The secret base Orochimaru once left behind.
The massive door in front of Kakashi had been blasted apart, reduced to rubble. The ground still trembled faintly from the force of the explosion.
Orochimaru had long since abandoned this place. All that remained were some of the old traps he had set up.
As the dust settled, a foul stench—something rotten, mixed with the damp smell of earth—filled the air, revealing the ruined base inside.
It was clear that no one had been here for a long time. The entire place gave off a sense of decay and abandonment.
Kakashi lifted his foot to step inside when a crisp, familiar voice called out behind him.
He turned at the sound.
"Hm? It’s you, Kinoe."
He recognized that voice—the boy from Root, the one who could use Wood Release.
The one who would later be known as Yamato.
Most Root operatives were skilled at hiding their presence, but following him all the way here undetected was still impressive.
"What are you doing here? Did Danzo-sama send you?"
As they spoke, the two of them moved deeper into the base.
Walking behind Kakashi, Kinoe made a quick hand signal to the person hiding in the rubble behind them.
The masked operative, Otsu, tilted his head slightly, watching the two enter.
Once Kinoe and Kakashi had gone inside, there was no reason to stay any longer.
But just as Otsu lifted his head, his eyes locked onto a pair of pitch-black goggles.
Someone was wedged into the rock ceiling above him in an incredibly strange pose, hanging upside down like a bat.
The man had a bright, cheerful grin and casually raised a hand in greeting.
"Oh? So you were hiding here."
No forehead protector, dressed entirely in black, and appearing in such a bizarre way—definitely not a ninja.
But before Otsu could shout, Hatake Satoru suddenly yanked his mask aside and firmly covered his mouth.
A black blur flashed past, sending a few small stones crumbling from the rock wall.
The cave fell silent.
There was no one left below.
"Who the hell are you?!"
In the blink of an eye, the scenery around him changed into a dense forest.
Otsu’s heart sank. He quickly flipped his hand, throwing a kunai behind him, aiming at the person who had been there.
But there was nothing. The figure that had been in midair moments ago had completely vanished. Now, Yi had landed on the ground.
Apart from the faint sweet scent lingering in the air, that person’s presence had almost entirely disappeared.
"Oh? That’s the first thing you say?"
"I just brought you out of there. Shouldn’t you be thanking me instead?"
Almost instantly, a shadow flickered behind Otsu.
But that thought only had time to flash through his mind—his body couldn’t react fast enough.
Hatake Satoru struck swiftly, landing a precise kick behind Otsu’s knee. With just one move, he forced Otsu to kneel and pressed him down onto the ground.
"They really sent two nobodies, huh? Does Danzo think Kakashi’s eye is that worthless?"
"How do you know about this?!"
Root missions were top secret. No one outside the unit should have any knowledge of them.
Yet, this man had spoken about it so casually, as if it were common knowledge.
Otsu’s eyes widened in disbelief as he took a closer look at Hatake Satoru.
From the way he spoke, he was clearly from Konoha.
But Otsu had never seen this man before.
Hatake Satoru dragged out the sound through his nose as he pulled a rope from his pocket, tying Otsu tightly to a tree.
Ignoring Otsu’s stunned expression, he reached out and fixed the mask that had been pushed aside.
Then, flashing a bright grin, Hatake Satoru leaned in slightly and said,
"Well, I just made a lucky guess!"
Just as he finished speaking, the ground beneath them suddenly trembled.
It wasn’t a violent quake, but it was noticeable.
Otsu, now bound to the tree like a bundled-up package, couldn’t move or even speak.
This guy was terrible at tying knots!
But Hatake Satoru didn’t seem to care about his poor ropework.
He was far more interested in the continuous vibrations coming from beneath the ground.
In this place, something causing this much commotion could only mean one thing—
Deep inside an underground base, two massive glass tanks, taller than a person, stood out against the dim surroundings.
From one of the tanks, a giant golden snake with vertical slit pupils slithered out, flicking its tongue repeatedly at the two people before it.
Under the eerie green lighting, they could see that the creature wasn’t just one snake—
It was made of countless smaller snakes, twisted and writhing together, their heads and tails intertwining in a sickening display.
Kinoe, having failed to assassinate Kakashi, now had his hands tied behind his back with rope, unable to form hand seals.
Kakashi, crouched slightly, held a kunai in one hand, ready to strike.
In his other hand, bright blue lightning crackled, illuminating his face in a flash of dazzling light.
The air was filled with the piercing, screeching sound—like the cries of a thousand birds.
Kakashi bent his knees and leaped forward, thrusting the crackling energy straight into the massive serpent lunging at them.
The moment the lightning struck, the giant snake shattered into countless smaller ones, scattering in all directions.
Kakashi’s Chidori had completely missed its target!
In the instant Kakashi froze, the giant snake had already lunged toward them, swallowing Kai in one bite.