Of course, this was just a possibility.
He stood in the shadows of the forest, his mind racing, prepared for the possibility of not finding Orochimaru.
Though the power of the Cursed Seal was tempting, it wasn't indispensable to him.
What's more, Takuno's lips curved into a knowing smile; he had a clear understanding of Orochimaru's future destination.
Even if his arrival caused ripples in the river of destiny in the Land of Rice Fields, Orochimaru's ultimate choice would almost certainly not change.
The Land of Rice Fields wasn't a random pick; it was a meticulously chosen lair, carefully selected by the snake after weighing all the pros and cons.
Unless the conditions there drastically changed, or a more perfect haven suddenly appeared, Orochimaru's escape trajectory would ultimately converge on that land.
However, this time, would Orochimaru still betray the Akatsuki and flee in disgrace, coveting Uchiha Itachi's Sharingan, as he did in the memories?
This was a memory tinged with irony.
Orochimaru's betrayal of the Akatsuki was directly triggered by his crushing defeat against Itachi, which was almost a joke.
Of course, the deeper driving force behind it was the irreconcilable conflict of their ambitions.
The Akatsuki's goals were vastly different from Orochimaru's ultimate quest for eternal life and ultimate Ninjutsu.
Loyalty? Don't be ridiculous.
For an existence like Orochimaru, betrayal was a destined outcome; the only difference was the timing.
Takuno shook his head slightly, casting aside these distracting thoughts.
"Orochimaru, Itachi—"
Takuno silently recited these two names, his gaze deep.
Suddenly, a detail struck him like lightning.
In the setting, Uchiha Itachi only activated his Sharingan when he was eight years old.
That was nearly two years after Orochimaru defected from Konoha!
But how then, after that, was Orochimaru able to sneak back into the heavily guarded Konoha and witness young Itachi's training?
A hint of confusion flashed in Takuno's eyes; perhaps Itachi's Sharingan had already awakened during the bloodshed of the Third Great Ninja War?
Or perhaps, that was just an oversight by the artist?
Unable to figure it out, Takuno no longer delved into these minor details, taking a deep breath.
He instantly established a sensory connection with his Shadow Clones scattered everywhere, activating Mind's Eye of Kagura at full power!
This was the final net he had cast. If even this couldn't capture Orochimaru's presence, then it was fate.
Bang!
The fragmented information from the Shadow Clones suddenly exploded!
Found him!
Takuno's lips behind his mask silently curved into an arc.
Inside Orochimaru's research lab.
The strong smell of blood and pungent disinfectant almost solidified the air.
Under the stark white lights, metal instruments gleamed with a cold luster.
Orochimaru's figure was bent over a long experimental table, busy at work, his slender fingers, stained with crimson mucus, operating with the precise movements of an artist.
His face bore an almost frenzied focus and ecstasy that transcended the mundane.
"It's really you, Orochimaru." A cold voice suddenly echoed in the empty laboratory.
Minato's figure appeared in the shadows of the entrance.
In the depths of his blue eyes was a freezing chill that locked onto the ghostly figure busy under the lights.
He saw it: a scene of hell that should never appear in Konoha.
"Heh heh, Fourth Hokage-sama? The moment the barrier was torn, I knew we had a distinguished guest." Orochimaru slowly straightened up, showing no surprise or fear on his face, as if he had been waiting for a long time.
He slowly turned to face Minato, his unnaturally red tongue, far longer than ordinary, slowly licked away a streak of blood on his cheek, leaving a wet, cold sheen.
"Why?!" Minato's voice was filled with suppressed anger, taking a step forward, his question like a drawn blade, "Why have you gone to such lengths? As one of the Sannin—"
His eyes were filled with incomprehension.
"Why?" Orochimaru tilted his head, as if pondering a very interesting question, his golden snake-like eyes flickering with an eerie light.
"Minato, life is a fragile and insignificant thing. When its brief candle burns out, how much of the world's ultimate truth can we glimpse in a lifetime? Only immortal life can truly fathom the truth of these myriad phenomena!" His voice carried a fervor that was almost devout.
"Impossible! For this illusory eternal life, you would do such monstrous things?" Minato couldn't understand; this theory was utterly absurd.
"Impossible? Heheheh—" Orochimaru chuckled, his laughter reverberating through the cold walls, carrying a chilling mockery.
"Nothing is impossible! Minato, you made a contract with the spiritual world of Mount Myōboku, you should know, how long has that toad called a 'Sage' existed? A scale beyond mortal imagination, right?"
"The Great Toad Sage is a true Sage!" Minato tried to retort.
"Sage?" Orochimaru's sneer grew sharper, his eyes suddenly keen.
