Being a rogue ninja is worse than being Hokage.

Moreover, Itachi Uchiha also possessed power.

He's really going all out, relentlessly pursuing whoever he's targeting; no one can escape unscathed.

—Itachi Uchiha's only weakness was his younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha.

So Naruto was naturally happy to grant Sasuke's request.

Chapter 38 Orochimaru's Fate

"But before that, I have other things to take care of first."

Sasuke's words rang in Naruto's ears once again.

Naruto knew perfectly well what Sasuke meant by "prioritizing" something.

Orochimaru.

Or to put it more precisely, Sasuke's priority should be dealing with Orochimaru's secret technique of immortality, the Reanimation Jutsu.

This is a forbidden technique that grants the practitioner immortality in a way that violates human ethics and morality.

After the caster reborn themselves into the body of someone who serves as a vessel for rebirth, there is a time limit of several years during which they cannot perform the Reanimation Jutsu again in search of a new life.

Orochimaru last used the Reanimation Jutsu three years ago.

Orochimaru, who did not wait for Sasuke to arrive, was forced to use the Reanimation Jutsu to save his life, reincarnating himself into an unsuitable body.

Although Orochimaru barely survived, he was imprisoned in an unsuitable vessel for three whole years due to the limitations of the Reanimation Jutsu.

And this prison called "Eternal Life" is about to end, as the time limit for performing the Reincarnation technique is about to expire.

Having gone to such great lengths to lure Sasuke to his side, how could Orochimaru possibly repeat the mistake he made three years ago and let go of Sasuke, the perfect vessel that Orochimaru himself coveted?

Orochimaru's desire to possess Sasuke's body grew stronger every day, and his emotions became so intense that he could no longer hide them.

But over the past three years, Sasuke's growth has exceeded Orochimaru's expectations.

Sasuke's growth surprised Orochimaru, but it also worried him.

Orochimaru was overjoyed that he would soon be able to use the Reanimation Jutsu again and obtain Sasuke's wonderful body, which would experience a rapid increase in strength.

The concern is that, given Orochimaru's current state, he cannot simply use his own power to control Sasuke.

Sasuke never had the idea of ​​offering his body to Orochimaru.

Sasuke felt disgusted by the various evil deeds Orochimaru committed for his own ugly desires.

Sasuke, who retains a pure and kind heart deep down, knows that Orochimaru will continue to do evil even after obtaining his body.

How could Sasuke possibly surrender so easily and let Orochimaru use the Reanimation Jutsu on him?

Sasuke trained day and night for the past three years.

Besides seeking revenge against Itachi Uchiha, his other goal was to be able to deal with Orochimaru, who had been coveting his body.

Now, it's not just Orochimaru's time to use the Reanimation Jutsu to seize Sasuke's body again.

The opportunity for Sasuke to rebel against Orochimaru has also arrived.

The time has come for Orochimaru to use the Reanimation Jutsu to seize Sasuke's body once again.

This was also the opportune moment for Sasuke, who had squeezed Orochimaru's knowledge to its absolute limit until the very last moment, to kill him.

"Naruto, you should still remember the strange cursed seal Orochimaru placed on me during the Chunin Selection Exams in Konoha three years ago, right?"

“I know that the cursed seal not only enhances your power, but it is also the medium for Orochimaru’s secret technique, ‘Reanimation Jutsu’.”

The "cursed seal" is something that Sasuke, who was directly involved in the incident, as well as Kakashi and Sakura, all of whom have some understanding of it.

Only Naruto, who had already defected from Konoha and taken the opportunity to destroy it, was unaware of the reasons behind it all.

Sasuke originally intended to start with the topic of "cursed seal," which both Naruto and he himself knew, and explain it to Naruto.

Unexpectedly, Naruto was able to "draw inferences from one instance" even though Sasuke had only just started the conversation.

They even know information about "reincarnation".

"Although you yourself have been out of contact for the past three years, you know quite a lot."

Sasuke was slightly impressed by Naruto's intelligence-gathering abilities.

However, for ninjas, "intelligence" is just "everyday stuff" in the eyes of ordinary people.

The scope, speed, timeliness, and accuracy of a ninja's intelligence gathering actually reflect the ninja's strength.

No matter how powerful a ninja's ninjutsu is, if the information about the ninjutsu is known and deciphered in advance, in actual combat, the ninja with powerful ninjutsu may not even last until the moment of using that ninjutsu before meeting his own death.

Sasuke didn't ask Naruto where the information came from.

For ninjas who live by killing and bloodlust as "intelligence beings," the source of intelligence is itself a form of intelligence.

Now that Naruto has learned from intelligence that the seemingly harmonious but constantly conflicting relationship between Sasuke and Orochimaru...

