Kakashi Hatake's assessment was accurate.
Sasuke Uchiha had, in fact, chosen to defect. When Orochimaru and Obito Uchiha found him and promised to make him stronger, Sasuke made the decision to leave Konoha.
Even though he knew they were dangerous rogue ninjas, it didn't matter. To accomplish his revenge, Sasuke didn't care where his power came from. As long as he could kill Itachi Uchiha, he was willing to throw everything away.
"Hmph," Sasuke said, agreeing to follow Orochimaru but with his usual arrogance. "Just don't let me down."
"Of course not," Orochimaru replied, unbothered by Sasuke's attitude. Watching the proud young ninja, he licked his lips greedily. "I want you to be as strong as possible, Sasuke-kun..."
Preferably strong enough to one day awaken the Rinnegan, he thought. Then my reward would be even greater.
Unfortunately for them, they hadn't been gone from Konoha for long before Kakashi tracked them down.
"It seems your former teammate refuses to give up on you," Orochimaru remarked to Obito, noticing Kakashi trailing them.
"Hmph." Obito snorted with disdain and leaped ahead to confront him. "I'll hold him off. You two get out of here."
"How considerate," Orochimaru's smile widened. Honestly, the ninjas of Konoha… it was as if none of them could escape the bonds that tied them together.
As he thought this, his gaze fell on Sasuke, and for a moment, he saw the face of another, blonde-haired kid. And that kid's teacher.
If nothing changes, Jiraiya and Naruto are probably training somewhere in the Land of Fire right now.
If they hear Sasuke has left with me, those two will be a real headache.
"Let's go," Orochimaru said with a smile, motioning for Sasuke to follow. "If we're too slow and the wrong people hear about this, we'll have big problems…"
Before he could finish his sentence, a stream of water shot out of the forest.
Orochimaru's smile vanished. He raised his arm just in time for the jet of water to pierce it like a bullet.
This is… Orochimaru's heart jumped.
The attack reminded him of a certain boy he'd captured. This was the Water Gun Jutsu of the Hozuki clan, but the skill displayed here was far greater than that of Suigetsu, the boy he held captive.
"Hahahaha!" Laughter echoed from the trees. "Young people today are impressive."
The Second Mizukage, Hozuki Gengetsu, stepped out from the woods, scratching his head sheepishly as if embarrassed by the ambush. "I had that sneak attack all set up, and I still didn't manage to take you out."
"..."
Orochimaru didn't smile. He already understood what was happening. This man was a reanimated ninja. There was another user of the Reanimation Jutsu in the world.
"Alright," Gengetsu continued, spreading his hands as if talking to himself. "Even if my ambush failed, the outcome probably won't change, right?"
"Who is that guy?" Sasuke asked, instinctively looking to Orochimaru.
"Youngsters these days, you don't even recognize me?" Gengetsu rubbed his small mustache proudly. "That's just disrespectful to history."
"The Second Mizukage—Hozuki Gengetsu," Orochimaru said, his eyes narrowed and deadly serious. "I'm less surprised to see the Second Mizukage here than I am interested in the reanimator who summoned him."
After all, it wasn't hard to guess Gengetsu's identity.
To use a precious sacrifice to revive a water-style expert of this caliber, his background had to be strong.
"That's correct!" Gengetsu gave Orochimaru a dramatic thumbs-up, then slowly shook his head. "Too bad, I can't tell you the answer to that second question."
"But I've already figured it out," Orochimaru's eyes flashed, his stare fixed on Gengetsu as if he had already identified the person behind the jutsu.
"…Kabuto, that's you, isn't it?" Orochimaru's expression turned dangerous as he sought to confirm his suspicion. "Other than myself and Lord Emiya, you're the only one in this world who could master the Reanimation Jutsu."
Especially a near-perfect Reanimation like this one.
Thinking of the assistant who used to only help with chores, unable to join in fights, Orochimaru's expression grew even more grim.
"As expected of Orochimaru-sama," an icy voice whispered by his ear. But faster than the voice came a blade.
A slim, bandaged man appeared out of thin air behind Orochimaru, his ninja sword piercing straight through his body.
"So it was you," Orochimaru's face darkened. He looked over his shoulder at the figure, spitting blood with a sneer. "Second Tsuchikage, Mu."
"Kabuto," Orochimaru's gaze turned chilling. "Looks like you've been hiding a lot from me. So you think… just because you can use the Reanimation Jutsu and summon two Kage, you're qualified to betray me?"
The next moment, Orochimaru's mouth opened wide, and a new Orochimaru emerged from it. Using his Snake Substitution, he retreated to safety, his hands flashing through seals as he summoned two coffins.
"My own collection," he hissed, "is just as good as yours."
Bang!
The lids crashed down, and two figures stepped out.
The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura.
And the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.
During the Chunin Exam incident, Orochimaru hadn't used these two, as he needed the power of the Hokage. Their deaths had made them useless in that battle, so they had simply been kept in reserve. Now was the perfect chance to use them.
The battlefield shifted in an instant. In terms of numbers, Orochimaru and his two Kage now faced the Second Mizukage and Second Tsuchikage. Three against two gave him the edge, especially since he knew all the strengths and weaknesses of the reanimated.
"Orochimaru-sama truly has quite a collection," Mu, the Second Tsuchikage, spoke with Kabuto's voice, as respectful as ever. "It seems I acted a little too soon."
"But," Kabuto's tone grew serious, "Orochimaru-sama, the gap between Kage can be huge. Your two have never been particularly impressive in battle."
The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, had been assassinated by Kisame Hoshigaki.
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, was killed by Orochimaru himself.
In contrast, the abilities of the Second Mizukage and Second Tsuchikage were no joke. These two stood out during the Warring States period, their most famous loss being at the hands of Emiya Shirou.
But since nearly every great expert in the ninja world had been beaten by Emiya Shirou at some point, a defeat like that hardly counted.
"Well then," Orochimaru's smile turned mocking. "Let's see what happens in a real fight!" He understood the difference between Kage, but he had summoned his two mainly as backup. His true strength was knowing the weaknesses of reanimated opponents.
Most important of all, he still had an ally nearby. Once Obito finished with Kakashi, he would be able to join the fight.
"Sasuke-kun, stay back," Orochimaru said, raising a finger to caution him. "You've already seen the power of someone like Lord Emiya, but I think you won't mind seeing another Kage-level battle. Chances like these are rare."