In front was Uchiha Itachi, behind was Kisame, to the left was Sasori, to the right was Hidan, and above was Deidara.
At this very moment, Orochimaru was trapped in the middle of them all—no escape above, no retreat below.
If this had been earlier, before he was surrounded, he could have used the Hiding in Surface Technique. But now, the only thing he could do was fight head-on.
"Zetsu, you said you only wanted my body. But judging by the way you've all gathered here, it doesn't seem like your intentions are so simple." Orochimaru licked his lips, a sinister smile playing on his face.
Black Zetsu emerged beside Hidan. "I wasn't lying. But you hardly look like you're willing to cooperate, now do you?"
'I'd have to be a fool to believe you.'
If before, Orochimaru had simply been unwilling to give up this body, now he had to think about how to survive.
"Enough talk—capture him!"
Unable to hold back, Deidara shouted, flinging out several clay spiders.
Seeing the attack, Orochimaru's right arm transformed into a thick serpent that lunged toward the clay spiders.
"Explode!" Deidara shouted, and the clay spiders detonated.
*BOOM!*
The deafening explosion filled the air. The snake—thick as a man's thigh—was blasted into a dozen chunks—enough to stew a pot of snake soup.
The next instant, Orochimaru's right hand regenerated, his fingers forming seals at lightning speed.
"Come forth—Manda!"
Among all his summoning beasts, Manda held the highest place in Orochimaru's heart—his most reliable tool.
In such a dire situation, how could Orochimaru forget him?
"Orochimaru, I want—"
No sooner had Manda appeared than he began his usual bargaining. As one of the most prideful serpents of Ryūchi Cave, his compensation was always non-negotiable.
But then, his eyes fell upon Uchiha Itachi's three-tomoe Sharingan.
'Wait... that man... he's from the Uchiha clan, isn't he?!'
Manda froze, questioning everything.
'Who am I? Where am I—oh!'
A massive cube of black iron sand came crashing down from above, slamming into Manda's body so hard it nearly snapped his waist.
"Art is an explosion—haa!"
Seeing such a huge snake, Deidara was thrilled. He mounted his clay bird and soared into the air, pulling back rapidly.
*BOOM!*
The earth-shaking explosion left Manda dazed and barely conscious, his mind completely blank.
"You bastards..."
"Genjutsu: Sharingan."
Just as Manda was about to unleash his fury and retreat, his gaze met Itachi's spinning tomoe... and that was the end of that.
"This snake is huge! Maybe we should take it back and make a stew out of it," Deidara said eagerly, eyeing Manda's enormous body. "It could feed us for a month!"
"More than that—I think it'd last at least two months," Hidan countered with his own argument.
Seeing these two idiots about to bicker again, Kisame grinned and reminded them, "Orochimaru seems to have run off."
"That snake bastard moves fast! Chase him!" Hidan shouted, suddenly fired up.
He'd been the only one who hadn't attacked earlier, and as a devout follower of Jashin, failing to shed blood was unacceptable.
Black Zetsu promptly relayed Orochimaru's location. During the chaos, he had planted spores on Orochimaru's body—there was no escape now.
"He's heading toward Konoha—after him!"
"Itachi-san, it seems you're quite concerned about Konoha," Kisame said teasingly as they ran. "Don't tell me this is one of those... lingering old attachments?"
Black Zetsu glanced at Itachi with similar suspicion—they needed to understand his motives.
"Konoha has Jiraiya and Tsunade. If Orochimaru reaches the village, the three Legendary Sannin together will complicate things for us," Itachi replied calmly, accelerating his pursuit.
A reasonable explanation.
Black Zetsu accepted it. For now, he preferred fewer problems, not more.
Capturing the Three-Tails was their priority. And with Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi, and Maito Gai around, even Akatsuki couldn't afford to underestimate Konoha.
As the Akatsuki members gave chase, Orochimaru was running for his life.
He ran and ran—changing directions several times—but no matter what, Akatsuki kept closing the distance. He could sense it.
'This can't go on.'
Orochimaru quickly formed seals.
His mouth opened wide, and a slick, white serpent-like body slithered out of him.
'Orochimaru-Style Substitution Jutsu.'
With this technique, he could shed his own skin entirely, escaping death at the cost of a massive amount of chakra.
He'd even improved it—his discarded shell could remain intact for longer now.
*BOOM!*
The moment his new body slipped away, an explosion ripped through his old husk.
Sensing that "Orochimaru" wasn't moving, Itachi felt something off.
"Amaterasu!"
"Itachi, are you trying to burn him alive?!" Black Zetsu shouted reflexively.
Itachi gave him a cold glance. "That was just his shed skin. Looks like he's more troublesome than ever."
Black Zetsu stepped closer, examined the smoldering remains, and realized he'd been tricked. His dark face flushed with embarrassment.
Awkward.
But no one paid him any attention. Everyone's gaze was fixed on the distant village gate, marked with a clear leaf symbol.
*Konoha.*
The Hidden Village of the Land of Fire.
Founded by the god of shinobi, Senju Hashirama.
"Should we go in and cause some chaos? I could even show them my art!" Deidara said excitedly. Though he was a rogue from Iwagakure, seeing his old village's rival stirred his blood—he wanted to unleash destruction.
No one answered.
Because from the distance, several familiar figures were rushing toward them.
White hair, lecherous face—the shinobi world's famous novelist, the Toad Sage Jiraiya.
A magnificent bosom, long golden hair—the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade.
A black mask and slanted forehead protector—the Copy Ninja, "Fifty-Fifty" Hatake Kakashi.
And beside him, the bowl-cut powerhouse, the Blue Beast of Konoha—Maito Gai.
"This just got troublesome," Itachi murmured softly.
He raised a hand, and Kisame instantly took position at his side. The two formed up in battle stance.
Sasori, Deidara, and Hidan followed suit, surrounding them.
Facing this Konoha lineup, none of them dared claim they could take them one-on-one.