Naruto: Born Gifted in Konoha

Hiruzen Sarutobi and his group withdrew back to the village, restoring silence to the area once more.

Minutes later, a figure slowly emerged from a tree, wrapped in Zetsu-like foliage.

The black cloak with red clouds stood out starkly, yet remained undetected by all.

"Saitama's development has been surprisingly fast. He's already mastered the [Wood Release]."

White Zetsu murmured thoughtfully, directing his gaze toward the wooden doll still lying on the ground.

"The power level of his Wood Release is still slightly below Hashirama Senju's."

Black Zetsu rarely spoke, his raspy voice carrying an unmistakable air of malevolence.

"Saitama should be chasing Orochimaru now. Should we go see what's going on?"

"Based on Orochimaru's personality, he won't join the [Akatsuki] Organization for now. Let's return first. We should leave Saitama some personal space."

"Fine!"

Zetsu's form gradually sank into the tree trunk and vanished.

...

Orochimaru moved swiftly. As a seasoned ninja with years of experience, he had prepared multiple contingency plans before deciding to defect.

Although Saitama had disrupted his arrangements, it hadn't caused significant damage.

Sticking to his escape path, he quickly left Konoha's territory.

Despite still being within the Land of Fire, encounters with Konoha ninjas would now be rare.

Whoosh! Orochimaru abruptly stopped mid-step, standing on a branch with arms crossed over his chest.

Soon, a familiar figure appeared in his line of sight—the mysterious person who earlier helped block Jiraiya.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. Seeing Saitama unharmed raised his wariness of him even further.

Deng! Landing not far from Orochimaru on another branch, Saitama crouched slightly, placing one hand on his mask.

"Do you have any plans for what comes next?" Saitama asked directly without wasting words.

"You've already made your plans clear after leaving Konoha Village, haven't you?" he continued.

Orochimaru remained silent, watching Saitama with an amused expression.

"What? Has Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, become speechless?"

Saitama stood fully upright, instinctively reaching toward his waist where a newly forged blade hung beneath his long robe.

"I wasn't sure before, but listening to your tone now, I'm reminded of someone—but that person...is already dead!"

Orochimaru leaned forward, eyes glinting dangerously.

Whoosh! The moment he finished speaking, he vanished from the branch.

"Just as expected from Orochimaru," Saitama sensed the intent behind the words immediately. His body tensed, ready for anything.

True enough, Orochimaru launched an attack against him, despite the help Saitama gave him back there.

Whoosh! Electric shock sparked beneath Saitama's feet as he dashed sideways to dodge.

Snakes burst forth exactly where Saitama had stood, slicing through the air violently.

Da! Orochimaru followed closely behind, a cruel smile spreading across his face. His intent was clear—to kill Saitama.

Zzzzt! Saitama drew the tanto from beneath his cloak and thrust it toward Orochimaru.

Swoosh!

Turning his head aside, Orochimaru dodged Saitama's attack and continued charging forward at an odd angle.

Blue-white arcs of electric shock crackled and exploded around Saitama. 

While forcing Orochimaru back, Saitama realized that his identity had been exposed. 

Orochimaru did not continue the assault either. Instead, he stood on a tree branch, watching Saitama with a gradually widening smile. 

"It's been a long time, Saitama-kun!" Orochimaru licked his lips as his long tongue skillfully wriggled inside his mouth. 

He appeared to have confirmed Saitama's identity. 

Saitama froze in place, revealing a bitter smile beneath his mask. 

Click! He slowly removed his mask and pushed back the hood of his long coat. 

"So it really is you…" Orochimaru fixed his gaze on Saitama's face, which had barely matured since a year ago. 

"You're still amazing as ever, Orochimaru!" Saitama didn't intend to hide anything either. He shook his head after removing the mask, tossing his hair loose. 

"Though it was Danzo who brought this information back, I always believed you wouldn't die so easily—that must've been my intuition speaking!" 

"I've examined his condition too; it's your doing, right? It looks pretty severe—two different sources of chakra causing bodily collapse due to imbalance." 

Orochimaru continued, explaining that his first priority upon returning was helping Danzo because he could no longer suppress the First Hokage's power. 

That was how he came to know all of this. 

