"Be careful. Look for a chance to retreat. I'll try to extract as much intel as I can."
While swiftly forming hand seals, Jiraiya didn't forget to give Gen a quick reminder.
"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"
A surge of blazing fire swept through the venomous snakes lunging at them, scorching everything in its path. The air quickly filled with the acrid scent of burning flesh.
Taking advantage of the burst of flame, Jiraiya leapt straight at Orochimaru, and the two immediately began trading blows atop the earthen wall.
Gen used the moment to widen the distance—only to find two figures suddenly blocking his path.
"Kimimaro. Jūgo."
He stared at the two of them, noting the murderous intent in Kimimaro's usually stoic eyes, and the grim look on Jūgo's face.
It wasn't hard to figure out what had happened. While gathering his chakra, Gen suddenly let out a chuckle.
"I should thank you both for leading the way. Otherwise, we wouldn't have even known where to find Orochimaru."
"…"
His words brought an awkward silence between the two. Kimimaro's killing intent surged even more fiercely.
He raised a hand, and a sharpened bone spike emerged from his palm, aimed directly at Gen.
"Today—"
Before he could finish, he had already launched himself forward.
"—you die!"
He had originally assumed the ones he brought back were just some insignificant thieves or wandering shinobi. Never had he imagined they'd end up causing such a massive disruption for Orochimaru.
Kimimaro was someone who would lay down his life for Orochimaru without hesitation—there was no way he could let this slide.
"So impulsive... in that case—"
With a flash, Gen retreated a few paces. This time, he didn't even bother forming hand seals. He simply brought his hands together in a focused gesture.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
[Whoom—]
In an instant, a massive fireball howled toward Kimimaro like a falling meteor!
Gen's jutsu were directly tied to the sheer volume of his chakra.
Because of that, he was much like Uchiha Madara or Senju Hashirama—able to unleash terrifying power even when using the most basic techniques.
"Watch out!"
Jūgo's eyes widened at the sight of the immense fireball. In a flash, red markings appeared across one side of his face as the natural energy around him flared.
He leapt forward and threw himself between Kimimaro and the attack, his arms morphing into a massive shield.
[Boom!]
A deafening roar echoed as searing heat rippled through the air—the fireball had been forcefully stopped by Jūgo's defense!
[Fwoosh—]
Kimimaro said nothing. His only thought now was to atone for his mistake. He sprang through the lingering heatwaves, charging at Gen once again.
But just as he was about to reach Gen—
The latter suddenly smiled.
At the same time, he brought his hands together once more.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
With a surge of chakra, an earthen wall rose from the ground, blocking Kimimaro's advance.
"Hmph."
Kimimaro gave a cold snort. Just a simple Earth Flow Wall? He could pierce straight through it with his bone spike!
However, as he was about to strike—
His pupils suddenly dilated.
His whole body froze.
He couldn't bring himself to make a move.
Because he clearly saw that on the face of the earthen wall… was a carving of Orochimaru's face!
Not only that—the placement had been carefully calculated. If he stabbed now, his bone spike would go straight through Orochimaru's forehead!
"Damn it…"
A mix of shock and fury twisted across Kimimaro's face. And just then, a crack of thunder rang out.
In the very next instant, a streak of violet lightning tore through the wall—racing straight toward his chest.
...
While Kimimaro was being utterly dismantled by Kitagawa Gen's relentless assault, the battle between Jiraiya and Orochimaru was also raging with full intensity.
The two of them were simply far too familiar with each other—there was no need for any probing or testing. They went all out from the very start!
Facing Jiraiya's relentless attacks, Orochimaru didn't hesitate in the slightest. He thrust out his hand, and in the blink of an eye, countless venomous snakes surged forth, lunging to bite Jiraiya.
"You're still obsessed with this disgusting crap, huh?"
Jiraiya's scalp tingled at the sight of the writhing snakes, but even as he cursed, his hands never stopped moving.
His long white hair extended rapidly under the influence of chakra, becoming sharp as needles.
The snakes had only just drawn near before they were pierced straight through by the hair that now resembled steel spikes.
At the same time, Jiraiya flung several kunai toward Orochimaru, and while they were still midair, he completed another set of hand signs.
"Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!"
"Tch."
Seeing the dense volley of kunai flying toward him, Orochimaru scoffed. He leapt high into the air, evading them with ease—but that's exactly when Jiraiya seized his chance.
His hair suddenly shot out and stretched toward Orochimaru's feet in an attempt to bind him. Orochimaru couldn't help but sneer.
"You're one to talk. You use the same disgusting tricks every day."
As he spoke, he raised one hand, and sharp-edged chakra began swirling around him.
Blades of wind danced wildly, instantly shredding the hair Jiraiya had extended toward him.
Faced with this, even Jiraiya had no choice but to abandon the Wild Lion's Mane Technique.
"Your tricks haven't changed in all these years."
Although Orochimaru was incredibly annoyed at how Jiraiya kept meddling in his affairs, he still couldn't resist mocking him.
"Still so predictable. Have you really not made any progress at all?"
"Hmph, at least I didn't go join some evil organization!"
Jiraiya shot back, seizing the opportunity in Orochimaru's sarcasm.
