Chapter 37: Two Stubborn Bastards
While Kimimaro was being mentally shattered by Kitagawa Gen, another fierce battle was underway—between Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
These two, having known each other for years, skipped the formalities and jumped straight into a brutal brawl.
"Ninjutsu: Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
With Jiraiya's relentless assault closing in, Orochimaru wasted no time. He extended his hand, and in an instant, countless venomous snakes surged toward Jiraiya, fangs bared.
"Still obsessed with these disgusting techniques, huh?"
Jiraiya shivered as the snakes neared, the sight alone making his scalp crawl. But despite the complaints, his hands didn't stop moving.
"Ninjutsu: Needle Jizo!"
His wild white hair, infused with chakra, elongated and sharpened into needle-like strands. The incoming snakes were instantly impaled, pierced by hair now as sharp as steel.
At the same time, Jiraiya hurled a volley of kunai. While they flew toward Orochimaru, he quickly formed another hand seal.
"Ninjutsu: Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!"
"Tch."
Orochimaru scoffed as he saw the swarm of kunai and jumped to evade them. But that's exactly what Jiraiya was waiting for.
"Ninjutsu: Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"
His hair shot out again, aiming to entangle Orochimaru's legs. Orochimaru only chuckled darkly at the sight.
"And you say I'm disgusting? You're always playing with hair!"
Raising a hand, he summoned a slicing wind of chakra.
"Wind Style: Wind Cutter!"
Blades of wind danced around him, shredding the incoming hair to pieces. Jiraiya had no choice but to cancel the jutsu.
"You haven't changed a bit," Orochimaru sneered. "Still as predictable as ever. Haven't made any progress, have you?"
"At least I didn't join some evil organization," Jiraiya shot back, using the exchange to fish for information. "Come back, Orochimaru. It's not too late to stop."
"Organization?"
Orochimaru's expression twisted slightly, genuinely surprised.
He hadn't expected Jiraiya to know that much. The Akatsuki operated in extreme secrecy, mainly taking black-market and wartime contracts, leaving behind almost no trail—especially since they rarely left survivors.
"Did he return to Konoha because he discovered them?"
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes but quickly dismissed the idea.
Jiraiya wouldn't go back just for that… unless—he found something he couldn't handle alone. That made more sense, given how cautious Jiraiya could be when it mattered.
And Itachi is still with the Akatsuki… even if that Uchiha feels off somehow.
"Well...his intel is outdated. He doesn't even know I've already left the Akatsuki…"
A thought began to form in Orochimaru's mind.
If he played this right, he could deflect Jiraiya's attention and make life harder for the Akatsuki.
"Oh? So you know about them, huh?"
Orochimaru licked his lips with amusement. "Your investigation must be quite thorough. I wonder just how much you've found?"
"I know that group is filled with monsters like you," Jiraiya replied, eyes sharp. But he maintained a sorrowful expression, still baiting. "Rogue ninja. Even someone like Uchiha Itachi, who slaughtered his own clan. And I know you've been working with Kirigakure… Have you forgotten how much pain that village caused Konoha? Don't make the same mistakes again, Orochimaru. Come back!"
Kirigakure?
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, puzzled. What does this have to do with Kirigakure?
He had visited the village before and witnessed the massacre of the Kaguya Clan. That's when he met Kimimaro, saw his talent and solitude, and decided to take him in.
Now it made sense.
Jiraiya's info was off—but just believable enough.
"If Kirigakure is unstable…"
Orochimaru tilted his head slightly. The Fourth Mizukage had stirred a hornet's nest, and civil war was brewing. It might be time to lay some bait of his own.
"You really aren't afraid of dying, huh?"
Orochimaru sneered. "There are people in that organization even I wouldn't want to mess with."
"So what? You think you can stand against an entire hidden village?"
Jiraiya shot back, analyzing every word, piecing together what was real and what wasn't. "This has gone far enough, Orochimaru."
"A hidden village?"
Orochimaru shook his head and sighed.
"Don't use your naïve sense of justice to measure the world. Some villages don't hate us. In fact, they need us. You're either ignorant or willfully blind."
Jiraiya didn't respond. He knew that rogue ninja groups often acted as mercenaries. Iwagakure, for example, frequently hired them for covert missions.
"So the Akatsuki are in Kirigakure as hired help?"
He asked the question cautiously—this was what he'd come to confirm.
"That's right."
Orochimaru nodded, internally smirking. This was the perfect misdirection.
"Kirigakure is in turmoil. And chaos… is exactly what we thrive in. Besides, the Mizukage pays handsomely."
That vague, half-truth was enough to satisfy both of them.
Jiraiya's heart leapt. He'd gotten confirmation—the Akatsuki were in Kirigakure, likely employed by the Mizukage.
Got him!
And oddly enough, Orochimaru had the same thought.
Got him!
Two schemers. Two stubborn bastards. Both smug in their small victories.
But Orochimaru wasn't done yet.
"Well, we've talked enough."
He smiled darkly, forming seals as he pressed his palm to the ground. Black markings spread across the earth.
With a burst of smoke, the massive form of Manda, the king of snakes, erupted from the summoning circle.
Orochimaru leapt onto its head, now towering over Jiraiya.
"You shouldn't have dug so deep, Jiraiya. So now, to keep you from interfering again—and to make sure you don't die at someone else's hands…"
"I'll be the one to end you. And that brat you brought too—once this is done, I'll head to Kirigakure myself."
As Orochimaru finished speaking, Manda lunged, its enormous body crashing down toward Jiraiya.
Jiraiya quickly began forming hand seals to summon Gamabunta.
But at that moment, both he and Orochimaru froze.
The ground beneath them suddenly erupted—
Countless white bone spikes shot up from below…