The chakra signatures ahead indicated that there was definitely more than one person there. In fact, the readings were quite dense, clearly showing a group of ninjas huddled together. However, that didn't necessarily mean they were some kind of ambush set up by Orochimaru... those chakra signatures were almost all extremely weak, signifying ninjas on death's door.
They were likely Orochimaru's test subjects. That white snake had actually led Habara to one of Orochimaru's secret bases.
Habara continued forward for a short distance, then abruptly, and without any warning, stopped. Or rather, his steps very clearly hesitated before he took another firm stride forward.
And with that very step, the surrounding "walls" suddenly "collapsed." Razor-sharp fangs, a putrid stench, and the humid dampness of a mouth instantly enveloped Habara... Orochimaru might not have arranged for five hundred swordsmen, but that didn't mean he hadn't set any traps.
A gigantic snake had swallowed Habara whole. However, the instant the snake's jaws snapped shut, countless fine silver threads erupted from within its head. They easily pierced through the massive, fleshy body and embedded themselves into the surrounding walls. Then, with two clockwise rotations of this silvery "dandelion," the snake's head was reduced to a pile of unevenly chopped meat.
Long ago, Habara had left a similar mark in a comparable environment. Back then, he had used this technique with great caution, but now he no longer needed to worry about such trivial details.
After slicing the snake's head to pieces, Habara reappeared. He was about to comment on the thickness of the snake's fat layer when he saw a longsword pierce through the giant serpent's abdomen and "rush" directly towards him...
It was Orochimaru's Sword of Kusanagi.
In the ninja world, such extendable and retractable ninja tools weren't uncommon.
With a soft thud, the giant snake's corpse suddenly dissolved. Habara simply tilted his body slightly, and the straightforward thrust of the blade grazed his shoulder, sending a shower of sparks flying across his reinforced inner armor.
Following the direction of the sword's attack, Habara saw Orochimaru standing at the end of the tunnel.
Alright, it seemed that unless he gave something up, this situation was likely to drag on. Without further hesitation, Habara instantly activated "Arc Progression Sevenfold Increase," and once his right hand had formed a Rasenshuriken, he hurled it directly at Orochimaru.
The dense, sharp whirring sound was even more piercing in this confined space. Even Habara himself felt that this technique should be classified as a forbidden jutsu... because it was incredibly damaging to the eardrums.
The trajectory of the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken was very straight, and its flight speed wasn't particularly impressive. However, upon seeing this attack, Orochimaru's eyes merely lit up, and he stood his ground, neither dodging nor evading.
Since the target was stationary, naturally the next thing was...
A direct hit.
The Rasenshuriken exploded, and, centered on Orochimaru's position, it directly "gouged out" a sphere ten meters in diameter... For the current Orochimaru, this was undoubtedly a lethal ninjutsu.
After the Rasenshuriken dissipated, the sound of footsteps gradually approached. Twenty seconds later, Orochimaru's figure reappeared in Habara's vision.
"This jutsu has taken the application of chakra nature transformation and shape transformation to their absolute limits. It should be considered the pinnacle of Wind Release ninjutsu. If it could be performed instantly without seals... it would be a technique worthy of a Kage.
Unfortunately, even setting aside the difficulty of mastering this jutsu, simply from its destructive effect, it's hardly worth learning. That dense, cutting wind effect will undoubtedly injure the user as well.
Habara, your adaptability to that power, your utilization of natural energy, far exceeds my expectations... No, I should say that you, as a person, far exceed my imagination."
Orochimaru wasn't trying to eliminate Habara here. On the contrary, for someone like him, Habara was a rare and valuable research specimen. He always had the urge to study something, which was why he had attacked Habara.
Since Orochimaru had such a craving, Habara simply threw a Rasenshuriken at him... If he wanted to research it, he could go ahead. It wasn't Habara's own jutsu anyway.
And after "personally experiencing" (or rather, his clone experiencing) a Rasenshuriken, Orochimaru's assessment of the jutsu's characteristics was quite accurate... ordinary ninjas couldn't use this technique.
To avoid its risks, the user had to strengthen their own physique. That is to say, the Rasenshuriken was actually a ninjutsu meant to be used in conjunction with Sage Mode.
"Lord Orochimaru, that's enough, isn't it?" Habara ignored Orochimaru's analysis and simply asked.
Orochimaru knew when to stop when it came to "test subjects" he couldn't obtain. So, he said to Habara, "Come with me."
Orochimaru wouldn't do anything further. Because in his eyes, Habara was a mysterious person, and mystery meant that he might have hidden trump cards. It also meant that if Orochimaru acted rashly without considering the consequences, he could easily lose a tooth, or even capsize in a ditch.
Habara followed behind Orochimaru and directly asked, "Lord Orochimaru, were you responsible for the disappearance of the Uchiha?"
Orochimaru glanced back at Habara and said, "Why do you ask?"
"Intuition."
Habara thought to himself, I just told you about the secrets of the Sharingan, and then Uchiha ninjas start disappearing. So, if you didn't do it, who did?
"If I said yes, what would you do? Habara, I remember you don't particularly like the Uchiha, do you?" Orochimaru said, seemingly unconcerned about what Habara might do next.
