In the forest far away from Konoha, Orochimaru covered his wound, sweating profusely on his forehead. He was in great pain, gasping as he moved forward. He knew what was coming for him next and couldn't stop now.
If only he could reach that place... he could... if only he could reach that place... he absolutely couldn't stop!
He never thought he would be in such a sorry state. As he gasped, a voice came from behind, "I never thought you'd be in such a mess one day, sensei."
Orochimaru turned around and saw Kiyosuke wearing an Anbu mask. He rarely smiled and said, "Did the Third Hokage send you to hunt me down?"
"Not really. I'm just in shadow clone form right now. My main body is still in Konoha. Well, it's probably on the way here," Kiyosuke chuckled. As a shadow clone, he had chased Orochimaru all the way here. Orochimaru was really tough. With such serious injuries, he could still run so far.
"I see. So, what are you here for?" Orochimaru asked.
"Where is Anko?"
"In the Land of Waves, at one of my experimental bases. I've never taken you there, but you should know how to find it." As his disciple, Kiyosuke knew many of his secrets. Of course, these secrets were things he had deliberately let Kiyosuke see.
"Got it."
"The Third Hokage is still soft - hearted. He actually let me go. He has no idea how much trouble I'll cause Konoha," Orochimaru sneered, mocking his teacher's weakness.
He looked at his disciple and said, "You're the same. Even though you've cut off relations with me, you still came here and didn't attack me. This isn't good for you in the village."
Kiyosuke said speechlessly, "I'm very popular in the village. Except for the Shimura clan who 恨不得 me dead, in the eyes of many people, I'm a hero of Konoha."
"You're nothing like me. You're more like that idiot Jiraiya," Orochimaru gasped. "I should go. If you want to hunt me down, go ahead. You have the ability to kill me now."
Ah, indeed the Hokage with a 100% teacher - killing rate. Was he going to follow this path too?
After thinking about it, Kiyosuke shook his head and said, "I mainly came to get information about Anko. Nothing else. I'm leaving. Take care of yourself, sensei."
Poof!
The shadow clone disappeared. Orochimaru smiled. "What an innocent disciple. But at least he has a conscience. How did I teach such a disciple?"
He shook his head and started running again.
Kiyosuke's main body, who was chasing his teacher with Kakashi, felt the memories transmitted from the shadow clone, nodded, and then created another shadow clone to rush to the Land of Waves.
Kakashi asked, "What's wrong?"
"I got some information from Orochimaru."
"Hmm? You sent out a shadow clone?"
"Of course. Do I look like someone who does nothing?"
"Don't you?"
"No, I don't."
"..." After a moment of silence, Kakashi said, "The shadow clone was eliminated?"
"Of course. After all, many of my skills were taught by Orochimaru - sensei. Although he's seriously injured, as one of the Sannin, he has ways to protect himself." Kiyosuke shook his head. "But I also got news of Anko from him. She's imprisoned in the Land of Waves. I sent a shadow clone to rescue her."
"I see. Where is he now?"
"Follow me."
He led Kakashi towards the place where Orochimaru was. Even if he didn't lead the way, Kakashi's Eight Ninja Dogs could find him by smell, so the time would be about the same.
When they brought Kakashi to the place where they met Orochimaru, there were not many traces left. Then the two could only search around.
When it was already bright, the two came to a huge ancient tree. Kakashi said, "Let's go. Let's go in and take a look. Orochimaru might be hiding inside. Be careful."
"Okay."
They entered the tree hole and found an underground tunnel connected to the tree hole. The visibility was low and it was rather dim. They walked for a while, and gradually, smoke appeared around them.
"Fog? No, this isn't an ordinary distraction technique. Be careful," Kakashi warned.
The fog around them became thicker and thicker, greatly reducing the visibility.
A cloud of smoke suddenly appeared in front of Kakashi, transforming into a human palm that tightly grabbed his throat and lifted him up. "Looking at that mask, you're from Konoha's Anbu," the smoke transformed into a human figure, a strong - bodied uncle with a mustache wearing simple clothes.
"Who... are you?"
"What are you doing here?"
"Take a guess," Kiyosuke kicked away a person who was trying to sneak - attack him and said, "It seems your abilities are similar to mine. You can turn your body into smoke, but there must be some drawbacks, right?"
Zap!
Electric current burst out from Kakashi's palm, forcing the opponent to release his arm. Kakashi quickly jumped back and came to Kiyosuke's side, saying, "Kiyosuke, be careful. These guys are hard to deal with."
"It's simple. One Wind Release jutsu can take them all out," Kiyosuke said.
The opponent's face changed. Kiyosuke continued, "I said your abilities are somewhat similar to mine. I'm afraid of water, and you're afraid of wind. But you're different from me. When I encounter water, my body can't turn into flames, but I can still maintain my physical form. I'm afraid it's not the same for you, right?"
He said, "I've read about you in sensei's materials. You're the Iburi Clan. You can turn your body into smoke and enter a person's body in smoke form, thus controlling their actions. Well, it's a very powerful ability, but there's a secret weakness that you'll dissipate and die if you're blown by the wind in smoke form."
They were really vulnerable to the wind.
Seeing that Kiyosuke had revealed their weakness, the fog immediately dispersed, and they didn't dare to maintain the smoke form anymore.
"Who is your teacher?"
"Of course, it's Orochimaru, the one you're protecting," Kiyosuke smiled.
"You're Lord Orochimaru's disciple?" the mustached uncle said.
"Of course, genuine."
"Proof?"
"I really don't want to use this move." With that, Kiyosuke took off his mask, opened his mouth, and a snake spat out from his mouth. Seeing this move, the mustached uncle nodded and said, "I believe you."
Suddenly, his attitude became much friendlier. He came to Kiyosuke and said with a smile, "Welcome. Then... die for Lord Orochimaru!"
He suddenly turned into smoke and got into Kiyosuke's nose and mouth.
"Hey, I said I'm Orochimaru - sensei's disciple. Why don't you believe me?"
"Are you kidding? You say you are, and we should believe you? Let me... Wait? What's going on with your body? Why is it all on fire?!"
"I told you, our bodies are similar."