The giant snake tilted its head back and swallowed Kinoe whole.
The small snakes that had scattered earlier quickly regrouped. Even though Kakashi wielded a kunai, he could only take down a few of them.
"Damn it!"
A few severed snakes fell to the ground, but Kakashi's arm was still caught in the writhing mass.
Countless small white snakes coiled around him, layer upon layer, swallowing him up. Soon, the two of them would be completely consumed by the giant snake.
Hatake Satoru had just teleported to a pile of broken rocks he had visited earlier. There was too much debris here—walking might have been faster than teleporting.
He took a deep breath, pressing his shoulder while measuring the distance between Kakashi and the snake with his thumb.
One of his hands suddenly curled into a claw-like shape, and his eyes, hidden behind the eyepatch, grew serious.
A faint blue mist rose from the severed snake parts on the ground, the ones Kakashi had cut down.
As Kakashi struggled to break free, he turned his head and saw the floating remains of the small snakes.
His pupils shrank.
They weren't alone.
Someone else was here!
At a time like this, another presence meant they were as good as trapped—helpless prey at the mercy of the hunter.
Kakashi scanned the area with his Sharingan.
There was no trace of chakra flow.
The faint blue mist on the ground looked similar to chakra, but it clearly wasn't. Even with his Sharingan deactivated, he could still see it.
"Blue!"
At Hatake Satoru's sharp command, the snakes covered in blue mist shot toward the giant serpent.
Though they were only broken fragments, they moved at incredible speed and struck with surprising force.
The snake's body rippled like water, shaking violently as more of its small fragments scattered onto the ground.
"Hisss!"
The giant snake's golden eyes darted sideways. It pressed its body against the ground, rolling frantically to crush the severed snakes beneath it.
Hatake Satoru raised both hands slightly, and the faint blue mist spread over the entire snake, engulfing it like pale blue flames.
Then, with a casual clap of his hands, all the smaller snakes forming the giant serpent slammed into each other in a bizarre motion.
"Crack!"
They instantly compressed, producing sharp, crackling sounds as their bodies were crushed together.
The snake's head was quickly reduced to a bloody mess, and red streaks spread across its body.
Oddly, the effect only seemed to be concentrated on the upper half of the snake.
Meanwhile, the small snakes wrapped around Kakashi remained unaffected, having separated from the main body.
Seizing the moment, Kakashi yanked his arm free and leapt backward.
He had clearly heard a clap just now. Without hesitation, he threw his kunai toward the source of the sound.
Whoever was behind this strange ninjutsu—he had to stop them!
Drawing his sword, Kakashi slashed through the remaining snakes on his body, flinging them away.
"Clang—"
A kunai stuck into the empty wall, but there was no one there anymore.
"No one?!"
Kakashi looked toward the scattered rocks in shock.
Just then, a strange yet familiar sweet scent drifted past his nose. Instinctively, he took a step back and rubbed his nose.
But when he sniffed again, all he could smell was the usual stench of rot and damp earth inside the base.
"What's going on?!"
There was definitely someone there just now—his hearing couldn't be wrong.
And what was with that weird scent that flashed by?
Kakashi frowned deeply.
"Boom!"
Before he could think further, a loud explosion rang out. The entire upper half of the giant snake burst apart like a firework.
Chunks of the snake's body splattered across the ground, forming small blood-filled craters.
In an instant, the massive snake had been crushed from the inside.
Jia tumbled out from the broken snake, his hands still tied behind his back.
Being swallowed by a snake clearly wasn't a pleasant experience—Jia kept his head down, coughing nonstop.
Kakashi didn't have time to focus on anything else. He immediately ran over to Kinoe.
…
In the darkness, a dim green light cast eerie shadows on a man's face.
His skin was unnaturally pale, almost sickly, and dark purple markings surrounded his sharp, snake-like eyes.
His golden, slit pupils flickered unpredictably as he stared into the darkness ahead.
Several sheets of paper filled with notes slipped from his hands.
A hoarse, sinister chuckle echoed in the shadows, like a whisper from the depths of hell.
"So, there's someone that interesting out there?"
Hatake Satoru landed smoothly in the woods just outside the village. This was as far as he could go for now.
"Good thing I didn't run into that idiot."
Hatake Satoru dusted off his clothes and glanced back toward the base.
As Kakashi flipped off the giant snake, he narrowly missed colliding with Hatake Satoru, who had just teleported away.
He could even feel the edge of his sleeve brush against Kakashi's nose.
Thankfully, he didn't bump straight into his tsundere little brother—otherwise, Kakashi would probably sulk for at least half a month.
And explaining everything to him would be a huge pain.
Just as Hatake Satoru was about to head home, a rustling sound came from the trees.
At this hour? Who would be hanging around near the village outskirts?
Curious, he pushed aside the leaves and saw a group of kids, about eight or nine years old, sitting scattered on the ground.
Right in front of them was a dark-colored stone wedged between tree branches.
The writing on it was thin and scratchy, as if carved with another rock. On it, large, crooked words were scrawled:
"Hatake-sensei's True Face Investigation Meeting!"
Hatake Satoru raised an eyebrow, scanning the stone's handwriting to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
What the hell is this?