"Nothing. I just want to remind Lord Orochimaru to know when to stop. After all, you have a chance to become the next Hokage... Although I don't like the Uchiha, I wouldn't deliberately take any hostile actions against them. At most, I'd simply prefer to ignore them."
Habara had never had any intention of killing all the Uchiha. That would be too narrow-minded. He simply wanted all the privileged ninja clans who considered themselves superior to fall back to earth. Those were two very different things.
"Hokage? Do you think I still care about such a position at this point? When the ultimate secrets of the ninja world are already laid out before me?" With that, Orochimaru let out a low chuckle.
A good snake doesn't turn back to be beaten. Orochimaru no longer cared about the position of Hokage.
"If you don't care about the Uchiha, then why did you come here?" Orochimaru then asked.
"I have no choice. It's a mission assigned by the Hokage," Habara replied.
When they arrived at Orochimaru's underground base, Habara was stunned, because he immediately noticed the corpses hanging on the walls.
At this moment, Habara was truly certain that Orochimaru could never become Hokage. This kind of insane behavior was tantamount to cutting himself off from Konoha... Orochimaru had ethical problems.
Even the ruthless Second Hokage was extremely restrained when it came to human experimentation. Moreover, the Second Hokage would never have attacked ninjas from his own village, as that would have been equivalent to betraying the ideals and aspirations of Hashirama Senju and the entire Senju clan.
"Lord Orochimaru, have you made any progress in your research on the Sharingan?" Habara silently averted his gaze and asked.
"Not yet, but you were right. At this point, I've at least confirmed that the Sharingan holds secrets within it," Orochimaru said as he walked forward and continued to fiddle with his scalpel.
Habara watched Orochimaru's movements. After a long while, he finally spoke, "Are you preparing to defect from Konoha?"
Orochimaru's hand clearly paused, then his fingertips continued to move deftly. He didn't directly answer Habara's question. It was unclear whether he was considering the question at that moment or simply didn't deem it worthy of a response.
"If your human experiments are discovered by the Third Hokage and the Konoha elders, and this place is found, Lord Orochimaru, then this junior might actually have a chance to have a serious duel with you."
After watching for a while longer, Habara decided to leave. After all, Orochimaru wouldn't let him see the missing Uchiha ninja. Before leaving, he spoke these words.
"Is that so? That's good news indeed," Orochimaru replied.
"..."
Habara had never been Orochimaru's friend before, he wasn't Orochimaru's friend now, and he wouldn't be Orochimaru's friend in the future.
Habara had no intention of exposing Orochimaru. As he had said, his current attitude towards the Uchiha was merely indifference. And since he was indifferent, he wouldn't offer any assistance. Therefore, on the second day of the mission, he began to feign effort, going through the motions. After all, this mission was essentially impossible to complete. Who would think to investigate Orochimaru?
He slacked off for the entire morning, and just as Habara was preparing to continue slacking off in the afternoon, Kakashi, with both eyes intact, and Tenzo hastily approached him together.
"Habara, urgent mission! Come with us immediately!"
An urgent mission? Habara was taken aback. Had the Uchiha risen up in revolt? Or had Orochimaru defected?
Regardless, Habara followed Kakashi and Tenzo.
"What happened?" Habara asked while they moved quickly.
"I don't know, but it seems like something big," Kakashi replied.
So, Habara began to let his imagination run wild again. Had Danzo Shimura finally made up his mind and poisoned the Third Hokage?
When they reached the front of the "small earthen building," they found that all the members of "Akakammuri " were already assembled there, even Kushina Uzumaki.
Upon seeing Habara, Kakashi, and Tenzo, Kushina immediately said, "There's an urgent mission. We need to depart immediately."
The war had just ended, and on top of that, Konoha had already been in a state of turmoil these past two days. Therefore, the gathering of these ten ninjas quickly attracted the attention and whispers of the Konoha villagers.
But this wasn't the time for explanations. Kushina Uzumaki quickly led her subordinates towards the direction of the Konoha gate. As they were nearing the gate, another two teams, totaling eight ninjas, caught up with them.
"Lady Kushina, the Hokage ordered us to join the group."
Kushina frowned. She felt that these eight ninjas weren't really necessary, but she couldn't send them back now... Well, better safe than sorry.
"The Sealing Team..."
Seeing their unusual attire, Habara immediately recognized their identities.
It was then that Kushina Uzumaki finally revealed what the "urgent mission" was:
"The Three-Tails has revived."
Judging by Kushina's urgency, it was certain that the Three-Tails had revived within the borders of the Land of Fire. That made sense, since it had died in the Land of Fire a few years ago... The only question was whether its revival point was close to Konoha.
Kushina's words, far from making Habara nervous, actually made him breathe a sigh of relief. He had thought something major had happened. Turns out it was just the Three-Tails... It wasn't that he was confident in his own strength, but rather that he was confident in Kushina's.
With Kushina Uzumaki present, the Three-Tails shouldn't be a problem.
So, you see...
The situation itself wasn't a big deal, but why did the jinx have to set up a FLAG before departure?
Originally, this matter shouldn't have been a problem. Now, there was definitely going to be a problem.
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