It's Too Troublesome to be Hokage

Nara Shikadan barely had time to glance at the task message flashing on his panel before Orochimaru's fang attack came crashing down.

Bang!

Orochimaru's fangs snapped quickly and precisely toward his prey.

But just as the venom was about to be injected, Shikadan's body burst into a cloud of smoke, vanishing instantly.

"Shadow Clone Technique?" Orochimaru's sharp eyes assessed the scene in an instant. He pulled back his twisted snake-like neck and squinted, scanning the surrounding forest.

Yakushi Nono, standing nearby, took advantage of the brief distraction and reached into her ninja pouch for a weapon.

But Orochimaru's cold, serpentine gaze swept over her.

With a heavy swing of his right hand—no hand seals required—a thick brown python erupted from his sleeve. It flew swiftly through the air, wrapping tightly around Yakushi Nono's body.

Hidden Shadow Snake Hand!

Under Orochimaru's precise control, the python squeezed harder, intent on strangling its target.

Pain flashed across Nono's face. Moments later—

Bang!

Her body exploded into a pool of black ink, droplets splashing over the forest floor.

'Super Beast Fake Painting... a self-created secret technique,' Orochimaru mused, recalling Nono's unique clone art. He shook his head, impressed.

"All clones? I underestimated your resolve."

His words barely left his lips when keen ears caught subtle rustling in the trees.

Two slender black snakes, composed of ink, darted out from the foliage, trailing streams of dark ink behind them.

They flew through the air like living shadows, aiming to coil around Orochimaru, binding him.

Super Beast Fake Painting: Kusama Snake!

But Orochimaru was unfazed.

Shimura Danzo had supplied him with intelligence on Shikadan's and Nono's abilities—details Root had gathered.

He didn't fully understand Super Beast Fake Painting's workings, but he knew its Achilles' heel: the ink beasts had the fluid fragility of water.

A single physical strike or fire-style escape jutsu would obliterate them.

Yet…

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, focusing on the thin black ink trails left behind.

"So, you're testing my knowledge of the Nara clan's shadow secret technique?"

Without casting any jutsu or brandishing weapons, a cold gleam flashed in the air.

Bang!

The two ink snakes exploded midair before touching Orochimaru's shadow, shattering into fragments.

Orochimaru barely had time to relax when a sudden, constricting force seized him.

'The Nara clan's Shadow Binding Technique!'

His body stiffened, immobilized.

'When did this happen?!'

His slit pupils scanned the ground.

A faint black shadow line snaked from the forest, weaving through scattered ink drops and shattered snake fragments, ultimately coiling around Orochimaru's feet.

The Kusama Snake attack was a mere decoy.

Its true purpose was to conceal the shadow binding line beneath it.

Though Orochimaru had preemptively destroyed the ink snakes before their shadows touched him, he had overlooked the lingering shadows cast by their broken bodies.

Shikadan's figure appeared suddenly, stepping onto a tree branch overlooking Orochimaru.

"Were you about to carry out Shimura Danzo's mission just now?"

"Do you think I'm that stupid, Nara-kun?" Orochimaru replied calmly, licking the corner of his mouth with a snake-like flick.

"The roots hiding in the shadows can never grasp the rules under the sun.

"Shimura Danzo did offer me a tempting bargaining chip, but I won't make enemies of the Nara clan—or the Ino-Shika-Chou—for something so trivial."

He knew full well about the Ino-Shika-Chou's united march to the Hokage's office over Shikadan's supposed "attack" and how fiercely the Nara clan protected their prodigy.

Although Orochimaru was obsessed with immortality, he wasn't yet the madman he'd become in the future.

As a Konoha jonin who aspired to be the Fourth Hokage, why would he fight a clan like Ino-Shika-Chou over petty schemes from Danzo?

Besides, when he became Hokage, wouldn't Danzo's "special collections" and Root's secrets become his?

Shikadan relaxed slightly upon hearing Orochimaru's words.

Though an A-level battle mission had been triggered, Shikadan found it more troublesome than threatening.

If ranking the strongest survivability in the ninja world—excluding alien gods—Orochimaru would be a solid second.

Hidan, Kakuzu, and even Danzo would pale in comparison.

Orochimaru's life-saving techniques and near-immortality were unmatched.

"Then what about your attack just now?" Shikadan asked thoughtfully. "And what of the nun at Kikyo Orphanage?"

"What nun?" Orochimaru frowned and refused to accept blame.

"I only 'invited' Nara-kun and Yakushi-san here.

"As for that attack... it was just a 'small gift.'"

Orochimaru had no intention of following Danzo's mission to the letter.

But as a proud Sannin nurturing the village's genius ninja, a little lesson seemed justified.

It wouldn't sever ties with the Nara clan, and might still earn Danzo's favor.

Orochimaru saw nothing wrong with this.

His only miscalculation was ignorance of the relationship between Shikadan and Tsunade.

Shikadan's mind raced.

'The fat nun wasn't kidnapped by Orochimaru—it must be Oyashiro En?'

He didn't dwell on it long, eyes fixed on the shadow binding controlling Orochimaru.

"Well, since the 'gift' is delivered, shall we be on our way?"

"I haven't personally delivered it yet…" Orochimaru chuckled calmly, despite his immobilized form.

He wasn't an ordinary ninja powerless without seals.

His mouth stretched impossibly wide.

From his throat, a slender brown snake emerged, mouth open like his.

Suddenly—

Swish!

A cold blade shot out from the snake's mouth, flying like a hidden weapon toward Shikadan.

Orochimaru's secret technique: the Kusanagi sword!

Shikadan's lips twitched in disbelief at this "snake spits sword" scene.

He dodged swiftly as the sword sliced through the air.

Snap!

The blade passed harmlessly through Shikadan's original position and plunged effortlessly into a tree trunk.

'Dodging instead of blocking? This must be the clone—no, the real body,' Shikadan thought.

Orochimaru controlled the sword expertly.

Kusanagi Sword — Sky Sword!

The blade sliced through branches and trunks with ease, forcing Shikadan to evade repeatedly.

Faced with a weapon that could cut iron like paper, Shikadan had no chance to counter with kunai.

Just as Orochimaru focused on controlling the sword, several tiny black scorpions crept silently from the ground behind him.

Orochimaru sensed the approaching danger but remained trapped by the shadow binding.

The binding's control exceeded Orochimaru's expectations.

As the threat neared, Orochimaru made a decisive choice.

He opened his mouth again.

Two sickly white hands emerged from his throat—one above, one below—grasping his lips.

Like a snake shedding its skin, a fresh Orochimaru crawled out from his own mouth, covered in translucent mucus.

Orochimaru style: Substitution Technique!

-End Chapter-

Visit the Patreon!!

Read 30 chapters ahead, more on the way!

[email protected]/TrashProspector