The More Things Change

Chapter Eleven

Orochimaru was unhappy. Both Slyther and Cobrac had been defeated by those infernal toads, courtesy of the Kyuubi Jinchuriki. Taking a deep breath, the Sannin smirked behind his flesh mask, calming himself. It was no matter. He had originally been worried that the idiotic Jiraiya had somehow knew of his return to Konoha, but it seemed that the Toad Sennin had simply allowed a boy to sign the Toad Contract.

The Snake Summoner was certain that the blonde boy was running low on chakra. Honestly, Orochimaru was surprised that the blonde was still conscious after summoning two of the Greater Toads. He had impressive chakra reserves, for a Genin, but the Sannin was certain that the boy had hit his limit.

Orochimaru chuckled as he stepped from behind a tree. He was going to enjoy this far more than he should. He'd kill the Jinchuriki and the meddling girl slowly and in the most painful way he could imagine, then mark Satsuki. He watched the three Genin move into a basic arrowhead formation, causing the Sannin to chuckle again. The blonde moved to the front, a kunoichi flanking each side. The boy whispered a few orders to his teammates.

"You fools!" Orochimaru laughed, amused by their audacity. "Do you honestly think that any strategy you weaklings come up with will be able to hurt me?" The Sannin ripped off his flesh mask. "I am Orochimaru of the Sannin! You stand no chance!"

The boy seemed unaffected, while his teammates paled. "I don't care who you are!" the boy shouted, his eyes cold. "We're going to take you down! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" The boy formed the Tiger seal, and over a hundred clones surrounded Orochimaru. Impressed in spite of himself, the Sannin laughed as he started cutting though them two and three at a time.

Naruto grinned as he watched the powerful shinobi take the bait. Four of his clones leaped to his side, allowing Naruto to plant explosive tags on their backs. He gave a nod to Satsuki, and she tensed, her legs coiling beneath her.

With a shout, his suicide bombers charged the Sannin, who was just finishing off the last of his clones. These clones died just as quickly as their brethren, but as each one perished the explosive tags on their backs stayed behind, hidden in the smoke that accompanied the defeat of their carrier.

"Go!" Naruto shouted at Satsuki, pushing his fingers into the Ram seal. The Uchiha heiress leaped high into the air as explosions decimated the tree branch that the Sannin had been standing on. Naruto spied Orochimaru escaping the blast at high speed. As Satsuki rained down a series of fireballs from on high, Naruto pulled out his secret weapon. This was going to be good.

He nodded to Sakura, and the rosette jumped from the branch and disappeared from view. Orochimaru twisted and contorted his body at obscene angles to evade Satsuki's fireballs, but they were just a distraction. As the Sannin landed, he had to immediately dodge a hail of shuriken and kunai from Sakura's hiding spot. Naruto finally leaped from his perch and drew his arm back.

Orochimaru was getting irritated. These brats had managed to keep him on the run. He wasn't worried about one of them actually landing a hit, but he was annoyed that they had forced him to remain defensive. He was Orochimaru! No Genin team, regardless of talent or teamwork, should be able to put him on his heels.

As he dodged another series of fireballs from Satsuki, the Sannin contorted his body into impossible positions. Most other shinobi would be long dead by now. The brats obviously worked well together, but teamwork could only make up for so much. He almost missed the Jinchuriki hurtling towards him, his fist drawn back in preparation for a heavy haymaker. What did the boy think he could accomplish. The Sannin smirked as he moved his head to the side to dodge the blow.