Although Orochimaru's words left Senju Haruto with countless questions, they also seemed to confirm his suspicions.
Yes, Orochimaru was a missing-nin who had betrayed Konoha—but deep down, it didn't feel like he bore true hatred for the village.
If he had, he wouldn't have said something like: "Hand over Karin, and I'll let you go."
At the very least, from Orochimaru's perspective, he didn't even recognize Haruto's strength. Instead, he assumed Haruto was simply one of Kakashi's subordinates.
On the other hand, Orochimaru's power towered far above Kakashi's—who was already wounded.
If he wished, Orochimaru could kill both Kakashi and Haruto here and now, claim Karin for himself, and weaken Konoha's forces in the process, paving the way for his future invasion.
After all, while Kakashi had not yet reached the level of the Sannin, he was still Konoha's foremost technician in the shinobi arts—the famed Copy Ninja.
Yet Kakashi did not panic in the face of his current predicament.
He was injured, true. But Senju Haruto was standing beside him. And Haruto was not someone who could be so easily killed.
Karin, recognizing the danger, hurriedly thrust her arm in front of Kakashi, hoping to help heal his injuries.
Though still only a child, she had grown up around shinobi. She could tell just by looking that the situation was dire.
The way Kakashi faced Orochimaru—with every muscle tensed, every nerve alight—was proof enough.
From her perspective, Kakashi must have been even stronger than Haruto.
Kakashi noticed Karin's movement out of the corner of his eye.
But before he could react, Orochimaru moved first.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
With a cold hiss, Orochimaru lunged forward, unleashing countless serpents from his sleeves. They surged toward Kakashi like a living tide.
Haruto silently observed, his sharp eyes never leaving the battlefield. In one smooth motion, he seized Karin by the arm and pulled her aside, making sure she wouldn't get caught in the clash.
And yet—he made no move to intervene.
Orochimaru radiated hostility, yes, but there was no killing intent behind his strike.
Hidden Shadow Snake Hands was only a B-rank technique. Its purpose was to entangle and restrain, not to kill.
Orochimaru clearly wanted to pin Kakashi down, not finish him.
If there was no true killing intent, then why should Haruto act rashly?
Kakashi was injured, but Haruto had already lent him some of his own chakra. Against a technique of this level, Kakashi could hold his own.
And besides, Karin was here. With her as their living medical kit, Kakashi would never be in true danger.
Yes. Best to wait and see.
Resolving himself, Haruto positioned Karin behind him, taking several measured steps back. He gave the two fighters the space they needed to move freely.
Kakashi drew in a sharp breath. Orochimaru's sudden attack came as no surprise.
He was ANBU. Orochimaru was a traitor to the Leaf.
From what Kakashi knew, Orochimaru had defected because of his forbidden human experiments and his obsession with stealing forbidden techniques.
He was dangerous.
Planting his toes against the earth, Kakashi launched himself backward in a blur, narrowly avoiding the first wave of serpents.
At the same time, he tugged his forehead protector aside, revealing his Sharingan—three tomoe spinning vividly in the scarlet eye.
Through the enhanced vision of his dōjutsu, he caught sight of Haruto.
The boy wasn't moving to help. He just stood there, calm, observing.
So… you want to see how I handle Orochimaru when I have my back against the wall? Kakashi thought with a grim smile.
That was fine.
After all, the reason he had accompanied Haruto to Kusagakure in the first place was not for a mission, but for training.
To grow stronger.
Both he and Haruto knew that was the true purpose.
And what greater test of strength could there be than facing Orochimaru himself?
The more Kakashi thought about it, the more firmly he believed it.
As the snakes closed in, Kakashi's hand darted to his pouch. With practiced precision, he drew shuriken and flung them in a fan-like spread. His hands blurred through seals.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
In an instant, the handful of shuriken multiplied into dozens. They streaked through the air like a storm of steel, slamming into the serpents' eyes and bodies.
But blinding them accomplished nothing.
Even without vision, the snakes could sense Kakashi's chakra.
And their vitality was monstrous. Even with blades embedded in their flesh, they thrashed onward, fangs snapping.
"…The Third Hokage's technique, is it?" Orochimaru sneered inwardly.
He remembered well how Sarutobi Hiruzen had taught him that very jutsu.
But sentiment held no sway over him. His gaze lingered instead on Kakashi's Sharingan.
That eye—the prize he had once coveted.
And yet, Kakashi's Sharingan was unworthy in his eyes.
To gain a Sharingan through mere transplantation was a crude, inferior method.
The true path lay in merging his soul with the body of an actual Uchiha, through the forbidden art of Living Corpse Reincarnation.
A thought that left Orochimaru momentarily distracted.
Kakashi, however, wasted no such chance.
The instant his feet touched ground again, he surged lightning chakra through his body.
Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
A sharp ache pulsed in his chest—but his speed exploded, soaring to a new level.
In the blink of an eye, the earth cracked beneath his toes as he launched forward. He blurred past the serpents, vanishing from their reach.
And reappeared directly behind Orochimaru.
Even Orochimaru's eyes widened in shock at the sudden movement.
But Kakashi gave no pause.
His Sharingan locked onto a vital point in Orochimaru's body. A kunai gleamed in his grip as he drove it straight for the Sannin's throat.
Yes—his body was injured. Yes—the Lightning Chakra Mode already strained him to the brink.
If he tried to use Chidori now, the chakra drain would surely cause him to collapse.
He knew his limits. He knew this opening might be his only chance.
No hesitation. No mercy.
The kunai drove downward—straight for Orochimaru's vital spot.
"Well now," Orochimaru purred, a faint smile tugging at his lips, as if in genuine amusement. "I never would have imagined, Kakashi… you've grown stronger."
It almost sounded like praise.
But this situation posed no real danger to Orochimaru.
At the very instant Kakashi's strike was about to land—
His kunai stopped.
Frozen in place.