The blow against Konoha hadn't gone the way Orochimaru expected and his master was still alive, but aside from that Otogakure group, Orochimaru didn't waste time lamenting what he hadn't managed to accomplish.
What bothered him was who—or what—had managed to get past his barrier and injure those five, causing the most important part of the plan to go completely off the rails, but now he had other priorities.
"Has Hiruzen really gone completely senile?" Orochimaru read the scroll with the most recent information on Konoha's movements that Kabuto had sent him, frowning as he absorbed its contents.
The village had mobilized a large number of ninja to hunt him down, and they didn't have Jiraiya's naïve intentions. But…
He hadn't stolen the damn Forbidden Scroll!
"I studied the Sealing Scroll years ago, back when I was still in the village," he muttered. "Why would I do something like that? Taking it would only bring me unnecessary trouble."
He knew the techniques it contained and could always write them down from memory if he needed to. Otherwise, how would he have been improving the Edo Tensei in one of his many projects?
After thinking it through, he reached the conclusion that someone was framing him.
Taking advantage of the chaos of his plan, someone must have made their move and deliberately created the illusion that he was the one responsible.
"Danzō?" Orochimaru thought, before dismissing it just as quickly. "No, given our relationship, asking to see the techniques is routine."
He thought about the other attendants, but due to the lack of evidence, he couldn't point to anyone in particular. After all, any outsider not from Konoha would covet the Sealing Scroll.
"I'll have to keep a low profile in the Land of Fire for a while," he tossed the scroll aside. "Coincidentally, I can spend some time at my bases in the Land of Lightning to check on that runaway experiment."
Perhaps he could use Isaribi as a temporary body while he devised more ways to take over Sasuke Uchiha.
"A pity about the death of her older brother Itachi—he would've been quite a good body with his talent and lineage," he lamented as he headed toward his next destination. "Although I didn't finish him off, Hiruzen was pretty badly injured when I escaped…"
He was curious to see whether a Fifth Hokage would be appointed after his failed plan.
As for the possible candidates…
"Kakashi, Asuma, Jiraiya, and Tsunade."
The student of the Fourth Hokage.
The son of the current Hokage.
The teacher of the Fourth Hokage.
The granddaughter of the First Hokage.
"Tsunade is still wandering between casinos and drinking to escape reality, Jiraiya can't sit still for more than five minutes without saying something stupid, Asuma would have the backing of his father's position, and Kakashi is too compliant," he reasoned. "So unless there's a surprise, it'll be Asuma or Kakashi."
And between the two, he leaned more toward Kakashi, since Asuma still retained that childish, rebellious side. If the Third Hokage wanted to keep having a voice on the council, he'd need Kakashi's pliable nature.
"After all, for a puppet, as long as it obeys, its flaws can be forgiven."
…
As in all villages, Orochimaru had people inside to obtain information firsthand about the surroundings and major events. Getting information on Isaribi wasn't difficult, but it was fairly limited.
"This really is Amachi's work," he acknowledged. "It seems he was testing the transformation on her as a guinea pig, even before replicating those modifications on himself." Knowing his former subordinate, it wasn't hard to imagine his priorities. "Hmm? It says here that after being rescued from the experimental island where the laboratory was, she was treated and underwent surgery to stabilize her form. Interesting!" He licked his lips. "Did they find Amachi's notes and reverse-engineer them, only to further improve her state?"
She definitely deserved a visit…
…
"It still doesn't feel right—what am I missing?" Isaribi was training on the beach near Kumo, throwing punches that rippled the air around her, the shockwaves carrying on toward the sea. "Sensei's strike felt more compact…"
She was lost in her thoughts when suddenly a chill ran up her spine. Without thinking twice, acting on reflex, water gathered in her palm.
"Suiton: Uchimizu! (Water Release: Water Shot!)"
The drop of water, traveling at bullet speed, shot toward a rock that rolled aside at the last moment before bursting into smoke and revealing Orochimaru's form.
"Excellent reflexes," Orochimaru laughed as he examined Isaribi more closely.
Her physical form was more than excellent. As for partial transformation or gender—so long as she could keep living, why should he care about such things?
"You're… Orochimaru?" Isaribi looked suspiciously at the pale man before her, bit her thumb decisively, and slammed her hand to the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu! (Summoning Technique!)"
A small lynx appeared in front of Isaribi in a puff of smoke.
"Go tell sensei that I ran into Orochimaru on the beach," Isaribi said before canceling the technique.
Orochimaru watched with interest. If he wanted to escape, no one could stop him.
"Lynxes?" He didn't recall ever hearing or reading about a summoning clan like that. "I thought you had a marine summoning contract with those 'Sea Kings,' like your master."
It had taken considerable effort for his spies to send him that information, as Kumo seemed to be keeping some cards close to its chest on the matter.
Seeing her actions, he had almost expected Isaribi to summon one to obtain a tissue sample.
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you know about them," Isaribi positioned herself with her back to the sea. If she couldn't hold out until Chad arrived, then she'd swim away.
Orochimaru might be hard to kill, but he definitely wasn't as good a swimmer as she was.
