Chapter 48: Turning Hostile Faster Than Turning a Page
“So, Lord Bai Ye, what brings you here…”
Su Xiao raised his hand to interrupt Kabuto’s words.
“When speaking to me, drop that disgusting fake smile, or I’ll kill you.”
Zzzt～
The sound of metal wire retracting came as Su Xiao stood up and drew his blade.
Dragon-Slaying Flash slowly slid from its scabbard, its gleaming blade exceptionally dazzling under the night sky.
Cold sweat beaded on Kabuto’s forehead. He could tell Su Xiao wasn’t joking—he really intended to kill him.
“Apologies, Lord Bai Ye. Lord Orochimaru is just…”
Clang!
A blade aura about two meters in diameter slashed out, its speed incredibly fast, reaching Kabuto in an instant.
“Hidden Shadow Snake Hands.”
Dense masses of snakes surged from the nearby forest, blocking in front of Kabuto. The blade aura severed large swaths of venomous snakes before finally grazing past Kabuto and cutting through a massive boulder.
Boom.
The boulder crashed down, and cold sweat dripped from Kabuto’s forehead.
At this stage, Kabuto wasn’t strong—he wasn’t even a match for Kakashi. It was only later, after obtaining Orochimaru’s blood and inheriting the power of the Snake Sage, that Kabuto truly grew powerful.
“Mr. Bai Ye, are you trying to kill my subordinate right in front of me?”
A man with a pale face and long black hair draped over his shoulders walked out from the forest. One of the Three Legendary Ninjas, Orochimaru, had arrived.
But it didn’t matter. If Su Xiao went all out, even if he couldn’t kill Orochimaru, he could beat him to the point where he couldn’t take care of himself.
Orochimaru’s hands had been sealed by the Third Hokage, sealing his soul and preventing him from using most ninjutsu. He could only fight using Soft Body Modification and Summoning Jutsu, unable to use any techniques requiring hand seals.
Fighting with Soft Body Modification meant getting close to Su Xiao. While Orochimaru had incredible survivability, getting close to Su Xiao usually ended badly—just ask Jiraiya, Gaara, or Kakashi.
If Su Xiao were to fight Jiraiya one-on-one, even with an energy shield, he would lose. But if he fought the current Orochimaru, his odds of winning were higher.
After a moment’s hesitation, Su Xiao realized he couldn’t kill Orochimaru, making the fight pointless. He sheathed Dragon-Slashing Flash.
Taking a bite of an apple, Su Xiao crunched it noisily.
“Something?”
Su Xiao’s personality—turning hostile faster than turning a page—clearly startled Orochimaru. After a brief pause, a smile spread across Orochimaru’s face.
“I heard Mr. Bai Ye obtained a Sharingan. I’m very interested in that eye.”
“Oh? Your information network is impressive.”
“You flatter me.”
Orochimaru’s ability to gather intelligence was undeniable. In just a few days, he already knew Su Xiao had taken Kakashi’s Sharingan.
“That eye already has a buyer. That buyer is willing to pay any price.”
While trading with Orochimaru wasn’t a bad option, Obito was far wealthier. That guy had inherited Madara’s legacy, something Orochimaru couldn’t match.
Rejected by Su Xiao, Orochimaru’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if considering a forceful seizure.
“I suggest you drop that idea. Even if I can’t kill you, I can slice you into pieces a dozen times without issue.”
Su Xiao continued munching on his apple, looking relaxed.
“Hehe. Since Mr. Bai Ye won’t trade, so be it. But… Mr. Bai Ye has been waiting for someone here, hasn’t he? And you’ve been waiting for three days.”
“Mm.”
Su Xiao nodded, tossed away the apple core, and pulled another apple from his pocket. The natural apples in the Naruto World tasted quite good.
“This is my territory. If you’re looking for someone, why not tell me about it?”
It seemed Orochimaru was still fixated on that Sharingan. Kakashi’s Sharingan was different from others, and Orochimaru might have noticed this long ago.
