A massive python, similar in size to the two from before but with deeper-colored scales and a colder aura, had somehow coiled itself among the thick branches of a century-old tree ahead. Its yellow-brown vertical pupils, devoid of any emotion, were coldly watching the trio below, radiating a hair-raising pressure.
Mamoru spoke as if to an old acquaintance, yet his tone carried a hint of mockery. "Have you been looking for me since the start of the Forest of Death exam? It seems being too popular isn't necessarily a good thing. I've already clearly refused, but you really are a persistent fellow."
While saying these words of ambiguous meaning, he nonchalantly picked up a sharp stone about the size of a fist from the damaged ground nearby and casually weighed it in his hand a few times.
Then, his tone shifted, carrying an undisguised disgust. "Also, don't you find it revolting to keep hiding inside something like that?"
Before his voice had even faded, his arm suddenly exerted force, and the stone in his hand shot out like a cannonball, with an ear-piercing whistle, aimed straight for the python's head.
Pfft!
The stone hit the target with extreme precision, instantly exploding a thick mist of blood on the python's hard head. Scales shattered, and flesh flew.
In the blink of an eye, the python was dead, but the serpentine body coiled around the thick tree trunk didn't loosen or fall.
A tooth-aching "crack" sounded as a rift was violently torn open in the python's tough skin, as if something were struggling violently inside, trying to burst out.
"Heh heh... as expected of a child flowing with Uchiha blood. Even though I hid so deeply, you could still sense me."
A cold, raspy voice accompanied the gurgling sound of thick liquid being churned, as a figure slowly emerged from the rift in the python.
He was soaked in a turbid liquid, whether it was blood, mucus, or gastric juice, radiating a nauseating, fishy stench.
Witnessing this horrific scene, Hinata and Shino's faces instantly turned as pale as paper, their pupils constricting in extreme terror as they stared intently at the eerie figure emerging from the snake's belly.
Mamoru curled his lip, his face filled with unmasked disgust. "That's truly revolting; I'm about to throw up my breakfast."
He wasn't particularly surprised that Orochimaru had come looking for him. After all, the strength gap between him and Sasuke was currently quite significant. For an Orochimaru obsessed with the Sharingan and the Uchiha bloodline, the vessel was naturally the better the more superior it was.
Of course, what Orochimaru desired most had always been Itachi, but unfortunately, he lacked the strength to take him and could only settle for the next best thing, choosing the more outstanding one between him and Sasuke. Thus, the more 'superior' and 'unlucky' Mamoru had become the target.
Hearing Mamoru's blunt sarcasm, Orochimaru didn't get angry. Instead, he extended his unnaturally long tongue, licking the slime from the corner of his lips while letting out a low, sinister laugh.
"Can't you show some restraint? I really can't bring myself to like snakes."
Watching Orochimaru's actions, Mamoru couldn't help but shudder, not out of fear, but out of pure disgust.
The look of revulsion on his face deepened as he raised his voice and shouted, "I'm saying, you have quite the twisted taste, actually wearing a human skin mask over your face!"
Before his voice had even faded, Hinata and Shino trembled all over at his latter sentence, subconsciously taking half a step back.
Noticing his companions' fright, Mamoru's hands quickly formed seals, his movements so fast they left afterimages.
Poof!
With a soft sound, a Shadow Clone identical to his original body appeared beside him.
Mamoru's original body unhesitatingly threw the Heaven and Earth scrolls to Shino and said, "He's after me. You guys go first, I'll catch up later."
Though Shino was still shaken, he steadily caught the two scrolls, looking at Mamoru with worry, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something.
"Mamoru-kun..."
Hinata's face was pale, her hands tightly clutching the hem of her clothes, her knuckles turning white from the force.
Seeing the two still hesitating, the Shadow Clone immediately stepped forward and urged them urgently, "Go, quickly! You staying here will only distract me!"
The two gritted their teeth and finally stopped hesitating, turning to follow the Shadow Clone in a quick retreat, their figures soon vanishing into the dense woods.
Orochimaru did not block their departure. His expression didn't change in the slightest, maintaining that same sinister smile, his gaze fixed with interest on Mamoru—more accurately, on those blue eyes.
"It seems... you are even more interesting than I imagined."
Orochimaru licked his lips excitedly, his slitted pupils shining with the light of someone who had discovered a treasure.
"It must be these eyes that can see through my disguise, right? Truly... beautiful eyes. They don't have that evil aura of the Sharingan. I didn't expect the Uchiha clan to hide another Kekkei Genkai besides the Sharingan."
"How could I be as interesting as you?" Mamoru spoke mockingly, but intentionally put on a look of being 'overwhelmed by favor,' a look that was particularly punchable. "The legendary one of the Three Sannin, Orochimaru-sama, would actually condescend to personally intercept us Genin juniors."
Hearing this, the smile on Orochimaru's face stiffened slightly. He paused for a moment, then let out an even lower laugh. "Hehehe... It seems you know even more than I imagined."
"I know more than just that."
A contemptuous sneer appeared on Mamoru's face, his tone carrying merciless irony. "I also know that you once suffered a great defeat at the hands of Itachi. What? Is the shadow of that time still lingering in your heart even now?"
With his old scars so ruthlessly exposed by Mamoru, Orochimaru's face instantly darkened, and a cold aura radiated from his entire body.
He stepped completely out of the snake's body, then leaped, landing lightly not far in front of Mamoru. As he slowly raised his lowered head, the aura about him had completely changed. Those non-human golden slitted pupils stared intently at Mamoru with pure malice, as if to freeze his soul.
In an instant, Mamoru felt a momentary trance in his spirit, but he recovered his clarity immediately. That split second of daze wasn't just due to the pressure of killing intent, but an invasion by the Genjutsu 'Hell Viewing Technique'.
In the lightning-fast moment while Mamoru was slightly distracted by breaking the Genjutsu, Orochimaru had already launched an attack.
Although slightly surprised that Mamoru could break free from his Genjutsu so quickly, Orochimaru would never let any fleeting opportunity pass.