"Oh? I'm surprised you didn't run the moment you saw me," he smirked, licking his lips. "I'm fairly sure Adachi must've told you about me. He had some talent for research, but he was always a blabbermouth."
"Karakusa-gawara Seiken! (Arabesque Tile Fist!)"
Isaribi threw a punch forward, keeping the rest of her stance firmly grounded, without moving from her spot.
All it did was send a current of air around, barely stirring the Sannin's hair.
Orochimaru: ???
Was she threatening him?
"Did you really think—?"
"If there's one thing I learned early from sensei," Isaribi smiled, cutting Orochimaru off, "it's that blabbermouths pay for their speeches."
Orochimaru was about to respond, but then he noticed something strange. His body was slowly being pushed backward, as if his feet were on a cushion of air; his body was bending, and he could feel his muscles and skin stretching.
Bam!
The air was knocked from Orochimaru's lungs as the shockwave hit him full-on, sending him flying several meters and crashing into the sand with his limbs twisted.
Isaribi didn't lower her guard, fully aware that this wouldn't be enough to finish someone like Orochimaru—especially since her successful hit had only worked because he'd underestimated her and been caught by surprise.
"Ku-ku-ku," Orochimaru laughed as his head straightened. "Interesting. Is the principle to use water vapor to create a shockwave through taijutsu?" His limbs twisted back into place with unpleasant sounds as he stood up. "A very peculiar technique, without a doubt. Since the wave has a slowing effect, the real strike can catch the opponent completely off guard. I assume these applications were your sensei's ideas?"
Isaribi grimaced.
Of course he could see through it.
But that he could do so after just one hit… as Chad had said, Orochimaru's analytical ability was astounding!
Fortunately, Konoha had failed to keep him…
"I thought so," Orochimaru said. Isaribi's grimace was all the confirmation he needed. "Given the improvements Adachi made to you, this style that combines taijutsu with Water Release is truly an excellent choice."
"Improvements?" Isaribi shot Orochimaru a murderous glare. "You dare call this improvements?!" She clenched her fist so hard her knuckles turned white, a layer of water covering her arm up to the elbow.
The so-called improvements Orochimaru referred to were the result of dozens of deaths before her—including friends and family—enduring drugs that made her wish she were dead, and surgeries that left her with horrific scars, both physical and mental, every time she saw herself reflected on any surface.
If it hadn't been for Chad killing Orochimaru's subordinate and using his medical skill to repair her body with surgeries and expensive medicines he never asked her to pay for—giving her a life she never expected to regain—she might have been reduced to a monstrous tool of Adachi.
Orochimaru was the root of her suffering, while Chad was the one who pulled her out of that hell, earning her eternal loyalty and heart!
"Suiton: Yabusame! (Water Release: Shark Arrows!)"
Swinging her arm forcefully, Isaribi used kinetic force to hurl dozens of water droplets like densely focused bullets.
Orochimaru's expression changed as he dodged the incoming attacks. He had seen the hole in the rock behind him when he was detected and had no interest in turning his body into a beehive.
Just as he crouched to spring out of the attack's path, two arms emerged from the sand and firmly grabbed him in place.
"What?!" Orochimaru's eyes widened.
He hadn't sensed anyone around him!
With his experience and modifications, it was impossible for anyone to approach within a twenty-meter radius without him noticing.
"Damn it!" Seeing the droplets about to perforate him, he used his enhanced flexibility to flatten himself against the ground, letting the attack pass mere centimeters above his nose.
Having narrowly avoided the attack, he replaced his restrained legs with snakes that tried to bite the arms holding them while he gained distance.
But the arms dissolved into petals before the snakes' jaws could close.
Orochimaru used his perception to examine the surroundings.
"No one?"
Judging by the shape of the arms, it couldn't be Isaribi—of that he was sure. He kept searching for clues until he noticed something wrong with her.
"Is there another eye on her cheek?" He realized that beneath Isaribi's right eye, a third eye was staring straight at him.
"Tch! We almost got him, sensei," Isaribi lamented. She'd thought they'd managed to catch him off guard, but his reaction was even faster than she remembered.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.
Sensei? Along with that eye…
"Of course—the 'Dodomeki.' Now I understand," the Sannin thought.
It seemed the information on Chad's ability wasn't as complete or accurate as the spy reports suggested. Not only could he manifest illusory eyes on his own body, but also on others—and judging by the arms that had grabbed him, other body parts on other surfaces as well.
But the limits were unknown.
That really was a troublesome ability!
A mouth opened on the side of the kunoichi's neck, from which a male voice emerged.
"You did well holding him, Isaribi," it said. "I'm proud of your performance."
Isaribi couldn't stop her lips from forming a smile.
Orochimaru focused on his surroundings. If his assumption was correct, this ability should have some kind of range limit like the Byakugan. If they were within its effective radius, that meant Chad was nearby and could manifest more parts at any moment.
"The snakes I left around the perimeter didn't warn me. Does the ability reach that far?" he wondered, baffled, trying to understand the principle of the jutsu.
It wasn't a kekkei genkai—that much he was sure of. There was no record of such an ability in the ninja world. He was an expert; he would know.