Naruto: Escape From Konoha-Chapter 252 - 245: Encounter

Excellent mastery over ninjutsu, intelligence combined with mastery of strategy. Able to assume command of military affairs even during the previous ninja war while also achieving successful accomplishments in research.

Such concentrated talents were worthy of being the envy and admiration of countless ninjas.

But all of that talents happened to be concentrated in Orochimaru alone, forming Hiruko's greatest sense of inferiority.

'Could ordinary people never hope to surpass geniuses? '

Hiruko questioned himself then.Hence he had risked life creating forbidden jutsus. His aim was to surpass these so-called geniuses to become the strongest ninja in the whole world.

"It's only natural to feel bored when faced with stagnation. I'm only interested where fresh winds blow," Orochimaru said with a smile.

"Is that so? What's the meaning then behind your visit to me? And you've even brought someone I'm not familiar with," Hiruko remarked.

If Orochimaru was still a Konoha ninja presently, Hiruko would naturally have thought him to be here for the purpose of arresting a traitor to drag back to the village. But since Orochimaru had also betrayed Konoha, becoming an S-rank rogue nin the same as himself, the aim behind this sudden visit was worth some careful deliberation.

Hiruko's gaze shifted back and forth between Orochimaru and Sasori pensively.

Black background...red clouds...at first glance it resembled some kind of uniform. Could Orochimaru have joined a certain organization then?

And this puppeteer-like fellow exuded an extremely dangerous aura about him. One completely without any human traits compared to Orochimaru.

It was like facing a cold, unfeeling block of iron.

"I forgot to make introductions. This is Sasori of the Red Sand from Sunagakure, now my colleague," Orochimaru casually introduced him to Hiruko.

"Sasori of the Red Sand?" Hiruko glanced at Sasori with surprise.

This vulgar, unsightly five-haired man was Suna's famed Sasori of the Red Sand? But wasn't Sasori of the Red Sand supposed to be a handsome young man with red hair? His vulgar look was completely incompatible with the word handsome.

Soon enough Hiruko understood the situation and gave a nod.

"I probably understand things now. But what's the purpose behind your visit to me? My research has entered a critical phase and I've no time to indulge in your little games of cloak and dagger,"

As for Orochimaru's objective in seeking him out, Hiruko gained some insight from the standardized attire both him and Sasori now wore.

They were here to invite him into their organization it would seem.

However, he held no interest regarding such overtures. His forbidden jutsu research had entered a crucial stage. He had no time to entertaining some dubious organization's request.

Orochimaru smiled indifferently and explained, "The organization Sasori and I belong to is called Akatsuki. I'm here this time to invite you to join the organization. The organization currently faces a shortage of talent and we urgently require capable additions. If I provide a personal recommendation, there will be no need for troublesome screening procedures."

Akatsuki's formal member examinations were extremely strict. However that was for outsiders. If he, a core member, put Hiruko's name forward, the latter could skip tedious assessments and directly enter the main member roster.

Such was one of the privileges of being a core member.

"As you know, I'm only interested in forbidden jutsu research currently. If that's your only business, feel free to take your leave,"

Hiruko didn't fear confrontation with Orochimaru.

In the past, he truly would have been no match for Orochimaru and likely remained outclassed even now. But having initially completed some of his forbidden jutsu, escaping would pose no problems at least.

Furthermore, this was his territory. If Orochimaru insisted on doing battle here, some careful deliberation would still be prudent. He was no longer the Konoha ninja completely at the mercy of the Legendary Sannin.

"Don't reject it in a hurry. Your Chimera Jutsu requires powerful kekkei genkai ninjas, isn't that so?"

Orochimaru pointed out. He too grasped some understanding regarding Hiruko's forbidden jutsu research - The Chimera Jutsu. While his knowledge could not compare to Hiruko's depth, he at least knew completion of the jutsu would demand large numbers of ninjas possessing Kekkei Genkai to serve as material.

