Kirito followed Orochimaru's gaze, noticing a massive serpent looming over him. Without warning, Garaga, the giant snake, thrashed violently, throwing Kirito high into the air. With a swift backflip, Kirito landed gracefully. "Your name is Garaga, right? This is no way to treat your master," Kirito said coolly.
As he spoke, lightning flickered in Kirito's right hand, activating the technique known as God's Breath.
With the sound of chirping birds, lightning spears over a hundred meters long materialized and hurtled toward Garaga.
Garaga, a massive snake from Ryuchi Cave, possessed a vast amount of sage chakra and heightened perception. His massive body slithered swiftly, effortlessly dodging Kirito's lightning spear, sensing the danger of the sage-enhanced Chidori Sharp Spear.
Inside Garaga's throat, a tremendous amount of sage chakra began to churn, preparing to release a petrifying liquid. But Kirito was fully aware of Garaga's movements, thanks to his Observation Haki.
As Garaga evaded the lightning spear, Kirito swiftly turned the spear into a lightning whip, wrapping it around Garaga's enormous body.
With a powerful yank, the snake was pulled from mid-air, its head slamming violently into the ground. The petrifying liquid, still inside Garaga's mouth, spilled out, instantly turning the nearby plants and flowers to stone.
"Lord Orochimaru, is this really something a ninja can do?" Kabuto stammered, fearfully glancing at Orochimaru.
"Let's move," Orochimaru commanded, ignoring the genjutsu that had yet to be broken.
The battle had drawn significant attention, and Orochimaru was aware that Akatsuki members would soon arrive. If Kirito and Itachi spoke, confirming his defection from Akatsuki, he would be finished.
Without hesitation, Kabuto grabbed Orochimaru and quickly retreated, tossing a smoke bomb to obscure their escape and impair Kirito's vision.
Kirito ignored their departure and immediately approached Garaga. Using his Chidori, he sliced through the tough scales on the snake's forehead.
"Now, behave yourself, Garaga," Kirito said with a grin.
"Forgive my insolence, Master," Garaga quickly apologized. The snake, as per habit, became docile after his reverse scale had been taken away.
At this moment, two figures, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu, emerged from the ground, having sensed the disturbance first.
A massive pitcher plant rose from the ground, and Black Zetsu looked at the enormous creature restrained by Kirito's lightning whip. He couldn't help but ask, "Kirito, what happened?"
Kirito nonchalantly turned around, speaking as if serious, "Orochimaru attacked Itachi earlier, trying to take over his body, but he failed. Afterward, he attempted to defect from Akatsuki, but I intercepted him."
"That sneaky guy summoned this giant snake to cover his escape, and then ran away while I was occupied."
"But don't worry. I've tamed this snake. From now on, it'll be my summoned beast, fighting and bleeding for the organization," Kirito said, patting Garaga's head with a smirk. "Isn't that right, Garaga?"
"Yes, master. But could you please remove the lightning? It feels... uncomfortable," Garaga replied, his voice filled with discomfort.
Kirito raised an eyebrow, slightly embarrassed. "You're a giant male snake; you shouldn't say things like that."
With that, Kirito released the lightning whip. Garaga slithered back, feeling relief despite the charred marks left on his scales.
Watching the exchange between the man and the snake, Black Zetsu had no reason to doubt Kirito's story. After all, Orochimaru had long harbored ill intentions toward Itachi.
"Alright, go rest and heal. I'll summon you when needed," Kirito waved dismissively.
"Yes, master," Garaga responded obediently before vanishing in a puff of smoke.
Around this time, all of the Akatsuki members had gathered, except for Konan, who was guarding Pain's real body in the Rain Village. Even Tobi, disguised as Afei, was present.
"What happened here, Kirito? What was with the giant snake?" Pein asked as he arrived.
"Orochimaru betrayed the organization and fled," Kirito said, repeating his prepared lines while handing over Orochimaru's ring.
Pain raised his hand, and the ring floated into his palm.
Pain didn't seem fully convinced, so he turned to Itachi, "Is that true?"
"It's true that Orochimaru attacked me, but I didn't expect him to defect from the organization," Itachi replied, casting a glance at Kirito.
Scorpion, who had long been disgruntled with Orochimaru, added, "It's not surprising. That snake always puts his own agenda ahead of the organization."
Pain sighed, "Although I don't want to let Orochimaru escape, our numbers are too few right now."
Before he could continue, Tobi suddenly piped up, "Hey, hey! Why don't I join you guys?"
"Get out of the way," Scorpion snapped, glaring at Tobi from within his puppet, silencing him immediately.
Turning back to Pain, Scorpion said, "Leader, I always knew Orochimaru was unreliable. Leave it to me; I can find his hiding place quickly. Kabuto is practically under my control."
"Don't worry. I've already decided on your new partner. I had originally planned for them to team up with Kirito, but it seems they'd be a better fit with you," Pain said, referring to Deidara.
Kirito quickly interjected, "Leader, you won't make me stay with Black and White Zetsu, right? If you keep me with them, I can't guarantee I won't end up doing what Kakuzu does to his partners."
White Zetsu: "..."
Black Zetsu: "..."
"Don't worry. Your new teammate has already been selected. You'll mostly be working alone to gather intel, but for the upcoming mission to track down Orochimaru, you'll join Scorpion," Pain clarified.
Kirito shrugged, "I don't mind, but I am curious—who's my new teammate?"
Pain didn't keep the secret for long. "After much consideration, I've chosen a partner based on your personality. If I teamed you up with another male, conflicts would arise sooner or later. So, I've chosen a woman—Pakura, the hero of the Sand Village."
(End of the Chapter).
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