As mentioned earlier, this squad could hold their own against Orochimaru when working together—but only without summoning creatures.
In the Shinobi World, summoned creatures mostly serve as combat support. For instance, the Uchiha clan contracts ninja cats, Kakashi contracts ninja dogs, and Guy contracts turtles.
These summons generally lack significant combat power, only providing assistance in information transmission and intelligence gathering.
However, top-tier shinobi often possess far more powerful summons.
Take, for example, Hanzo the Salamander of Amegakure, whose summon was a colossal salamander. In his prime, he overwhelmed the three legendary Konoha shinobi single-handedly—half of that credit going to his massive salamander.
Then there's Sarutobi Hiruzen's summon, Enma. Not only does it possess human-level intelligence, but it can also transform into various forms at will, providing weapon support or engaging directly in combat. Its strength rivals that of an elite Jonin.
At an even higher level are the summons from the three great sage regions. These creatures are distinguished by their enormous size and intelligence on par with humans.
Not to mention, higher-tier sage creatures can wield innate ninjutsu. In truth, their sheer size alone makes them impossible for 99% of shinobi in the world to handle.
The appearance of the giant snake instantly shattered the pursuit squad's morale. Such a massive summon requires large-scale ninjutsu of corresponding power to counter.
But let's not forget—Orochimaru still stands atop its head. While there are those in the Shinobi World capable of dealing with this combination, this squad certainly isn't among them.
"Ru... run away...!" Aoba's distant shout snapped the frozen team back to reality. Even the Root operatives didn't hesitate to turn and flee.
They were equally puzzled—wasn't this supposed to be just an act between Root and Orochimaru? Why did it suddenly seem like Orochimaru was taking it seriously?
"Wood Style: Advent of a World of Trees!"
The Root squad leader unleashed a Wood Style technique toward the giant snake. Dozens of enormous trees erupted from the ground, trapping both the serpent and Orochimaru within. Without pause, the Root captain immediately turned and fled.
Seeing this from a distance, Aoba instantly recognized who this was—none other than the future Yamato. After all, Wood Style was far too distinctive.
Though if we're being honest about his Wood Style proficiency...
"Hashirma's Wood Style conquered nations, Yamato's Wood Style plants trees." The saying couldn't be more fitting now.
In just one encounter, Orochimaru had completely routed the entire pursuit squad. Yet he didn't linger, instead giving chase to the Root team.
Before long, the valley fell into complete silence.
At dawn, movement returned to the valley. Aoba's figure leaped between ruins before arriving at the valley's deepest point.
There, Orochimaru stood waiting. Beside him were two youths—judging by their appearances, they must be Kimimaro and Jugo. At this point in time, Suigetsu and Karin had yet to join him."Long time no see, Lord Orochimaru."
"Tsk tsk, Aoba-kun, it really is you. You've truly exceeded my expectations."
Orochimaru licked the blood from his face while studying Aoba with an odd gaze.
His feelings toward this former subordinate were complex.
Aoba had been one of the few assistants whose thinking and practical abilities could keep up with his movements. Before leaving, Orochimaru had even asked if Aoba wanted to come with him.
But Aoba chose to remain in Konoha. This had greatly disappointed Orochimaru. What interested him more was how Aoba had actually managed to evade the Interrogation Department's questioning, receiving only exile.
"Aoba-kun, in your letter you mentioned knowing information about Akatsuki and wanting to make a deal with me?"
"Correct. If my intelligence is accurate, Lord Orochimaru joined Akatsuki two years ago before leaving them, am I right?"
While this matter was secret to ordinary people, quite a few actually knew about it. At the very least, Konoha's higher-ups were certainly aware.
"It seems Aoba-kun does know something. I'm beginning to look forward to our transaction. But before we proceed, I need to confirm one thing."
Hearing Orochimaru say this, Aoba began secretly gathering Chakra. He was mentally prepared - dealing with a dangerous figure like Orochimaru usually required first demonstrating one's qualifications.
Simply put, he needed to show he had the strength to bargain as an equal.
But to his surprise, after scrutinizing him up and down several times, Orochimaru actually said:
"Heh, don't be nervous, Aoba-kun. Considering our past relationship, we can skip the test. Let's get straight to business. Tell me, what do you want?"
Orochimaru possessed far too many valuable things. Aoba wanted to say "I want it all," but knew that was impossible. Transactions needed to proceed step by step.
"That depends on what information Lord Orochimaru requires. According to my intelligence, your greatest interests should be Itachi Uchiha and that leader of Akatsuki with the Rinnegan, am I correct?"
"Aoba-kun seems quite confident in his information. In that case, what I first want to know are the detailed abilities of Itachi Uchiha's Mangekyo Sharingan."
At this time, Orochimaru was utterly obsessed with Itachi Uchiha. Mainly because the self-proclaimed genius had been defeated by a single glance from the Uchiha.
This only deepened Orochimaru's existing fascination with the Sharingan, making him completely infatuated with Itachi. However, given their last encounter, he wouldn't make a move against Itachi again without absolute certainty of success.
"I know that information. In exchange, I want a Kusanagi Sword."
In the ninja world, there were actually many Kusanagi Swords. Orochimaru possessed more than one.
Aoba was skilled in swordsmanship. But as someone of common birth, he lacked any weapons made from Chakra-conductive metal.
Thus, he had long coveted the Kusanagi Sword. However, most of them were in Orochimaru's possession. So he planned to use this opportunity to obtain one from the snake sannin.
"Heh." Orochimaru chuckled, then performed his signature mannerism.He opened his mouth and directly spat out a white snake. The snake then opened its jaws and regurgitated a Kusanagi Sword from its body, which landed right before Aoba.
Aoba looked helplessly at the Kusanagi Sword covered in slime. After a moment's thought, he took out a Sealing Scroll and sealed the sword inside.
"You've gotten what you wanted. Now, tell me what I desire, Aoba-kun." Orochimaru's tone carried a dangerous edge. Kamikawa Aoba had no doubt that if he dared to flee with the sword, the other party would pursue him relentlessly.
"Of course."