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***
Even in the darkness, the face that now appeared before Izumi Uchiha's eyes seemed excessively pale, devoid of color.
Izumi had been knocked unconscious before she could even see her enemy's face.
The figure before her was a man with long, black hair.
While handsome, he exuded a gloomy and menacing air.
Especially his snake-like, golden pupils, which were observing Izumi with interest.
"Young lady, you're not even screaming in this situation. You're quite brave," the long-haired man chuckled, slightly surprised.
"Who are you? Why are you capturing me?"
Izumi asked the long-haired man calmly, for Itachi had once told her that the more dangerous the moment, the calmer a ninja must be.
"What beautiful eyes," the man murmured, gazing into Izumi's eyes.
He straightened up and turned to look toward the stream behind him.
Of course, he wouldn't explain everything to Izumi in detail.
Phew!
At that moment, a gentle breeze suddenly blew, stirring the long black hair of the man before Izumi.
She saw the corners of his thin lips curl up sharply.
"As for my name, I can tell you."
"My name is Orochimaru."
"Orochimaru!?"
A look of shock crossed Izumi's face at the name.
Even though she was still a mere genin of Konohagakure, she had heard the name since her days at the Ninja Academy.
Everyone in the ninja world knew the fame of the Legendary Sannin of Konohagakure!
This legendary title originated during the Second Shinobi World War.
The Sannin of Konohagakure was the title bestowed upon three young ninjas who had fought against Hanzo, the then-leader of Amegakure, revered as a demigod, for extended periods without defeat.
Over time, the three young ninjas bestowed the title by Hanzo have become legendary figures.
Their names are Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru!
Izumi stared in astonishment at Orochimaru, who had defected from Konohagakure years ago and was now an S-rank rogue ninja on Konoha's most wanted list.
"Why didn't he kill me?"
Izumi couldn't understand why Orochimaru, a Konoha traitor, had merely captured her and held off on killing her.
Was he trying to get information about Konohagakure from her?
Izumi knew that as a Konohagakure genin, the information she knew wouldn't be particularly valuable to a figure of Orochimaru's caliber.
"What's his motive?"
Izumi found herself unable to figure out Orochimaru's reason for doing this.
"Even after learning my identity, you're still not panicking?"
Orochimaru turned his head, his gaze lingering on Izumi's face for a moment.
"If I can't lure that brat out, this girl is worth trying."
He wasn't particularly interested in the girl before him, even though she possessed the Sharingan.
However, Izumi's reactions exceeded his expectations.
"Am I going to die?"
Izumi muttered to herself.
She couldn't imagine Orochimaru's motive, but he was a Konoha traitor after all.
She didn't think anything good would happen to her if she fell into Orochimaru's hands.
Although Izumi usually came across as gentle and kind, she possessed a tenacity unmatched by anyone.
From the first day she became a ninja, she had prepared for death.
This was a mindset every ninja needed to possess.
Thinking of this, a wave of sadness welled up in Izumi's heart, and tears shone in her bright eyes as they streamed down her cheeks.
"Are you still scared? You've already imagined your own end?"
Orochimaru saw Izumi crying and assumed she was afraid of death.
"I already said I wouldn't leave you alone again. I'm sorry, Itachi."
Izumi wasn't afraid of death, but she still felt a deep reluctance.
Itachi had always been her support on her ninja journey, but at this moment, Izumi didn't want him to appear before her like a savior.
While Izumi wasn't afraid of death, she was afraid of implicating Itachi.
After all, the enemy was too powerful.
Even though she believed Itachi would never lose to anyone, they were still too young.
Even the most talented ninja needed time to grow.
"Mom, you must take care of yourself and stop working so hard."
"Dad, although the work in the Konoha Police Force is very busy, you have to take time out to rest occasionally."
"Izumi can't continue to accompany you."
The more she thought about it, the more reluctant Izumi felt, and this gave rise to fear.
Although prepared to face death, who wants to die?
