Chapter 26: Kakachimaru
At the same time, the explosion in the Forest of Death attracted the attention of the village's ninjas.
Meanwhile, at the Root organization base, a man in a white kimono with a bandaged head and a cane in his left hand stared coldly at an Anbu.
"Are you sure you want to keep stopping me?" he asked in a gloomy tone. This man was none other than Shimura Danzō, the leader of the Root organization.
"Master Danzō!" the Anbu responded firmly, "This is Master Hokage's order. You are not to leave the base until he returns. If you try, we will stop you!"
The three Anbu behind him also stepped forward, backing their comrade.
"Bold!" shouted several masked Root ninjas. "How dare you disrespect Lord Danzō! You Anbu are too insolent!"
Before Danzō could speak, the tension between Anbu and Root ninjas reached a boiling point, swords drawn and ready.
Danzō's eyes narrowed. It seems that Sarutobi is very firm in his stance.
"Stand down!" Danzō ordered his subordinates softly. It would be a grave mistake to attack Anbu within the village without cause. If Sarutobi caught wind of it, even he would be in serious trouble.
Besides, his probing had yielded results. Sarutobi's determined stance indicated something had happened to Orochimaru. Otherwise, there would be no reason to restrict his movements so tightly.
After a moment, Danzō returned to his room, his expression dark. Orochimaru's situation was problematic for him, too. He needed to think of a way to handle the fallout.
Minutes later, a Root ninja entered.
"Master Danzō!" the ninja knelt on one knee.
"First," Danzō said, handing over a scroll. "Use the secret passage to reach the location marked here and deliver this scroll to Orochimaru."
"Yes, Master Danzō!" The ninja took the scroll and swiftly departed.
"Orochimaru..." Danzō watched his subordinate leave, his expression unreadable.
On the other side, Orochimaru stumbled out of a secret exit, bloodied and battered with a deep wound on his back.
"That was... the Flying Thunder God Technique!" Orochimaru's eyes were cold. After the initial shock, he realized the speed of that technique far surpassed the Body Flicker Technique. It was definitely the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique!
"Another Flying Thunder God user in the village... and an Anbu?" Orochimaru was incredulous. The difficulty of mastering the Flying Thunder God was hellish. In history, only two ninjas were grandmasters of the technique. Now, a new user had appeared, an unidentified Anbu ninja no less.
"What a troublesome Anbu..." Orochimaru's gaze swept across the bushes ahead.
A masked Konoha Anbu emerged from the shadows, slowly approaching. It was none other than Hatake Kakashi.
"In the shadows," Kazuya watched with a smile. "Good, I didn't miss it! Hatake Kakashi versus Orochimaru. The legendary scene is about to unfold!"
From this point on, Orochimaru became the shadow haunting Kakashi. This shadow persisted for ten years, until the Chūnin exams.
Kakashi, what were you thinking challenging a peak Kage-level ninja? Just because you're popular and handsome doesn't mean you can always get away with it. If you had the face of Hoshigaki Kisame, you'd be dead eight hundred times over by now.
Still, I understand. If I had Kakashi's talent, I'd be just as reckless.
In the field, Kakashi approached Orochimaru, lightning crackling from his right hand. His pace quickened until he dashed forward.
"Raikiri!!!" Kakashi launched his full-strength attack, his fighting spirit blazing.
However, the next moment, Orochimaru countered effortlessly. Dodging Raikiri, he struck Kakashi's mask, shattering it and exposing the Sharingan.
"Why?" Kakashi's expression was one of shock, doubting his very skills. He had lost so easily! The gap between him and Orochimaru was immense.
Secretly, Kazuya watched as golden lights flew towards him.
[You picked up 200 points of Chakra]
[You picked up 100 Chakra points]
[You picked up 100 combat experience points]
[You picked up 50 points of Lightning Style talent]
[You picked up Ninjutsu: Raikiri]
[You picked up 1000 points of Raikiri skill experience]
[Your Raikiri has increased its level, currently: lv2 (0/1000)]
Yes! A-rank ninjutsu: Raikiri, Kakashi's signature move! Finally!
Under his mask, Kazuya's smile grew wider. Today's gains were tremendous. Raikiri and the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique were powerful additions to his arsenal.
Now, Kazuya's Lightning Style talent was: lv4 (800/1000). Soon, it would be lv5! At that level, his Raikiri would likely surpass the original Kakashi's in power. This was fantastic!
Not far away, Orochimaru sneered at Kakashi's Sharingan, "Your eyes are not bad... but I don't need fakes!"
He looked at Kakashi with an evil smile, his snake-like eyes filled with contempt. His disdain for Kakashi's borrowed Sharingan was palpable.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone