Chapter 111: Orochimaru, You Are Exiled from the Village
Morning.
The weather was clear.
Blue skies, crystal-clear lake water, and lush green grass combined to create a breathtaking scene.
In the distance, towering mountains rose between heaven and earth, shrouded in a thin veil of mist that gave the landscape an almost unreal quality.
It was hard to imagine that Root—or, more accurately, Danzō—would arrange for Orochimaru to stay in such a picturesque place.
Asuka's gaze shifted from the distant scenery to the nearby wooden cabin.
A vegetable garden had been planted beside the cabin, filled with all kinds of fruits and vegetables. Several chickens wandered freely around the yard.
Anyone looking at it would have mistaken the place for an ordinary farmhouse.
This is a nice place, Danzō thought.
Danzō secretly glanced at the Konoha shinobi following behind him.
Some were the people who had submitted anonymous reports to the Hokage's office, while others were ANBU shinobi from the village.
Thinking about Orochimaru, his heart sank.
Before he could figure out how to begin, Danzō suddenly felt someone poke him.
"Who is it?!"
"Lord Danzō."
Asuka poked Danzō's arm with his finger and pointed toward the wooden cabin.
"We haven't even come up with a plan along the way. What are we supposed to do now?"
After thinking for a moment, Danzō turned around to face everyone, his expression full of confidence.
"The best plan is to have no plan."
"Once we make a plan, given Orochimaru's sinister, vicious, and clever mind, he definitely won't act according to it."
"Therefore, this operation has no plan. And if there is no plan, there can be no unexpected incidents."
Asuka looked at Danzō's confident expression and quietly took several steps backward.
He had a feeling this old man was plotting something.
At that moment.
Danzō was the first to reach the wooden cabin.
The moment he pushed open the courtyard gate, Asuka and the others secretly assumed defensive positions, becoming highly alert.
After all, they were dealing with one of Konoha's Legendary Sannin.
Asuka glanced at the Hyūga clan members behind him.
They had activated their Byakugan and assumed defensive stances.
The corner of Asuka's mouth twitched.
The Uchiha are Konoha's number one clan.
"Hmph!"
Danzō exhaled and stepped into the courtyard.
Just as everyone assumed he was about to open the cabin door, Danzō suddenly turned and walked toward an ordinary-looking barrel in the courtyard.
He looked down at the large barrel filled with water, tapped its side with a finger, and immediately shouted into it.
"Orochimaru! Your crimes have been exposed!"
Asuka scratched his head.
Seeing Danzō shouting at a barrel, he couldn't help wondering,
Did he fall under a genjutsu? When did that happen?
"Hmph!"
Hearing the questions from behind him, Danzō snorted coldly. He straightened up and turned to face everyone, deliberately buying time.
"This is the entrance."
"The bottom of the barrel is made from a layer of hard material. When the barrel is placed normally, the water inside won't leak out. When no force is applied, it's sealed. Once external force is applied, however, it forms a passage."
"Then, Elder, can we break in from the front?"
Orochimaru... Could he escape from somewhere else?
"Elder, is there another exit?"
Danzō gave a slight nod.
Orochimaru was very clever. He knew exactly why the old man was wasting time here.
Thinking about it, he pointed at the barrel behind him and calmly said,
"The old man is thinking about your safety."
"If we recklessly enter the barrel, we have no idea what kind of ambush might be waiting for us."
"Besides, there's only one exit."
"Let's be cautious. Don't act rashly. We'll wait for him to come out."
Hearing this, Asuka's gaze fell on the Third Hokage.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood there with his head lowered, apparently lost in thought, his expression filled with sorrow.
Getting old really does make people sentimental.
Asuka shook his head.
Then he bit his finger, quickly formed two hand seals, and pressed his palm against the ground.
Boom!
A puff of white smoke flashed.
He picked up the fried chicken and ramen ingredients on the ground and began walking toward the back of the group.
Keeping his stomach full was important to him.
A short while later.
Along with a strange aroma, everyone suddenly heard the sound of someone slurping noodles behind them.
The noise was completely out of place amid the gloomy atmosphere.
Gulp.
The smell of food filled the air, occasionally accompanied by the rumbling of the team members' stomachs.
That morning, everyone had seen the anonymous report.
After reading it, nobody had been in the mood for breakfast. They had rushed straight to the Hokage's office and then hurried here.
Tension itself consumed energy.
And this was practically torture.
I'm starving!
The team members rubbed their empty stomachs repeatedly.
But when they saw the dark lines forming on Shimura Danzō's forehead, they all chose to remain standing and patiently wait.
After all, not everyone had the courage to eat in an atmosphere this solemn and murderous.
Slurp. Slurp.
Ignoring Tsunade's expression, which looked as though she wanted to swallow him whole, Asuka finished the large bowl in his hands, produced another bowl of noodles, and continued eating.
Asuka had already figured things out.
Danzō was blocking the entrance and preventing everyone from advancing because he was probably waiting for Orochimaru to destroy the evidence of their cooperation.
As for Hiruzen, who stood there in silence, he was probably remembering how the Orochimaru he had known as a child had turned into the person he was now.
Tsunade's expression was extremely solemn as well.
She was probably feeling troubled by the fact that her former teammate had gone down the wrong path.
