"Hehehe..." Orochimaru was about to turn away when he looked back and asked one last question, "You're not going to stop me from returning to Konoha?"
Tanzo Shimura remained silent. If he really wanted to stop Orochimaru, he wouldn't have provided the information that Yamato had fallen into the hands of The Third Hokage. Clearly, he wanted to use Orochimaru to get rid of The Third Hokage.
Now Orochimaru understood completely. His figure slowly disappeared into the darkness, leaving only a pool of transparent water on the floor by the corner.
After leaving Tanzo Shimura's hiding place, Orochimaru quickly leaped into the river. He lay flat on the river bottom, letting the current carry him downstream.
"It's about time," Orochimaru thought after swimming underwater in the river for a while. He surfaced, observed for a moment, and after confirming that there was no one following, he climbed out of the river.
With a "puff," white smoke billowed from Orochimaru's body, and he transformed back into Zabuza Momochi.
"Humph, that brat Naruto is quite something," Zabuza Momochi said. "He really managed to find out whether Tanzo and Orochimaru are colluding."
Let's go back two days ago. After the first exam ended, Naruto Uzumaki went alone into the forest to find Zabuza Momochi and Haku, who had secretly infiltrated Konoha.
At that time, Naruto had a long conversation with Zabuza Momochi and Haku, and there's actually more to the story.
"Remember, before I become the Hokage, you must hide your identities and not be noticed. Once I become the Hokage, you can live openly in Konoha Village," Naruto vowed. "I, Naruto Uzumaki, will protect you."
Zabuza Momochi asked, "What exactly do you want us to do for you?"
"Orochimaru, one of the Sannin of Konoha, is about to invade Konoha," Naruto dropped a bombshell.
Zabuza Momochi seemed interested. "Don't you think it's ironic for a rogue ninja to return to the village that raised him for revenge?"
"That's why I want to become the Hokage," Naruto said seriously. "To prevent the emergence of rogue ninjas like you."
"Hehehe... interesting..."
Naruto revealed his plan. "Orochimaru is returning to Konoha, but I'm not sure if there's anyone in the village colluding with him. If there is, there's only one person it could be - Tanzo Shimura!"
"Zabuza Momochi, I need you to find Tanzo Shimura's hiding place in the village, then disguise yourself as Orochimaru and get information from Tanzo Shimura's mouth directly."
"I've never seen Orochimaru."
Naruto used the Transformation Jutsu and turned into the appearance of Orochimaru. Then he said, "Orochimaru looks something like this. Transform into my appearance."
"Tanzo Shimura is no ordinary person. He'll probably see through me easily."
"I've got it covered," Naruto said confidently. "Just mention a person's name, and Tanzo Shimura won't suspect you. He'll think you're the real Orochimaru."
"Yamato, the only ninja in Konoha Village who can use Wood Release!"
If you mention this name, Tanzo Shimura will definitely not doubt your authenticity."
"What!" Zabuza Momochi was shocked. In this era, there was actually someone who knew how to use [Wood Release], and that person was hiding in Konoha Village. Just how many secrets were still hidden in this village?
Next, Naruto briefly told Zabuza Momochi about Yamato. Then, Zabuza Momochi accepted Naruto's [mission commission]. Of course, Naruto had to pay Zabuza Momochi.
After all, all promises were just empty words. Only money was real. Zabuza Momochi wouldn't fight for Naruto just because Naruto said he wanted to become the [Hokage]. Only when Naruto took out the money would Zabuza Momochi be willing to work for him.
Back in the normal timeline, in the [Death Forest], the real Orochimaru was facing off against Naruto.
Orochimaru transformed into a [Kunoichi] from Kusagakure Village and looked down on Naruto with a haughty attitude. As one of the legendary [Sannin] of Konoha, he didn't put this [Genin] from Konoha in his eyes at all.
Naruto smiled slightly, showing a confident expression because he had long known that Orochimaru wouldn't kill him.
When Orochimaru invaded Konoha and launched the grand "Konoha Destruction Plan", he actually only killed one person during the whole process, the [Third Hokage], Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto launched the attack first, starting with his most proficient Shadow Clone Jutsu. A dozen shadow clones surrounded Orochimaru.
"Shadow clones." Orochimaru was surrounded by more than a dozen shadow clones, but he still looked calm. He stood there, wanting to see what tricks this [Genin] from Konoha could come up with.
Suddenly, Naruto's more than a dozen shadow clones rushed forward together. Orochimaru's body twisted strangely, just like a snake constantly wriggling. Naruto's mere dozen shadow clones were instantly beaten to disappear.
"Multiple Kage Clone Jutsu!" Naruto continued to make [Hand Seals]. This time, he conjured up over thirty shadow clones all at once and used their numerical advantage to surround Orochimaru in the middle.
"Submerged Shadow Snake Hands!" Orochimaru retracted his hand into his sleeve. Suddenly, several green - spotted snakes emerged from his sleeve. These ugly - looking green - spotted snakes bit and dispersed several of Naruto's shadow clones in a row.
Since Naruto had too many shadow clones, Orochimaru had to change his move: "Destroying Rampaging Snakes!" Dozens of snakes slithered out from Orochimaru's lower body and attacked in all directions. The venomous snakes turned into arrows and rushed towards Naruto's shadow clones one after another.
After Orochimaru took care of all of Naruto's shadow clones, he saw that Naruto had pulled out several [Wire Strings]. He glanced around and found that Explosive Tags were hanging everywhere.
Oh!
"Explosive Tags!" Orochimaru was shocked. What he feared wasn't the Explosive Tags themselves, but rather he was bewildered as to where a [Genin] from Konoha had gotten so many. At a rough glance, there were thirty - nine [Wire Strings] hanging in a disorderly manner, and each string was covered with Explosive Tags. There were at least 1,562 Explosive Tags in total.
Explosive Tags were advanced ninja tools with great power, no less than the advanced Fire Release Ninjutsu released by [Jonin]. However, they were also relatively expensive, and few people were willing to use a large number of them at once.
"Humph, Orochimaru, you like to dance, right?" Naruto said proudly, "Come on, let's have a snake dance! Explode!"
As Naruto shouted, "Detonate!", 1,562 Explosive Tags exploded one after another. Orochimaru's dodging movements were extremely fast. He leaped up and down, darted left and right to evade the explosions. A snake shadow weaved through thousands of gorgeous flames.
With his extremely fast footwork, Orochimaru managed to dodge half of the explosions from the Explosive Tags. But then Naruto tightened the Wire Strings in his hands, narrowing the encirclement. The continuously exploding Explosive Tags kept closing in on Orochimaru.
Orochimaru finally felt the pressure. He was actually forced into a desperate situation by a Genin from Konoha. Orochimaru quickly made Hand Seals and shouted, "Summoning Jutsu!"
Orochimaru summoned a Snake. As the remaining Explosive Tags turned into flames, this Snake was directly blown to a crisp on the outside and left tender on the inside. The air was filled with the aroma of roasted meat.
Naruto looked at the dead Snake in front of him. It was just an ordinary Snake, not the summoned beast under contract with Orochimaru.
The dead Snake seemed to stir. A big hole burst open in the Snake's head, and a soft body wriggled out from it, making one's hair stand on end.
"Hehehe," Orochimaru said with a smile, "It seems that The Third Hokage treats you well. You have so many Explosive Tags."
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