"Kabuto, let's go."
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."
At Orochimaru's command, Kabuto Yakushi quickly gathered the most important specimen jars in front of him. Following closely behind Orochimaru, the two emerged from their hidden underground lair.
The desert outside the Hidden Sand Village was a whirlwind of sand and dust. The wind was so fierce that it nearly obscured their vision as they walked. Orochimaru led Kabuto, moving slowly through the desert. Although they left a trail of footprints, the sweeping gusts of wind quickly erased them.
As he walked, Orochimaru gazed into the distance, his deep, snake-like pupils revealing a complex mix of emotions. Buffeted by the wind, the two made their way toward the Sand Village.
"Lord Orochimaru, the waterfall is just ahead," Kabuto said, looking back.
A faint smile touched Orochimaru's lips. In an instant, several white snakes shot out from his sleeves, slithering towards the waterfall.
"Let's go. We'll pay a visit to that old woman, Chiyo."
Orochimaru led Kabuto towards Lady Chiyo's house. Chiyo was the strongest puppet master in the Sand Village. If she were to be killed now, on top of the lingering resentment over his manipulation of Gaara, the conflict between the Sand and the Leaf would inevitably erupt. When that happened, the Konoha Crush plan could be executed once more.
Most importantly, Orochimaru was deeply fascinated by the technique Sasori of the Red Sand had used to modify his own body into a human puppet. Killing Chiyo would be the perfect opportunity to acquire the secret puppet techniques of the Sand Village.
Sunagakure, Kazekage's Office
Today was the official roll call for all the exam candidates. A group of vibrant, energetic youths stood before the office building.
"Welcome, everyone, to the Hidden Sand Village," Kankuro announced from a high point on the building. "The Chunin Exams… begin now!"
The first day's test was a written exam, so it was unlikely anything would go wrong.
Meanwhile, Hinata was pacing nervously back and forth in her room.
"Hinata, please stop pacing. You're making me dizzy," Shion said, looking at her with a bewildered expression.
"But Hanabi is taking the exam today! I just hope she doesn't run into a proctor as twisted as the one we had," Hinata said, a chill running down her spine at the memory of Ibiki Morino.
At that very moment, Kusuo was on his way to meet Ibiki, completely unaware of the events about to unfold in the Sand Village.
Orochimaru and Kabuto had arrived at Chiyo's door.
"You're already here. Come in," Chiyo's voice echoed from inside before Kabuto could even push the door open.
Orochimaru wasn't surprised. After all, Chiyo had been a formidable puppet master since the Second Great Ninja War, capable of controlling multiple puppets with just one hand.
He stepped inside and saw Chiyo sitting before a small pond, fishing.
"Is there something you need?"
Orochimaru didn't speak, only offering a sinister smile. "Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
A multitude of white snakes erupted from his sleeves, lunging toward Chiyo. Though elderly, Chiyo's reaction speed was still sharp.
Poof. Poof. Poof.
Chiyo threw out three scrolls, which instantly transformed into three puppets. A flicker of approval showed in Orochimaru's serpentine eyes. "To be so quick at your age."
"Orochimaru! You dare try to kill me?" Chiyo manipulated her puppets, which clashed with Orochimaru's snakes. Although Orochimaru's snakes were highly venomous, Chiyo's puppets moved with flawless precision. Not a single snake could get near her. In fact, many of them were quickly destroyed by the puppets' hidden mechanisms.
For a rare moment, a hint of tension appeared on Orochimaru's face. "You old fossil. For someone like you to still be able to control so many puppets… what a waste."
Hearing this, Chiyo let out a cold laugh. With a flick of her right hand, her three puppets began to form an encirclement around Orochimaru. Seeing that Orochimaru was cornered, Chiyo reached for the fish she had caught today. But the moment her hand moved, her expression changed drastically.
Several white snakes crawled out from her fish basket—the very ones Orochimaru had sent out earlier.
Chiyo's face gradually turned purple, and finally, her body collapsed to the ground.
Just as Orochimaru was about to celebrate, there was a sudden poof. The body on the floor transformed into a puppet.
"Damn it! I fell for it!"
By the time Orochimaru realized his mistake, a puppet's dagger was already inches from his face.
Puchi!
Bright red blood splattered across the floor.
"Lord Orochimaru!" Kabuto rushed toward him, but black blood was already trickling from the corner of Orochimaru's mouth. He had clearly died from poison.
Chiyo's figure suddenly appeared in another corner of the room. Just as she was about to approach, Orochimaru's supposedly dead body began to squirm. Like a snake shedding its skin, a new Orochimaru slithered out from the corpse's mouth.
Seeing this, even Chiyo was shocked into silence. "You… what in the world have you turned yourself into?"
The new Orochimaru writhed on the ground as several white snakes quickly crawled around the room. Just as Chiyo prepared to fight back, Orochimaru suddenly retreated, and the snakes swiftly returned to his side.
"Heh heh. The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets is mine now," he hissed.
"What?" Chiyo felt a jolt. She realized that not only had her famed puppets been stolen, but Orochimaru had also snatched the scroll containing her puppet techniques.
"Orochimaru! What do you want with something like that? Aren't your own research results enough for you?" Chiyo commanded her remaining puppets to lunge at the two intruders.
"Kabuto, we're leaving." With a poof, Orochimaru and Kabuto vanished.
"You!" Lady Chiyo watched them disappear, her body trembling with rage.
Elsewhere in the Hidden Sand Village, Obito Uchiha had already obtained the power of the Four-Tails. Nevertheless, Itachi Uchiha and Sasori of the Red Sand appeared on the high walls of the village. It was the midday break, and their eyes were fixed on the area where the Konoha ninja were staying.
"So that's where the Leaf ninja are. Itachi, seeing that familiar headband… does it make you nostalgic?" Sasori asked, turning to look at Itachi.
Itachi acted as if he hadn't heard a thing. With his hands tucked into his cloak, he simply started walking into the village. "Let's go."
As the two of them entered Sunagakure, the guards who had been standing at the village gate finally collapsed. They had all been caught in Itachi's genjutsu.
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