"Orochimaru," Sasuke whispered.
The Snake Sannin's lips stretched into a grin.
"Very good," he said, his voice smooth and soft and utterly wrong in a feminine body. "You are indeed Itachi's brother. I made the right choice."
"Choice?" Sasuke repeated, forcing his legs to hold him
"What do you want with me?"
Orochimaru tilted his head, studying Sasuke like he was something rare.
"You have potential," he said, his voice low. "I see it in your eyes. In your movements. You could surpass even Itachi someday."
Sasuke's breath caught.
"I'm offering you a chance," Orochimaru continued, stepping closer. "Power. Strength. The ability to kill your brother. All you have to do... is come with me."
Sasuke's Sharingan flared.
Naruto, who had just finished getting Sakura to safety, jumped back into the fight.
"Like hell we're going with you, you freak!" Naruto shouted. "Sasuke doesn't need your help!"
Orochimaru didn't even look at him.
Instead, his hand shot toward Sasuke's neck, faster than before.
Sasuke barely dodged, leaping backward into the air, his hand flying through seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive ball of flame erupted from his mouth, bigger than anything he had managed before, a sign of just how much chakra he was pouring into the attack.
The fire instantly enveloped Orochimaru; Sasuke poured everything he had into his Sharingan, not wanting to lose track of him.
He didn't believe for a moment that someone like the legendary Snake Sannin could be taken down that easily.
In fact, he was painfully aware that there wasn't any real chance of defeating Orochimaru at all.
No, never mind defeating him; even escaping from him was an impossible dream.
Even an elite Jōnin like Kakashi would struggle to stay alive against a Sannin, much less them.
So, he couldn't afford to make any mistakes.
Yet, despite watching the silhouette of Orochimaru without blinking, it was still not enough.
As the smoke cleared, Sasuke's eyes widened.
Orochimaru was gone.
And then, from above him, a shadow fell.
Sasuke looked up just in time to see Orochimaru descending toward him, his body twisting unnaturally, his mouth open wider than any human's should be.
His tongue shot out.
Sasuke twisted, but it was too late.
The tongue wrapped around his neck, pulling him up into the air, squeezing just tight enough to cut off his breathing.
"Sasuke!" Naruto roared.
He threw himself at Orochimaru, a kunai ready in his hand.
But Orochimaru's free hand moved in a blur, striking Naruto in the chest with his palm.
Naruto's eyes widened as he felt his chakra burst out of control, his already poor control getting completely messed up. He was sent flying backward, crashing through several branches before hitting the ground hard.
Sasuke clawed at the tongue around his throat, his Sharingan spinning wildly as he struggled to break free.
Orochimaru pulled him closer.
"You see?" he whispered, his voice soft and delighted. "You're not ready yet. But you will be. I will make you strong, Sasuke. Strong enough to kill Itachi."
Deep down, Sasuke was somewhat tempted; after all, Orochimaru was indeed someone who might be able to defeat Itachi.
He was, after all, far older and more experienced, and clearly knew all kinds of strange forbidden ninjutsu.
So he couldn't see how Itachi could be all that superior to the Snake Sannin, but he was only somewhat tempted.
Because he knew.
He knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world, much less when it was something like enough power to defeat Itachi that was being offered.
No, it was clear to him that Orochimaru wasn't here to help him, and whatever he wanted would no doubt be worth a lot more than he was offering.
Because surely, Orochimaru wouldn't agree to a losing deal.
So, he wasn't so foolish as to be taken in by this offer, even if a part of him wished he could be, if only for the promise of power.
But he was Uchiha Sasuke, and he wasn't so desperate for power that he would sell himself for it.
So even as the oxygen was being cut off, he was still thinking of ways to escape.
Yet, he didn't have many options; Sakura was out cold, and even if she were here, she wouldn't have been any help.
Naruto... he did indeed have the power to defeat Orochimaru, the power of the Nine-Tails.
Because not even the great Orochimaru could defeat Konoha's Jinchūriki... or at least, that was how it should have been.
But Sasuke, as Naruto's teammate and about his only real friend, knew very well that Naruto had no idea about his own identity as a Jinchūriki and therefore no way to use the power of Konoha's greatest secret weapon.
Worse still, Orochimaru seemed fully aware of Naruto's identity, because Sasuke had seen that when Orochimaru hit him in the stomach just now, a strange sealing formula appeared.
Clearly, he had done something to ensure that Naruto wouldn't be able to tap into the power sealed inside him.
Worthy of being a Sannin, he took no chances.
Not that it helped Sasuke, who remained trapped and with little hope.
Still, there was no point in giving up.
If Orochimaru wanted him dead, then he would already be dead.
That was the one thing Sasuke could be sure of.
The Sannin had gone after Naruto only when Naruto interfered. Sakura had been ignored almost completely. Even now, despite having Sasuke helplessly trapped, Orochimaru was still talking.
