Uchiha Patriarch !

Kimimaro stood on the trunk of a coconut tree crushed by a giant snake, watching the battle between Lord Orochimaru and the man known as "Shisui." Although only eight years old, technically still a child, as a ninja, he already possessed the strength to defeat an average Chūnin.

As the last surviving member of the Kaguya clan, 

Kaguya Kimimaro was the final remnant of his clan's glory.

Raised among a group of battle-hungry madmen, he awakened the *Shikotsumyaku* (Dead Bone Pulse) Kekkei Genkai at a young age and was trained as a weapon by his clansmen. Later, he followed Orochimaru, a person even more insane. So, it's easy to imagine what kind of values Kimimaro would develop.

Anyone who dared to treat Kimimaro as just a child would definitely suffer.

"Lord Orochimaru!"

Seeing Orochimaru decapitated by Shisui's blade, Kimimaro clenched his fist. Over the past two years, Orochimaru had pampered him due to his talent and abilities, allowing him to follow Orochimaru closely. He had even brought Kimimaro along to the Land of Water, never treating him as a burden.

Kimimaro had witnessed Orochimaru's strength and knew that he couldn't be killed so easily. 

However, 

This was the first time anyone had gotten so close to Orochimaru so quickly. 

In the past, most enemies couldn't even touch the hem of Orochimaru's cloak. Orochimaru would often choose certain opponents for Kimimaro to handle. But this time, Orochimaru had told him to stay back and just watch.

Yet, seeing Orochimaru decapitated in one strike, 

Kimimaro took a step forward.

...

On top of the snake's head, Shisui had decapitated Orochimaru, but he quickly realized his attack hadn't hit the real body. He wasn't disappointed; rather, he had been briefly let down by Orochimaru's seeming inadequacy. But that disappointment vanished just as fast when he realized that Orochimaru hadn't been slain so easily.

It was only a clone— 

A clone made of countless snakes.

**Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!**

Shisui formed a seal with one hand, and a blazing orange-red fireball erupted from his mouth, incinerating the snake clone made of hundreds of small snakes. The intense heat caused the massive snake beneath him to shake violently, its head swinging left and right, trying to throw Shisui off.

But such tactics had little effect on Shisui, who maintained perfect balance with ease.

As Shisui searched for Orochimaru's real body, the giant snake beneath him suddenly froze. Shisui's scarlet Sharingan eyes pierced through the snake's flesh, detecting an unusual chakra fluctuation. His pupils contracted as he instantly leaped into the air, holding his small sword defensively in front of him.

In the next moment, 

A flash of cold light shot out from within the snake's body.

A sharp metallic clang rang out, and Shisui was hurled upward as if struck by a hammer. His small sword snapped in half, and the bright, razor-sharp light barely missed him, grazing his cheek before soaring into the sky. With his Sharingan's dynamic vision, he even saw the fine hairs sliced off his face.

Shisui formed a seal with his left hand, using the Body Flicker Technique to land on a rock below. From there, he could clearly see a sharp blade that had pierced the snake's head from below, nearly impaling Shisui along with it. The sword was indeed deadly sharp.

Looking at the broken sword in his hand—his beloved blade of many years, 

It had shattered in just one strike.

That razor-sharp sword, double-edged, had severed his own in half.

**Boom!**

Orochimaru undid the Summoning Jutsu, sending the dead snake back to Ryūchi Cave as a corpse. The other snakes burrowing underground were also dismissed. As the giant snake vanished, Shisui saw Orochimaru, who had emerged with a snake in his mouth, and the long sword that had just extended was quickly retracted into the snake's mouth. Orochimaru then closed his mouth, swallowing the snake again.

This series of actions made Shisui frown in disgust. 

It was revolting. But setting aside the disgusting part, Orochimaru's skills were indeed worthy of his title as one of the Legendary Sannin. His bizarre and unpredictable techniques were proving troublesome for Shisui.

"So, Shisui-kun, are you done? Didn't you say you were going to capture me and take me back to Konoha? Just standing there won't get me to the Leaf Village prison," Orochimaru taunted, standing on a rock with a smile. "Since you won't come to me, I'll come to you."

Orochimaru mocked Shisui, once again opening his mouth and summoning another sword from a snake. This time, unlike the previous double-edged sword, it was a single-edged katana.

