After learning that Shingetsu was coming, Orochimaru had deliberately avoided going on missions with Tsunade and the others for the past few days.
He knew very well that if Shingetsu and Tsunade met, those two would start fighting before they had exchanged more than a few words.
It was not just because of the old grudges between their clans.
Their personalities were the real problem.
…
The southern border of the Land of Rain.
Gray mud swamps met dry red earth, and the moisture in the air seemed to have been drained away here.
Even the clouds were much thinner.
This was the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Wind, a place with the rather poetic name of Shigure Sakai.
On a high slope, Orochimaru stood beside a wind-eroded rock and said to the two boys in front of him, “According to intelligence, a twelve-member squad of Sunagakure ninjas crossed the border two days ago and has been active in this area.”
“Your mission is to find them and kill them all.”
“Do we need to capture anyone alive for interrogation?” Shingetsu asked.
Orochimaru’s lips curved slightly.
“That would be best, of course, but on the battlefield, killing the enemy always takes priority over taking prisoners.”
“That will improve your chances of survival.”
Shikaku was smart, but facing a squad of enemy ninja on his very first mission was still far beyond the norm.
He looked at Shingetsu a little nervously.
“I’m counting on you to keep me alive.
You’ll protect me, right, Boss?”
Hah.
He was even calling him Boss just to stay alive.
“If you die against small fry, then there’s no value in keeping you alive.”
Orochimaru patted Shikaku on the shoulder and said slowly, “Don’t worry too much.
I’ll be watching over you this time.
I won’t let your lives be in danger.”
“Let’s go.”
Shingetsu slid down the slope, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Shikaku really wanted to say that this was not how ninja were supposed to move, but considering Shingetsu’s do-as-he-pleased personality, he could only sigh helplessly and follow.
The two walked side by side for a while.
Aside from the wind, there was no sound at all.
After they had gone a little farther, Shikaku suddenly grabbed Shingetsu, who was striding ahead.
“Wait.”
“What is it?”
Shikaku did not answer directly.
He pointed at the ground not far away and said in a low, serious voice, “Something’s wrong.”
Shingetsu followed his finger and saw only red soil, gray stones, and dead shrubs.
It looked barren and natural, with nothing especially unusual about it.
Before he could ask, Shikaku spoke quietly.
“The angle of that dead shrub is different from the ones we saw earlier.”
“Given the terrain and wind direction here, dead trees should normally lean southeast under the northwest wind.
The angle of that one’s tilt exceeds natural probability.”
“Anything unnatural has only one explanation.
Human interference.”
“Shingetsu, your eyesight is definitely better than mine.
Can you see whether the soil around the base of that dead tree is a different color?”
Shingetsu frowned slightly and focused his attention on his eyes.
Two tomoe appeared.
The cold, eerie aura made Shikaku shudder, and he said in shock, “Sharingan?
How did you…”
“It’s normal for an Uchiha to have the Sharingan.
Don’t ask.
I can’t be bothered to explain.”
Shingetsu looked over, and the Sharingan caught more details.
“The color isn’t any different, but…
the soil there is just a little looser than the soil around it.
It’s only a difference of millimeters, but it’s definitely there.”
The two exchanged a glance.
Even though Shikaku knew Shingetsu would not use Dōjutsu on him, he still instinctively looked away.
Meeting an Uchiha’s Sharingan carried too much psychological pressure.
And this pair…
As Shikaku Nara, who possessed the Yin Release Shadow Secret Technique, he could faintly sense that the Yin Release density in those Sharingan was a little excessive.
“Then that’s it.
Someone dug there and filled the soil back in.”
Shikaku crouched and pressed his palm to the ground.
A thread of shadow extended outward.
“It’s probably an explosive tag.
I’ll use my shadow to trigger it.
This distance should be safe.”
“Considering the possibility of a chain explosive tag array, Shingetsu, be ready to take me back the way we came.
Your speed will be fine.”
“After that, we’ll find a high position with cover.
The enemy may come to check after we trigger the trap, and when they do, we’ll aim for…”
“Wait.”
Shingetsu grabbed Shikaku’s hand, his expression somewhat strange.
“What is it?”
The exchange felt familiar, only with the speaker changed.
Shingetsu did not answer.
Instead, he turned toward Orochimaru, who was some distance away, and called out, “Sensei, come here for a second!”
His voice was not loud, but it carried far in the dry air.
On the high slope, Orochimaru was thinking about Iwagakure’s movements on the northern front.
Iwagakure seemed to be preparing something major.