Moreover, after being instantly killed by Itachi, Orochimaru had developed an almost obsessive fixation on the Uchiha bloodline.
“It doesn’t matter if I tell you. I’m looking for a man around thirty, with a scar on his face, and his eyes…”
“One eye is blind.”
Before Su Xiao could finish, Orochimaru stated other characteristics of the Violator.
“To be precise, that eye isn’t blind—it’s been transplanted with a special organ, hasn’t it, Mr. Bai Ye?”
Su Xiao stood up, tossing away the half-eaten apple.
“So, he’s in your hands.”
“That’s right. I caught him five days ago, at the cost of dozens of my subordinates’ lives.”
The Violator Su Xiao had been desperately searching for was actually in Orochimaru’s hands. That made sense—the Violator had probably been targeting Orochimaru’s lab, waiting for Orochimaru to die.
But this was Orochimaru’s territory, and before Sasuke had killed Orochimaru, the Violator had been captured instead.
“Can we trade now, Mr. Bai Ye?”
Orochimaru felt he had the upper hand, but he didn’t notice the shift in Su Xiao’s gaze.
“Of course… we can trade.”
As Su Xiao spoke, the ground beneath Kabuto’s feet exploded.
Boom!
The explosion wasn’t strong—it only staggered Kabuto. Just as he was about to leap away, several white snakes formed from Alchemy Bombs emerged from under Kabuto’s feet, quickly coiling around his legs. Within a second, one white snake had wrapped around his neck.
“You’ve seen Deidara’s Explosive Clay, right? This stuff is similar in nature.”
Kabuto, who had been about to move, froze. If those snakes exploded, he would be blown to pieces.
Orochimaru’s expression darkened. Kabuto was crucial to him—his arms’ souls had been sealed by the Third Hokage, and he relied entirely on Kabuto’s medicine to survive.
“This trade is fair. You give me that man in exchange for your subordinate’s life. Did you think I was blind, having me watched for three days?”
Orochimaru had ill intentions. Kabuto had been monitoring the area for three days. Su Xiao initially didn’t want to cause trouble, as Orochimaru was the local power.
But who would have thought these two would push their luck? After learning Su Xiao had the Sharingan, they directly showed up to “negotiate” with him.
Su Xiao didn’t trust Orochimaru’s so-called trade. Kabuto was a double agent, and Orochimaru was a rogue ninja from Konoha and a traitor to the Akatsuki.
Orochimaru pursued science, that was true, but this guy would stop at nothing for immortality. How many thousands or tens of thousands of lives had he used for experiments? Could such a person be trusted?
Su Xiao considered himself a villain, not a trustworthy person. Orochimaru was similar to him, so he didn’t trust Orochimaru. The logic was that simple.
“It seems Mr. Bai Ye misunderstands. That man can be handed over to you, but I’ll choose the trade location…”
Before Orochimaru could finish, Su Xiao pulled the Realm Severing Thread, slicing off one of Kabuto’s ears. Kabuto’s face twitched in pain as he gritted his teeth, not daring to move, already tightly bound by the thread.
“Next time, it’ll be a hand.”
The smile vanished from Orochimaru’s face. A kunai appeared in his hand, and he threw it, aiming straight for Kabuto’s heart.
Pfft.
The kunai pierced Kabuto’s body. Kabuto barely twisted aside, avoiding a fatal hit.
“Although this is a very important subordinate, Mr. Bai Ye should understand—I have many such subordinates.”
Orochimaru’s ruthlessness was on full display.
“Oh? Then kill him.”
Su Xiao tightened the Realm Severing Thread, preparing to slice Kabuto into dozens of pieces.
“Wait.”
Orochimaru spoke, staring intently at Su Xiao.
“That man can be handed over to you, but you must offer something of equal value.”
Su Xiao nodded. This was the proper attitude for a trade. Earlier, Orochimaru had been trying to pull a double-cross.
“How about Tailed Beast Blood?”
“Tailed Beast Blood? Tailed Beasts don’t have blood.”