The Uzumaki Legacy

Land of Tea mission 2

The dense canopy of the Land of Tea's forests cast dappled shadows across the worn dirt path as Orochimaru and his three students escorted their client through the verdant landscape.

Suddenly, Hana froze mid-step, her eyes widening as brilliant streams of hostile chakra blazed across her vision like deadly auroras. The sensation was overwhelming - two distinct signatures, each pulsing with lethal intent, their chakra networks glowing with the refined control that only came from years of intensive training.

"Sensei!" she gasped, her hand instinctively clutching at her chest as the intensity of their pursuers' chakra signatures threatened to overwhelm her senses. "Two shinobi... they're..." She stumbled slightly, and Shisui quickly moved to steady her.

"Hana, what do you see?" Orochimaru asked sharply, his serpentine eyes narrowing as he observed his student's distress.

Taking a deep breath, Hana forced herself to focus . "Their chakra... it's unlike anything I've seen in regular bandits. The first one's chakra flows like liquid mercury, cold and precise - assassination training, definitely ANBU-level control. The second..." She shuddered. "Their chakra burns like black fire, twisted with something dark... possibly forbidden jutsu modifications."

Shisui's Sharingan activated instantly, the tomoe spinning as he scanned their surroundings. Beside him, Shima immediately began gathering healing chakra in her hands, ready to support her teammates if needed.

"Distance and direction?" Orochimaru demanded, his own chakra coiling like a serpent ready to strike.

"Three hundred meters, moving in a pincer formation," Hana replied, her voice steadying as she continued to track the signatures. "The mercury one is approaching from the northeast, the dark one from the northwest. They're trying to hem us in against the ravine ahead."

"They're masking their presence so well," she added, awe and fear mixing in her voice. "If it weren't for my sensory ability , we would have never detected them until it was too late."

Orochimaru's serpentine eyes flickered briefly toward their client, Zhoa, who had begun to perspire noticeably despite the pleasant morning temperature. The legendary Sannin had already suspected something was amiss about this supposedly simple C-rank escort mission, but he had chosen to wait, to observe, to let the truth reveal itself as it inevitably would.

The attack came swiftly, but Orochimaru was faster. His body moved like liquid shadow, his neck extending unnaturally as he struck at the first ninja with devastating precision. "Lightning Style: Serpent's Strike," he hissed, his voice carrying the same deadly grace as the technique itself. The pursuing ninja didn't even have time to scream as the lightning-infused chakra tore through his body, leaving nothing but the acrid smell of burned flesh in its wake.

The second ninja, realizing the futility of their mission, performed a series of hand signs that Shisui's Sharingan immediately recognized. "Sensei, he's going to-" But before the young Uchiha could finish his warning, the ninja had already triggered a suicide jutsu, his body dissolving into a cascade of purple flame that left nothing behind to interrogate.

The forest fell silent save for the gentle rustling of leaves and Zhoa's increasingly panicked breathing. Orochimaru turned to face their client, killing intent radiating from his form like waves of arctic cold. "Explain," he commanded, his voice soft but carrying an edge sharper than any kunai.

Zhoa fell to his knees, his previous facade of a simple merchant crumbling like autumn leaves. "I... I had no choice," he stammered, his fine clothes now soiled with dirt and sweat. "I am the heir to the Land of Tea's daimyo position. There are those who would see me dead before I can assume my father's place. I couldn't risk traveling with an obvious high-ranked escort - it would have drawn too much attention. So I... I requested a C-rank mission instead."