"Mm…"
"Did something happen, Orochimaru?"
Seeing Orochimaru, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly open them and let out a somewhat surprised sound, Aburame Ryoma, who had been sent by Danzo to coordinate with his old colleague, frowned.
While preparing to release his kikaichu, he fixed his gaze tightly on Orochimaru.
"Relax, Ryoma. I have not gone so mad that I would turn on my fellow hunter before the prey is even in hand…"
Orochimaru licked his cheek with his unusually long tongue and explained to his old Root colleague with a chuckle.
"I merely realized something all of a sudden. Our prey does not seem to have wandered into our trap without noticing anything at all…"
"Has someone been discovered?" Aburame Ryoma decisively released the kikaichu inside his body, preparing to use them to exchange intelligence with the other members of his clan serving in Root. "According to the previous intelligence, that Rei Kaguya is not skilled in sensory perception, right?"
"A shinobi who has learned Sage Mode will gain some level of sensory ability, more or less…"
Orochimaru stood up, his gaze filled with thick interest as he looked toward the flickering sparks deep in the distant forest.
"The summoned beast I sent out to mix among ordinary snakes has been killed. He is demonstrating against me…"
"Notify Danzo and have him tighten the encirclement. I will go chat with our dear prey first."
The moment he finished speaking, Orochimaru's body slid silently down from the shadows of the tree trunk like a snake beginning its hunt, quickly vanishing from Aburame Ryoma's sight.
Aburame Ryoma frowned in displeasure. He swiftly released several waves of kikaichu, having them pass the information to his clansmen. Then, carrying his insect jar, he chased after Orochimaru.
It was true that Root and Orochimaru were currently cooperating.
But as long as there was an opportunity, Orochimaru would absolutely not mind swallowing all the spoils alone.
Because of that, Danzo had already given an order long ago.
Even for a moment, they absolutely could not allow Orochimaru to leave Root's line of sight and make contact with the target of this mission by himself.
…
Where the firelight swayed, Rei Kaguya was leisurely humming a tune from his hometown while skewering cleaned and skinned snake meat, placing it over the campfire for a simple barbecue.
Probably starting from a day ago, snakes had begun appearing more frequently on Rei Kaguya's journey toward the Land of Rice Fields.
Of course, this "frequently" only meant going from seeing one or two a day to seeing three or four a day.
But for Rei Kaguya, who was deliberately setting up Orochimaru, this tiny abnormality was already enough for him to realize that Orochimaru was approaching.
Because of that, when Orochimaru emerged from the forest's shadows, Rei Kaguya, who was eating a skewer of roasted snake meat, did not feel surprised at all.
He even had the leisure to wave the skewer in his hand and ask Orochimaru whether he was interested in joining his barbecue party.
"You do not seem surprised by my appearance at all, Rei Kaguya…"
Orochimaru ignored Rei's extremely provocative invitation. His narrowed eyes stared at Rei's young, powerful, and enviable body.
After swallowing a piece of golden, fragrant snake meat, Rei replied in a relaxed tone.
"I came here to repay you for biting me in that sneak attack last time. Am I supposed to be surprised that you delivered yourself to me, Orochimaru?"
"Hmph. What a sharp-tongued brat. You really are confident in your own strength…"
Orochimaru did want to rely on his advantage in life experience to criticize this young and obviously immature Rei Kaguya.
But seeing that the other party was so calm that he clearly would not fall for provocation, Orochimaru ultimately gave up on using more aggressive words.
Instead, he cautiously maintained the distance between them and spoke in a sinister tone.
"I wonder whether that confidence can protect your little life."
"Oh? But Senior Orochimaru, your movements do not seem quite as tough and confident as your words."
Rei Kaguya stood up and slightly tilted his head, revealing the magatama-shaped wound on his neck that had been sealed by the Four Symbols Seal.
With a mocking smile on his face, he provoked Orochimaru.
"Could it be that even at this distance, you still do not have the courage to fight me alone after planting your cursed seal on me? If that is the case…"
"Then I will gladly take your head."
A storm suddenly swept through the forest.
It was the aftermath created when Rei Kaguya stomped heavily against the earth and accelerated with all his strength.
"Hidden Shadow Many Snakes Hand!"
As a shinobi who had experienced hundreds of battles, Orochimaru naturally would not approach a Kekkei Genkai shinobi specializing in taijutsu without making preparations.
Almost the instant Rei launched his attack, Orochimaru had already raised his hand and summoned countless giant venomous snakes, completely sealing off the direction of Rei's charge.
But in the blink of an eye, the giant snakes lunging forward were turned into chunks of flesh beneath blade light as fast as lightning.
Before the bloody rain could even burst and scatter, Rei Kaguya had already appeared before Orochimaru and slashed repeatedly at him while he was forming hand seals.
Pfft.
Orochimaru's body instantly turned into seventy or eighty pieces of varying sizes, flying in every direction.
But just as Rei expected, the next moment, an unharmed Orochimaru emerged from the mouth of a giant snake not far away, covered in mucus, and activated the ninjutsu he had already prepared.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!"
The Wind Release infused with a large amount of chakra formed a massive tornado, suppressing Rei Kaguya within it.
Then, from another direction, a huge fireball blasted straight into the tornado.
Wind fed fire.
In an instant, it transformed into a giant flaming tornado that stretched between heaven and earth, its might and destructive power more than doubled.
"Earth Release: Overturning Rock Cap!"
Another Root shinobi arrived on the scene and unleashed a powerful Earth Release technique.
A huge hollow earthen mountain fell from the sky, accurately pressing the flaming tornado beneath it.
He wanted to restrict the burning space to create even higher temperatures and a more violent explosion, further damaging Rei Kaguya trapped within.
"Weak."
With that brief word, the earthen mountain was already cut in half at the waist.
Rei Kaguya leaped out of the broken "volcano" completely unharmed, then swung an extremely long whip backhanded at the Root shinobi who had used Earth Release.
"Earth—Earth Release: Hardening…"
Smack.
The Root shinobi who wanted to rely on the Hardening Technique he had prepared in advance to withstand the blow was directly smashed apart at the waist, bursting into fragments that filled the air.
And with the light from the "volcanic eruption," the Root shinobi present finally saw the true form of the long whip in Rei Kaguya's hand.
It was his spine, hardened and extended.
"Dance of the Clematis: Wild Thorns."
Before the gathered Root shinobi could think of how to deal with such an unusual weapon, they saw the "long whip" in Rei Kaguya's hand grow with the wind.
In an instant, it extended to several dozen meters in length.
Then, in Rei Kaguya's hand as he leaped high into the air, it was whipped around in a frenzy.
A casual strike left a trench more than half a meter deep in the ground. Trees as thick as an adult's waist could not slow the whip down in the slightest.
In only a few short seconds, the forest within nearly a hundred meters around Rei Kaguya was cleared into an empty field.
The few unfortunate Root members caught within were all smashed into bloody mist without exception.
"How astonishingly troublesome… But only a body that surpasses common sense to this extent is worth making me reveal enough trump cards."
Orochimaru looked at the battlefield Rei Kaguya had cleared out, licked the blood on his face that had come from some unknown Root shinobi, then bit his finger and slammed his hand onto the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu! Come out, Manda!"