Jiraiya's incessant chatter seemed to turn into meaningless frog croaks, just an annoying "ribbit, ribbit." His nostrils flared and contracted like a frog's gills, giving Orochimaru the feeling of being by a lotus pond on the outskirts of the Village at dusk—
Listening to the chorus of frogs rising and falling... what kind of mental and auditory torture of a Genjutsu was this... His head felt like it was swelling to the point of splitting open.
"Shut up, Jiraiya!" Orochimaru interrupted him. If he let him continue, his Snake Substitute Body Technique might actually revert to its original form—before developing this marvelous Ninjutsu, Orochimaru never imagined that one day, there was a ridiculous possibility it could be broken by someone's non-stop chatter.
Snake Substitute Body Technique—a variation of the Orochimaru-style Substitution Jutsu, is a high-level technique that uses one's own outer shell as a "substitution."
Usually, when using this substitution, Orochimaru would transform into a snake and crawl out of his own mouth to evade fatal crises.
As for the other use, Orochimaru rarely employed it—but Jiraiya saw it today—though Jiraiya didn't realize it at all.
Right under Jiraiya's nose, Orochimaru had slipped out through his own anus, silently performed an Earth Release, and sneaked away... He merely turned his discarded skin into a clone to dally with Jiraiya and buy himself time—the only miscalculation was likely Jiraiya's mouth... it was far too noisy and far too lethal.
"If all you have is this nonsense... then you don't need to tell me anymore—"
Orochimaru struck first to gain the upper hand.
A blade formed of wind sliced horizontally toward Jiraiya. Jiraiya's white hair curled up, making him look like a hedgehog as he wrapped himself in his own hair. The wind only severed a few strands, and Jiraiya suddenly vanished along with them.
It was a Shadow Clone!
Jiraiya's true body had already appeared to Orochimaru's left, a ball of condensed Chakra about the size of a softball in his hand, which he slammed toward Orochimaru. Then, Jiraiya met Orochimaru's eyes, which were filled with sneers and mockery... Orochimaru was hit, and with a soft "poof," he disappeared.
It was also a Shadow Clone.
The clone formed by the Snake Substitute Body Technique had used a Shadow Clone to clash with Jiraiya for one move; neither had actually touched the other's real body.
Jiraiya looked around, searching for Orochimaru's trail. Suddenly, his gaze froze on the ground. With a Body Flicker, he reached the spot he was looking at and slammed both hands onto the ground. Under the Nature Transformation of Earth-attribute Chakra, the ground instantly split open, creating a fissure over thirty zhang long... His eyes scanned the gap... there were clear traces in the soil.
But—
Orochimaru had already escaped.
"That bastard!"
Jiraiya followed the clues... however, he chased him all the way from the Land of Fire to the islands where the Land of Whirlpools was located, then south, then back to the Land of Fire, crossing half the country. After spending a full half-month... he finally completely lost Orochimaru's trail within the borders of the Land of Rivers.
Intelligence regarding the discovery of Jiraiya's tracks and the subsequent loss of all news in the Land of Rivers was brought back to Konoha by a Messenger Eagle.
As the head of the Intelligence Analysis Squad, Inoichi Yamanaka had to work overtime again: the Hokage needed him to analyze Orochimaru's possible escape routes and locations. His good partner Shikaku was also kept behind; the Hokage wanted him to figure out how to find Orochimaru and whether a plan could be made to "startle the snake" and force him to reveal himself... The pair of brothers-in-misery racked their brains in the Hokage Office, talking nonsense for most of the day.
Their hearts were full of: "What do I think? How would we know what to think? This intelligence has almost no analytical value at all..."
"If the subject of analysis is a group, then it's relatively easy. The behavior of a group can be predicted. But a single person—an individual's situation is the hardest to estimate. Even if one person thinks they know another very well, down to their very core, it's not of much use..."
Inoichi Yamanaka didn't dare say such things to the Hokage—that would make him seem incompetent and unable to handle responsibility—but he had no such reservations with Shikaku.
Shikaku scratched his head, his hand coming away covered in oil... "Sigh, I haven't washed my hair in days. Since we finally finished the task, how about we go get our hair washed?"
"Hmm, let's call Chōza!"
The two cash-strapped men looked at each other simultaneously, remembering their respective wallets. Well, this was for the bond of the Ino-Shika-Cho.
The two found Akimichi Chōza. Chōza looked at them coldly and asked, "Do you two think I'm that easy to fool?"
Nara Shikaku asked, "Just say if you're going or not?"
"I'm going."
Akimichi Chōza didn't waste words either... The three chose a barbershop with a rotating colored light outside and a large neon sign. As soon as they entered, they heard two beautiful women in white shirts, blue skirts, and small blazers shout "Welcome!" Their bones felt weak with pleasure, and they felt as if they were floating... walking on clouds as they found seats and sat down.
"Hair wash!" Shikaku said with great bravado. Chōza leaned back with his belly out and said, "It would be nice if a certain someone was this decisive when it's time to settle the bill."
Shikaku said, "You know my situation..."
The hair-washing girl's small hands gently rubbed and massaged their scalps, which felt extremely comfortable. Inoichi Yamanaka and Nara Shikaku, who had been frantically burning brain cells for half a day, soon drifted into a light sleep, punctuated by soft snoring.
Akimichi Chōza listened to his two companions' snoring and thought to himself, "It seems they really are exhausted, falling asleep just getting a hair wash..."
When they woke up, it was already past eight in the evening. The three left the barbershop feeling refreshed. Akimichi Chōza said, "Next time you two have to treat me to yakiniku—bring the kids. Don't bring the wives, let's just go to the Yakiniku Bar..."
The phrases "bring the kids" and "don't bring the wives" were immediately understood by the other two—they were usually too busy and rarely had the chance to take the kids out to play and nurture the bond between father and son or father and daughter.
As for the "wives," they tended to be over-controlling, often saying this wasn't allowed or that wasn't okay; bringing them along would surely make it an unpleasant outing.
"Fine, it's a deal."
As soon as he got home, Inoichi Yamanaka was met by four eyes—those of his wife and daughter. It made him feel a bit nervous.
"Cough... Ino, Nobuko, I'm back... I was just with Shikaku and the others, I haven't eaten anything yet, is there anything at home..."
"There's no food left at home—Dad, Mom and I thought you were eating out with Uncle Shikaku and the others. Why didn't you drink today? Oh? You went to get your hair washed?"
Ino immediately noticed Inoichi Yamanaka's hair, and her nose caught the fresh scent of shampoo from a recent wash.
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