Just as Orochimaru murmured that question to himself, a faint voice suddenly echoed beside his ear.
"Who knows, maybe in your next life, you'll be lucky enough to get a body like mine."
Orochimaru spun around in shock: Σ(っ °Д °;)っ
But the moment he saw it was Shinju, he calmed down a little — probably because he knew there was no way to escape.
Word by word, Orochimaru asked,
"How did you find me? There shouldn't be any Flying Thunder God marks on me…"
Shinju spread his hands casually and explained,
"When I electrocuted you just now, my chakra signature rubbed off on you."
"And since you already know, I'm a sensory-type ninja. Tracking my own chakra is child's play…"
Orochimaru's lips twitched.
Not because of Shinju's absurdly wide chakra sensing range, but because of that single line he just said — 'I'm a sensory-type ninja'.
Excuse me?!
What kind of so-called sensory-type ninja masters all five nature transformations?!
And even worse — this guy's taijutsu and genjutsu are ridiculous too!
Sensory-type, my ass! This brat is obviously a full-on all-rounder!!!
After finishing his explanation, Shinju reached out and grabbed at Orochimaru.
"Alright, that's enough. Time to surrender and come back to Konoha with me to collect your bounty."
Even knowing he wasn't Shinju's match, Orochimaru still wasn't ready to give up without a fight!
With a sharp hiss —
Orochimaru suddenly opened his mouth wide, and a snake's head slithered out from within!
The next instant—
Shua!!
From the snake's mouth, a gleaming, razor-sharp sword burst forth, its cold light cutting the air!
Shinju raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
So Orochimaru really has spent all these years researching his own body to this extent… impressive.
In response, Shinju reached behind his back and drew out Kimimaro's bone blade.
Orochimaru: ∑(✘Д✘๑)
This brat not only killed Kimimaro… he even confiscated his bone sword?!
Sure, it's normal for a ninja to use captured weapons.
But that sword… is literally Kimimaro's arm bone!!
Now that Kimimaro's dead…
Using a dead man's bone as a weapon — isn't that creepy as hell?! Isn't that disgusting?!
Clang!!!
While Orochimaru was distracted, his Kusanagi Sword clashed fiercely against Shinju's bone blade!
After the strike, Shinju immediately leaped back, tossing a Flying Thunder God kunai onto the ground as he retreated.
He glanced at his bone blade and noticed a shallow dent on its surface!
Considering Kimimaro's bones were harder than steel…
For Orochimaru's sword to leave a mark like that…
This wasn't an ordinary weapon.
And judging by its style, the sword resembled an ancient blade from the Heavenly Dynasty. Shinju actually felt a strange sense of familiarity with it.
Decision made.
He was going to take that sword and make it his own weapon! (⌯︎¤̴̶̷̀ω¤̴̶̷́)✧︎
Orochimaru withdrew the Kusanagi Sword from the snake's mouth.
Then, he noticed Shinju's gaze fixed on the weapon.
⊙▽⊙
Oh no…
This brat's got his eyes on the Kusanagi Sword!
That blade had followed Orochimaru for years; it was one of his most precious tools.
Losing it would be unbearable.
But… if giving up the sword could buy his freedom… maybe it wasn't the worst bargain.
Orochimaru opened his mouth. "How about we make a deal—"
But before he could finish, Shinju suddenly flickered forward, using the Flying Thunder God kunai he'd just thrown to teleport!
Shua!!
A horizontal slash!
Orochimaru didn't even have time to react!
Shrrrip—
His body was instantly cleaved in half!
Yet in the very next moment, countless tiny snakes wriggled out from his severed torso, intertwining rapidly to stitch his body back together!
Shinju: (°A°`)
Cut in half and still fine… as expected of you, Orochimaru.
Still, Shinju hadn't intended to kill him anyway. He clapped his hands together.
"Wood Release: Binding Technique!"
In an instant, countless wooden tendrils burst out from the ground, wrapping Orochimaru's body tightly like a cocoon!
Orochimaru struggled desperately, but Shinju's Wood Release seemed to suppress his chakra flow, leaving him powerless!
After several failed attempts, Orochimaru finally stopped resisting and looked at Shinju. The anger in his eyes slowly shifted into something else — admiration.
"I knew I wasn't wrong about you…"
Shinju silently walked over, plucked the Kusanagi Sword from Orochimaru's hand, and prepared to examine his new weapon.
But the moment he did—
Fsssh!
The Kusanagi Sword suddenly transformed into a slick, writhing snake!
Startled, Shinju nearly dropped it.
Still, being the composed ninja he was, he quickly steadied himself, grabbed the snake by the head, and restrained it.
Sensing its chakra, Shinju glanced at Orochimaru.
"This sword… it's connected to you somehow."
Orochimaru said nothing.
Shinju quietly placed several sealing formulas along the snake's body.
In seconds, the small snake reverted back into the form of a sword, obediently resting in his hand.
Satisfied, Shinju sheathed the Kusanagi Sword at his waist and slung Kimimaro's bone blade onto his back.
New sword acquired; the bone blade could retire for now.
With that done, Shinju hoisted Orochimaru — still bound like a cocoon — onto his shoulder and teleported away using the Flying Thunder God technique.
As for Sasuke? Shinju couldn't care less.
The guy clearly didn't want to return to Konoha right now… so let him drift around outside for a while.
...
Konoha Village
At the main gate.
Because the Tenchi Bridge mission was a race against time, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sai had gathered there at dawn, ready to depart.
But when Naruto arrived and saw that Shinju wasn't there, Kakashi frowned in confusion.
"Where's Shinju? Did something happen to him?"
"That guy's always punctual. He never shows up late…"
Naruto's face froze awkwardly: ε--003d(´o｀)
Hhhhhh~~
How was he supposed to explain this to Kakashi-sensei…
Should he tell him Shinju had gone alone to assault Orochimaru's hideout?
Naruto wasn't stupid. He knew exactly how important Shinju was to the village.
If he told the truth, Konoha might accuse Shinju of acting on his own and punish him…
But Shinju had always been fast. The fact that he still wasn't back…
Could something have gone wrong?
After thinking it over, Naruto decided to come clean and explained everything that happened last night.
Kakashi: "What?!!ヽ( ຶ▮ ຶ)ﾉ!!!"
"He went alone… straight to Orochimaru's hideout?!"
"If something happens to him, who's going to take responsibility?!" （｀Δ´）!
...
Hokage's Office
For once, Tsunade was seriously working through paperwork.
"Lady Tsunade, Jiraiya-sama has left the village again," Shizune reported from the desk nearby.
"Yeah," Tsunade replied, frowning slightly. "That guy can't sit still. And with Akatsuki making moves lately, he wanted to take the chance to scout around…"
Though Jiraiya had said he was going out to seek inspiration and gather intel along the way…
Tsunade couldn't shake an uneasy feeling in her chest.
"Hopefully it's nothing," she murmured softly. "That idiot's already in his forties or fifties… it's about time he acted more responsibly."
"When he comes back this time, I'll finally agree to that park visit… no work talk, just… sitting together for a bit." (＊￣︶￣＊)
Tsunade's lips curved into a faint smile.
At that exact moment—
Fshhh!
A figure flickered into the office in a flash!
Shinju appeared, carrying Orochimaru tightly bound in wooden restraints!
Tsunade, Shizune:
!!!∑(°Д°ノ)ノ,┌(.Д.)┐!!
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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