Three days later, on the battlefield of the Land of Hot Water.
Orochimaru casually flicked the blood from his hand.
Five corpses lay scattered on the ground.
"That should be enough..."
"Chizan-kun has already dealt with the daimyo of the Land of Waterfalls. I need to hurry and retreat too."
"Sensei... I don't even know if we'll see each other again after this..."
Just as Orochimaru turned to leave, the sound of rustling leaves came from behind.
He stopped warily, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
Why was Orochimaru called "cold"?
Because his pupils constantly emanated a chilling aura—unless you were close to him, no one could stand the freezing cold in those eyes.
Two figures slowly emerged.
Their builds were complete opposites—one strong and muscular, the other tall and slender.
"Well, if it isn't Konoha's Orochimaru?"
"Just a piece of trash who can only deal with ordinary shinobi."
The icy voice carried a trace of disdain.
Upon seeing them, Orochimaru sneered coldly.
"Hmph, and here I was wondering who it was."
"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist—Jinpachi Munashi and Kushimaru Kuriarare."
The tension between the two sides immediately thickened.
Suddenly, Orochimaru attacked.
He thrust his hands forward, and countless snake shadows lunged toward the pair.
Jinpachi Munashi and Kushimaru Kuriarare reacted quickly, drawing their blades to block.
Kushimaru's long sword, Nuibari, danced in an airtight flurry, piercing every snake shadow.
Despite the swarm, they were useless before his precise strikes.
Jinpachi's moves, on the other hand, were the complete opposite—brutal and violent.
The scroll of tShibuki unfurled, and countless explosive tags detonated, blasting all the snakes into pieces with overwhelming force.
A disdainful smile curled at the corner of Orochimaru's lips.
He formed hand seals, and with a summoning technique, a massive anaconda erupted from the ground.
Its huge maw snapped shut, swallowing Jinpachi Munashi whole.
Kushimaru, agile and sharp, dodged easily, ignoring his swallowed comrade and launching an attack on Orochimaru instead.
Meanwhile, Jinpachi, trapped in the snake's belly, began struggling wildly.
The anaconda's stomach bulged violently.
A gleam flashed in Orochimaru's eyes as he dodged the attacks.
"Boom!"
"Bastard! So disgusting!"
"I'll kill you!"
The sound of explosions and furious shouting echoed simultaneously.
The anaconda vanished into smoke.
Covered in thick slime, Jinpachi Munashi charged at Orochimaru, clearly nauseated from being swallowed whole.
At that moment, Kushimaru, who had been engaged with Orochimaru, suddenly launched a sharp attack.
Steel wires shot out from the ground, binding Orochimaru's legs tightly and slicing into his flesh.
Jinpachi's follow-up came immediately.
The scroll covered in explosive tags wrapped around Orochimaru, and a massive chain of explosions erupted.
"Boom!"
The detonation lasted for several minutes.
After all, the Blastsword was a weapon wrapped entirely in explosive tags—you could use as many as you wanted.
When the explosions finally subsided, Jinpachi glared viciously at the smoking center.
Orochimaru lay on the ground in tatters, steel wires still wrapped around him.
"Bastard, were you trying to blow me up too?"
"Believe it or not, I'll stab a hundred holes into your body!"
Before Jinpachi could check on the result, Kushimaru rushed to his side and snapped at him.
"Hmph! Better if it did blow you up. I couldn't care less if a guy like you died."
"Move aside. I want to see if that bastard is really dead."
Pushing Kushimaru out of the way, Jinpachi hefted his sword and walked up to Orochimaru.
He kicked Orochimaru's charred body.
Orochimaru had completely lost consciousness.
"Hmph. This is Konoha's Sannin?"
"What a piece of trash."
"Hey, use your threads to tie him up. We'll bring him back and claim credit."
Kushimaru clenched his teeth in frustration at Jinpachi's words, but beating Orochimaru still felt good.
He couldn't be bothered to argue.
A few quick flicks of his hands, and Orochimaru was tied up and dragged behind him.
Without sparing Jinpachi another glance, Kushimaru pulled Orochimaru toward their camp.
When the two returned, they proudly threw Orochimaru into the center of the camp.
"Konoha's Sannin, huh? All trash."
"Even against us, he didn't stand a chance!"
Jinpachi boasted arrogantly to his fellow Mist shinobi.
Kushimaru kicked him aside and snapped in irritation.
"I was the one who restrained him. You only got your shot because of me."
"Don't hog all the credit for yourself, bastard!"
The two started arguing again, completely oblivious to the shocked looks of the Mist shinobi in the camp.
What did they just see?
These two had dragged back… what the hell was that thing?
And they said it was Orochimaru?
One of Konoha's Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru?
What a joke.
Finally, one of the straightforward Mist shinobi couldn't hold back anymore.
"Um, sirs, I think you made a mistake."
"How is this Orochimaru? Isn't this… a deer?"
Kushimaru: ???
Jinpachi: ???
The two stopped bickering.
A huge string of question marks floated above their heads as they turned to look at "Orochimaru."
The sight made their brains crash.
Where was Orochimaru?
How had he turned into a deer?
And not just any deer—this one was roasted beyond recognition, its meat smell replaced by burnt charcoal.
"What the hell happened!"
"Where's Orochimaru! Where did he go!"
"Bastard, was it you? Did you hide my prey!"
Jinpachi once again turned his rage on Kushimaru.
Kushimaru, still confused, snapped back as he flew into a rage.
The two started fighting again—this time not just shouting but with swords drawn.
Explosions erupted across the Mist camp in an instant.
...
As for Orochimaru, he was already on the road to the Land of Waterfalls.
"Hehehehe, I have to say, sometimes Chizan-kun's methods are pretty useful."
"A simple Genjutsu combined with a substitution technique—so convenient."
"I wonder what those two idiots will look like when they realize they worked so hard to blow up a deer... hehehehehe..."
At the same time, Gekko Chizan, who was training Yahiko and Konan, suddenly heard a system notification sound in his head.
The moment he heard it, only one thought filled his mind:
What the hell???
[Ding! Host successfully transmitted his 'not quite human' framing technique to his teacher Orochimaru, causing him to use it for the first time. Successfully provoked Kushimaru Kuriarare and Jinpachi Munashi into fighting each other. Jinpachi Munashi lost one leg, Kushimaru Kuriarare lost one arm. Special reward: .....]