Purple pupils were layered one after another, forming complex concentric circles from the outside in, and an eerie sense of extinction washed over him... "The rogue ninja of Konoha, the Cold Lord Orochimaru." A voice as cold as metal, devoid of any human emotion, came from this strange, non-mainstream figure—he didn't even open his mouth, yet his voice rang out. His purple pupils were just as cold, like metal, without any human feeling.
A wide robe with a black background and red clouds, and purple eyes with layer upon layer of concentric circles that seemed as if they could suck a person in.
Orochimaru's gaze shifted from the clothing to the eyes... His breathing couldn't help but hitch... He thought of these eyes—these eyes that had once appeared in ancient records:
Rinnegan.
Legend has it that these are the eyes possessed only by the Six Paths Sage.
"Those eyes..."
"And who might you be? Why are you blocking my path?" Orochimaru's voice was raspy, yet polite as always—
A person's life is so precious; to start a conflict over words and fight to the death is undoubtedly a very foolish thing.
So no matter what kind of person he faced, whether the opponent was weak or strong, he was always very polite: for men, he would always use "Your Excellency," and if he knew their name, he would use "-kun"; for women, he would also have honorifics like "Miss" on the tip of his tongue... One does not slap a smiling face; such an attitude was enough to avoid the vast majority of trouble!
If it were during the previous war, as one of Konoha's Sannin and a pillar of the Village, he would have had to fight for the sake of the Village... but now—
Now, the shackles had fallen from him.
If he could hide, he would resolutely not fight; if he could create the conditions to run, he would run immediately. He never coveted victory or defeat in a battle, and he never gambled his life on one. Everything was based on the premise of staying alive—staying alive was the foundation of the true meaning of life he pursued.
When a person dies, everything becomes empty.
Kimimaro's eyes widened. His body, which looked disproportionate to his age due to long-term imprisonment and lack of nutrition, blocked the way in front of Orochimaru, like a small beast that had been provoked and sensed danger... He asked Orochimaru very seriously, "Lord, is he an enemy? I can help you kill him!"
Orochimaru pressed his hand on Kimimaro's head.
"Pain · Deva Path... the leader of the Akatsuki Organization. The Akatsuki Organization is an organization dedicated to the peace of the Ninja World, and as a rogue ninja being hunted, you must not be having an easy time, right? I have come here to sincerely invite the Cold Lord to join our organization..."
"And what if I say no?"
"No one can refuse a god's invitation and live..." Pain · Deva Path suddenly reached out toward Orochimaru, and a majestic repulsive force abruptly erupted. A giant white snake, one meter in diameter, appeared out of nowhere, only to be squeezed by the repulsive force and vanish instantly. Orochimaru's black hair flew wildly, and his figure retreated in an instant using the Body Flicker Technique—retreating a hundred meters.
Kimimaro was taken along by Orochimaru as they retreated.
The unique characteristics of the Body Flicker Technique made the entire world flicker in Kimimaro's eyes like a grid several times in succession!
Orochimaru raised his arm, which stretched out long, swelling and splitting into individual snakes that surged from his sleeve. The moment they hit the ground, they became long and large, turning into a vast swarm in the blink of an eye.
The swarm of snakes crawled densely toward Pain · Deva Path, snakes pressing against snakes, snakes carrying snakes, like a wave of snakes covering the sky and the earth... "Hah!"
A powerful repulsive force appeared on Pain · Deva Path again, bouncing the snakes away. The flexible bodies of the snakes actually snapped into many pieces like crispy rice crackers under the repulsive force, and pungent flesh and blood fell to the ground like rain.
After one repulsion, Pain · Deva Path charged toward Orochimaru at extreme speed.
A Black Rod appeared in his hand.
"Whoosh!"
The Black Rod pierced through Orochimaru's torso, carrying him back a full ten meters before pinning him to the ground.
Pain · Deva Path was about to speak: "Orochimaru, you..." Before he could finish the word "you," this Orochimaru turned into a snake.
Pain · Deva Path carefully scouted the surroundings but found nothing... He muttered "Orochimaru," and patiently tested the area three more times, but since there was no sign of Orochimaru, he finally left.
Nearly three full days passed. Late one night, the snake corpses that had remained on the ground suddenly moved.
The snake's body writhed, and Orochimaru, covered in dripping liquid, crawled out of the snake's belly. Then he opened his mouth wide and spat out another snake as thick as a neck. Once exposed to the air, part of that snake grew thick and large, reaching the size of a large water vat, and it also opened its mouth, spitting out the unconscious Kimimaro.
Kimimaro was just as wet as Orochimaru, covered in the slime from inside the snake's belly... The fresh air stimulated Kimimaro, causing him to gradually wake up. As soon as he opened his eyes, his first concern was Orochimaru: "Lord, where is the enemy?"
Orochimaru chuckled and told Kimimaro, "The enemy has already left; we are safe now. However... that guy named Pain should have been coming for me. I haven't been exposed here, yet someone was able to find me... It seems that even if I don't leave voluntarily, I will be forced to leave this place..."
Kimimaro asked, "Lord, who exactly was that weirdo in the black robe?"
"I don't know... the Akatsuki Organization. When we have time, we'll look into it..." Orochimaru's expression was relaxed. "Take a boat from here across the sea, and there is a small town. We'll rest in the town and then find a suitable habitat... Let's go. My intuition tells me we should leave immediately—that's the safe way."
Orochimaru didn't know that in the small town across the sea where he could rest, there was someone he least wanted to see.
In a guesthouse in the small town, Jiraiya swirled the wine cup in his hand, his head resting on the thigh of a woman wearing a kimono, while his other hand gently stroked another woman who was only wearing a bodysuit.
He had checked all the locations where Orochimaru had appeared, but there were no clues. So, he simply stopped searching deliberately.
In such a vast Ninja World, it was too difficult to find someone intentionally. Jiraiya left it to the mysterious workings of fate:
Perhaps, like a blind cat running into a dead mouse, fate and bonds would attract them to each other, and they would suddenly meet?
Jiraiya believed in this kind of luck.
His luck had always been very good.
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