It was an extremely fearsome forbidden jutsu fusing the kekkei genkai of such ninja before reshaping it all for the user's own purpose.

In Hiruko's present state, his combat strength might still remain somewhat lacking. However, as long as sufficient kekkei genkai wielders were made available to him as nourishment, his power would surge in leaps and bounds, attaining a truly horrifying level.

That had also been Orochimaru's motive behind wanting Hiruko to join Akatsuki.

"And so what? I have my own plans for capturing those kekkei genkai ninjas," Hiruko retorted.

"But that will take a lof of your time, isn't that right? Your intelligence network is far from perfect and your Chimera Jutsu still has room for greater possibilities. Akatsuki can provide sufficient logistical support while our intelligence system could also be shared with you. When you execute your plan, we would be in an ideal position to lend assistance,"

Orochimaru seized upon Hiruko's Achille's heel, stabbing at it violently.

Hiruko had only been an inconspicuous Jonin back in his early Konoha days. So when he had defected, barely anyone noteworthy had been sent to pursue him. But there had still been a decent number of Jonin and Anbu on his heels during the escape.

Plus, after fleeing Konoha, he had gone into seclusion at this very spot. His understanding remained limited only to major events occurring in the greater ninja world while sorely lacking in specifics. It would be no simple feat gaining intel on the whereabouts of various kekkei genkai wielders.

Orochimaru's words gave Hiruko brief pause. Although reluctant to acknowledge it, what had been said did hold some truth.

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More than once, he too had hoped to establish an efficient intelligence network in preparation for capturing kekkei genkai ninjas.

However, a well-formed intelligence system demanded more than just people, large amount of money was also essential.

As a solo ninja, just the research equipment housed within this hidden base of his had already emptied out Hiruko's entire savings. An intelligence network held tremendous importance for him as well.

"What are your purpose?"

Hiruko frowned as he asked. His heart had already begun wavering upon asking this.

"It's really simple. You'll only need to capture some cute little animals for the organization occasionally. The organization won't restrict your freedom much otherwise and there's just a regular monthly meeting," Orochimaru explained casually.

An organization assembling S-rank rogue nins solely for the sake of capturing cute animals? This confused Hiruko greatly.

"The conditions seem quite attractive and there doesn't appear to be any harm in going with you..... temporarily,"

While not agreeing outright, if what Orochimaru claimed was genuine, that the organization could provide him with a lof of convenient support while allowing great autonomy otherwise and only demanded he show up for a monthly meeting..Then the arrangement didn't seem too restrictive.

Sasori let out a soft snort but said nothing.

....

After departing from Konoha, Ayane returned to Hoshigakure where she oversaw thr reconstruction of the village.

The original Hoshigakure had merely been a rundown small village composed primarily of wooden houses. Whether the hospital or the ninja academy, everything had appeared utterly shabby and outdated.

Having grown accustomed to residing within the Land of Demons, such facilities were now even more prehistoric in Ayane's eyes compared to her brief abode in Konoha.

However this also tied directly into the fact that the Daimyo wnd nobles of the Land of Bears had never wished for Hoshigakure to become stronger.

The various Daimyo held a unique perspective towards their hidden villages. On one hand they placed their hopes on the might of these ninja villages, yet on the other they also needed to rein in the villages' development to some extent as a checks and balances measure.

But things differed now since the Bear Daimyo believed his trusted subordinate Red Shadow had obtained complete control over Hoshigakure.

So, in less than a week following the attack on Hoshigakure by the Land of Demons, they disguised themselves as the village's own ninja..The Bear Daimyo had already distributed three batches of sufficient construction supplies to vigorously develop Hoshigakure under Red Shadow.

Regarding this, Ayane had naturally accepted the provisions without reservation. While the Land of Demons's own supplies were sufficient, there was no reason to turn down free contributions.

