Chapter 280: Sasori's Escape, Orochimaru's Plans for Sasori
Suddenly, Haneda spoke again:
"By the way, Naruto, if you want, you can stay at Sasuke's house for the next few days."
Naruto glanced at Sasuke, who immediately turned his head away in disdain and said,
"Don't come to my house. I don't want to play with a total idiot like you."
"Sasuke!"
"Fine, I'll see if Father agrees. You can share my room."
Haneda didn't even have to think about it. With his relationship with Fugaku, there was no way Fugaku would refuse Naruto.
Sasuke, despite his outward reluctance, had already agreed.
As expected of a tsundere Uchiha.
...
By evening, as Haneda had predicted, Naruto had indeed decided to move into Sasuke's house.
Itachi, who had come to pick up his younger brother, saw Sasuke and Naruto holding hands, ready to head home with him. Instinctively, he looked over at Haneda.
Haneda smiled and said, "Kakashi and I need to leave the village for a while. Naruto will be in your and Fugaku's care."
"Understood, Uncle Haneda. I'll take good care of Naruto," Itachi replied.
Although puzzled, Itachi assumed that Haneda must be heading off for an important mission, so he agreed without hesitation.
"By the way, Shisui is back in the village too. Like you, he's on a long break," Haneda added.
Hearing the news of Shisui's return, Itachi smiled faintly.
At this moment, Sasuke pulled Naruto over and asked Itachi,
"Brother, do you have time tonight? Can you teach me and Naruto some ninjutsu?"
Itachi gently flicked Sasuke's forehead with his finger and smiled,
"Forgive me, Sasuke, maybe next time."
Hearing the all-too-familiar phrase, Sasuke immediately realized that his brother was planning to meet Shisui again tonight.
Pouting, he let out a few grumbles before pulling Naruto along as they headed home.
Itachi chuckled softly and followed after them, unable to resist their antics.
His plan was simple: escort Sasuke and Naruto home, and then go meet Shisui.
Watching the three walk away, Haneda remarked,
"Sasuke and Naruto really are the best of friends. Naruto gets along so well with Sasuke, and Sasuke even slows down his pace to wait for his brother."
Kakashi looked at the trio and was reminded of the times he had walked this same path with Haneda and Obito.
"Yeah, the bond between siblings and friends is great—just like in our time," Kakashi said.
Suddenly, recalling something, Kakashi urged,
"Shikaku only gave us three days, Haneda! Let's move quickly and get the mission done."
"I'm the Hokage! Does Shikaku think he can order me around?!" Haneda retorted confidently.
"If Shikaku comes after you, you'll regret it. Don't count on me to get scolded with you!" Kakashi said, placing a firm hand on Haneda's shoulder.
In an instant, the two left Konoha and arrived at the village gates.
As the sun fully set on the horizon, Kakashi looked ahead into the distance and asked,
"By the way, Haneda, where exactly are we supposed to find Orochimaru? I told you before—we should've sent ANBU or Root to scout first before heading out ourselves."
Haneda formed a hand seal and summoned a purple snake through a summoning jutsu.
Seeing the somewhat familiar aura of the little snake, Kakashi's eyes widened in realization.
He turned to Haneda and said,
"You already had this planned, didn't you? Don't tell me you've been in contact with Orochimaru all along?!"
"You didn't ask," Haneda replied nonchalantly, feeding a prepared scroll into the snake's mouth.
After the snake swallowed the scroll completely, Haneda dismissed the summoning.
"Let's head toward the Land of Fields first. He might be there. Of course, we can confirm his exact location before making a move."
"And tonight?" Kakashi, who always deferred to Haneda, asked.
"I suggest we go out for a meal and take the opportunity to observe the current state of the Land of Fire," Haneda replied.
"Aren't you going to train?"
"I'll leave that to my shadow clones."
...
Night, Land of Fields.
On a small path, two figures clad in black cloaks adorned with red clouds walked side by side.
One had long black hair, golden eyes, and pale skin. The other had a grotesque appearance and stiff, unnatural movements, like a puppet.
They were Orochimaru and Sasori.
Suddenly, Orochimaru stopped in his tracks as a small purple snake slithered from his shoe, up his cloak, and coiled around his arm.
Raising his right hand, Orochimaru caught a scroll that the snake spat out into his palm.
Seeing Orochimaru occupied, Sasori also stopped and said coldly,
"Don't keep me waiting too long, Orochimaru. I hate waiting."
Orochimaru licked his lips and let out a soft, sinister laugh as he unrolled the scroll.
To his mild surprise, the message was from Haneda.
The last time Haneda had contacted him was a year ago—when Orochimaru had delivered intelligence and Shisui's eye.
"How interesting... trying to get a rogue S-rank ninja like me to return to the village..."
"Heh... Haneda-kun is always so intriguing."
Sasori noticed Orochimaru's unusually curious expression. It wasn't the ravenous desire Orochimaru displayed toward the Rinnegan, but rather a strange, almost affable look.
It was hard to imagine such an expression on a cold-blooded snake.
Sasori, with a hint of curiosity in his otherwise indifferent tone, asked,
"How much longer do we have to wait? Did one of your subordinates bring you good news?"
Orochimaru smirked knowingly.
He understood the complicated relationship between Haneda and Sasori, so he deliberately said,
"Uchiha Haneda is coming to find me."
Sasori froze, his every movement halting. Silence enveloped him.
"What does he want with you? Where is he now?" Sasori quickly regained his composure, but his tone betrayed a hint of nervousness.
Orochimaru chuckled darkly. "Relax, he's still in the Land of Fire—or rather, the People's Republic of the Will of Fire."
"As for why he's looking for me... hehe... don't worry. He's not coming for you."
Hearing that Haneda was still far from the Land of Fields and had no intention of seeking him through Orochimaru, Sasori let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Sasori was all too aware of Haneda's strength. Such power, such artistry—he was unrivaled by any human.
Especially considering Haneda had single-handedly destroyed an entire nation—one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, Kumogakure no less!
Sasori had only one thought: avoid Haneda for a century!
Once Haneda died of old age, Sasori could stand over his grave to prove the eternal nature of his own art.
"I'll leave you to handle this yourself. I'm heading out first," Sasori said.
Orochimaru smiled slyly. "And here I thought you didn't mind waiting for me. He should already be on his way, moving quickly. This will all be over soon."
"No need. Let's meet again in the Land of Rain," Sasori replied.
He unsealed a scroll, summoning a large bird-shaped puppet. Leaping onto it, he piloted the puppet eastward.
To avoid crossing paths with Haneda, Sasori planned to take a long detour around the Land of Fire before returning to the Land of Rain.
Watching Sasori's hasty departure, Orochimaru licked his lips, pondering Sasori's value in Haneda's eyes.
Although Sasori was his partner, he was also a watchdog sent by Pain.
Moreover, Sasori had dealings with Orochimaru's subordinate, Kabuto.
Orochimaru had long considered eliminating Sasori, but Sasori's strength made it difficult.
Haneda, however, was a different story.
He had the strength, the motive, and once Sasori's location was confirmed, Haneda would gladly hunt him down.
Just like when he went after Onoki.
...
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