"Don't be blinded by titles! Their original source, weren't they also ordinary lives struggling in the dust? Since those slippery toads can enter the hall of eternal life—"
He spread his hands, as if embracing that illusory eternity, "Then why can't I, Orochimaru! Why not?!"
His voice suddenly rose, almost a roar, revealing an undeniable determination and madness!
Minato fell silent, and in the depths of his blue, ocean-like eyes, the last glimmer of hope to save him completely extinguished.
The Orochimaru before him was completely lost in his own fantasies; any words were now pale and powerless.
His right hand slowly rose, his slender fingers silently gripping the Kunai tucked diagonally behind his waist, that specially shaped flying thunder god kunai!
A biting killing intent quietly spread.
"Oh? Have you finally made up your mind?" Orochimaru keenly caught the drastic change in his opponent's aura, his tongue once again dangerously licking the corner of his mouth, his golden vertical pupils holding a hint of cunning amusement.
"I don't want to fight the man who made a name for himself in the Third Great Ninja War and wrote the legend of the 'Yellow Flash' in this small territory. But, Minato—" He deliberately drew out his words.
Minato's charging figure was abruptly stopped by this unfinished pause, his eyes coldly fixed on the opponent, not immediately launching a lightning-fast attack.
Orochimaru was very pleased with the effect, a vague, pleased sound emanating from his throat, "Let me remind you of an interesting little interlude—"
"The Ninja on that experimental table, he's still alive, you know, though I can't guarantee he'll remain alive much longer."
Orochimaru's voice was like a venomous snake's hiss, cold and cruel.
"Minato, tell me, do you choose to chase me, your prey, wasting every precious second of this Ninja's life, or will you choose to send that poor villager to continue the flame of life?"
A cruel and twisted smile appeared on his face, his eyes full of mockery, "Come on! Make your choice, Fourth Hokage!"
Accompanied by his characteristic, bone-chilling laughter, Orochimaru's figure dissolved like ice and snow in bright light, finally disappearing from the spot.
Only the echoing sneer lingered in the cold, empty laboratory, like countless tiny venomous snakes burrowing into one's ear canal.
Minato's gaze immediately fell upon the experimental table.
It was the Ninja Orochimaru had abducted!
He instantly understood Orochimaru's entire scheme; Kakashi must have been discovered early on, left there only to lure him into this carefully set 'choice' trap—
Minato's breathing became heavy, but there was no struggle in his eyes, only resolve.
His movements were swift and precise as he carefully lifted the Ninja, whose injuries were horrific and whose life force was almost extinguished.
The next second, the Flying Thunder God Technique activated!
The laboratory returned to dead silence, leaving only the thick, suffocating smell of blood and the lingering echoes of that cruel choice between life and belief.
Save him? Or pursue?
On Minato's scale, this was never a multiple-choice question, but a single-choice question with only one option.
The lives of comrades were heavier than Mount Tai! As for Orochimaru, there would always be a day of reckoning!
Takuno was completely unaware of the confrontation concerning the weight of life that had occurred in Orochimaru's laboratory.
The only thing he knew for sure was that the sensory tendrils of his Shadow Clones, like vibrations in a spiderweb, had clearly captured that familiar and cold presence: Orochimaru!
Indeed, Orochimaru had not immediately fled far away!
Takuno's lips curved into the grim arc of a hunter locking onto his prey, and his masked figure transformed into a gust of wind, shooting precisely towards the sensed direction.
Outside Konoha, at the edge of a cliff with an extremely open view.
The strong wind howled, making Orochimaru's wet, long hair and wide robes flutter violently.
He stood alone, gazing distantly at the vast and familiar Ninja village below the cliff.
Finally, his gaze settled on the Hokage Rock in the distance.
Four gigantic faces were clearly visible.
Once, the rearmost position on that stone was also a throne he considered within his grasp.
However, when Minato ascended to that position, this illusory ambition shattered.
Only cold sneers remained in Orochimaru's heart.
Since Konoha rejected him and handed the throne to the so-called "Sun."
Then, he, Orochimaru, had completely lost interest in wasting any more effort on a false, empty title.
Hokage? Heh heh, just a cage bound by countless rules.
He withdrew his gaze from the cold rock statues, turning towards his even grander ideal, that eternal, ultimate truth transcending life and death!
That was the supreme ideal worth dedicating his entire life's effort to pursue!
Footsteps suddenly sounded behind Orochimaru without warning, interrupting the wind on the cliff top and the snake's contemplation. "What a pity, it's not Minato who came." Orochimaru slowly turned around, his golden snake-like eyes accurately locking onto the figure wearing a fox mask.