Chapter 74 - The Death of a Snake Part 2

General POV

Sasuke's transformation differed from Kabuto's. Slowly, Sasuke's black pupils changed to a brighter yellow with a thin black layer surrounding them. Silver snake scales formed on his hands and legs.

Naruto entered Sage Mode too.

I smiled at Orochimaru.

"Fighting Hanzo together with Jiraiya and Tsunade earned you the title of a Sannin, a legendary Shinobi. I will name you the next Sage of the Six Paths if you survive against two Sage users. Although I must say that the odds are not in your favor. Now go!"

Orochimaru opened his mouth and dozens of snakes came out, rushing at Naruto and Sasuke.

"Let me handle this." Sasuke placed his hands against each other.

"Sage Art: Eternal Snake"

A ghost snake shot out from Sasuke's hands, penetrating Orochimaru's snakes and turning them to stone.

'That's not what I expected.'

Naruto created a giant Rasengan to smack it against Orochimaru, but he summoned a Rashomon Gate, blocking the attack.

Sasuke charged at Orochimaru with his sword and both engaged in a fight. Sasuke used a Genjutsu on the Snake so Naruto could punch Orochimaru in the gut with an enchanted Sage punch, making Orochimaru fly away before he regained his footing.

'Well, he is still a strong opponent and still has strength, but the question is how long?'

Ishizu decided not to attack with his body, but rather with his words. Mocking Orochimaru in a life or death battle was funny, as the former did so many times too many of his enemies. Karma was a *****.

"How long do you think will you last, Orochimaru? The 3rd Hokage gave you a pretty big curse for being a fool to attack Konoha. Changing bodies helped you delay the inevitable, but it must have hurt a lot."

It had some kind of effect as the bastard charged at him.

"I am not your opponent."

"Wood Style: Wood Shelter"

Ishizu surrounded himself, but Orochimaru hit the blockage with his foot and broke it.

'He is serious.'

Fortunately, Naruto and Sasuke had business with him and gave him a roundhouse kick in the back. Ishizu made a wood pillar to see the spectacle from above and to not disturb the 3.

"Senpo Wind Style: Rasenshuriken"

"Sage Art: Majestic Fireball Jutsu"

Both of them launched their attack at Orochimaru. One Wind and one Fire. A massive Fire-based Rasenshuriken flew at Orochimaru, ready to obliterate the latter. To counter the attack the Snake summoned the 3 Rashomon Gates.

'This will be a big…'

'KABOOOOOM'

Ishizu looked with his Rinnegan and saw that Orochimaru was still not defeated.

"He is still alive," Ishizu shouted.

"We know," both of them answered, annoyed because this was getting boring.

Orochimaru used another summoning technique. This time he summoned Manda personally.

"Oh, no. That is against the rules. No summons allowed."

"Wood Style: Wood dragon"

Ishizu used the dragon to catch Manda and render him immobile for the moment, giving Orochimaru no way of help.

"Someone like you will not defeat me. I am Orochimaru the Snake Sannin. I will achieve immortality and your body will be mine, Sasuke!" shouted Orochimaru in rage.

Kicking Naruto away, Orochimaru used a massive earth jutsu to be with Sasuke alone. With the Rinnegan, Ishizu looked through the earth wall to see what was going on inside.

Naruto was charging another Rasengan when Ishizu appeared before the earth cave.

"Out of my way, Yamamoto!"

"You cannot help him now. You have to trust in Sasuke," spoke Ishizu in a calm voice. Naruto was reluctant but waited for Sasuke to come out.

Sasuke POV

Being engulfed by a white snake was disgusting.

"I wanted to do this later, my dear Sasuke-chan, but you leave me no choice than to take your body now."

I looked around the area. It looked disgusting. As soon as Orochimaru's hand touched my body, it turned to stone.

"No! I will not lose. Your body is mine," furiously screamed Orochimaru. I smiled at the white snake.

"I believe you always wanted to be a Snake Sage. Well, why don't you be one?" I pressed my hands on his body and pumped the rest of my energy into him.

Orochimaru's scream died down as his body turned to stone. The surrounding wall crumbled, and I saw Ishizu and Naruto standing outside.

General POV

"So he is finally dead. I thought there would be more to this. Guess you weren't that important," spoke Ishizu as he saw the body of Orochimaru.

Dispelling the jail, Kabuto came rushing to Orochimaru's body.

"What have you done?" screamed Kabuto in horror at the sight of his former master. His entire world shattered.

"I killed him," replied Sasuke.

"No, you can kill him. It is Orochimaru. He can't die. HE CAN'T." Kabuto took a body part of Orochimaru and left. Ishizu stopped the other ones.

"Leave him."

Ishizu looked at the rest of Team 7.

"You have done your mission. Orochimaru is dead. Leave or I will consider you as my enemy."

"You can just do that. We came for Sasuke."

Ishizu took out a wood spear and pointed it at her. "I already told you that he is under my protection. He does not want to come back."

Yamato and Sakura wanted to protest, but Naruto stopped them. Ishizu nodded.

"Sasuke, leave. We will meet later."

"Yamato-taicho, Sakura-san, Sai, we are leaving."

Sasuke left, and only Naruto and Ishizu stood at the battlefield.

"You have something to say, don't you?" asked Naruto.

Ishizu nodded. "Yes, it has something to do with Sasuke."

Naruto told him to go on. "What do you think are the odds that Sasuke will return to Konoha?"

Naruto frowned. "This has something to do with the massacre, hasn't it?"

Ishizu clapped his hands. "You are very smart. Smart people live longer but have many enemies. Yes, the reason has something to do with it. The moment Sasuke learns the truth, no one can say what he will do, but it could direct his hatred to Konoha."

"I have always known that the village is not as happy as it looked like. My Sensei showed me the dark side of it."

"Ah, yes, Ishizu Sasaki. We had a few meetings during our lives. He is one of the few who know the truth behind the massacre. If you want to know what really happened, you should ask him. I want to warn you that if Sasuke learns the truth, there will be a possibility that you will fight against each other next time."

Naruto nodded. "I see what I can do." With that, both parties left. Team 7 was going to report that Orochimaru was by Naruto, and Sasuke with the help of the mysterious man, Yamamoto.

Ishizu was going to help Sasuke make a team find Itachi. He would not be going with them as he saw that Kakuzu and Hidan were moving to Kumo. A cat needed help, it seemed.