"What's wrong?"
Sasori turned his head to glance at Orochimaru and also stopped in his tracks.
"It told me there's a perception barrier nearby. Our presence has already been detected."
Orochimaru replied to Sasori.
"Really? I didn't expect a ninja village in such a remote small country to have specialized barrier ninjas. But it doesn't matter, I never planned to sneak in; let's attack directly from the front gate."
Sasori thought for a moment and didn't pay much attention to the information conveyed by Orochimaru.
"Don't be too complacent. I always feel something's off here; it's different from my impression of the Hidden Star Village."
Orochimaru frowned. Barrier jutsu is not common in the Ninja Realm, and it can be said to be on par with sealing techniques, belonging to powerful jutsu mastered by few but mainly monopolized by the ninja villages of the Five Great Nations.
Yet a little-known Hidden Star Village has mastered a perception type of barrier jutsu, which vastly differs from the information they had gathered.
Sasori snorted but acknowledged Orochimaru's words. It was indeed strange for a ninja village in a remote small country to possess such an investigative perception barrier.
Just as they were about to continue forward, he, Orochimaru, and Hiruko suddenly sensed something—a pure instinctive judgment by high-level ninjas about danger, causing their bodies to react defensively instantly.
A chilly wind blew in, and a figure brazenly blocked their path, gazing at Orochimaru's trio with pure white pupils.
Orochimaru was initially taken aback upon seeing the person blocking their way, then extended his tongue to lightly lick the corner of his mouth as though witnessing something amusing.
"It's been a long time since I've seen such a familiar face; I didn't think I'd run into you here."
The person blocking their path was none other than Ayane.
She merely smiled somewhat helplessly at Orochimaru's greeting with a familiar tone.
"Yes, but for me, this isn't exactly a pleasant encounter, Senior Orochimaru."
"Don't say that. For me, this is a delightful surprise. In the past, the Konoha Anbu spent a long time searching for the three of you... so you've been hiding here in the Land of Bear all along?"
Hidden Star Village is an isolated ninja village. If used as a hiding place, it's indeed challenging for the Konoha Anbu to find.
The sudden encounter with Ayane caught Orochimaru off guard.
However, to say he was very familiar with Ayane wasn't entirely accurate.
He was familiar with Ayane's past team leader, Hatake Sakumo, who sadly took his own life, known as the Konoha White Fang.
As for the three who always followed Sakumo, Orochimaru initially thought they were just rookies.
Yet they ended up committing an act of betrayal that infuriated the Konoha leadership, making a shocking impact.
Afterward, Hyuga Ayane even collaborated with the Third Tsuchikage of Hidden Rock and fought against Hidden Cloud, forcefully suppressing the Fourth Raikage with her own strength.
It was at that moment Orochimaru realized that Sakumo's three disciples were no longer dangerous renegade ninjas that Konoha could control.
In terms of strength, they had likely surpassed the three Sannin.
Ayane did not answer Orochimaru's questions; she merely showed her trademark smile and said to Orochimaru, "Let's not talk about this now. I wonder why Senior Orochimaru has suddenly come to visit? It's not very convenient for me to entertain guests here."
"Is that so? Then it seems today is a bit unfortunate. Let's take our leave."
Orochimaru thought for a moment before responding to Ayane.
Suddenly, he crouched on all fours, emanating a menacing aura, his face becoming sinister.
Orochimaru's abrupt action startled Sasori and Hiruko; they wondered why Orochimaru suddenly acted and seemed to be using a strong killing move immediately.
Orochimaru's body twisted eerily as if boneless, and his mouth opened to its maximum extent.
"Array of Ten Thousand Snakes!"
First came one venomous snake, then two, then four, eventually turning into countless venomous snakes, spreading from Orochimaru's mouth.
These endless snakes swiftly occupied Ayane's field of vision.
Massive towering walls of coiling snakes surged forth like an overwhelming tide.
The blackened mass was chilling to behold.
"Disgusting!"
Ayane only had these two words as her comment.
With a powerful push of her feet, she leaped forward into the endless sea of snakes.
"Divine Sky Strike!"
Boom!
The violent shockwave created by the explosion tore a huge opening in the center of the sea of snakes.
Countless snake fragments flew about, blood staining the ground, spreading a nauseating stench in the air, causing severe physical discomfort.
Some areas of the snake swarm were swept away, but more snakes soon surged in to replace the fallen ones, forming towering walls, accompanied only by the ceaseless hissing sound, densely packed.