Chapter 277: Orochimaru's Experiment
Looking carefully into Shinnosuke Sarutobi's eyes, Masahiko didn't see any sign that he was lying.
"Orochimaru defected..."
No matter how he heard this news, it sounded fake.
Unlike the original story, it was currently wartime. Orochimaru had plenty of experimental subjects and fundamentally wouldn't target ninjas from his own village. Where would the need to defect come from?
But Shinnosuke Sarutobi spoke with absolute certainty, coupled with the fact that Hiruzen hadn't come to see him after so long...
"When did this happen?"
"Father left the village half an hour ago, and the Anbu backup departed fifteen minutes ago."
"Just missed them..." Masahiko pondered for a moment. "It shouldn't be too late if I go now."
Looking not far away, Tenten was still teasing the Fat Cat, who had a look of utter despair on its face. Masahiko smiled and vanished from the spot... As for the Fat Cat, he'd let Tenten "play" with it for a couple of hours first.
"Meow?" Masahiko's scent vanished, and the Fat Cat immediately jumped out of Tenten's arms.
"Uncle? Red-haired uncle?" Tenten finally realized Masahiko was gone. "Poor kitty, were you abandoned by your owner?"
Fat Cat: "..."
Having such an owner, its heart was so tired.
...
Northwest of Konoha Village, after a few flashes, Masahiko appeared.
Maximizing his sensory abilities, Masahiko detected over a dozen chakra fluctuations. Among them was Sakumo's, which should be the Anbu backup Shinnosuke mentioned.
"Speaking of backup, that means Hiruzen called for help... Interesting."
Masahiko flashed to catch up, but didn't show himself. Instead, he continued flashing along the Anbu's direction of travel. He wanted to see how Hiruzen was getting thrashed by Orochimaru... That would definitely be interesting.
It wasn't until he reached the border of the Land of Fire that Masahiko detected the chakra fluctuations of a battle.
Unexpectedly, this wasn't a battle between just Orochimaru and Hiruzen; Jiraiya was also participating.
In other words, Jiraiya and Hiruzen were currently double-teaming Orochimaru, yet Hiruzen still sent a signal requesting backup...
"Orochimaru, how could he be so strong?!" Hidden in his space, Masahiko's eyes widened.
The Adamantine Staff transformed from Enma wielded in Hiruzen's hands, and the two elder toads on Jiraiya's shoulders all indicated that these two were fighting with all their might.
Yet Orochimaru still handled them with ease. Although he had also entered Sage Mode, he hadn't even summoned a single summoning beast...
"Orochimaru, why defect? You're joking, right?!" Jiraiya yelled.
Hiruzen swung his staff and rapidly retreated. Earth spears jutted out from the ground in front of him; this was Orochimaru's Senjutsu: Inorganic Reincarnation.
Gasping for breath, Hiruzen planted the Adamantine Staff upright on the ground.
His face showed both gratification and heartache. "Orochimaru, I didn't expect your strength to have improved so vastly, but why suddenly defect?"
That's right, it was a sudden defection, and it felt like a joke.
An hour ago, in the Hokage's office, Hiruzen suddenly received a letter from Orochimaru stating his intention to defect...
This made him a bit awkward, not knowing whether to believe it or not.
But he couldn't just ignore it. Since Jiraiya happened to be in the village, Hiruzen sought him out.
After discussing it, the two decided to check Orochimaru's house, only to find another letter.
The letter had only one line: I am at the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Sound.
Hiruzen wasn't worried about any traps. The Hiruzen of Konoha Year 53 was still very confident in his combat prowess. Plus, with Jiraiya by his side, even if it were an Akatsuki trap, they were confident they could retreat unscathed.
The ideal was very plump, but the reality was very bony.
At this location, they met Orochimaru, who had been waiting for a long time. The headband on Orochimaru's forehead also had a horizontal scratch across it...
Just as they wanted to question Orochimaru, he took the initiative to attack. After a few exchanges... Hiruzen was shocked to discover that even teaming up with Jiraiya, they were actually no match for Orochimaru.
Regardless of what went wrong, the always-cautious Hiruzen still used a special method to contact the Konoha Anbu... Thus resulting in the scene Masahiko was witnessing.
"Orochimaru, why aren't you speaking!" Jiraiya's Sage Mode had already dissipated. By the time Masahiko arrived, the battle was already nearing its end... Jiraiya and Hiruzen against Orochimaru, an almost complete defeat!
Inside the space, Masahiko's brows were tightly knitted. "This is not right, too wrong. Orochimaru couldn't possibly reach this level... Even with Sage Mode, he shouldn't be this strong."
In the history of the ninja world, there were people stronger than the current Orochimaru, but those were all achieved through various "cheats"...
Masahiko's curiosity almost reached its peak. Just as he couldn't hold back from showing himself, Orochimaru spoke.
"Teacher, you were too confident, bringing only this idiot to find me."
Jiraiya didn't mind Orochimaru calling him an "idiot" and shouted, "Orochimaru, did you really write those two letters?"
"Ah, I am indeed defecting."
Jiraiya revealed an expression of disbelief. "Why? We just repelled the Sand Village together, and the Rock Village and Cloud Village are still attacking our village. You're actually defecting at a time like this?"
Orochimaru didn't attack again. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the ground and explained, "This is an experiment. Just the two of you coming is not enough..."
Hiruzen was stunned. "An experiment?"
Connecting it to the Anbu reports of Orochimaru secretly capturing some Sand and Rock ninjas, Hiruzen showed an expression of heartache.
"No, not those experiments. I have no interest in those anymore."
Orochimaru's expression was indifferent. "First... this is an experiment to test a certain jutsu. Just the two of you are far from enough."
"There is another, more important experiment. There is no harm in telling you..."
Orochimaru was about to speak but paused.
Not far away, over a dozen people rushed over rapidly. It was the Anbu led by Sakumo. During wartime, Konoha only had this many people available.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru were only here because they had just repelled the Sand Village and returned to report on the war situation. They were supposed to head to the Rock Village battlefield the next day... As a result, Orochimaru pulled off this defection out of nowhere.
"Lord Hokage." Sakumo took a few steps forward. Looking at the disheveled states of Hiruzen and Jiraiya, he cautiously went on guard, trying hard to find enemies other than Orochimaru... The scene was very awkward for a moment.
"Cough, cough..." Hiruzen coughed twice and looked at Sakumo. "The only enemy is Orochimaru."
Sakumo was stunned for a moment, and his face actually grew even graver.
Sakumo, having been fitted with a prosthetic arm, couldn't easily claim victory against either Jiraiya or Hiruzen. And Orochimaru...
"Senior White Fang has finally arrived. It is time to test my new jutsu."
Orochimaru stood up and formed hand seals.
Inside the space, Masahiko narrowed his eyes. "It's this jutsu, huh."
"Edo Tensei!" (Reanimation Jutsu)
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