Not many people can face death without fear, especially a ten-year-old girl like Izumi.
Even though she's a ninja.
Orochimaru initially thought Izumi was simply afraid of death, but as he observed the shifting emotions in her eyes, he gradually changed his mind.
These emotions, he himself had experienced as a Konohagakure ninja, having endured countless battles and separations.
What is the value of life?
People interpret this question differently, depending on their values.
However, life is inherently fragile.
Especially for a ninja, its perishable nature holds little value.
Death is like the extinguishing of a light.
Orochimaru sought the answer to this question, and this led to a new question:
What is the truth of this world?
If he could find the answer, he could explain everything, truly understand everything.
The search for the answer would take a long time, but human life is far too short.
Furthermore, the world is constantly changing.
To achieve this, Orochimaru first needs eternal life.
Compared to the endlessness of time, everything else seems insignificant.
The village, his companionsāall of these were insignificant in comparison.
Orochimaru gathered his thoughts, his gaze following the stream upward.
A thin figure huddled in the mist beside the stream.
"This trip to the Land of Water has been quite fruitful. I never imagined the Kaguya clan would dare to attack Kirigakure."
Orochimaru licked his lips.
"Uchiha Itachi, I'm really looking forward to seeing if you can find this place."
With a swish, Itachi's figure swiftly advanced through the mist-shrouded jungle.
"Chi!"
Three magatama slowly spun in his blood-red eyes.
He suddenly stopped, landing between two large trees.
Pushing aside a few leaves with his hand, Itachi picked up a kunai with a pink bow on the end.
"Hiss!"
At the same moment, he noticed a thin snake hidden in the dense branches of a tree to his upper left.
Its eyes fixed on him intently.
"It's not far away."
Itachi slowly exerted force on the palm of his hand holding the kunai, suddenly leaped up, and rushed out.
"Izumi, be patient, I'll come to save you soon!"
...
A thin snake emerged from the dense forest next to the stream, crawling swiftly.
The thin snake slithered onto Orochimaru's body and coiled around his right arm.
"Hiss."
The snake flicked its tongue, as if conveying some information to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru understood, turned his head to look at Izumi Uchiha, a smile spreading across his face, and said, "Did you find this place after all?"
Izumi was slightly stunned when she saw Orochimaru's smile.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Suddenly, numerous black shadows whizzed out from the dark forest, rubbing against the air with sharp sounds.
The spinning shuriken aimed at Orochimaru's vital points, shooting toward him at different tricky angles with extreme speed.
Seeing this, Orochimaru's pupils shrank slightly.
If anyone in the current ninja world's shurikenjutsu could pose a threat to him, it would only be Uchiha Fugaku, the head of Konohagakure's Uchiha clan, or Uchiha Shisui, a member of the Anbu.
However, Orochimaru discovered that even with his skill, he couldn't deflect these shuriken simply by dodging!
"Is that shurikenjutsu from Uchiha Itachi?"
Orochimaru was slightly surprised, but he immediately formed hand seals and extended his right arm.
As his arm extended, it suddenly expanded, transforming into a giant, spotted snake, as thick as a bowl.
The spotted snake didn't attack but coiled around Orochimaru, protecting all his vital points.
Orochimaru's eyes grew serious, and he gazed into the forest.
All the shuriken pierced the spotted snake coiled around him.
Swish!
At that moment, a dark shadow suddenly shot out from the forest, heading straight for Izumi, not far from Orochimaru.
"So it was just a feint?"
Orochimaru, having discerned the attacker's intentions, refrained from attacking first.
He immediately recognized the face of the surging black figure.
It was Itachi!
"What swift speed!"
Orochimaru marveled, impressed not only by Itachi's agility but also by his unexpected shurikenjutsu.
However, even that level of speed was nothing to Orochimaru.
He suddenly thrust out his other arm.
"Hiss!"
From the cuff of Orochimaru's left arm emerged numerous tiny snakes, entwining and biting toward Itachi.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
His attack was far faster than Itachi's movement.
