THIRTY MINUTES AGO BEFORE THE FIGHT
Thirty minutes ago, in the dense, shadowed depths of the cave, Jiraiya's voice broke the tense silence.
"Reverse Summoning Jutsu!"
He executed the hand seals with precision born of decades, blood pressed to the scroll as catalyst—but nothing happened. The scroll lay dormant, unyielding.
"Summoning Jutsu!" Jiraiya tried again, desperate, hoping for even the smallest ripple in space. Still, no response came.
His grim voice filled the chamber as realization set in. "So they're here. Someone's interfering with the summons. Probably a barrier is placed around us, blocking dimensional access."
From the shadows, Orochimaru's pale form emerged, his voice silky and sharp.
"I told you those flies would come running if you bait the sweetest dish they crave."
His gaze flickered toward Naruto, a predator appraising potential prey.
Naruto felt a cold shiver crawl beneath his spine. He wasn't sure why Orochimaru's words—or that look—made his skin crawl, but they did.
"They have caught wind of your movements this fast," Orochimaru continued, voice low and dangerous. "My suspicions are confirmed—your intelligence network has a leak. But where, and who is the traitor allowing such swift information flow is you have to find out?"
Orochimaru's expression twisted into something nearing a smile.
"The flies have come. I will have specimens soon enough for my experiments."
Naruto's voice betrayed his confusion and fear. "Sensei... what are you talking about? What is this snake guy planning?"
Jiraiya cut in, calm but authoritative. "Naruto, there is something you need to know. It is time to confirm some things—things you need to understand before the next move."
He hesitated, then looking at orochimaru, "The information about Tsunade being missing near Konoha—its not true?."
Orochimaru snapped sharply, cutting through the tension.
"Fool yourself to fool the enemy. He believes what he wishes. You must remain a step ahead, Jiraiya."
Jiraiya was momentarily relieved by Orochimaru's skepticism—it meant the information was not completely confirmed, but the venomous uncertainty that followed left no room for comfort.
"Naruto," Jiraiya said, urgency in his voice, "make a shadow clone. I'm taking it with me. You stay here—with Orochimaru."
Naruto blinked incredulously. "Why? Why do I have to stay with this freak?!"
Without answering, Orochimaru let out a hiss like a snake disturbed, his tongue flicking in the air as if tasting danger.
Jiraiya's gaze hardened. "I'll explain later. For now, do as I say."
Orochimaru added smoothly, "Just stall time. I've set my pawns in strategic locations; they won't be able to escape. I have prepared a barrier which surounds the whole forest but for it to form and maintain it, I must transfer chakra continuously to maintain the barrier's strength."
Hearing this, Jiraiya nodded and moved swiftly. Naruto's shadow clone formed over him, solid and clear—ready to follow his master into the unknown while the real Naruto stepped deeper into the cave with Orochimaru.
As they moved inward, Naruto glanced back toward Jiraiya.
Thoughts of Tsunade and the swirling chaos outside weighed heavily on Orochimaru who was walking into the deeper part of the cave.
Orochimaru's quiet voice cut through his brooding.
"Foolish and indecisive to the end, letting emotion override tactical sense. That will destroy everything you're trying to protect."
Naruto faced him, frustration clear. "You're the 'friend' of Jiraiya-sensei? Why all the secrets? Why the lies? What are we even fighting? Why won't anyone just tell me the truth?"
Orochimaru smiled thin and venomous.
"Ask the fool when he returns. For now, I have work to do."
He slipped deeper into the darkness, leaving Naruto alone with his burning questions and simmering doubts.
BACK TO THE PRESENT
Jiraiya carefully carried the unconscious Sasuke deeper into the cave, the flame stick jiraiya holding flickering against stone walls that seemed to swallow the light whole.
In a vast chamber ahead, Orochimaru sat at the center of a complex array of scrolls, holding two hands together like forming a seal, his pale form illuminated by the soft glow of seal chakra that streamed from his hands in delicate threads weaving into the earth itself.
Not far from him, Naruto sat quietly, watching as Jiraiya approached, burdened by the weight of an unconscious friend draped over his shoulder.
Naruto called out softly, a mix of sadness and confusion etching his voice:
"Sensei... why are they acting like that? Like they don't even like me and won't even talk to me ? And they're here to capture me? Sasuke was my friend—he would never do this..."
He looked down, eyes clouded with gloom. "Kakashi-sensei came, too... and... are they upset with me? Is it because of the demon inside me? Do they blame me... like the village does? Because... because I was the reason Grandpa died..."
Jiraiya said nothing right away. He could only squeeze Naruto's shoulder gently, knowing words could not heal the fissures growing between them.
Orochimaru's hand released a subtle jutsu, frustration flickering in his eyes.
"You fool. Couldn't you hold them off a little longer? If you had delayed them just a bit more, I'd already have two more specimens for my experiments. But your clumsy mistake let them escape."
Jiraiya met the accusation calmly, barely hiding his own irritation.
"I didn't know there was an Uchiha other than Itachi—one who could use a Mangekyō Sharingan and that too space-time abilities. How could I counter that? I didn't want to harm them; they weren't acting like themselves—they were more like puppets under a genjutsu or control technique."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, voice sharp.
"You could have seized two regardless. Do you know how much planning went into this? And all you got was a scrawny brat to work with."
He looked at the boy Jiraiya carried—Sasuke—unconscious but vulnerable.
Jiraiya laid Sasuke gently on a stone block, worry creasing his brow.
"Who would've imagined Kakashi was the leak? I never suspected it."
Orochimaru smiled grimly.
"So that monkey didn't die for nothing. It makes sense now—a puppeteer or genjutsu powerful enough to cloud their minds, robbing them of will. Fascinating. But whoever it is, they robbed me of revenge; I should've been the one to end the monkey."
"Brat, you should've at least kept your shadow clone alive longer," Jiraiya saying this to naruto , moved towards where orochimaru was at.
Naruto, standing awkwardly nearby, shot his mentor a sheepish look.
"Pervy Sage, you could have told me! I would've shared more chakra with my clone."
"Give that one to me," Orochimaru demanded, eyes gleaming. "I need to run tests."
He gestured to Sasuke, ready to examine.
Naruto's voice caught, dread surfacing.
"What tests? What will you do to him?"
"Nothing that you need to know about ," Orochimaru said subtly.
" Kid! Its something for his own good , don't worry about him " Jiraiya added.
Naruto stood silently, a few steps away, thoughts heavy, not hearing all of it, overwhelmed by the weight of betrayal and uncertainty.
The shadows of friendship twisted into something darker here in the cave's depths. The lines defining ally and enemy had blurred beyond recognition, leaving only the cold truth that survival sometimes meant fighting the ones you once called family.
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