Shisui remained calm, making no unnecessary movements, his scarlet eyes focused on Orochimaru as he quickly approached, katana in hand.

The reason Shisui hadn't moved was that there were three Orochimarus approaching him.

After summoning the katana, Orochimaru had used a clone technique, making it difficult to discern which was the real one.

**Whoosh!**

Orochimaru suddenly flung his katana like a kunai. Shisui frowned but swiftly deflected the three thrown blades with his broken sword. Two of the blades turned into white smoke upon impact, revealing them as fake like shadow clones.

The only real katana plunged into the waves behind Shisui and vanished.

At the same time, 

The three Orochimarus racing towards the shore suddenly stopped, their hands completing seals as they moved. They inhaled deeply, and then a barrage of wind bullets shot at Shisui, leaving crater-sized holes in the rocks behind him and turning the ocean's surface into a honeycomb of holes.

If it weren't for Shisui's impressive Body Flicker Technique, he would have been riddled with holes by the onslaught.

**Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets!**

Though only a C-rank Wind Release technique, both Wind and Fire techniques were known for their devastating power. And when used by one of the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru, such destruction was to be expected. This attack was just an appetizer; the real show was yet to come!

What followed was a symphony of techniques: Water Release, Lightning Release, Fire Release, Earth Release, and Wind Release. The five elemental nature transformations flowed effortlessly from Orochimaru and his two clones, ravaging the rocky shore until only a few isolated rocks remained standing in the sea.

Those rocks were far from the shore.

Shisui glanced around. Was Orochimaru forcing him into the sea? But what would that accomplish? Any ninja with even a year or two of mission experience could use the basic water-walking technique.

Or was there something he was missing?

As Shisui pondered, Orochimaru and his clones sprinted across the water towards him, prompting Shisui to dismiss his doubts and grip his broken sword tighter. He still had kunai in his pouch, but being accustomed to using a sword, he didn't switch out the broken blade.

In terms of length, his broken sword wasn't much longer than a kunai.

And for the upcoming battle, 

It seemed his sword wouldn't be of much use. The red in Shisui's eyes deepened, the three black tomoe not yet morphing, but his visual prowess had already surpassed the standard three-tomoe Sharingan.

Orochimaru reached the rocks again, 

Launching a Snake Hand Strike once more, clearly a feint. Meanwhile, his two clones flanked from both sides, one manipulating the sea with a Water Release, the other slashing the rock beneath Shisui with **Wind Release: Vacuum Wave**.

"You're not the real one,"

Leaping into the air, Shisui saw the Orochimaru in front of him disintegrate into a mass of snakes under his **Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique**. After destroying the first clone, Shisui turned to the left, using another Genjutsu on the second Orochimaru, who also dissolved into snakes.

"And neither are you."

The final Orochimaru on the right, the one using Water Release, was also a clone.

Still another fake.

In the next second, 

Shisui felt a hand grab his ankle from beneath the water. Orochimaru's neck stretched like a giraffe's, his mouth opening wide, ready to perform his snake-sword trick once more. But this time, with his legs immobilized, Shisui had no way to use the Body Flicker Technique to escape.

And that wasn't all.

Behind him, 

A katana glinted as it rose from the water, flying towards Shisui's back with deadly intent.

"Got you."

Orochimaru's smile twisted, but the voice wasn't his. With his mouth occupied by the snake-sword trick, he couldn't speak. It was Shisui who had spoken. Orochimaru looked down at the nearly piercing sword, but there was no fear on Shisui's face. In that instant, Orochimaru lost sight of Shisui's expression; his vision was filled with endless crimson.

"Caw—caw—" 

The sound of crows echoed in the sky.

After being silent for a long time, the crows suddenly swooped down with loud caws, knocking away the katana aimed at Shisui's back. The katana, now off-angle, pierced through Shisui's shoulder. A burst of blood sprayed out, but in the end, it didn't take Shisui's life.

The elaborate calculations between the two finally came to a close. The final result... Shisui claimed a narrow victory. He used his injury as the price to seize the chance to capture Orochimaru's true body, subduing him with genjutsu. But as he looked at the immobilized Orochimaru, Shisui's expression grew strange.

"Orochimaru's resistance to genjutsu is this low?"

If I had known earlier, 

I would have used genjutsu from the start.

(End of chapter)