Chapter 18: Intercepting Orochimaru

Reiji and Might Guy looked at each other.

Lord Orochimaru defected?

That was Guy’s thought.

Orochimaru is only defecting now?

That was Reiji’s thought.

Ever since the Fourth Hokage selection, Orochimaru had practically disappeared from public view.

After the Nine-Tails’ attack, Reiji had heard even less about him.

So much so that he had completely forgotten that, until recently, Orochimaru was still technically a Konoha shinobi.

"C-Commander, sir... could there have been some kind of mistake?"

Might Guy was having trouble believing it.

"How could Lord Orochimaru possibly defect? Isn’t he the Hokage’s disciple?"

More importantly—

Orochimaru had once been a candidate for the Fourth Hokage position!

If not for Minato Namikaze emerging as the unexpected choice, Orochimaru would have become the Fourth Hokage!

Even though he had failed to become Hokage, Orochimaru was still one of Konoha’s highest-ranking figures, second only to Sarutobi Hiruzen and several of the village’s elder advisers.

He could absolutely be considered part of Konoha’s leadership.

And someone like that had defected?

"Orochimaru conducted human experiments on villagers and shinobi from his own village. Once his actions were exposed, he was forced to defect. You’ll hear about the incident once you return to Konoha."

The ANBU commander wearing the wolf mask spoke coldly.

He was Sarutobi Shinnosuke, Hiruzen’s eldest son.

As for Orochimaru’s defection—

His father might have been deeply saddened by it.

He might even have deliberately allowed Orochimaru to escape because he could not bring himself to kill his former disciple.

But for Shinnosuke, this was actually good news.

There was now one fewer person above him in Konoha’s power structure.

One fewer competitor for the position of Fifth Hokage.

And if he could personally help eliminate the defected Orochimaru this time, his prestige within the village would rise considerably.

The position of Fifth Hokage would then be within even closer reach.

"We don’t have time to waste. We’re going after Orochimaru now. We absolutely cannot allow him to leave the Land of Fire!"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke spoke coldly.

Might Guy was just about to acknowledge the order when Reiji suddenly became anxious and hurriedly spoke up.

"Orochimaru is one of the Legendary Sannin. How could we possibly be capable of dealing with him?"

"Besides, I’ve never heard that the ANBU commander has the authority to requisition Konoha shinobi who are currently off duty."

Is Guy crazy?

That’s Orochimaru!

Are the two of us really capable of fighting him at our current level?

Even if Guy opened the Sixth Gate, at most he could stall Orochimaru for a while!

"Orochimaru has already suffered severe injuries. Only a fraction of his strength remains."

Sarutobi Shinnosuke spoke, his gaze turning cold as he stared at Reiji.

"As for whether I have the authority to requisition you, what would a brat like you know?"

"If we allow a dangerous missing-nin like Orochimaru to escape, do you two intend to bear the responsibility?"

Technically, it was true that the ANBU commander was not the Hokage and did not possess the authority to arbitrarily requisition Konoha shinobi who were not currently assigned to missions.

But faced with the enormous achievement of capturing Orochimaru, Sarutobi Shinnosuke could no longer be bothered with such technicalities.

Moreover, by placing the enormous responsibility of allowing Orochimaru to escape on their shoulders, who would dare refuse?

And if they still refused, then should the pursuit ultimately fail, there would at least be more people to share the blame.

"Reiji, if we really encounter Lord Orochimaru... I mean, if we encounter him, leave the fighting to me. You can stay out of the way."

Might Guy grinned.

Although he had only recently become a Jonin, Konoha was his village.

Even if the mission involved intercepting one of the Legendary Sannin, he had a duty to step forward!

On one side was Sarutobi Shinnosuke’s murderous gaze.

On the other, Guy had already made up his mind.

Although Reiji was deeply unwilling, he had no choice.

He cursed Sarutobi Shinnosuke for being completely reckless in his heart while simultaneously blaming Guy for making such a rash decision.

Soon afterward.

The ANBU split into two groups.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke led one team.

Reiji and Might Guy followed another.

The two groups approached a secret underground base from opposite directions, preparing to surround it.

Ahead was an underground secret facility.

One ANBU squad had already infiltrated it.

The two follow-up squads concealed themselves around the facility from opposite directions, waiting for the outcome.

Suddenly—

BOOM!

A tremendous explosion erupted from the underground facility.

The ground collapsed, sending dust and debris flying everywhere!

A blood-covered figure burst out of the underground base and fled in the direction where Sarutobi Shinnosuke’s squad was concealed.

"Pursue!"

The ANBU on Reiji’s side immediately gave the order.

Everyone rushed after the fleeing figure.

"Reiji, stay here. I’ll come back for you once the battle is over."

Might Guy quickly gave Reiji his instructions.

The other ANBU did not object.

To them, the important thing was Might Guy’s combat strength as a Jonin.

As for Reiji, a child, he was largely irrelevant.

Whether he followed or not made little difference.

Soon.

The ANBU on Reiji’s side and Might Guy disappeared into the depths of the forest in pursuit.

Leaving Reiji alone behind.

Just as everyone’s figures vanished from sight—

The collapsed underground facility suddenly fell silent.

A figure slowly emerged from within.

Orochimaru.

Although he was seriously wounded, with blood still flowing from his left shoulder, Orochimaru’s composure remained completely intact.

Seeing that he had successfully shaken off the pursuing ANBU, Orochimaru chuckled.

Earlier, he had been struck by the invading ANBU and used the Orochimaru-style Substitution Technique.

However—

His real body had remained hidden inside the discarded skin.

He had then created an Earth Clone and disguised it as his real body, making it crawl out from the shed skin before fleeing the underground facility.

The pursuing ANBU had naturally followed the fake body.

With a simple trick, he had successfully lured the fools away.

Just as Orochimaru prepared to escape in another direction—

He suddenly stopped.

Not far away, Reiji was still standing there.

Their eyes met.

For a moment—

It was as though the entire forest had fallen completely silent.