Chapter 417 – The Prey Before the Fox

Chapter 417: Chapter 417 – The Prey Before the Fox

AKATSUKI HIDEOUT

The cave remained dimly lit by the torches fastened to its stone walls. The damp air carried the smell of wet earth, old blood, and rusted metal, making the place unpleasant even for someone accustomed to criminal hideouts.

Kisame leaned against an uneven wall, resting Samehada on his shoulder while watching Itachi stand motionless a few meters ahead. Patience had never been one of his virtues, especially now that he already knew where the prey was.

"Why do we have to wait if we already know where he is?"

Itachi didn’t turn around immediately. His expression remained calm, but the way he carefully chose each word made it clear that the decision didn’t depend on Kisame’s wishes.

"Sasori and Deidara will capture the One-Tail first. After that, we’ll have time to go after the Nine-Tails."

Kisame let out a low sound of irritation and leaned his head against the stone. To him, waiting meant wasting an opportunity that might never come again.

"I hope they’re worth it."

Itachi remained silent for a few seconds, letting the complaint fade into the cave itself. He understood Kisame’s impatience, but the Akatsuki didn’t move on impulse when there was a clear order to follow.

"If Sasori is involved, it’s unlikely they’ll fail."

Kisame stared at Itachi for a few moments before flashing a toothy grin.

"So be it."

Even after accepting the answer, Kisame disliked waiting. Naruto Uzumaki was outside Konoha, without the village’s direct protection and without Jiraiya by his side, exactly as the Akatsuki needed.

For Itachi, however, there was something even more important than the Nine-Tails in all of this.

Sasuke was outside the village as well.

And if Naruto was close to him, then the meeting between the brothers was no longer a distant possibility.

____

OROCHIMARU’S HIDEOUT

The narrow corridor of the hideout was illuminated by old torches attached to the damp walls. The flames flickered as underground drafts passed through, casting long shadows across the stone and making the place feel even more confined.

Sasuke walked in front with one hand near his katana, while Naruto followed a few steps behind with an impatient expression. The two of them had already passed through several similar corridors since entering the hideout.

"Ready?" Sasuke asked without slowing his pace.

"Yeah." Naruto flashed a sharp grin as he followed the Uchiha. "Let’s get this over with."

Sasuke slightly turned his head toward him.

"Remember. I’ll deal with Orochimaru."

"Sure." Naruto cracked his fingers while looking ahead. "I’ll guard the door so nobody interrupts your great revenge."

The sarcasm was obvious, but Sasuke didn’t waste time responding.

Naruto continued walking behind him, observing the symbols carved into the walls, the reinforced doors, and the traces of abandoned experiments. Orochimaru truly seemed to have hideouts within hideouts, as if he never trusted a single escape route.

"Orochimaru has a lot of hideouts."

"This isn’t the time to admire them."

"Boring."

Naruto’s reply came quietly, but was filled with provocation. Sasuke ignored it, keeping his attention on the corridor ahead when two ninja appeared, blocking their path.

One of them raised his hand after recognizing the two.

"Hey, you two. Lord Orochimaru is occu..."

The sentence died before it could finish.

Sasuke’s eyes changed, and the Sharingan trapped both ninja in a genjutsu so fast that neither of them had time to react. Their bodies froze, paralyzed by their own minds before they even realized the danger.

Naruto tilted his head, watching how effortlessly it happened.

"You’re not fun at all," Naruto whispered.

Sasuke walked past him without answering and drew his katana in one smooth motion.

SHLIK

The heads of both ninja rolled across the stone floor before their bodies collapsed. Blood quickly spread through the cracks in the ground, but Sasuke didn’t even look back.

Naruto watched the scene without interfering. He didn’t pity those men, but Sasuke’s coldness seemed deeper than before.

This wasn’t just revenge.

It was urgency.

Sasuke stopped in front of a reinforced door and remained there for a few seconds. On the other side was familiar chakra, weak compared to what Orochimaru once possessed, but still poisonous enough to make any ordinary person uncomfortable.

Naruto approached, but Sasuke raised a hand to stop him.

"From here on, I’m going alone."

Naruto frowned.

"Are you serious?"

"I am."

Sasuke opened the door just enough to enter and grabbed the handle before closing it.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, irritated by that decision.

