Mastermind of the Akatsuki

"Ninjutsu: Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

"Ninjutsu: Needle Jizō!"

With two low shouts, Jiraiya and Orochimaru clashed. One transformed his limbs into venomous snakes for offense, while the other hardened his hair as a defensive shield.

Despite their fierce words, both held back during the fight, each cautious not to truly injure the other. Their jutsu were all flash and little substance, like a thunderstorm without rain.

Realizing he couldn't gain the upper hand, Orochimaru scoffed, "Jiraiya, it seems your skills haven't improved much over the years! If it weren't for the support of Amegakure, winning this war wouldn't have been so easy for you."

"Of course, my disciple is definitely stronger than yours…" He stopped, his expression shifting. "Orochimaru, don't change the subject. Ever since you refused to return to the village, we've been enemies."

"Enemies, huh…" Orochimaru smirked, amused by Jiraiya's innocence.

Yet Jiraiya had grown much stronger than before. Considering that his own injuries hadn't fully healed, if the battle dragged on, he might actually lose. Losing to anyone else would be acceptable, but losing to Jiraiya was simply intolerable.

With that thought, Orochimaru bit his finger, smeared his blood on the ground, and shouted, "Summoning Jutsu!"

In an instant, a massive snake the size of a small mountain appeared in the forest.

Seeing Orochimaru summon Manda, Jiraiya bit his own finger, formed hand seals, and summoned Gamabunta, the strongest toad from Mount Myōboku.

The two colossal beasts glared at each other, then asked their masters, "Jiraiya (Orochimaru), who is the enemy this time?"

Both replied in unison, "The enemy is Jiraiya (Orochimaru)."

Hearing this, Gamabunta and Manda looked at each other in confusion, wondering if the two were playing a joke on them.

"Aren't you two childhood friends? You've been through decades together. Don't drag us into your squabbles."

Jiraiya explained to Gamabunta, "Orochimaru recently defected and is now a rogue ninja to the village. Show no mercy."

Jiraiya's words reached Manda's ears, and the hot-tempered serpent snarled, "What's that supposed to mean, Jiraiya? You think the toads of Mount Myōboku can match me?"

With that, Manda lunged furiously at Gamabunta, and the two titanic creatures clashed, sending shockwaves rippling through the forest, leveling vast areas around them.

With their summoned beasts locked in battle, Jiraiya and Orochimaru resumed their own fight without hesitation.

From taijutsu to ninjutsu, and then from ninjutsu to genjutsu, the continuous rounds of combat began to bore Orochimaru. He wasn't here to spar endlessly with Jiraiya, and if things dragged on like this, he knew he'd ultimately be defeated.

Taking advantage of a moment when Jiraiya let down his guard, Orochimaru used the "Great Snake Substitution" technique to evade Jiraiya's attack.

Immediately afterward, he produced a Kusanagi Sword from his mouth and thrust it toward Jiraiya. The Kusanagi Sword was a rare and famous weapon in the ninja world, capable of cutting through steel when infused with chakra.

Closing in on Jiraiya, Orochimaru used the Kusanagi to slice through Jiraiya's hair. As he prepared to aim for Jiraiya's head, he hesitated momentarily, then redirected the blade towards Jiraiya's arm.

Realizing the danger, Jiraiya dodged quickly, but not quickly enough to avoid a cut on his arm.

"I can't underestimate you, Orochimaru," Jiraiya said, stepping back and wiping the blood from his arm. Forming hand seals, he continued, "Looks like I'll need Sage Mode to take you down for good."

Just as he was preparing to use Sage Mode, Jiraiya's arm suddenly went numb. Looking down, he noticed the wound had turned dark purple.

"Orochimaru, you coated the sword with poison!"

Orochimaru looked at Jiraiya coldly and said, "Using poison on the battlefield is perfectly ordinary. Since we're now enemies, I'll naturally use every means against you~. I hope you remember this lesson."

With that, Orochimaru tossed a vial of antidote toward Jiraiya and disappeared into the depths of the forest.

After driving Manda away, Gamabunta came to Jiraiya's side, observing his pale face. Though Orochimaru's poison wasn't deadly, it was enough to weaken Jiraiya substantially.

"Jiraiya, you don't look well. Should we go see Tsunade?"

Jiraiya shook his head, opening the antidote that Orochimaru had left behind. "No need. Orochimaru already gave me the antidote."

With a sigh, he continued, "After all these years, I still can't seem to catch up to him."

Ignoring Jiraiya's words about the antidote, Gamabunta frowned and asked, "Are you sure about taking an antidote from Orochimaru? He's our enemy now."

Jiraiya gave a helpless smile. "If Orochimaru really wanted to kill me, he could've done it just now. He wouldn't need to disguise poison as an antidote."

Seeing Jiraiya's decision to trust Orochimaru, Gamabunta held his peace. Fortunately, as rivals, Mount Myoboku and Ryuchi Cave already had a tense relationship, so Gamabunta had no qualms about taking on Manda, even wanting to defeat him outright.

After taking the antidote, Jiraiya began to feel better. Glancing once more in the direction Orochimaru had fled, he sighed, deciding not to pursue him.

Orochimaru had shown mercy, and it wouldn't be right to keep chasing him. He'd wait for another chance in the future. Without Orochimaru to track, he felt his schedule open up and considered traveling across the ninja world to see what changes had come to it over the years.

…

Several dozen kilometers away, Orochimaru sped through the forest. Although he had managed to defeat Jiraiya by exploiting Jiraiya's reluctance to kill him, he knew that once Jiraiya recovered, the chase would begin anew.

Yet, to kill Jiraiya and sever their bond was something he still couldn't bring himself to do. Jiraiya was the Third Hokage's only remaining disciple in the village. If Jiraiya died, the Third would be devastated, and life would be far less enjoyable.

Suddenly, Orochimaru sensed something and stopped. Standing on a tree branch, he looked ahead and noticed a young figure perched on another branch, observing him with a curious gaze.

Orochimaru recognized this young ninja immediately—it was none other than Byakuya of the Akatsuki.