"That guy... is from the Akatsuki?"
Yuhara instantly became alert when he saw the figure. Though he had anticipated possibly running into Akatsuki on this trip, he was still surprised it happened so soon. Still, he showed no fear.
He had confidence in his own strength—unless it was someone truly troublesome like Nagato or Obito, he had nothing to worry about.
Even if it was these two, Yuhara wouldn't panic—if he couldn't win, he could at least run!
"Yuhara, this guy is kind of creepy. His chakra is strong, and he gives off an extremely, extremely dangerous vibe."
Shisui also spoke up now, frowning deeply as he looked at the man in front of them.
"Yeah, I know. Definitely creepy and dangerous."
Yuhara nodded in agreement. He wasn't unaware of how dangerous this guy was—after all, no one who wore that cloak was ordinary.
"Let's just respond as things happen. I'm guessing this guy's an enemy. His outfit's clearly not from any village."
"And showing up in a place like this... he's probably here under the same terms as us."
"A mercenary?"
Shisui nodded, then pulled out a kunai, hiding it beneath his black cloak before taking a deep breath.
"If we fight... can we use the Sharingan?"
While their strength didn't solely rely on the Sharingan, and they could still fight powerfully without it, they were used to its assistance. The difference with and without it was massive.
Especially since their full power was built upon the Mangekyō—fighting without it put them at a serious disadvantage.
"Play it by ear. Use your own judgment."
Yuhara thought for a moment and finally decided.
"But once you use it, we leave no witnesses."
"Understood." Shisui nodded, locking eyes with the man in the red cloud cloak.
The man seemed to notice Yuhara and Shisui too. Without hesitation, he started walking toward them.
They were originally just over a hundred meters apart—now it was barely thirty.
"Who are you two?"
The man with the hat spoke in a hoarse but unmistakable voice.
Yuhara and Shisui both paused. They instinctively looked at each other—they both recognized him: Orochimaru!
"Am I really this lucky?"
Yuhara muttered in his head. Of all the Akatsuki, Orochimaru was probably the easiest one to deal with.
It wasn't that Yuhara underestimated him—this guy had boss-level survivability, never truly dying.
His legendary feats in the Second and Third Ninja Wars weren't just for show!
Most importantly, Orochimaru would later unravel the secret of the Rinnegan all on his own.
Simply put, Orochimaru was top-tier in both research and combat talent—Yuhara wouldn't dare take him lightly.
But precisely because Orochimaru was so obsessed with research, after witnessing two world wars, his mindset had changed.
After seeing too much death, he began to crave the secret to overcoming it—and he actually succeeded somewhat, prolonging his soul's life by switching bodies.
But this method injured his soul, which made him vulnerable against genjutsu masters.
Yuhara, as a Uchiha, naturally had no problem with genjutsu. His genjutsu was built for battle, not flashy illusions.
But for high-level shinobi, even a brief lapse could decide everything.
"Are you the legendary Sannin, Orochimaru?"
Despite the chaos in his head, Yuhara remained calm, still speaking in a raspy voice.
"What an honor. To run into you here, Orochimaru-sama... my luck must be amazing."
"Oh? You recognized me that fast?"
Orochimaru lightly licked his tongue, then slowly removed his hat. His golden, vertical pupils scanned Yuhara and Shisui.
"Since you know me, I can skip the annoying introductions. But you two haven't introduced yourselves.
Though if you don't want to, that's fine. I can guess what kind of shinobi you are, showing up here like this."
By this point, Orochimaru's tone had changed. Even before confirming their identities, he could guess what they were here for.
As a man who'd survived wars, he knew mercenaries when he saw them.
And as fellow mercenaries, the most important thing was to know who hired who. If they shared an employer, no problem.
But if not... they were enemies.
"Honestly, we didn't expect Orochimaru-sama to join a group after leaving Konoha.
Don't get me wrong, I've seen those cloaks before. But I never thought I'd see Orochimaru-sama wearing one, acting as a war mercenary."
Yuhara smiled faintly and looked calmly at Orochimaru before asking curiously:
"So we're curious—who hired you, Orochimaru-sama? Or maybe... your boss?
Because you're not the only one I've seen in that cloak."
"You know me?"
Orochimaru's golden pupils narrowed slightly. He felt like this guy knew him a little too well.
While he couldn't be sure, his instincts were tingling.
"Orochimaru-sama's name is known far and wide. And honestly, I'd rather not fight you."
Yuhara spoke casually, then slowly drew a ninjatō.
"But if, unfortunately, we were hired by different people... I guess we don't really have a choice, do we?"
"Indeed, there's not much choice."
Orochimaru chuckled and tossed his hat aside. His chakra instantly erupted.
"Judging by where you came from, you're probably with Suna or Hoshigakure. Which means... yeah, we'll have to fight."
"Yeah, what a shame. I really didn't want to fight you, Orochimaru-sama, but—"
Before he finished speaking, Yuhara stomped hard on the ground and vanished. In a flash of light, his blade was unsheathed and sliced toward Orochimaru with terrifying speed and precision.
"You really gave us too much."
"Captain, we're almost at the Hoshigakure defense zone."
