"Well... Jiraiya-sama isn't here. Want me to head back to Konoha and bring him over?"
Kitagawa Gen asked tentatively, only to shake his head immediately.
"Actually, I probably couldn't do that even if I wanted to. Konoha's a bit far from here. What I don't get is—why are you here?"
"What about you?"
Orochimaru grew even more cautious at the confirmation that Jiraiya wasn't around.
"I remember this place is considered a restricted zone for Konoha—whether it's for Sunagakure or the village itself."
"That's because I spotted you."
Kitagawa Gen lied without blinking.
He'd come here for the Dragon Vein, plain and simple.
A gift of nature—how could he not check it out? And grabbing a piece while he was at it was only natural.
So, while the night was deep and quiet, he'd used a Shadow Clone in tandem with Flying Thunder God to slip away.
How was he supposed to know Orochimaru would be here too?
"Is that so...?"
Orochimaru clearly didn't buy it. His gaze turned sharper, more dangerous.
"In that case—"
Before the sentence even finished, he suddenly raised his hand. In an instant, several kunai shot toward Kitagawa Gen.
At the same time, Orochimaru formed hand seals with both hands, his chakra surging rapidly.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
The kunai in mid-air multiplied under his control, instantly transforming into a dense rain of deadly steel.
And the worst part—Kitagawa Gen noticed that several of them were wrapped with explosive tags!
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall."
With one hand still held in a seal, Kitagawa Gen summoned a massive wall of earth right in front of him.
He couldn't help but feel a bit regretful—Orochimaru didn't seem to care about anyone else. Otherwise, he could've used that to play dirty.
"But still..."
The moment the kunai with explosive tags struck the earth wall, Kitagawa Gen activated Flying Thunder God.
[Boom—!]
A thunderous blast erupted with searing flames, instantly blowing apart the wall of earth—and even blasting a gaping hole into the nearby tower.
Just as the explosion rang out, Kitagawa Gen had already appeared behind Orochimaru, his White Fang short blade swinging straight for Orochimaru's head!
"You really picked the wrong place to pick a fight with me."
[Buzz—]
The blade sliced through, cleaving Orochimaru clean in two—only for his body to immediately crumble into a pile of dirt.
"You think I wouldn't be prepared, knowing full well you can use Flying Thunder God?"
Orochimaru's cold voice came from the side.
In an instant, a swarm of serpents surged forth, lunging at Kitagawa Gen.
They hissed sharply, and just the sheer number of them was enough to make one's scalp tingle. A thick, acrid stench quickly filled the air.
"Poison?"
Kitagawa Gen raised an eyebrow. He suddenly noticed that all the nearby Flying Thunder God marks had been surrounded by venomous snakes.
And under Orochimaru's control, the snakes opened their mouths—revealing sharp blades emerging from within, thrusting straight at him!
"Clever. If it were anyone else, this might've worked. But..."
Kitagawa Gen didn't dodge.
At that moment, the Purple Lightning around him erupted in full force.
The violent burst of chakra instantly ignited the toxic gas in the air, triggering sharp, crackling explosions.
The serpents hadn't even touched him before they were already reduced to scorched husks by the lightning.
Then, under his control, the Purple Lightning surged toward Orochimaru, making the latter's eyelids twitch involuntarily.
And what alarmed him more—Kitagawa Gen's entire presence had changed.
Natural energy was spreading wildly, and Purple Lightning now coated his entire body!
"Sage Mode and Lightning Release: Chakra Mode?"
Orochimaru was stunned. When did this brat learn Lightning Release: Chakra Mode?
But there was no time to think.
Kitagawa Gen was already charging straight at him!
The White Fang short blade, radiating with violet light, swung down again in a flash—aimed straight at Orochimaru's head.
[Boom—!]
The thunderous impact rocked the entire tower, already worn and unstable. A massive crack split the outer wall from the force of the blow.
"This speed and power... and that Purple Lightning—this brat is even more troublesome than Jiraiya!"
Orochimaru tumbled through the smoke and dust, looking utterly disheveled. Frustrated, he immediately spat out the Kusanagi Sword from his stomach.
Without hesitation, he channeled chakra and slashed out with it.
But before the whistling blade could land, Kitagawa Gen was already there.
[Clang—]
With a swift motion, Kitagawa Gen blocked the strike. At the same time, he sized up Orochimaru calmly.
"You know, I've always been curious... Since Jiraiya-sama can use Sage Mode, shouldn't you be able to as well? Why don't you use it?"
"…"
The question made Orochimaru's face darken.
Was it that he didn't want to?
No—it was that he simply couldn't learn it!
"Hmph, instead of questioning me, maybe I should be questioning you."
