Chapter 32: Come Out, Orochimaru
The ability to open the Sixth Gate of the Eight Gates meant that Might Guy's strength was indeed impressive.
In the original story, Might Guy in the Sixth Gate could even defeat Kisame Hoshigaki, right?
Although the timeline is different now, several years ahead of the original, the power of the Sixth Gate, while perhaps not quite at Orochimaru's level, shouldn't be too far behind!
Additionally, with Kokai also at Jonin-level strength, staying together should provide some safety.
Having spent time with Uchiha Akira on the trip to the Hidden Cloud Village, they knew he wasn't someone who made baseless claims.
Since he said that Orochimaru would attack the team, everyone remained on high alert!
Even Kabuto seemed tense, indicating he hadn't yet become Orochimaru's double agent as in the original story.
Thus, the group of four remained on guard as they traveled, eventually crossing the border from the Land of Lightning into the Land of Fire.
That night, they camped on a grassy plain.
The plain was flat and offered a wide field of view, which should provide some extra safety.
They took turns keeping watch, and during the latter half of the night, Uchiha Akira took over from Kokai. Then, he opened the Life Simulator once again.
As midnight passed and a new day began, with more than 10,000 ryo left in his possession, Uchiha Akira decided to run another life simulation.
This time, he wanted to see if they could survive the encounter with Orochimaru.
[You ranked first in the Chunin Exam, and your name as a genius spread across the Five Great Ninja Nations!]
[On your way back to the Hidden Leaf Village, you were ambushed by Orochimaru at Sunset Lake in the Land of Fire. Despite being prepared, you endured a fierce battle!]
[Later, Orochimaru used the Summoning Technique to call forth Manda, who entangled Might Guy!]
[You died!]
...
As Uchiha Akira read the simulation, his face turned grim.
Focusing on the Orochimaru ambush provided more details about the attack.
But the end result was still disastrous!
The description revealed that after a fierce battle, the team, especially Might Guy, did indeed have the strength to hold off Orochimaru!
However, Might Guy could only open up to the Sixth Gate, far from the level where he nearly ended the story in the original timeline.
More importantly, the use of summoning techniques can be a huge advantage for a ninja!
Orochimaru summoned Manda to entangle Might Guy and then used the opportunity to kill Uchiha Akira!
While it was impressive that Might Guy could push Orochimaru to such lengths, the outcome still hadn't changed!
"What should I do? It seems that relying on brute force is impossible, and no one will come to the rescue!"
"So, does that mean I have to rely on strategy? But Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, is also a master strategist!"
"Looks like I'll have to reveal my biggest trump card—my foreknowledge of the original storyline!"
...
Since the team wasn't strong enough to defeat Orochimaru, Uchiha Akira had to rely on his knowledge of the original story to find a way out.
In fact, Uchiha Akira had always been hesitant to use his knowledge of the original plot.
Why? Because in this world, ninjas have ways to read memories.
If his foreknowledge were exposed, he wouldn't have the power to protect himself!
At the very least, he needed Kage-level strength and the Mangekyou Sharingan to have some chance of survival.
But now, with life and death on the line, and no simulator left to help him experiment, he had no other choice!
As he recalled the plot of the original story and thought about Orochimaru's character, Uchiha Akira began brainstorming ways to outmaneuver him.
Ideas floated through his mind—some were kept, others discarded.
Constantly simulating, analyzing, and reviewing...
Eventually, a clear plan began to take shape in Uchiha Akira's mind!
Although the two simulations ended with his death at Orochimaru's hands, they weren't entirely useless.
The first simulation informed him of Orochimaru's impending attack.
The second provided the location of the ambush and details about the battle.
...
The next day, the group continued their journey, and as they approached Sunset Lake, they stopped to rest and eat to regain their strength.
As for Uchiha Akira?
He created a shadow clone to stay behind while he went ahead to Sunset Lake himself.
After about ten minutes of waiting by the lake with no one in sight, Uchiha Akira finally spoke up, "Since you're here, why don't you show yourself?"
The wind blew through the silent area, with no sign of movement.
"I know you're there. Come out, Orochimaru!" Uchiha Akira called out again.
This time, a figure slowly emerged from the ground...
Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 84 at patreon.com/Emik01.