Sasuke was quite happy to save a lot of time that would have otherwise been spent explaining.

Sasuke quickened the pace of his conversation with Naruto.

"The time when Orochimaru can use 'Reanimation Jutsu' again is getting closer and closer," Sasuke said, getting straight to the point. "I'm going to kill Orochimaru."

This was more than just getting straight to the point; Sasuke started the conversation right from the end.

Upon hearing Sasuke's words about killing Orochimaru, the four Sound Ninja beside him were all stunned.

However, Naruto showed no surprise at Sasuke's decision.

Naruto seized the moment when the Sound Four were stunned.

Before the Sound Four could react, a figure appeared in front of each of them, blocking their way.

That's Naruto's shadow clone!

Naruto's shadow clones launched an attack on the Sound Four without hesitation!

Immediately afterwards, the once quiet forest erupted with intense chakra fluctuations.

The birds and beasts resting peacefully in the forest were startled by the sudden tremor, and the forest became noisy in an instant, with birds flying and beasts running.

The group, who were moving through the forest, all stopped in their tracks when Naruto suddenly attacked.

The Sound Four all had marks on their skin from the use of cursed seals, which allowed them to survive the attack from Naruto's shadow clones.

However, their situation did not improve, and they were still being restrained by Naruto's shadow clones.

Sasuke saw all of this.

The Sound Four are not weak, but Naruto's shadow clones alone were enough to force them out of their "Cursed Seal 1" state, and he even subtly suppressed the Sound Four who were in their "Cursed Seal 1" state.

"Judging from their expressions just now, they obviously don't know what you're thinking."

Naruto, in his true form, looked at the Sound Four, who were entangled with his shadow clones, and spoke.

"The four of them can be considered Orochimaru's confidants. In this mission, they are both Orochimaru's helpers and his surveillance agents."

Sasuke briefly explained the relationship between the Sound Four and Orochimaru.

Sasuke's attack on Akatsuki this time was not only because he wanted to use the other members of the Akatsuki organization to gather information about Itachi Uchiha.

Orochimaru also had the idea of ​​weakening Sasuke's power by having the Akatsuki fight with him, thus increasing his chances of successfully resurrecting Sasuke using the Reanimation Jutsu.

So, are we going to kill them?

Naruto glanced at Sasuke.

“No need. After dealing with Orochimaru, we also need people to deal with Akatsuki—although they are Orochimaru’s confidants, they are not absolutely loyal. Orochimaru is just using power to unite them.”

Sasuke shook his head, his dark eyes turning crimson as he stared at the Sound Four who were resisting Naruto's shadow clones, and said:

"In terms of strength alone, I have already surpassed Orochimaru."

Chapter 39 Sasuke's "Bonds"

The Land of Fields, Orochimaru's stronghold.

Looking at the entrance leading to the secret base built underground.

Naruto couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Could it be said that Orochimaru, a ninja who has been famous in the ninja world for decades, has a deep understanding of how ninjas can hide their tracks and conceal their presence?

Orochimaru is the mastermind behind the Hidden Sound Village in the Land of Rice Fields.

This information had already been revealed three years ago during Orochimaru's plan to destroy Konoha.

Even considering Konoha's own situation, and the monitoring by the other four great nations of any reaction to Konoha's movements.

Konoha did not openly send a large number of ninjas to the Land of Rice Fields to gather intelligence.

But if it were someone else, no matter how carefully they tried to hide it, they would still leave some clues.

Orochimaru was able to remain undiscovered by Konoha for three years after the destruction plan—and among those searching for Orochimaru was Jiraiya, another of the "Legendary Sannin," who knew Orochimaru better than most.

"In the past three years, Orochimaru has not stayed in the same place."

Sasuke guessed what Naruto was thinking and explained.

More than a decade ago, Orochimaru, who had defected from Konoha, went through many things.

His feud with the Akatsuki organization, his research into forbidden techniques, and the building of his own power...

Located in the Land of Rice Fields and officially recognized by the Daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields, the Hidden Sound Village was undoubtedly the most well-organized and largest force Orochimaru possessed during his career as a rogue ninja.

But this does not mean that Orochimaru only has the Sound Ninja as his trump card.

Orochimaru's secret strongholds are located somewhere in the small countries surrounding the Land of Fire, and even in remote corners of the Land of Fire.

Some of these strongholds were established by Orochimaru long before he took control of Otogakure.

In addition to concealing their whereabouts, some secret outposts also have independent functions.

For example, it is a base for human experimentation, where ninjas with mysterious secret techniques or bloodline limits are imprisoned.

Or perhaps it is a base for research on forbidden techniques developed based on the study of "cursed seals".

They have all sorts of strongholds.