In the forest, the figures of three people swiftly moved, leaving the battlefield behind in the blink of an eye.
Behind them, the sea of snakes covered the sky, swallowing everything.
Orochimaru's actions naturally puzzled Sasori and Hiruko.
"Orochimaru, what are you doing? Why are we running away?"
Sasori's tone was very unfriendly as he asked angrily.
Hiruko also looked at Orochimaru in confusion. Hyuga Ayane was indeed a powerful ninja, even if he was uninformed, he knew she was one of the top ninjas in the current Ninja Realm.
But here, with him having mastered the Chimera Jutsu, one of the Sannin, and the genius Puppet Master of Hidden Sand, in a three-on-one situation, it didn't seem like they would lose the fight, right?
Moreover, that was the Kekkeigenkai Byakugan. If he could merge that Kekkeigenkai into himself...
Greed flashed in Hiruko's eyes.
"As far as I know, Sakumo's three disciples are always inseparable. If Hyuga Ayane is here, then the other two, along with their strange Summoning Beasts, should not be far away."
Orochimaru said with certainty.
He was not afraid of confronting Hyuga Ayane. Even though she was a ninja capable of overpowering one of the Five Kage, the Raikage, the Raikage was just an emerging talent among the Five Kage. Compared to the Third Hokage, the Third Tsuchikage, and other older-generation Kage, the strength was considerably different.
Speaking of himself, with his endless Secret Techniques, he might very well be able to fight the current Fourth Raikage to a standstill.
So, he was not intimidated by Hyuga Ayane's reputation.
For ordinary ninjas, she might be intimidating, but for him, one of the Sannin, that intimidation was far from enough.
His caution was due to worrying about the other two being nearby.
"The other two?"
Sasori was somewhat surprised.
Hiruko nodded thoughtfully, understanding the key point, then echoed Orochimaru's words.
"Indeed, as Orochimaru said, when I was at Konoha, I also heard that the three members of the White Fang Squad are inseparable in battle and cooperate very well. When they join forces, they can bring their individual traits to the fullest potential."
Though they were also a group of three, to be honest, he and Orochimaru couldn't cooperate at all.
Even Sasori, who had been with Orochimaru for a long time, couldn't cooperate seamlessly.
They didn't know much about each other's Ninja Techniques, trump card moves, and so on.
Having participated in the Ninja World Wars, Hiruko understood the powerful benefits that could be brought by the tacit cooperation between ninjas.
Unfortunately, he and Sasori weren't like Jiraiya and Tsunade, unable to achieve seamless cooperation with Orochimaru.
The so-called tacit understanding is having comrades that can be relied upon in life and death, sharing everything honestly—Ninja Techniques, personality, timing—all linked perfectly without even needing verbal communication, just through actions and glances, achieving perfection in silence.
This kind of tacit understanding, Hiruko had once seen on the Sannin.
He had also seen in the three-person team of the White Fang Squad, the same teamwork mentality that could be entrusted with life and death.
Sasori was not an idiot.
As the genius Puppet Master of the Hidden Sand Village, he naturally understood the importance of team cooperation.
When he developed new types of puppets, he also made different types of puppets, assigning roles to maximize the puppets' power. He received praise from Hidden Sand's high-level officials.
This is the great power that teamwork can bring.
Applying puppets to ninjas follows the same principle.
"What are their specialized Ninja Techniques?"
Sasori asked calmly.
Orochimaru did not hold back, directly stating, "Hyuga Ayane can center herself and use the Byakugan to cause an invisible Spiritual Intimidation. She can also use a highly efficient Gentle Fist to produce shockwaves of immense power…the power, well, you've already seen it."
Behind them, the booming thunderous sounds and terrifying shockwaves had stirred a violent gale, even impacting where they were.
The power could be imagined.
Directly hitting, in the Ninja Realm, few could withstand it with mere flesh and blood.
"As for Uchiha Ruri, she should have already awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, stronger than the ordinary Sharingan. Though not well-known, in the past within the White Fang Squad, her strength always overshadowed Hyuga Ayane. It is conceivable her strength at least matches that of Hyuga Ayane."
This kind of intelligence, in Orochimaru's eyes, wasn't considered a secret.
Having once reached Konoha's high ranks, he naturally knew many unheard secrets.
Despite the incidents of betrayal, where Konoha had repeatedly blocked information about the three, Orochimaru was among the few qualified to access all the secrets as a former Konoha Jonin.
And at the time when Root encircled Hyuga Ayane, Konoha obtained further intelligence.
But that was intelligence from years ago, so now whether Ayane has other trump cards, Orochimaru does not know.
The most important thing for a ninja is to prevent others from knowing their Ninja Techniques' secrets, or they will be targeted.
"Mangekyo Sharingan...hmm, I seem to recall hearing some things from the old woman in Hidden Sand Village, like it's the long-lost Ultimate Donjutsu of the Uchiha..."
Sasori seemed to remember something and said.
Orochimaru wasn't surprised. Sasori was the grandson of Elder Chiyo from Hidden Sand's high level, having received the finest education from a young age.
Being an older-generation figure of the Ninja Realm and someone who experienced the age of the establishment of the Ninja Villages, Chiyo naturally knew many unknown secrets.