Chapter 47

Orochimaru merely stared at them with a venomous glare as he listened to their constant mockery.

"…" Orochimaru remained silent, staring intently.

Naruto and Karin kept laughing in his face, showing not the slightest bit of respect.

Orochimaru felt this was the greatest humiliation he had ever suffered in his life.

"Manda, kill them!" he ordered, his fury barely contained.

The Giant Snake summoned by Orochimaru, the strongest Colossal Serpent from Ryūchi Cave, didn't move an inch at the command.

"Manda!" Orochimaru shouted, furious that it wasn't obeying.

Seeing no response, Orochimaru leaned forward and stared directly into the snake's eyes.

The moment he did, a chill ran down his spine.

Manda's eyes, usually green with small black irises, now bore the Mangekyō Sharingan.

For a moment, Orochimaru thought Itachi had discovered his plan to mark Sasuke with the Cursed Seal of Heaven and had come to stop him.

But he quickly realized that this Mangekyō Sharingan didn't belong to Itachi.

The design was completely different!

His gaze quickly shifted toward Naruto Uzumaki.

"An Uchiha?!" Orochimaru exclaimed in shock.

Naruto's eyes, normally blue, now revealed the Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Something like that," Naruto replied lazily, offering no details.

He wasn't about to explain a damn thing to his enemy.

Naruto didn't care if Orochimaru found out about his Uchiha side. After all, the man couldn't do anything about it.

Orochimaru, standing atop Manda's head, jumped to a nearby branch as the giant snake collapsed unconscious.

"This is… unexpected…" he muttered, stunned.

When Orochimaru looked up again, Naruto was already gone from sight.

"Where—?!" he shouted, frantically searching.

He felt the edge of Naruto's tantō blade against his neck.

"I'd like to make a deal," Naruto said calmly. "In exchange for your life, of course."

Surprised, Orochimaru asked, "What kind of deal?" He wasn't about to pass up a chance to survive.

He had severely underestimated the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.

And he had forgotten who he was dealing with.

The firstborn of Minato Namikaze, the most gifted civilian-born ninja to ever exist, the Fourth Hokage, the man Jiraiya once mistook for the Child of Prophecy.

Naruto seemed to have inherited his father's talent.

But to think he was also an Uchiha…! How was that even possible?!

If Uchiha were blond, Orochimaru would have thought Kushina Uzumaki had cheated on Minato.

"I know your plans," Naruto began, his voice low. Orochimaru, still unmoving, frowned. "I'm just as interested as you are in seeing the Third Hokage leave this world."

"So you'll let me carry out my plans?" Orochimaru asked, amused.

"Yes," Naruto replied, pressing the blade harder against his neck. A thin line of blood began to trickle. "But you'll forget about Sasuke. You won't use her as your next vessel."

"Won't use her? Her? Sasuke Uchiha is… a girl?" Orochimaru asked, confused, as he had no information on the subject.

The pressure on his neck increased. Naruto wasn't willing to say more.

"Kukuku~ Very well, I'll forget about her," Orochimaru replied, deciding not to press the issue.

It seemed his informant, Kabuto, had left out some important details.

Or maybe Kabuto wasn't as good a spy as he thought.

Naruto pulled back his blade, and Orochimaru, relieved, stood up, touching his neck.

The wound vanished as quickly as it appeared.

Naruto frowned — just as expected, Orochimaru wasn't easy to hurt or kill.

As expected of someone so terrified of death. He had countless ways of preserving his life in extreme situations.

"I'll say it again — stay away from Sasuke, once and for all."

Naruto said nothing else and began to walk away…

But Orochimaru took the opportunity to attack him from behind!

"I've got you! Mangekyō Sharingan — finally!" he yelled, lunging at him.

Naruto, already perched on a nearby branch, turned slowly and looked at him, cold and calculating.

Then, a faintly amused smile appeared on his face.

Orochimaru's hand reached dangerously close to his right eye, intent on taking it.

Suddenly, Orochimaru blinked — and found himself back on the same branch he had been on moments before.

"What—?!" he exclaimed in disbelief.

"You're delusional," Naruto mocked.

"No way…" Orochimaru muttered, unable to move. "I fell into a Temporal Paralysis Technique…"

When Naruto turned to walk away, he had already used the physical restriction technique to immobilize Orochimaru. Everything that followed had been a Genjutsu.

"Remember these words well, Orochimaru," Naruto said as Orochimaru struggled to free himself. "No matter what techniques you use… none of them work against these eyes."

Orochimaru, sweating and visibly frightened, stared at him. For a moment, he swore he saw Itachi Uchiha's silhouette reflected in Naruto.

"Don't those words sound familiar?" Naruto teased, staring him down.

Naruto was simply trying to revive the trauma Orochimaru had experienced when facing Itachi Uchiha after he joined Akatsuki.

Orochimaru glared at him, rage boiling inside.

"How do you know those words?!" he shouted. "No one should know what happened that day!"

Naruto's Mangekyō Sharingan glowed intensely.

"You're courting death, Orochimaru. Numb your chakra nerves and kneel before me. Do that, and I might consider sparing your life," Naruto said with an inflated chest — but he couldn't help but laugh and quickly dropped the act.

He wiped a tear from his eye and looked at Orochimaru, who stared back, confused.

Clearly, Orochimaru had no sense of humor.

Naruto had just been joking~

"I'll spare you this time. But once you've killed the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and attacked Konoha alongside the Sand and Sound Villages, our deal is over."

"By then, you'd better be long gone — because I won't hesitate to kill you."

Just as Naruto gave that warning, Orochimaru finally managed to break free from the bodily restriction.

"Understood…" Orochimaru said with a nod, deciding to leave and not push his luck.

His obsession with the Sharingan had nearly cost him his life.

As Naruto had said before laughing — he was courting death.

Orochimaru turned away with a cold smile. "See you around, Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto let out a slight laugh, amused by Orochimaru's attitude as he departed.

At that moment, Karin began to stir in his arms.

Rubbing her eyes, she looked at him in confusion.

"What happened...? Did I fall asleep?"

"Yes," Naruto replied calmly. "But it's all settled now. We're heading back to my team."

Even though it wouldn't have been a big deal if Karin found out about his Mangekyō Sharingan, Naruto preferred to avoid her accidentally revealing it...

That's why he had put her to sleep using the Sharingan.

He felt a bit guilty for doing it, but he didn't see another choice. He could have knocked her out, but that wouldn't have been right either…

And his mother, without a doubt, would never have forgiven him.