Orochimaru going astray again?
At the critical moment, Shisui Uchiha sensed the deadly intent behind him.
Without hesitation, he shoved open the fire escape door beside him and swiftly unsheathed his tantō, intercepting the strike of a segmented, scorpion-like tail blade. As his Sharingan spun, multiple afterimages of him flickered around his body—his Body Flicker Technique reaching its peak.
The Hidden Shadow Snake Hands that lunged at him mid-air were instantly cleaved apart, dispersing into a crimson mist.
Huomen, recognizing the presence of an enemy, quickly murmured his thanks before drawing a kunai from his pouch. His gaze hardened as he set his sights on Orochimaru and Sasori of the Red Sand, who advanced from the distance.
The name of the Sannin carried immense weight in the ninja world—so much so that even a shinobi stationed far from the mainland knew of Orochimaru's terrifying prowess.
After a brief contemplation, Huomen turned to Shisui. "Shisui, can you handle them?"
Shisui's Sharingan shifted into its three-tomoe form, his expression grave. "If it were only Orochimaru, I might have a chance at holding my ground. But with Sasori, a master puppeteer of the Akatsuki, assisting him… I doubt I can take them both."
Huomen's face tensed at the implication. He exhaled sharply, muttering, "Why now of all times? If we let them run rampant, all the progress we've made rebuilding the village will be wiped out."
Shisui cast him a sidelong glance before stating firmly, "I can stall them for now. You need to warn the villagers and rally all available Uchiha shinobi for backup."
Huomen nodded without hesitation, activated Body Flicker, and dashed toward the village center.
Noticing this, Sasori wasted no time, commanding several of his puppets to pursue. However, before they could reach Huomen, the chakra threads controlling them were abruptly severed.
A squad of Uchiha shinobi had arrived, their keen eyes tracking the puppets' movements. Upon realizing they were under attack, they immediately reinforced Shisui.
Seeing this, Shisui exhaled slightly in relief before locking eyes with Orochimaru. His voice was cold as steel.
"Orochimaru, it's been a long time. If you don't give me a proper reason for this invasion, you won't leave Uzushio Village alive."
Orochimaru merely chuckled, his golden serpentine eyes gleaming with intrigue. "Uzushio Village? Last I checked, Uchiha were still Konoha's shinobi. Have you betrayed the Hidden Leaf to form your own faction? Without Konoha's protection, how exactly do you plan to survive in the ninja world?"
Shisui scoffed. "That's none of your concern. The Uchiha always find a way to endure."
Orochimaru studied him carefully, then smirked. A swarm of serpents slithered from his sleeves, hissing as they lunged at the Uchiha. However, Shisui swiftly cut them down with precise, effortless strokes of his tantō.
Unfazed, Orochimaru mused aloud, "You're still relying on the three-tomoe Sharingan? I would have expected you to awaken the Mangekyō by now."
Rather than responding, Shisui wove hand seals. Great Fireball Jutsu erupted in multiple directions, trapping both Orochimaru and Sasori in a vortex of searing flames. The intense heat warped the air itself.
From within the inferno, Sasori's Hiruko puppet emerged, its mouth snapping open as a barrage of poison-laced senbon shot forth.
The projectiles pierced the Uchiha's uniform, embedding themselves into the chainmail beneath. A moment later, the affected ninja's skin darkened with ominous purple splotches—a sign of Sasori's lethal poison.
Without hesitation, Shisui severed the poisoned flesh from his ally's arm, his expression unreadable. "Forget about defeating Orochimaru. Just keep an eye on him. I'll deal with the puppet master."
With those words, Shisui launched himself at Sasori, expertly dodging the razor-sharp tail of Hiruko while his Sharingan meticulously scanned for Sasori's real body.
The key to defeating a puppet master was eliminating the user, yet even with the heightened perception of the Sharingan, he found no sign of Sasori's true form.
"Could he be… inside that crimson shell?" Shisui wondered.
But that didn't make sense—Hiruko had just withstood temperatures exceeding hundreds of degrees from the Fire Release attack. No ordinary shinobi could endure that kind of heat.
"Could it be… that this puppet master is as inhuman as Orochimaru?"
Shisui pushed the thought aside, refocusing on the battle.
Meanwhile, the Uchiha forces clashed with Orochimaru. Although many of them were jōnin-level, their skills were insufficient to pose a serious threat to the former Sannin.
Orochimaru, however, wasn't particularly invested in the battle. His curiosity was piqued by the alliance between the Uzumaki and Uchiha clans. He had assumed the Uchiha's exile from Konoha would weaken them, but instead, they had formed an entirely new power base.
Stealing Sharingan was a lesser concern—his hidden laboratories had more than enough Uchiha test subjects already. Implanting them was an option, but even Shin Uchiha, a clone designed to perfectly accept transplants, could only utilize a fraction of the Sharingan's true power.
More importantly, transplanted Sharingan could not evolve—a frustrating limitation. Mangekyō Sharingan could only be obtained through the wielder's own awakening.
For now, he was far more interested in the Uzumaki bloodline—a powerful genetic material he had yet to collect for his experiments.
As Orochimaru pondered this, Izumi Uchiha and her squad seized the opportunity, weaving a powerful Sharingan-induced genjutsu around him. The moment his movements slowed, they unleashed a coordinated Fire Release assault from multiple angles.
Flames consumed the area, leaving Orochimaru seemingly with no escape.
But as the smoke cleared, a massive white serpent slithered forth—the Eight-Headed Serpent of Ryūchi Cave.
Orochimaru's Summoning Jutsu had activated just in time. The monstrous snake absorbed the flames and lunged at the Uchiha forces with terrifying force.
With the Uchiha preoccupied, Orochimaru smirked.
Shisui was the real prize here—but he had no experience fighting against the Mangekyō Sharingan. If he wanted to force Shisui's evolution, he had to wait for the right moment.
For now, he would bide his time.
---
Meanwhile…
Near the outskirts of Uzushio Village, Naruto Uzumaki, Jiraiya, and their group arrived just in time to hear the distant sounds of battle. Their expressions darkened.
"Are we too late?" Naruto muttered.
Standing beside him, Zabuza Momochi frowned. Since he had agreed to work in the Land of Whirlpools for the foreseeable future, the last thing he wanted was for the village to be wiped out before he even settled in.
But after glancing at Naruto's determined face, he exhaled.
"If anything, the ones who should be worried are the attackers," Zabuza mused.
Naruto didn't give the order to move just yet. Instead, he turned to Jiraiya with a grin. "Hey, Pervy Sage, looks like you're in luck. We just arrived, and there's already a mission waiting for you."
Jiraiya sighed dramatically. "Man… what a lucky day for me."
Despite his lighthearted words, his expression was serious as he gazed toward Uzushio Village.
He had no doubt about it now. The chaos ahead was Orochimaru's doing.
This wasn't just another experiment.
Orochimaru had set his sights on Uchiha once again.
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