Chapter 197: An Encounter with Orochimaru – A Reward-Free Favor from Snake Lord

Chapter 197: An Encounter with Orochimaru – A Reward-Free Favor from Snake Lord

During the few days he spent in Kirigakure, just as Haneda expected, Obito showed no interest in meeting him.

Naturally, no one from Kirigakure noticed him either, even though Haneda was drawing quite a bit of attention.

Standing on a mountain not far from the Kaguya clan's territory, Haneda observed the Kaguya ninjas clashing with Kirigakure.

Among them was a cold young boy in grayish-white clothing who immediately caught his attention.

Based on his age and the Kaguya clan's distancing from him, Haneda knew this was the person he was looking for.

At that moment, a somewhat familiar voice came from behind.

"Are you also interested in that child, Haneda-kun?"

"I've had my eye on him for quite some time."

Haneda turned around to see Orochimaru. Keeping his guard up while gripping his sword, Dawn, he responded with a smile, "Quite a coincidence, Orochimaru-senpai. I, too, have been watching him for a while."

Hissss—

A snake slithered out from Orochimaru's sleeve, attempting to bite Haneda. But just as it reached Haneda's chest, the head was severed by Dawn.

At the same moment, as Orochimaru prepared to unleash a Wind Release jutsu, he suddenly saw a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan appear before him.

Orochimaru paused, laughed calmly, and said, "As expected, Haneda-kun is quite interesting."

Orochimaru then glanced at Haku, who was standing beside Haneda and clearly wary of him, and said, "Ice Release chakra. It seems you, too, are interested in collecting Kekkei Genkai."

"You can have that child."

Orochimaru moved a short distance to Haneda's right, while Haku continued watching him carefully, ready to act as Haneda's tool.

Haneda didn't fear Orochimaru—in fact, it was the opposite; Orochimaru should be wary of him. In their earlier exchange, Haneda had won in the realm of genjutsu.

But Haneda didn't intend to fight Orochimaru.

It was pointless; Orochimaru had key knowledge. Haneda knew he could win a battle, but killing Orochimaru would be nearly impossible.

Casually, Haneda asked, "That old man Danzo isn't dead, is he? Are you still collaborating with him?"

Orochimaru chuckled. "I only keep in touch with him."

"You're probably curious how Danzo, whom you killed, managed to come back to life?"

"Izanagi," Haneda replied without hesitation.

In the original story, Danzo used the Uchiha clan's Sharingan as a substitution technique. But Haneda hadn't expected Danzo to have already mastered the Uchiha's ultimate ocular jutsu before the clan's downfall.

Even so, Haneda didn't feel much about it now.

Back then, he had killed Danzo out of frustration. Now, it seemed that Danzo had gained new value; Haneda planned to reap the fruits of Danzo's schemes when he returned.

Orochimaru showed a slight surprise at hearing "Izanagi." Then, remembering Haneda's connection to the Uchiha core, he thought it wasn't too surprising for Haneda to know.

Haneda then asked, "Did his Sharingan come from Kagami?"

"That's right. He asked me to implant Kagami's Sharingan for him a long time ago," Orochimaru replied.

He suddenly seemed to realize something and asked, "Are you curious about how Danzo obtained the Sharingan?"

Haneda nodded. Although the information wasn't essential, it would help when he dealt with Shisui later.

"When you return to the village, I'll send you the detailed information and evidence," Orochimaru said with a faint smile.

"What do you need me to do in return?"

"No reward is necessary. You're already doing what interests me."

A northwesterly wind blew, and Orochimaru looked up in the direction of the wind, as if lost in thought.

Noticing this, Haneda seemed to understand something.

He sensed multiple chakras approaching, marked by the Flying Thunder God technique, in a frantic chase.

"Orochimaru-senpai is a complex person, just like Zabuza," Haneda murmured.

"Let's go, Haku. This coup will take some time to conclude."

Haneda took Haku's right hand with his left.

Orochimaru looked back at their retreating figures, recalling memories of his own parents, his students, and Tsunade.

"This strong wind will eventually move even the decaying windmill…"

"Indeed, living long enough will always lead to encountering interesting things."

"Just like how you met me, and I met you… Haneda-kun…"

…

Meanwhile, not far from the Kaguya clan's territory, Zabuza was fleeing towards the Kaguya stronghold.

For some reason, despite his usual caution, his return to the village had somehow been leaked.

On the other hand, Haneda, who had been freely wandering around Kirigakure, was completely unharmed.

To his dismay, Zabuza had risked his life to deliver information about Haneda to the Anbu!

With no other options, he pinned his hopes on the Kaguya clan's coup.

Surely, in the face of such a serious issue, the Anbu would know which side to take, right?

Yet, the Anbu seemed entirely focused on killing him, paying no attention to the coup against Kirigakure!

This baffled Zabuza; could it be that the Mizukage was so resentful of his assassination attempt that they'd risk a coup just to kill him?

With three full squads of Kirigakure Anbu in pursuit, even Zabuza, an elite jonin, was struggling to escape their relentless assault.

After an hour, his chakra was nearly depleted, and he had accumulated several wounds.

He was at his limit.

Even as the wielder of the Executioner's Blade, he could not turn the tide.

"Damn it!" Zabuza cursed, regretting his decision to help the village.

But did he truly regret it?

Inwardly, he wondered if his greatest regret wasn't this: the Konoha shinobi Uchiha Haneda was still lurking in the village, completely undetected!

"Damn it!"

Holding the Executioner's Blade, Zabuza stopped.

With a stern expression, he said grimly, "Never thought I'd meet my end at the hands of Kirigakure."

"Hahaha, my partner, the Blue Flash of Konoha, Uchiha Haneda, is still in the village!"

He laughed wildly. "Just wait! The Kaguya coup will succeed! Kirigakure will end up as Konoha's vassal!"

The Anbu surrounding him hesitated upon hearing Zabuza's words.

And at that moment, Haneda's figure suddenly appeared before Zabuza.

"You're right, Zabuza," Haneda said, squinting and smiling.

"We're allies after all."

Zabuza froze.

"Die!" he yelled, swinging his blade at Haneda, only to be blocked by another sword.

The Kirigakure Anbu, already confused by Zabuza's earlier claim, found themselves at a loss for words as the two men clashed.