Swish, swish, swish...
Akasan surged downstream, flanked by Saro and two chūnin, hot on the pursuit.
But less than five seconds after their departure, a stone hidden beneath the trees shimmered, and transformed into Veigar Koshima.
Veigar had never actually left. He had used the Transformation Jutsu to deceive his enemies and remain hidden in plain sight.
Shfft...
His silhouette flickered across the fallen Sand shinobi, kunai in hand, slitting throats with cold precision.
"Agh..."
The dying groans of the Sand-nin echoed into the forest, reaching the ears of Akasan, who instantly skidded to a halt, eyes narrowing.
"Damn it. We've been duped."
His face twisted with rage. Whipping around, he and his team bolted back the way they came.
Fifteen seconds at most had passed.
Returning to the clearing, they were met with a grisly scene: their comrades sprawled in pools of blood, lifeless. Veigar had played them for fools.
And now, he was gone.
Veigar had escaped without a trace. Enraged and humiliated, Akasan's roar echoed across the trees.
"You little bastard from Konoha—!"
Unable to locate Veigar, Akasan redirected his wrath toward the three Konoha genin who had broken through earlier: Shikatsu Aburame, Jun Inuzuka, and Nanaki Hyuga.
"After them!"
Swish, swish, swish...
Once again, Akasan, Saro, and the two chūnin vanished into the forest.
Above the Waterfall.
Shikatsu, Jun, and Nanaki stood at the precipice, gazing at the cascading drop. If they leapt now, they'd be free.
Without hesitation, the trio dove into the plunge.
Splash. Splash. Splash.
Surfacing, they made a beeline for the shore, only to freeze mid-stroke.
On the lake below the waterfall stood a circle of Sand shinobi, cutting off every escape route.
And on the banks beyond them, more armed Sand-nin waited in formation.
Hopelessness crept in.
They had fled the tiger's jaws only to fall into the wolf's den.
Who would've thought the Sand would show no honor? Not only had they anticipated the retreat path, but they had laid ambushes at two separate chokepoints.
"Konoha brats, freeze!"
"You're surrounded."
Standing atop the water, the Sand jōnin Nanta stared down at the three Konoha genin whose heads poked just above the lake surface. His killing intent was palpable.
Just as Shikatsu, Jun, and Nanaki resigned themselves to capture—
Screams erupted from the Sand ranks.
"Snakes—!"
"So many snakes!"
Everyone, including Nanta, turned their heads in shock.
Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm.
Secret Technique: Insect Sphere.
Fang Over Fang.
Shadow Imitation Jutsu.
Partial Expansion Jutsu.
A storm of jutsu rained from above, crashing down on the Sand shinobi who had surrounded the three Konoha genin.
The Konoha vanguard unit, led by none other than Orochimaru, had arrived.
Three hundred of Konoha's finest, those not deployed to the border, had gathered here, at the heart of the battlefield.
Hizashi Hyuga, Chōza Akimichi, Shikaku Nara, and Inoichi Yamanaka appeared one after another.
Orochimaru was among them.
Eight Trigrams: One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms.
One strike.
Two strikes.
...
Wham!
Though Nanta clashed fiercely with Hizashi, the tide turned as his comrades fell one by one. Distracted, Nanta left an opening—Hizashi seized it with devastating precision.
One strike. Instant kill.
"Hizashi-jisan!"
"Shikatsu-jisan!"
Once the dust settled and the Sand shinobi lay defeated, Nanaki and Shikatsu rushed toward their respective uncles, bowing respectfully.
Only Jun, bloodied scroll in hand, approached Orochimaru. Dropping to one knee, he held the scroll above his head, voice choked with emotion.
"Orochimaru-sama... this is the intel on the Sand forces at Mount Kikyo. Please review it."
"I beg you, please dispatch a rescue unit for Captain Veigar."
"To ensure our escape, he held off over twenty Sand shinobi alone..."
"Please... save him."
At first, Orochimaru's eyes widened.
Captain Veigar had stayed behind, for his comrades.
Orochimaru was already prepared to depart personally to retrieve him.
But then, he smiled.
A wicked, serpentine grin.
And in the blink of an eye, Orochimaru vanished.
"He's already safe. He's back."
Stunned, Jun could only gape at the empty space where Orochimaru had stood.
Back at the Forest
Orochimaru's figure materialized on the forest path.
Four corpses lay at his feet, Sand headbands visible.
Akasan, Saro, and the two chūnin.
"Veigar," Orochimaru called, eyes scanning the trees, "you can come out now."
From behind a trunk, Veigar stepped forth and bowed deeply.
"Orochimaru-sama."
While still near the waterfall, Orochimaru had sensed Veigar's chakra, and that of Akasan's squad.
He had anticipated everything.
After a pause, Orochimaru unrolled the scroll handed to him earlier. His voice was low and calm.
"Veigar... you haven't disappointed me."
"This intelligence is thorough. Well done."
Veigar bowed once more.
"It was my duty."
Orochimaru's form blurred, vanishing into thin air, but his parting words lingered.
"The war has begun. Let's see how far you can go."
...
Dusk.
Beneath the crimson light of sunset, the slopes of Mount Kikyo were littered with over 450 corpses.
Most bore the forehead protectors of Sunagakure. A few of them were Konoha's.
Under Orochimaru's command, nearly four hundred Sand shinobi had been annihilated atop this mountain.
Seated at the former Sand command post, now reclaimed, Orochimaru waited for the final after-action report.
Torches lit the night.
Shikaku Nara, holding an unfurled scroll, stepped before Orochimaru and began reading aloud:
"Orochimaru-sama, our losses in this operation total 85 Konoha shinobi."
"One jōnin. Six tokubetsu jōnin. Twenty-three chūnin. Fifty-two genin."
"Additional casualties include 32 critically wounded, 77 moderately injured, and the remainder with light wounds."
"In total, we eliminated 388 Sand shinobi—none survived."
"We've captured large quantities of supplies: food rations, kunai, shuriken, explosive tags, and more."
As Shikaku read through the lists, Orochimaru's smile only grew, twisting into something darker, more sinister.
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