According to the military expansion blueprint drafted by the Land of Demons, molding Hoshigakure into a complete military fortress represented an important key.

The quick construction naturally took utmost priority, but there had been another aim behind Ayane remaining stationed here personally.

That goal being assimilation of the hundreds of Hoshigakure ninjas as well as the countless villagers - reshaping them all into aligned with the Land of Demons system.

This required personal input from Land of Demons tutors brought here to directly conduct lessons.

In the forested mountains surrounding Hoshigakure, countless craftsmen began work on large-scale construction in preparation for accumulating structures to form a military fortress.

At this pace, the basic prototype should be built within three to five months.

After all, everything formerly belonging to Hoshigakure needed renovating. And the territorial scope required massive expanding, hence the greater time expenditure.

With Hoshigakure now in hand, a further five hundred Land of Demons ninjas continued entering the Land of Bears secretly in batches afterwards, gathering here at Hoshigakure.

Accompany them were members of the Uzumaki clan who cast powerful seals, enveloping the entire forest region centered around Hoshigakure in barriers, preventing attacks from both wild beasts and hostile forces.

Coupled with the original three hundred operatives dispatched earlier, nearly eight hundred Land of Demons ninjas were now garrisoned at Hoshigakure.

The numbers had already surpassed Hoshigakure's original ninja population. And it went without saying that Land of Demons ninja also far exceeded the locals in overall quality. Security was now airtight.

The Land of Demons development up till now had bred over seven thousand ninjas in total. Even after allocating eight hundred to operations in the Land of Bears, abundant military reserves still remained at home.

With assistance from these forces, Ayane's burdens had lightened tremendously. No longer needing to handle various boring chores day in and out. She simply wished to quickly settle the Hoshigakure situation before returning home.

Just as Ayane was pondering returning back home, there came a knock on her makeshift office door.

"Come in," Ayane replied upon hearing it.

A ninja stepped inside, his dignified expression hinting at some major occurrence.

"What's the issue? Are the Hoshi ninjas resisting again?"

Ayane's first reaction was regarding this. Ideological reshaping was obviously not something achievable overnight after all.

Stubborn people who didn't fear death could be found anywhere. And there had been no shortage of such stubborn personalities among the Hoshigakure ranks.

Hence her initial assumption tied to that.

"No, it's unrelated. The barrier corps discovered ninjas approaching the village," The ninja reported.

"Ninjas? How many in total? Have you identified them?" Ayane's expression grew serious. With strangers showing up here out of the blue, they had to avoid being careless.

"While the other two cannot be determined, one has been confirmed as Orochimaru of the Legendary Sannin," The ninja replied gravely.

Names of the three Sannin instilled awe throughout the ninja world.

Although the Land of Demon's military might had expanded rapidly, even they could not afford to be lax when faced with the likes of a Sannin-level ninja.

Moreover, Orochimaru's prowess was acknowledged as the strongest among the trio. A consummate all-rounder in ninjutsu without any evident flaws.

Facing such a ninjas of his caliber, maintaining vigilance came only naturally.

Moreover, Orochimaru who had betrayed Konoha had vanished without a trace in the ninja world for nearly two years now. His sudden appearance at Hoshigakure at this timing likely did not bode well.

"Orochimaru?" Ayane muttered to herself in brief contemplation before arriving at a decision.

"I'll go over there to ascertain things personally. The village is to be placed on high alert, Level One defense,"

With Orochimaru being no ordinary ninja, there were no others of capable expert on hand here except herself. A one on one confrontation with Orochimaru seemed a safe bet.

Besides, Orochimaru had still brought two other companions along. It seemed impossible they were ordinary people either.

"Understood!"

....

"Oi. Orochimaru, what business do you have at this backwater village? Didn't you mention taking me to see your leader?" Hiruko asked while trailing closely behind Orochimaru and Sasori.

"Sasori needs to retrieve something from this Hoshigakure to serve as crafting material for his puppets. Afterwards, I'll bring you to meet the leader. It's not like you're in much of a hurry now anyway, right?" Orochimaru glanced back, flashing an affable smile towards Hiruko.

"There's actually treasure to be found in a small village like this?

Having formerly been a Konoha ninja, Hiruko naturally held the remote, minor nation ninja villages in low regard.

He was no fledgling brat on the world stage. Having experienced both the wecond and third great ninja wars, he had travelled to countless locations across the map.

During his past journeys, he had visited such small countries settlements before.

Compared to Konoha whose ninja village resembled an urban center, many little nation ones were like rural countryside areas within the Land of Fire or perhaps even worse.

A row of huts strapped together passed for a ninja academy. The hospital comprised one or two medical ninja at best with dated, dilapidated equipment, conveying an impoverished, backward impression.

Such had always been Hiruko's consistent understanding regarding these lesser ninja villages.

Of course, there also existed relatively powerful ones among the small nation hidden villages - like Amegakure of the Land of Rain, Kusagakure of the Land of Grass with their larger scales and populations.

The one slowly leading the way ahead, Sasori answered tonelessly, "Though it's just a small village, there is a treasure housed within. It is rumoured to be a meteorite fragment fallen from rhe outer sky picked up by the First so-called Hoshikage. It became revered as a sacred relic of the village. Their secret jutsu, the mysterious peacock method- is also said to have originated from research on this meteorite."

Hiruko held little interest in any fanciful meteorites. He cared only for powerful kekkei genkai wielders. To complete his ideal Chimera Jutsu, plundering five different kekkei genkai was necessary to form the perfect vessel.

Only after attaining that perfect embodiment could he stance peerless within the entire ninja world. Becoming the world's undisputed strongest ninja, like the god of ninjas respected and admired by endless masses, it would soon be right within reach then.

"How long will this take?"

"Don't worry. I hate both keeping others waiting and being kept waiting myself. It will be over soon," Sasori answered flatly.

"I heard Hoshigakure has a few hundred ninjas whose abilities aren't weak. Will you be fine alone?" Hiruko asked skeptically.

Naturally he bore no concerns for Sasori's safety, merely feeling it would be problematic a waste of time if the other party died.

"No issues, i don't need your help to deal with such trash,"

To Sasori, several hundred ninjas were nothing but hundreds of lambs awaiting slaughter.

With his power, massacring the entirety of them would pose no problems whatsoever. However, he was here only for the Hoshigakure meteorite. It would be for the best if things proceeded smoothly. He held no fondness for wasting time on meaningless things after all.

Although his body's growth had ceased and he now possessed endless time, both keeping others waiting and being kept waiting angered him to no end.

This was a troublesome habit developed during his childhood in Sunagakure. One that likely could never be corrected henceforth. Not that Sasori had any intentions of changing such a habit either.

Suddenly, Orochimaru stopped as a snake emerged from the grass, coiling itself around his body before slithering up to his arm. Flicking its tongue, it seemed to be conveying some message.

"What is it?" Sasori turned back towards Orochimaru, stopping in his tracks as well.

"It told me that there's a sensory barrier around. Our presence have been noticed." Orochimaru replied to Sasori.

"Is that so? I wouldn't have expected a remote, small ninja village to have some special barrier corps member. However, I had no intentions of sneaking in to begin with. We'll just enter straight through the main entrance,"

After a brief contemplation, Sasori dismissed the intel conveyed by Orochimaru.

"Don't be too careless. I can't shake this uneasy feeling that something seems wrong here. It feels somewhat different compared to the Hoshigakure of my impression," Orochimaru frowned.

Barrier ninjutsu were rather scarce across the ninja world. Such jutsus could even be likened to the rarer sealing jutsu. It was jutsu mastered by a rare few. For the most part they remained monopolized by the five great nation ninja villages.