Orochimaru pressed harder against Kitagawa Gen's blade, secretly channeling chakra while speaking in a low voice.
"As a Konoha shinobi, you shouldn't even be here. Don't give me that nonsense about 'stumbling upon me.' You clearly have another motive, don't you?"
"Sorry to disappoint you—but I really don't."
Kitagawa Gen decisively shook his head, maintaining pressure on Orochimaru while smiling.
"We came all the way here specifically for you, Orochimaru. After all, as a member of the Akatsuki, it's only natural that we track you down."
"Coincidentally, it seems there's a Konoha division called 'Root' that's picked up traces of Akatsuki activity—so we followed up."
"Akatsuki? Root?"
Hearing this, Orochimaru froze for a moment.
Hadn't he already left Akatsuki long ago?
Why was this still about him?
Could it be...
Someone was trying to take him down for merit, using him as a convenient target?
"Seems like the intel was spot-on after all."
Kitagawa Gen didn't hesitate to lie. Even though he knew it was a complete fabrication, he could say it to Jiraiya's face without flinching.
"Well then, I won't be holding back!"
[Buzz—]
In that instant, Kitagawa Gen's chakra flared up once again, making Orochimaru's expression shift slightly.
This kid's chakra reserves... seemed even greater than he had expected?
Still, there was no time to dwell on it—he had no choice but to push forward and meet the assault head-on.
For a while, the entire tower was filled with clashing blades and roaring chakra, echoing nonstop.
Orochimaru, of course, was an extraordinarily powerful shinobi. His technical skill and combat prowess needed no explanation, and his chakra was equally formidable.
While Kitagawa Gen lacked some of that experience, the combination of Purple Lightning and Sage Mode made him unnervingly ferocious in battle.
And with the recent boost in chakra from his bloodline enhancement, his attacks were only growing more intense!
[Boom—]
[Boom—]
[Boom—]
The clash between the two turned the already crumbling tower into utter ruin. Under the force of their chakra shockwaves, the entire upper portion of the structure was blasted apart!
Massive chunks of debris crashed down to the ground with thunderous noise, and the roaring chakra stirred up a storm of yellow sand that filled the air.
From a distance, the sight was utterly terrifying.
Orochimaru's figure could be seen tumbling through the sandstorm, caught in the chaos.
"What's going on?!"
"Is Sunagakure attacking?"
"Quick! Get to the underground shelters! Don't stay up here!"
"Move!"
The remaining inhabitants of Rōran had already sensed that something was wrong. Nearly all of them rushed toward the underground bunkers at the first sign of danger.
Only a few lingered out of curiosity—but they were quickly pulled away by others.
"What the hell is happening over there?"
In the distance, at an oasis where they had stopped to rest for the night before visiting Rōran the next day, Kakashi and Guy stared in disbelief toward the source of the chaos.
But in the next moment, Kakashi turned his gaze toward Kitagawa Gen, and after a brief pause, he spoke.
"It's you, right? You're a shadow clone right now?"
"Yeah."
Kitagawa Gen's shadow clone looked particularly awkward—he hadn't expected his original body to get into a fight.
"I wanted to check things out ahead of time. After all, the Fourth Hokage left his mark here. Figured a bit of early recon couldn't hurt. And judging by what's happening now, I definitely came to the right place."
"So you mean... your real body ran into Akatsuki?"
Guy immediately perked up. He clenched his fist and shouted with energy: "Then let's hurry over there too!"
"You really should've told us."
Kakashi rubbed his forehead, but it wasn't a big deal. Even though Kitagawa Gen had acted on his own, he had clearly made contact with the target.
"Let's go quickly—we don't know what's happening on your end."
"Right. Let's—hm?"
Kitagawa Gen's shadow clone nodded, but before he could move, he suddenly turned and looked behind them.
In the darkness, three figures were swiftly approaching—and all three were wearing black cloaks with red clouds!
"What the—"
Kakashi's eyes widened. So they really had found the right place!
"No wonder things got so noisy... turns out it was you lot."
Kakuzu glared at the trio, eyes flashing with hatred. Sasori immediately pulled out a scroll, ready to summon his puppets.
Kakashi and Guy instantly shifted into combat stance. Not a single one of these three was easy to deal with!
But just then, Hidan's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Yeah, Kappa—it's you!"
"Huh? Me?"
Guy looked at the poison-using weirdo in confusion, unsure what kind of nonsense he was spouting now.
"That's right."
Hidan nodded, then asked curiously: "There's something I've never figured out—can you clear it up for me?"
"?"
"I heard... you were second-to-last in your class, right?"
"..."
"So then—who the hell was dead last?! Who was the idiot below you?!"
"..."
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