Five kilometers away, a fifty-man unit approached quietly.
Their mission: take over Hoshigakure's defense from the local forces.
They had no love for the arrogant Star Ninja. Their leader styled himself as a Kage and tried to break free from Iwagakure's control—that was intolerable.
In the world of big and small nations, there's no justice. If a small country has valuable resources, their fate is sealed.
If Hoshigakure had just stayed put, like Yugakure in the Land of Hot Springs, they might've survived.
But their ambitions made them a common enemy of both Iwa and Suna.
They'd survived this long thanks to natural barriers and Suna's presence.
Still, Iwa couldn't crush them directly—it would look bad. Unlike shameless Suna, Iwa had appearances to maintain.
So they hired mercenaries to do their dirty work.
Iwa had better finances than Suna—they didn't rely so heavily on food imports.
"Did our hired men get in?"
The captain nodded, lifting binoculars to scan the distance.
"They should be inside by now."
A younger Iwa-nin nodded, sighing. "Those mercs are amazing. They wiped out so many enemies with ease. That's the only reason we're taking over so smoothly."
"Hmph."
The captain scoffed.
"Amazing? They were fighting poorly equipped, barely trained nobodies.
We only hired them to minimize our losses and keep our reputation intact.
They're just mercenaries chasing money. What's so amazing about that?"
The junior ninja shut up, though he didn't fully agree.
He had seen those mercs in action. Their strength was real.
He had personally witnessed them obliterate a Suna stronghold like it was nothing.
Those Sand shinobi weren't weak. But against the mercs, they were sheep led to slaughter.
"If they weren't strong, why would Lord Tsuchikage hire them?"
He muttered softly—but a loud explosion interrupted him.
The captain stared through the binoculars, stunned.
"What was that, Captain?"
No reply. The captain looked like he'd frozen.
Everyone else turned to look.
Far away, the entire horizon was in flames.
"They gave you too much?"
Orochimaru looked calm. He had faced countless disasters—this was nothing.
But Yuhara's words made his brow twitch. He had just argued with another guy obsessed with "being paid too much."
Now hearing it again rubbed him wrong.
"But no matter how much they give you, you've gotta live long enough to spend it."
He licked his tongue and mumbled. Just as Yuhara's blade slashed toward him, he leapt back.
In that instant, a kunai appeared in his hand, slashing at Yuhara from an eerie angle.
Shisui stayed still. He had no prior coordination with Yuhara, and they were both solo fighters.
They hadn't practiced teamwork—and without using the Sharingan, it was too risky to jump in and mess up.
But his chakra was boiling—he wasn't out of the fight. He was just waiting.
Waiting for the right moment to strike and hit Orochimaru hard—without interfering with Yuhara.
"Yuhara seems confident. No Sharingan—maybe he's waiting for an opening? Or avoiding exposure?
And he said Orochimaru joined some organization... which he didn't deny.
What group is strong enough to recruit someone like Orochimaru?"
Shisui cared a lot about this. Any group that could pull in Orochimaru... could also pull in someone like Itachi.
And he was right. Completely right.
Yuhara didn't know any of that. But facing Orochimaru's attack—even without his Sharingan—he could still predict the trajectory.
His ninjatō swept across in a blinding arc. Wind-style chakra surged along the blade, sealing off Orochimaru's path.
If Orochimaru advanced any farther, he'd lose his head.
"This sword style...?"
Orochimaru was no amateur—he instantly recognized the blade technique's power.
He knew many styles and was great with a sword himself. But this one? It was new.
Still, his movements didn't falter. He stopped his slash and twisted unnaturally.
Then he leapt back, landing steadily on a large rock.
"Fascinating technique. I haven't seen anything this fun since Sakumo Hatake died."
Orochimaru's eyes were full of curiosity and nostalgia.
Then he chuckled and said:
"If you're a swordsman, I'll indulge you."
He raised his head, and a long sword emerged from his mouth.
Ignoring the saliva, Orochimaru grabbed the blade and gave it a little flick.
"I don't know who you are, or why you're so confident.
Your teammate doesn't seem keen to fight.
But you've piqued my interest—let's have some fun.
Try not to disappoint me!"
As soon as he finished, Orochimaru charged—faster and deadlier than before. His sword carried a terrifying natural pressure.
He was a monster.
Yuhara stayed calm. After all, he had been gifted the Valkyrie Flowing Blade style and had mastered Waterbird Waltz.
His swordsmanship had improved dramatically with that manual—that's why he dared fight without the Sharingan.
He twisted his blade ever so slightly—sword and sword clashed, sparking.
Orochimaru licked his tongue and shoved hard.
Yuhara felt a massive force slam into him. His enhanced body saved him—but his blade was pushed off course.
"What strength... and great technique too."
Yuhara was impressed. Luckily, he reacted fast and used Orochimaru's force to leap into the air.
But Orochimaru followed like a shadow. He leapt at the same time.
Then his expression changed.
Yuhara, midair, had raised his sword overhead. Blue chakra coiled around the blade.
In that moment, Orochimaru felt an overwhelming sense of danger.
(End of Chapter)
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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to 30+ at patreon.com/Emik01.