Chapter 26 : Orochimaru's Escape

.

.

.

'Where is he..?, Did he flee since his objective is accomplished' As Anko was running in the Forest of Death in search of Orochimaru, after parting ways with Naruto to follow Orochimaru who went after Sasuke met there and who she found there were only Sasuke and Sakura

Sakura was scared, she was crying because Sasuke was unconscious, Anko's fears came true as Orochimaru same as her had branded Sasuke with the Curse Mark and fled in the direction that led to the exit, As per the information Sakura gave her

She informed Sakura to keep Sasuke safe until Naruto arrives and reach the Center Building of this Forest as she wanted to capture Orochimaru at any cost

She would've chosen to stay by Sasuke as the Curse Mark can be dangerous but if the way she thinks things went this might be her only chance to kill Orochimaru

Orochimaru has developed his [Orochimaru Style: Substitution Jutsu], This Jutsu allows him to materialize a new body by regurgitating it from their mouth, the same as how a Snake sheds its skin, After emerging the user's clothing and injuries are completely restored, with even amputated limbs being regenerated, This Jutsu even though can be very advantageous still consumes a huge amount of Chakra

Anko was used as the test subject for Curse Mark just as how Orochimaru referred to her as the 'Lab-Rat', But she was one of the Valuable 'Lab-Rat' as she was the first survivor of the Curse Mark but she not only withstand the Curse Mark but also rejected it which made her quite useless to him that's why he sent her back to the Hidden Leaf

She holds a huge grudge against Orochimaru and wishes nothing more than his demise, She knows that when Naruto struck him with Chidori Orochimaru used [Orochimaru Style: Substitution Jutsu] in that smoke and escaped to go for Sasuke while leaving a [Earth Style: Shadow Clone] behind to keep them busy, At this moment Orochimaru is most vulnerable since [Orochimaru Style: Substitution Jutsu] requires a huge amount of Chakra, only if she could find him then killing him would not be so difficult... At least that's what she thinks but at the same time doubts herself since her opponent is one of the Legendary Sanin

'It doesn't matter if I can or cannot, I just have to...That's all that matters!'

.

.

.

'Where the hell is he?' Anko after searching for Orochimaru, stopped to think as she had been at it for at least an hour but still could not find Orochimaru, She was named as one of the best tracking Ninja in Leaf Village but her skills were not giving her any clue about Orochimaru, He certainly did not leave a single clue while fleeing

'Did he leave..? Or is he after Hokage now..? Putting Curse Mark on Sasuke shouldn't be the only thing he came here for..?' Anko was racking her brain but couldn't get the answers she needed 'That Blonde Kid!.. Naruto!, He might be able to track Orochimaru!, I have to admit that his Sensory Abilities far surpass mine, He tracked Orochimaru's Location with just a couple of glances, Even a Hyuga with a Byakugan wouldn't be able to do it' 

Anko started to recall the events when her subordinate informed her about 3 Corpses which looked strange

Anko after realizing that Orochimaru has disguised himself as one of the dead bodies she found to take part in the Chunin Exam, She did not know his objective but still rushes into the Forest after sending her subordinates to report to Hokage about Orochimaru, In search of Orochimaru she came across Naruto who has just defeated a bear to protect a girl who was the same age as him, He after saving her walked towards her and hit her on the back of the head, He precisely hit her pressure point to make her pass out and took a scroll from her

Naruto immediately noticed her which surprised her but she needed information so he talked to him which made him concerned and after some seconds he told her that his teammates were fighting someone strong and he needed to rush there, Anko did not understand what Naruto was saying as she could not sense or hear anything like a battle nearby but she still followed Naruto as he was also going in the same direction which she planned on heading to, The direction did change a little but the seriousness Naruto showed made her to at least see what he plans to do, She did not know the whereabouts of Orochimaru anyway so she willing to take this chance

As they got closer she could tell that a battle had occurred in this area and it was still commencing quite near from them, Naruto on the way asked her many questions such as Why the Proctor of the Exam is here? Who is she looking for? and many more which she answered in brief without giving much information

As they reached the location and witnessed Sasuke and Sakura being followed by a Giant snake and a Chunin standing on top of it whose dead body Anko had seen a couple of minutes ago, Naruto wanted to jump in to protect his teammates but Anko stopped Naruto and told her about the opponent his teammates are fighting and that he is a strong individual who she will deal with and he should not interfere, Naruto agreed but told her that he will intervene if his teammates are in need of him, He also said that he is good at hiding his presence and can perform sneak attacks, Anko did not believe him but chose to keep him as insurance and entered the battle

'Never thought that a Genin of this time could use a Jutsu of that level, I need to report to Lord Hokage about Orochimaru'

Anko after recalling all of that happened chose to stop her search for Orochimaru as it seemed that he had left this Forest and decided to stay by the side of Hokage, She suspected that Orochimaru might be here to assassinate Lord Third and taking chances against Orochimaru isn't a good idea

.

.

.

While Anko for an Hour kept searching for Orochimaru there have been many events occurred for Team 7 in the Forest of Death

*1 Hour Ago*

.

.

.

.

.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[A/N]

This and the last Chapter had a different writing style than the previous one's, I think that with this current style I can express more about the character or about a situation than before

What do you guys think? Which one is better?