Rumor had it that Tsunade's relationship with Orochimaru might even have been closer than her relationship with Jiraiya.
Sigh.
Asuka sighed and waved toward the Uchiha members in the group, motioning for them to come over and eat with him.
Seeing their hesitant expressions, he continued eating as he spoke.
"As shinobi, we have to treat every meal as though it might be our last."
"Lord Death is here today, after all. We could easily get caught in the aftermath of an attack and be blown to pieces."
"If you don't want last night's dinner to be your final meal, come over and eat something."
"Starving to death would be a truly tragic way to go."
The Uchiha members exchanged glances.
Then understanding dawned on their faces.
That's right!
I might die in battle today.
What's wrong with eating something before I die?
Even death-row prisoners were allowed to eat whatever they wanted before their execution.
With that thought, the Uchiha members in the group stepped back and gathered around Asuka, skillfully accepting the food he handed them.
Soon, they were crouched side by side on the ground, eating while staring at the distant barrel.
Slurp. Slurp.
Hearing the even louder slurping behind them, the other team members silently cursed in their hearts.
Emotional Uchiha.
They still have an appetite at a time like this.
Impulsive!
Stupid!
Completely reckless!
The smell in the air grew stronger and stronger.
Tsunade, who had been immersed in sorrow, suddenly twitched at the corners of her mouth.
This was the first time she had ever smelled something so strange.
Combined with her current state of mind...
A phrase suddenly surfaced in Tsunade's mind.
"Crying in the toilet."
Danzō secretly glanced at the Uchiha members sitting together and eating noodles.
Two more dark lines appeared on his forehead.
Damn it.
"Hm?"
At that moment, Danzō suddenly noticed ripples spreading across the clear water inside the barrel.
He quietly said,
"He's here."
The instant he finished speaking, the water inside the barrel began shaking violently, as though something was about to emerge.
Whoosh!
A column of water shot straight into the sky.
Danzō narrowed his eyes and rapidly formed hand seals. Chakra instantly gathered in his throat.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
A violent gust of wind erupted from Danzō's mouth and rushed toward the curved column of water.
Whoosh!
The powerful wind dispersed the water column, turning it into a fine rain that fell back to the ground.
Seeing Orochimaru emerge, Danzō looked up at him, his expression turning cold.
"Orochimaru!"
Orochimaru landed steadily on the ground.
He swept his gaze across the surrounding shinobi.
His eyes lingered for a moment on the Uchiha who were currently eating before moving elsewhere.
My teacher. Shimura Danzō. Tsunade. Hiashi Hyūga.
Quite the lineup.
Orochimaru quietly exhaled.
There wasn't the slightest trace of nervousness on his face.
"Pfft!"
The oppressive atmosphere was suddenly broken by the sound of someone spitting out a chicken bone.
At that moment.
Asuka stuffed the chicken wing in his hand into his mouth, then approached with the Uchiha members behind him.
Pointing at Orochimaru, he mumbled,
"Orochimaru, you've been discovered."
"Heh heh~"
Orochimaru chuckled softly.
Then he turned toward Hiruzen and smiled.
"Teacher, human experimentation really isn't such a big deal, is it?"
Seeing that Hiruzen ignored him, Orochimaru continued talking to himself.
"Even in Konoha, a village enveloped by the Will of Fire, human experimentation isn't anything extraordinary."
"Did the Second Hokage simply imagine all those forbidden jutsu into existence?"
"Impure World Reincarnation—a forbidden technique requiring human sacrifices. Who would believe it was developed without human experimentation?"
At that moment, Danzō stepped forward and indignantly said,
"Orochimaru, human experimentation itself isn't necessarily a big deal. If you hadn't experimented on people from the village, perhaps others might even have praised you for possessing the talent to become the Second Hokage."
"But you used villagers from your own village as test subjects."
"You're the first person to do something like this since the founding of Konoha."
"You've crossed my bottom line. Do you understand?!"
Hearing this, Orochimaru turned toward Danzō.
Seeing the old man's face flushed red with anger, Orochimaru immediately burst into laughter.
"Danz—"
Danzō directly cut him off.
"Danzō what? How dare you conduct human experiments on villagers! I order you to seal yourself immediately and submit to Konoha's judgment!"
Orochimaru pulled his hands from his sleeves and looked at the shinobi around him, who were already prepared for battle.
He shook his head.
"Danzō, I—"
Danzō secretly glanced at everyone behind him and quickly interrupted Orochimaru again.
"I what?"
"Orochimaru, you won't be able to escape."
"Don't think that just because we haven't captured you yet, you'll be able to safely flee north."
"Even if you escape north, these old men will certainly put a bounty on your head and hunt you down. Then you'll find out exactly where in the Land of Fire would dare take you in."
"Even if you manage to escape the Land of Fire, you know what I'm capable of."
"My spies are spread throughout the other four great nations, and even senior officials in some of the medium-sized villages maintain close ties with Konoha."
"You have nowhere to run. Understand?"
"..."
Hearing Danzō's words, even the Uchiha, who weren't particularly knowledgeable about politics, could sense that something was wrong.
They looked at Danzō's back.
Their expressions gradually became strange.
This situation is very bad.