"Danzo..." Hearing that name, killing intent began spreading within Saitama. Whatever happened, everything he faced now stemmed from Danzo. 

"You really want to kill him, don't you? If you ever make plans for that, I can assist you once." 

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, his tongue circling like it was testing the temperature at the corner of his mouth. 

His words made it clear that he held no fear—or respect—for Danzo whatsoever. 

As if he truly believed Danzo could be killed so easily. 

"There will come such a day!" Saitama nodded, accepting Orochimaru's offer. 

"While I don't know what your current goals are, I still have matters to attend to, so I won't prolong our reunion. Feel free to find me anytime—you're always welcome." 

Orochimaru took out a scroll from his pocket and tossed it to Saitama before turning away. 

Catching the object Orochimaru threw, Saitama unfolded it briefly, discovering detailed locations of several secret bases. 

After memorizing the contents, Saitama channeled lightning from his hand into the scroll. 

In moments, the scroll turned into ashes drifting into the air. 

Giving one last deep glance in the direction Orochimaru vanished, Saitama identified the location of Amegakure Village and started walking away. 

Silence returned here, everything resuming its usual course. 

… 

Akatsuki Secret Base. 

"Saitama has gone out again," Konan softly said behind Pain. 

"Konan, there's no need to interfere. As long as he remains useful to our plans, we shouldn't concern ourselves with trivialities." 

Pain exhaled a few sentences while overlooking the entire ninja village. 

"I believe we should accelerate our progress!" 

Coldly staring at the falling raindrops outside, Pain extended his hand to feel their chill. 

"Has the situation worsened again?"

"Konan sounded worried as she leaned closer to Pain.

"That's fine, but I need you to go out one more time."

Pain didn't turn around as he spoke.

"Okay!"

"Zetsu will provide intelligence for you!"

"Okay!"

...

In Konoha Village,

Jiraiya sat alone at home, holding a cup of sake.

He had changed out of his ninja vest and was wearing loose house clothes.

Two fingers traced the rim of the cup as Jiraiya's face flushed from the alcohol.

The departure of his teammates weighed heavily on him. The Third's death was understandable, but Orochimaru's betrayal truly shocked him, leaving the deepest impact.

Although the Third and the Fourth had both tried to talk him out of it, Jiraiya remained determined to leave the village. Though Orochimaru's actions were despicable, they'd been close friends for decades.

Jiraiya wouldn't truly abandon his efforts to save Orochimaru, so he decided to leave the village tomorrow to follow his friend's trail.

The battlefield near Mist had basically reached its conclusion, with even Yagura [Mizukage], the Mizukage, already returning to the village.

The reason war continued was merely to put on a show for the Water Daimyo.

Although that lord allocated war funds, he wanted quick results—specifically, to take something from the world's strongest ninja village. That was flat-out impossible.

After a brief period of optimism, when the Water Daimyo saw no results, not only did he reduce military spending, but he still expected achievements. This was even more impossible.

Therefore, Yagura had already given up on this war against Konoha, but to preserve the Daimyo's dignity, rather than withdrawing entirely, he let Mist continue small-scale skirmishes against Konoha, treating it as troop training.

With this situation settled, Jiraiya could now leave the village with peace of mind to search for his friend.

Bang! He chugged the cup of sake and slumped back onto the floor with a loud thud.

"What an utterly uncomfortable life!" Jiraiya murmured softly. Whether or not he still had full awareness wasn't clear, but his voice carried deep weariness, like an old man who had seen it all and lost the taste for more.

Soon, the room filled with Jiraiya's heavy breathing, his breaths rolling in, wave after wave, each heavier than the last.

...

At one of Orochimaru's secret bases.

"Lord Orochimaru!" Two seemingly ordinary ninjas knelt before Orochimaru, their faces filled with fanatical devotion, as if worshipping their god.

"Rise. I've officially left Konoha Village now."

Those kneeling heard these words with visible excitement.

"We will always follow you, Lord!" One who seemed to be the leader declared.

"Hmm, lead me inside!"

Orochimaru nodded. Having traveled all the way from the Land of Fire without much rest, he felt extremely tired.

"Yes, my Lord!"

The two stood up and walked inward.

Though Orochimaru established this base, they had been maintaining it in his absence.

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