If they pushed down from the north, the Konoha forces currently deployed in the Land of Rain would not be enough…
“Orochimaru!
Can you hear me?”
Shingetsu’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
Orochimaru frowned.
In truth, he already knew the rough location of that Sunagakure squad.
They were about three ri to the south, so he had not been in any hurry to keep close to the two of them.
Whoosh.
Orochimaru arrived with a Body Flicker Technique, a trace of displeasure in his voice.
“Why did you stop?
Why aren’t you looking for the enemy?
What are you wasting time for?”
Shingetsu snapped his fingers.
“Continue.”
Shikaku knew what he meant.
He controlled his shadow to grab the dead tree and yanked it hard.
Sss, sss, sss.
The faint sound and the sudden smell of gunpowder made Orochimaru’s pupils shrink.
Immediately after…
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!!!!!
A violent explosion rose from the dried-up riverbed, flames surging into the sky.
Orochimaru’s pupils reflected the firelight, and a rare emotion surfaced in them.
This is…
He reacted at once, his hands flashing through seals.
“Earth Release: Earth Barrier!”
Four earthen walls instantly rose and protected the three of them inside.
When the smoke cleared…
Orochimaru looked at the surrounding terrain, now blasted beyond recognition, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
An explosive tag array covering an area this large…
and I failed to notice it in advance!
“An explosion of this level wouldn’t do anything to me, but if Shikaku were unlucky, he’d be dead.”
Shingetsu put one hand on his waist, the corner of his mouth curving upward.
“Oh my, who was it just now swearing that he wouldn’t let his life be in danger?”
Orochimaru’s Adam’s apple moved slightly, and his voice sounded bitter.
“I’m sorry…
I failed to notice it.”
“It’s not Orochimaru-sama’s fault, and nothing happened anyway!” Shikaku said hurriedly, turning to look at Shingetsu with a hint of reproach.
Why insist on embarrassing Orochimaru-sama?
Nothing had happened, hadn’t it?
Orochimaru ignored Shikaku.
His clenched fists trembled slightly.
How could this happen…
I actually failed to notice…
This time, Shingetsu is fine.
But what about next time…
Will he die…
like they did…
Can I really protect the people important to me…
It was because he feared that future that he had repeatedly emphasized the dangers of war.
Deep down, he did not want Shingetsu to come to the battlefield.
He had seen too many tragic war orphans.
If the child he saw as hope also…
“You realize it now, don’t you?
Life is fragile and unpredictable.”
Shingetsu looked at Orochimaru indifferently, speaking each word with deliberate clarity.
“You all keep trying to teach me something, but in my eyes, you’re the ones who are lost without even realizing it.”
“The flowers you placed in front of my parents’ graves.
Did they remind you of the white snake’s shed skin you saw at your own parents’ grave?”
Nawaki’s death, Tsunade’s cries, the experiments in Root.
Those were all factors that led to Orochimaru’s change, but the root of it all…
Was still that shed snake skin.
His loneliness had begun then.
Everything that followed was inevitable.
“You think I’m like you?
No.
We’re completely different.”
Shingetsu turned around, facing the enemies rushing over after hearing the commotion, and the curve of his lips deepened.
“Don’t be trapped by the dead.
Do what you want to do, and don’t do what you don’t want to do.
Isn’t that simple?”
He stretched both arms in front of his chest, drew an arc, then brought his palms together with his fingertips touching.
Facing the Sunagakure ninjas charging toward him, he slowly spoke.
[Ten Fingers, Ten Lines, Brand Life, No Salvation]
“Fire Release: Scarlet Fire Manipulation Technique.”
As the cursed words were softly chanted, crimson fire lines burst from all ten of his fingers at once, tearing open his fingernails as they shot out at high speed with a shriek that split the air.
Before the approaching Sunagakure ninjas could even understand what was happening…
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Ten lines of fire pierced their vital points with perfect accuracy, leaving charred, bloody holes behind.
Not a single one survived.
Thud.
Thud.
Bodies dropped one after another.
The high heat left ten faint red traces in the air, like scarlet snake skins.
Shingetsu turned around.
His fingernails had carbonized and peeled away, and his hands were trembling slightly.
He showed an especially gentle smile.
Orochimaru had rarely seen Shingetsu smile like that.
No, this should have been the first time.
And he had never looked so closely at the intense emotion hidden within those scarlet eyes.
“Hey, Orochimaru!”
“I won’t die.
Something like death is no match for me!”
“Do you understand now?!”