Therefore, many of the entangled snakes from Orochimaru's left arm pierced Itachi's body.
"Ah, ah, ah!"
However, when Itachi was struck by the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, his body dispersed, transforming into numerous crows that scattered.
In her weakened state, Izumi couldn't clearly see the swift battle.
But when she heard the crows' cries, her eyes widened involuntarily.
"Itachi?"
Orochimaru scattered the crow clones, and they rushed toward him to harass him.
"A clone cast through a summoned beast?"
Orochimaru had researched Itachi's intelligence and knew it was one of his most skilled ninjutsu.
He immediately thought Itachi was using the crows to temporarily entangle him, finding an opening to rescue Izumi.
However, this tactic was no match for Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin!
Orochimaru flicked his right hand, and the large, spotted snake protecting his vitals disintegrated.
Like the one on his left hand, it transformed into countless tiny snakes, charging toward the multitude of crows.
The snakes bit every crow without missing a beat.
Orochimaru's mouth curled slightly, and he glanced toward the forest, believing Itachi's true form was still hiding there.
"Ah, aah!"
However, the crows, which Orochimaru assumed had been bitten by his snakes and died from the venom, seemed completely unharmed.
"What!?"
This time, Orochimaru's expression turned truly horrified.
Immediately afterward, the scene before him began to change.
Orochimaru finally realized that it wasn't his snakes that had struck Itachi's summoned crows.
Instead, he had fallen victim to Itachi's genjutsu!
Swish!
Just as Orochimaru was frozen by the genjutsu cast through the crows, Itachi's true form darted out from the nearby forest, much faster than his clone.
He instantly appeared before Izumi and unleashed several kunai, piercing the snake restraining her with precise thrusts to its groin and abdomen, killing it.
However, Itachi had no time to communicate with Izumi.
The illusion cast by the crow clone alone couldn't hold Orochimaru for long.
Sure enough, just as Itachi turned his gaze toward Orochimaru, the latter had already broken free from the genjutsu.
Those snake-like eyes, filled with surprise and anger, were about to turn toward Itachi.
"Chi!"
At that moment, the three magatama in Itachi's eyes trembled violently.
At this distance, if Orochimaru met his eyes, Itachi could immediately activate his Sharingan genjutsu.
This time, the genjutsu would not be so easy to break.
However, Orochimaru didn't lower his gaze but met Itachi's eyes directly.
Orochimaru's gaze was raised.
After all, he was one of the Sannin, a veteran of battle.
The reason Itachi's tactics were successful was because Orochimaru had underestimated him.
Because before this, no matter how talented Itachi might be, he was only ten years old.
But being caught in Itachi's genjutsu immediately alerted Orochimaru that Itachi was no ordinary child.
Although, from what he knew, Itachi had only activated a single magatama Sharingan, Orochimaru now regarded him as a truly formidable opponent.
Never looking directly into the eyes of an Uchiha ninja was a fundamental rule of engagement.
However, despite being unable to meet Itachi's gaze, the thin snakes wrapped around Orochimaru's arms were flicking their tongues.
Snakes possess the ability to perceive and judge their surroundings without relying on their eyes.
Using this ability to determine Itachi's exact location, Orochimaru's arms rapidly extended their serpents and attacked.
However, without the ability to see, Orochimaru's attacks were less precise and swift.
Under these circumstances, his attacks posed no threat to Itachi.
Using his Sharingan to track the attacking snakes, Itachi spun around, quickly picked up Izumi, and with a few maneuvers, dodged all of Orochimaru's attacks.
Swish!
Then, taking advantage of the gap before Orochimaru launched his next attack, Itachi dodged and retreated.
The snake restraining Izumi had already been killed by Itachi's kunai, so he yanked it away with a casual tug.
Itachi then lowered his eyes and looked at the girl in his arms.
His eyes, once fierce due to his battle mode and activated Sharingan, suddenly shifted to a gentle, concerned expression.
He whispered,
"Are you okay?"
....
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