That meant he wanted something.
That meant Sasuke still had room to act.
Not much.
But enough.
Sasuke stopped clawing at the tongue around his throat, letting his arms fall limp for a moment.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed with interest.
"Oh? Giving up already?"
Sasuke's fingers twitched.
A wire looped around one of them, almost invisible in the dim forest light.
It was one of the wires from his earlier shuriken barrage, still hanging from the branch behind Orochimaru, forgotten because it hadn't mattered.
Until now.
Sasuke pulled.
The wire snapped tight around Orochimaru's tongue.
At the same time, Sasuke brought his other hand up, a kunai already wrapped with an explosive tag.
Orochimaru's eyes widened slightly.
Sasuke slammed the kunai into the tongue holding him.
The tag flared.
Orochimaru released him.
The explosion went off between them, close enough that Sasuke felt the heat bite into his face and neck. The force threw him backward, and for one awful moment, he had no air, no balance, and no idea where the ground was.
Then he hit a branch hard enough to crack the wood.
Pain shot through his back, but his lungs finally opened.
He sucked in a breath.
It hurt.
Everything hurt.
But he was free.
Below, Naruto forced himself to his feet again, wobbling badly as he tried to form the Shadow Clone seal.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A single clone appeared.
Then it flickered and burst into smoke.
Naruto stared at his own hands, shocked.
"What the hell?"
Orochimaru landed lightly on another branch, the smoke from the explosion curling around him. His entire body was injured, and not lightly at that.
Sasuke could hardly believe it had worked, that someone like Orochimaru had been hurt by something like that, but then again, it was his tongue he had stabbed.
So maybe it made sense?
Yet, before Sasuke could celebrate, something horrible happened.
Orochimaru seemed to suddenly convulse, as if something was happening inside his ruined body.
And then, before the horrified eyes of Sasuke, whose Sharingan would never allow him to forget what he saw.
A pair of arms reached out of Orochimaru's mouth, forcing it wide open, as another Orochimaru, this one completely uninjured, crawled out of the body that collapsed like a snake's shed skin.
For a moment, Sasuke forgot to breathe.
His mind understood what he was seeing, but that only made it worse.
This wasn't a substitution.
It wasn't a clone.
It wasn't even a transformation.
Orochimaru had simply discarded the ruined body as if it were no more than a cloak, crawling out from his own mouth completely unharmed, wet with something foul and glistening, his pale skin untouched by flame, steel, or explosive tags.
The damaged body fell apart around him, collapsing into a limp, empty shell before dissolving into mud and flesh-colored sludge.
Naruto gagged.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Orochimaru smiled as he straightened, rolling his shoulders as if he had only changed clothes.
"My, my," he said, licking his lips. "That actually hurt. You really are worth the trouble, Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke's fingers tightened around his kunai.
He felt no joy at Orochimaru's words, because he understood it was nothing but empty praise.
The Snake Sannin had clearly been able to avoid the attack if he had wanted; all the wounds, the near misses, everything Sasuke thought he had achieved was nothing.
Because it wasn't that Orochimaru hadn't been able to avoid it all, but he simply hadn't wanted to, hadn't needed to.
That knowledge settled into Sasuke's stomach like ice.
The gap between them was not merely one of speed or strength.
It was something far worse.
A difference in nature.
Naruto tried again to form the Shadow Clone seal, his hands shaking with effort.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Nothing happened.
Not even smoke this time.
Naruto's eyes widened further, and his face twisted with frustration.
"Come on!"
"Don't bother," Orochimaru said, finally glancing down at Naruto. "Your chakra is in no condition to obey you. The Five Elements Seal should keep the fox quiet for a while."
Naruto froze.
"The... fox?"
Sasuke felt his own breath hitch despite himself.
So he had been right.
Orochimaru had sealed something. He had not merely struck Naruto; he had interfered with the seal holding back the Nine-Tails.
Worthy of a Sannin.
Even when ambushed by Genin, he had known exactly who they were, what they could do, and what needed to be removed first.
Sasuke hated how impressive that was.
Naruto looked between Sasuke and Orochimaru, confusion and anger mixing on his face.
"What are you talking about?"
Orochimaru's smile curled.
"How cruel. They really did not tell you anything."
"Naruto, ignore him," Sasuke said sharply.
His voice was rough, but it was enough to snap Naruto's attention back to him.
Orochimaru was trying to shake him.
Trying to break his focus.
Sasuke didn't know why Konoha had hidden everything from Naruto, not fully, but this was not the time to learn it from a traitor who wanted to use every word like a knife.
Orochimaru's gaze slid back to him.
"You really are a clever one."
Sasuke didn't answer.
His hands shifted.
He was low on chakra, and his entire body still ached from everything, but he had enough left for one more proper attack.
Maybe two, if he didn't care about what happened after.
He did care.
But not enough to hold back.
(End of chapter)
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