"Idiot." Naruto leaned his shoulder against the wall beside the door. "I let you watch when I killed Jiraiya. Now it’s your turn to stay out."

The door closed before Sasuke answered.

Naruto remained standing in the corridor, staring at the reinforced wood while the sound of the lock echoed from the other side. He hated waiting, especially when he knew so much depended on that confrontation.

’Now kill him, Sasuke.’

The Nine-Tails’ chakra stirred deep within his body, responding to his impatience.

’Or Orochimaru will steal your body for good.’

___

OROCHIMARU’S LABORATORY

The laboratory was spacious, cold, and filled with glass containers, metal tables, and scrolls scattered across old workbenches. The smell of medicine, poison, and dried blood was strong enough to bother even Sasuke.

Orochimaru stood before one of the benches, handling a small vial with almost provocative calmness. His body looked frail, but his eyes were still far too alive for someone so close to his limit.

"I knew you would come."

Sasuke closed the door behind him and kept one hand on his katana.

"Then you should’ve run."

Orochimaru let out a low, drawn-out laugh as he turned toward the Uchiha.

"Your friend isn’t going to help?"

"I don’t need him to finish off someone as weakened as you."

Orochimaru’s smile widened.

"That arrogance will be your downfall, Sasuke-kun."

"We’ll see."

Sasuke fully drew his katana, the cold gleam of the blade reflecting the torchlight.

Orochimaru licked his lips as he observed the body he had desired from the very beginning. Even weakened, he still saw this confrontation as an opportunity.

"You think you came here to kill me."

The skin around his eyes tightened as murderous intent crept through the laboratory.

"But perhaps you’ve merely arrived at the perfect moment to deliver what has always belonged to me."

Sasuke didn’t answer with words.

Lightning chakra began flowing through the blade, sending crackling sounds through the air.

TRRZZZK

Orochimaru moved first, launching snakes from his sleeve toward Sasuke’s chest. The Uchiha sidestepped and cut the creatures down before they could reach him.

The snakes’ blood splattered across the floor in dark drops, but Orochimaru was already moving again.

Sasuke spun his katana and forced Orochimaru to retreat two steps. The speed of the strike made it clear that he hadn’t come to test his strength or exchange words.

He had come to end this.

"You’re slower."

Orochimaru smiled even in the face of the taunt.

"And you’re more impatient."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Don’t mistake urgency for weakness."

He lunged forward with his lightning-coated blade, and the strike sliced through part of the workbench behind Orochimaru as the Sannin barely escaped.

Glass vials shattered across the floor.

CRASH

The spilled liquid immediately began releasing smoke as it touched the stone, but Sasuke never looked away. Orochimaru tried to use the environment to his advantage, pulling hidden wires stretched between the benches and launching small poisoned blades at him.

Sasuke pushed his Sharingan even further and dodged every attack without wasting a single movement.

One of the blades passed close to his face, cutting a few strands of hair, but his response came immediately. Sasuke threw several kunai at the supports in the ceiling, breaking part of the structure and forcing Orochimaru to move to avoid being crushed.

The Sannin laughed as he escaped.

"Excellent. That body truly deserves to be mine."

The words caused Sasuke’s chakra to become even more violent.

"You talk too much."

Sasuke appeared right in front of him in a swift dash and drove his katana through Orochimaru’s shoulder, pinning him against one of the laboratory’s stone pillars.

Orochimaru spat out blood, but his smile never disappeared.

"You still don’t understand."

His body began to come apart in a grotesque manner, giving way to a mass of white snakes.

"This body was already finished."

Sasuke retreated before the snakes could wrap around him, but Orochimaru’s poisonous chakra spread throughout the laboratory like a heavy mist.

Outside, Naruto immediately sensed the change.

He stepped away from the door and clenched his fists.

’Now it’s really begun.’

Inside the laboratory, Sasuke stared at the monstrous form emerging before him. It no longer resembled a man, but rather a collection of snakes held together by a twisted will.

Orochimaru opened his mouth in a grotesque grin.

"Now, Sasuke-kun, let’s decide who gets to keep that body."

Sasuke raised his katana once more as the Sharingan glowed through the smoke.

"Come and try."

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