Yet this little Hoshigakure actually had such detection-type barrier jutsu. The situation hinted at an underlying background to the village was starkly different from their information gathering thus far.

Sasori let out a cold snort but acknowledged Orochimaru's caution carried valid points. For a ninja village hailing from some remote, small nation to have this category of sensor barriers was indeed abnormal.

Just as the trio were about to continue walking forward, all three sensed something intuitively..It was purely the high-level combat awareness of ninjass unconsciously judging imminent danger, prompting their bodies to react defensively by withdrawing back.

Accompanied by a somewhat chilly gust, an imposing figure blocked the path of all three. With pure white pupils, she gazed upon them fixedly.

After seeing the person obstructing their path, Orochimaru was briefly taken aback before stretching out his tongue, gently licking his lips as though having spotted some entertaining novelty.

"Oh my, isn't this quite the familiar face from the past? I didn't expect to see you here."

The one standing before them naturally being Hyuga Ayane.

She smiled wryly at Orochimaru's familiar tone of address. "Indeed it is, but this is not a good encounter for me, Orochimaru-senpai."

"Please don't see it as such. This comes as a delightful surprise on my part. Konoha's Anbu have spent massive efforts searching all over for you three back then...yet to think you were hiding out here in the Land of Bears this entire time?"

Given its isolation, utilizing Hoshigakure as a hiding place truly posed difficulties for even Konoha's Anbu to sniff out.

While the sudden encounter with Ayane certainly surprised Orochimaru, he didn't share any pronounced familiarity with her. Who he had been more acquainted with was her deceased sensei Sakumo Hatake.

As for Sakumo's three disciples back then, he had simply dismissed them as fledgling brats. Who could have expected those three to carry out such a sensational defection that ignited towering rage from the top Konoha leaders?

Afterwards, Hyuga Ayane had cooperated with Iwagakure's Third Tsuchikage, battled against Kumo and even single-handedly suppressed the Fourth Raikage.

It was only then Orochimaru truly realized Sakumo's disciples could no longer be considered just problematic rogues who left Konoha's control. Regarding combat strength, they had likely surpassed even the Sannin themselves.

Ayane didn't answer Orochimaru's line of question. Merely showing a perfunctory smile, she stated, "Let's not dwell on the past for now. I'm not certain regarding Orochimaru-senpai's purpose behind this sudden visit. Is there some issue at hand? Please forgive me for being unable to entertain guests currently as I am rather occupied."

"Is that so? Then it seems today's just an unlucky day. We shall take our leave for the time being," Orochimaru pondered briefly before responding to Ayane.

What happened next caught both Sasori and Hiruko off guard. All of a sudden, Orochimaru dropped flat to the ground on all fours. Killing intent exploded violently from him as his expression turned ferocious.

Clearly, he had instantly launched into executing some powerful killing jutsu right off the bat.

Witnessing Orochimaru twist his body grotesquely while stretching his jaws wide open to a freakish degree far beyond normal human limits.

"Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes!"

The first one snake emerging from his mouth, then two, then four...until finally countless snakes emerged, swiftly flooding Ayane's field of view.

The huge twisting column comprised of countless snakes was like a churning ocean of snakes surging forth overwhelmingly.

Pitch black darkness stretched as far as the eye could see, the spectacle spine chilling.

"How disgusting..."

Ayane could only muster these two words in assessment. She launched herself upwards with a fierce kick, hurtling straight towards the endless snake tide ahead.

"Air God Strike!"

BOOM!

The raging shockwave unleashed from her strike carved a sizeable hole straight through the snake horde's center.

Countless snake fragments scattered while blood dyed the earth a lurid crimson, the stench of gore pervading the air, it felt quite disgusting.

Although blows had decimated several areas, even more snakes swiftly slithered forth replacing the dead snakes, once again coalescing into a hugh wall. Only the sounds of hissing, tongues flickering greeted the ears as the numbers showed no signs of decreasing.

-----

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