninjutsu: Needle Jizō!"
His long white hair began to grow rapidly under the influence of chakra, the strands sharpening into needle-like spikes, hard as steel.
The snakes had only just approached when they were instantly pierced through by the lethal thorns of his hair, impaled before they could get close.
In the same instant, he hurled several kunai with a swift flick of his wrist. As the blades whirled through the air toward Orochimaru, he quickly completed another sequence of hand seals.
"Ninjutsu: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
"Tch."
Orochimaru let out a disdainful snort at the sight of the swarming kunai. With a single leap, he sprang into the air and evaded them effortlessly—but in that moment, Jiraiya seized his chance.
"Ninjutsu: Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"
His hair suddenly extended again, stretching out in an instant and lashing toward Orochimaru's legs, attempting to coil tightly around them. Orochimaru could not help but sneer at the sight.
"And yet you're the one always playing with these disgusting tricks."
As he spoke, he raised a single hand. A sharp surge of chakra began to swirl around him, whistling through the air.
"Wind Style: Wind Cutter Technique!"
Blades of wind erupted around him in a violent storm, shredding Jiraiya's attacking strands of hair into fine pieces.
Even Jiraiya was forced to halt his technique, watching as his extended locks were ground into nothing.
"You haven't changed your methods in all these years."
Though Orochimaru deeply resented how Jiraiya always seemed to interfere in his affairs, he still could not resist throwing out a mocking remark.
"Still just as predictable. Have you not made any progress at all?"
"Hmph. At least I didn't sell my soul to some twisted organization!"
Jiraiya snorted in reply, meeting Orochimaru's ridicule with a cold rebuke.
"Come back with me, Orochimaru. Stop walking down this path of no return."
"Organization?"
But Orochimaru did not respond immediately. Instead, he gave Jiraiya a strange look.
He was genuinely surprised that Jiraiya had managed to dig this deep.
The Akatsuki operated in extreme secrecy, conducting missions tied to the black market and wartime contracts. Their actions rarely left behind any trace.
What's more, their doctrine was always the same—no survivors.
"So that's why he returned to Konoha? Because he discovered something about them?"
Orochimaru's brow rose slightly in thought, but he quickly dismissed the idea.
He knew Jiraiya's character all too well. That man would never go back for something so simple. Unless...
"He really uncovered something—something that made him realize he couldn't dig deeper alone. That's why he returned to Konoha?"
It still felt a little off, but based on what he knew about Jiraiya, Orochimaru believed this reasoning wasn't far from the truth.
After all, Uchiha Itachi was part of the Akatsuki—and even if Orochimaru found that Uchiha strange and unnerving, he wouldn't underestimate him.
"Besides, Jiraiya's information is clearly outdated. He doesn't even know I've already left the Akatsuki. In that case..."
A new plan formed in Orochimaru's mind.
To prevent Jiraiya from continuing to meddle in his affairs, he decided it was time to make the Akatsuki suffer a little for it.
"Oh? So you know about that?"
Orochimaru licked his lips, a faint glint of cunning flashing in his eyes as he took the initiative to cast his bait.
"Seems your little investigation went deeper than I expected. I wonder just how much you really know."
"I know that organization is filled with people like you," Jiraiya replied, his eyes lighting up the moment Orochimaru brought up the subject. Though anticipation flickered within him, his expression remained heavy with sorrow and disappointment, as he put on a convincing display of heartfelt regret—an attempt to bait Orochimaru in return.
"All of you are rogue shinobi. Traitors. Some of you even include scum like Uchiha Itachi, who slaughtered his entire clan with his own hands.
And now you're supposedly working with Kirigakure? Have you forgotten just how much suffering that village brought upon Konoha?
Stop walking further down this path, Orochimaru. Come back with me, to Konoha!"
Kirigakure?
Orochimaru's expression twisted ever so slightly in confusion. How had the conversation turned to Kirigakure?
What business would the Akatsuki possibly have in that blood-soaked village?
Though puzzled, Orochimaru had indeed been to Kirigakure himself. He had witnessed the uprising of the Kaguya clan, their futile rebellion that ended in total annihilation at the hands of the village's forces.
It was during that brutal night he met Kimimaro, the boy whose innate talent and profound solitude left a deep impression. It was then that Orochimaru decided to take him away.
Given all that…
Orochimaru tilted his head slightly, thoughtfully. Though he had no idea what Akatsuki was doing in Kirigakure, he was aware that the village was far from stable.
That Fourth Mizukage had angered many. Kirigakure teetered on the edge of civil war.
And that, Orochimaru mused, presented the perfect opportunity. An ideal place to bait his hook once more.
"You really are fearless, aren't you? To investigate something that dangerous so thoroughly," he sneered with a cruel smile, mockery dripping from his words.
"There are some in that organization even I would hesitate to cross."
"So what?" Jiraiya replied without missing a beat. Even as he processed and absorbed the new information, his voice was calm and resolute.
"Do you really think they can stand against an entire hidden village?"
"Hidden villages?" Orochimaru shook his head and spoke with cold disdain.
"Do not apply your own values to this world. It only reveals how naive and ignorant you still are. Many villages do not detest us—some even welcome us, because they need us. Do you truly not see it? Or are you simply choosing to remain blind?"
Jiraiya said nothing. Of course, he understood the truth. The reality was that these rogue organizations did have a place in the shinobi world.
There were always missions too dirty, too dangerous, or too politically fraught for the villages to handle themselves. He had heard rumors, for example, that Iwagakure frequently hired such groups to carry out their darker deeds.
"So you're saying your presence in Kirigakure is exactly that?" After a brief pause, Jiraiya cautiously posed the question that had been weighing on his heart.
"That's right."
Orochimaru nodded slowly, each word carefully chosen. He had been waiting for Jiraiya to ask that exact question, just so he could guide the conversation in the direction he wanted.
"Kirigakure is in chaos. And the more chaos there is, the better it serves our interests. Not to mention, the Mizukage pays generously for our services."
That final line pleased him greatly.
He hadn't been too explicit, and that ambiguity was exactly what made it powerful.
Jiraiya, for his part, was also satisfied. He had finally obtained a relatively clear piece of intelligence.
The Akatsuki were indeed in Kirigakure. And most likely, they had been hired by the Mizukage.
The bait had landed!
At the very same moment, both men had the same thought rise in their minds:
Two fishermen with empty baskets finally catching something at last.
"Well then, I think we've said enough for now."
Orochimaru's voice broke the momentary calm. A cold gleam danced in his eyes as he decided to throw fuel onto the fire.
He silently completed a series of hand signs, then slammed his palm onto the ground. In that instant, black sealing characters spread out across the earth.
With a loud burst of smoke, the massive form of Manda emerged, coiling and writhing with a terrible presence.
Orochimaru leapt onto the serpent's head in a single bound and once again stared down at Jiraiya from above.
"Jiraiya, you have dug too deep. I suppose I have no choice. To prevent you from causing trouble for me again, and to ensure you do not end up dying at someone else's hands…
I'll graciously see you off myself. As for that little devil you brought along, I will deal with him once this is over, before I return to Kirigakure to meet the others."
Even as he spoke, Manda, under Orochimaru's command, moved like a breaking storm surge, striking toward Jiraiya with terrifying speed.
Jiraiya wasted no time. He began forming hand seals to summon Gamabunta.
But just then, both men froze.
In the next instant, the ground beneath their feet erupted with a forest of sharp, gleaming white bone spikes.
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[Chapter End's]
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