"Come back with me, Orochimaru. Don't keep going down the wrong path!"
"Organization?"
Orochimaru didn't respond immediately. Instead, he gave Jiraiya a strange look.
He was genuinely surprised that Jiraiya had managed to dig this deep.
Akatsuki operated with extreme discretion, and most of their missions were black-market dealings or wartime assignments, rarely leaving any trace.
Especially since they always made sure there were no witnesses.
"So that time he returned to Konoha… was it because he found out about the organization?"
Orochimaru raised a brow, but soon shook off the thought.
He knew Jiraiya's personality far too well. That guy wouldn't return to the village over something like this… unless—
"He really did uncover something. And realized that he couldn't go further on his own, so he went back to Konoha for help?"
Even though something still felt off, Orochimaru was confident in his read on Jiraiya's nature. He was probably on the right track.
After all, Akatsuki did have a certain Uchiha Itachi in their ranks—though Orochimaru had always found that Uchiha rather odd.
"And besides, Jiraiya's intel is clearly outdated. He has no idea I already left the Akatsuki… in that case…"
A plan began to take shape in Orochimaru's mind.
To avoid Jiraiya becoming a future nuisance, he decided he'd make Akatsuki take the heat for a while.
"Oh? So you really know about it?"
He licked his lips and took the initiative to go fishing.
"Looks like you've done your homework. I wonder just how far your investigation has gone?"
"I know that organization's full of people just like you."
Jiraiya's eyes lit up when Orochimaru brought it up himself, though his expression remained sorrowful as he cast his own line.
"All of you are rogue ninja—even Uchiha Itachi, who massacred his entire clan!"
"And I also know that you might be working with Kirigakure now… but have you forgotten how much pain that village brought to Konoha?"
"Don't keep going down the wrong path, Orochimaru! Come back to Konoha with me!"
Kirigakure?
Orochimaru frowned in confusion—how had this suddenly turned into something about Kirigakure?
Why would Akatsuki be involved with Kirigakure?
Although… he had been to Kirigakure before. In fact, he had personally witnessed the Kaguya clan's rebellion—only to see them completely annihilated by the village.
It was during that very incident that he first met Kimimaro and saw firsthand the boy's talent and loneliness. That's what compelled him to bring Kimimaro back with him.
Given all that...
Orochimaru tilted his head slightly. He didn't know what Akatsuki were doing in Kirigakure, but he did know that the village was in turmoil.
The Fourth Mizukage had stirred up widespread resentment, and civil war was on the verge of erupting.
That, in itself, presented him with an opportunity—to bait the hook and cast his net once again.
"You really are fearless, digging this deep into things."
Orochimaru let out a cold laugh, his voice laced with ridicule.
"That organization has more than a few individuals that even I would have trouble dealing with."
"So what?" Jiraiya said seriously as he continued processing the information. "Do you think you could stand against an entire shinobi village?"
"Shinobi village?"
Orochimaru shook his head and replied flatly: "Stop projecting your values onto this world. It's ignorant—and childish. There are many villages that don't hate us. Some of them even need us. Don't tell me you actually don't know that... or are you just pretending to be clueless?"
Jiraiya said nothing. Of course he knew the purpose that organizations like these served in the shinobi world.
After all, there were many tasks that required such groups. For instance, he'd heard that Iwagakure was particularly fond of hiring mercenary shinobi to carry out certain operations.
"So, in Kirigakure… is that the case as well?"
After a brief pause, Jiraiya cautiously asked the question that concerned him the most.
"That's right."
Orochimaru nodded—this was all part of his ploy to divert Jiraiya's attention. He had been waiting for this exact question.
"Kirigakure is anything but stable—and the more unstable it is, the more ideal it becomes for us. Not to mention, the Mizukage pays handsomely."
With that line, Orochimaru felt a satisfying sense of closure.
Even though he hadn't outright stated everything, this kind of vague, half-true response was the most effective!
Jiraiya was pleased too—he had finally extracted relatively clear information.
Akatsuki really were in Kirigakure, and it was highly likely they were working under the Mizukage.
The bait had landed!
At almost the exact same moment, both men found themselves thinking the same thing:
Two rotten baskets of fish.
"Well then, I think we've said enough."
Just then, Orochimaru spoke again—and this time, he decided to throw fuel on the fire.
He quietly completed a set of hand seals and pressed his hand to the ground. Black markings instantly spread across the earth.
With a puff of smoke, the enormous form of Manda burst into view!
In a single leap, Orochimaru landed atop Manda's massive head, looking down at Jiraiya from above once more.
"Jiraiya, you shouldn't have dug so deep. So I'm afraid I have no choice. To prevent you from causing me any more trouble—and to keep you from dying at someone else's hands..."
"I'll do you the favor of sending you off myself. As for that little brat you brought with you—once this is over, I can finally head to Kirigakure and meet up with the others!"
As he spoke, Manda, under Orochimaru's command, lunged furiously toward Jiraiya.
Jiraiya immediately began forming hand signs, preparing to summon Gamabunta.
But just then, both he and Orochimaru froze for a moment.
The very next instant—countless white bone spikes suddenly erupted from the ground beneath their feet.
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