Konoha's Tatsuya

Arriving at the serpent's lair, Mizuki and Chishima Matsu were immediately overwhelmed by the colossal size of the snake. In the ninja world, a summon's strength was generally directly proportional to its size. The stronger the summon, the larger it tended to be. The adage "power overcomes skill" was particularly applicable to large-scale summons.

To ensure their success, the pair, already mentally prepared, had devised a strategy: Mizuki would act as a frontal distraction, while Chishima Matsu would use Water Release techniques from the shadows to restrain the beast.

However, the moment Mizuki made his move, the awakened Azure Serpent (Seiryu) sent him flying with a single flick of its tail. Chishima Matsu, stunned by this sudden turn of events, was half a beat late in executing his Water Release.

This brief missed opportunity was all the enraged serpent needed. It relentlessly pursued the two ninjas, thrashing wildly. Caught off guard, the pair found themselves utterly outmatched by the enormous Azure Serpent. Ordinary blades and ninjutsu couldn't even scratch its scales.

Boom! Rumble!

With no other option, they could only dodge and evade, the serpent's powerful strikes felling tree after tree in the forest around them.

"We can't let it continue this rampage. I'll hold it off. You go back to the village and call for reinforcements!" Mizuki shouted, halting his retreat after several minutes of this destructive chase. He was panting heavily, trees uprooted and scattered everywhere in the Death Forest.

He pulled out a scroll from his pouch, bit his finger, and pressed it to the scroll. A summoning formula immediately activated.

Given the power the Azure Serpent displayed, even Mizuki, who specialized in close-quarters combat, wouldn't fare well if he took a direct hit. In any other location, the two might have been able to use their agility to evade and wear down the serpent's stamina. But this was the Death Forest, the very place they were tasked to protect. If they allowed the Azure Serpent to continue its rampage, their mission would be a complete failure.

Poof!

A cloud of white smoke erupted, and a massive cleaver appeared in Mizuki's hands.

Brandishing the giant blade, Mizuki immediately charged towards the rapidly approaching serpent, aiming a powerful blow directly at its head.

Clang!

A deafening metallic shriek echoed as the blade connected. An immense force of recoil surged up through the hilt.

Mizuki felt his cleaver stall the instant it touched the serpent's scales. The sheer force of the impact ripped the weapon from his grasp, sending him flying backward.

As he tumbled through the air, the enraged Azure Serpent lunged, its jaws gaping wide, ready to swallow Mizuki whole.

Hiss!

Even before the serpent's head reached him, a pungent, foul-smelling odor assaulted his nostrils.

No!

Mizuki, helpless in mid-air, had no time to react. His face paled as he braced for impact, desperately crossing the massive cleaver in front of his chest to defend against the serpent's ferocious attack.

"No!" Chishima Matsu, witnessing the impending doom, let out a heart-wrenching cry from a distance. He sprinted towards the serpent, his voice breaking with despair.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Just as the tragic scene was about to unfold, a raspy voice cut through the air. Several white snakes, intertwined and coiling, shot out from the air, swiftly extending towards Mizuki. They wrapped around him and yanked him backward, pulling him to safety.

Thud!

The Azure Serpent, having bitten at empty air, slammed its massive body onto the ground, raising a cloud of dust and debris.

Chishima Matsu abruptly stopped in his tracks.

Beneath a large tree, the dust settled, revealing the Azure Serpent coiled upon itself, its tongue flicking out. Its eyes were fixed intently on Orochimaru, who stood perched on a branch of the tree. Perhaps sensing the sinister and powerful aura emanating from Orochimaru, the serpent hesitated to launch another reckless attack.

"Lord Orochimaru..." Mizuki, still shaken from his near-death experience, stood on the ground. He turned to see that Orochimaru was the one who had saved him and immediately bowed in respect. He had truly believed he was about to die.

"Tsk, tsk! What a surprise! To think such a massive serpent would appear in the village. And it possesses an immense amount of chakra... Could it be someone's summon?" Orochimaru, however, ignored Mizuki. His gaze, like that of someone admiring a priceless treasure, was completely focused on the Azure Serpent below. He clicked his tongue in admiration.

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office...

"Hmm? Is the disturbance already this significant?" Minato Namikaze, who had been immersed in paperwork, sensed the commotion from afar. He looked up towards the western part of the village and murmured softly to himself.

Before his voice had even faded, Minato's figure vanished from the spot.

Back in the Death Forest, in a flash, Minato Namikaze, wearing his Hokage hat and official robes, appeared on a tree branch not far from Orochimaru and the others.

The sudden appearance of Minato made the Azure Serpent even more wary. It sensed a similar, immense threat emanating from this human.

"Lord Hokage..." Mizuki and Chishima Matsu, seeing Minato, immediately bowed their heads in shame.

The Hokage's personal arrival meant that their mission had, unequivocally, failed.

Orochimaru's gaze shifted from the serpent to Minato. He glanced at the younger man but remained silent.

While Orochimaru admired Minato's abilities, the young man who had defeated him in the election for Hokage, he felt no sense of reverence or fondness for him.

Although Orochimaru himself did not have a strong desire for the Hokage position, the fact that the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had not supported his own student in the election, instead choosing Minato, left a bitter taste in Orochimaru's mouth.

This bitterness gnawed at Orochimaru like a persistent knot. He interpreted it as a lack of recognition from his once-revered teacher regarding his abilities.

Years later, after Orochimaru defected from Konoha, his plan to destroy the village was not only a rejection of the Third Hokage's governing philosophy, but also an outpouring of his resentment over this past defeat.

"Lord Orochimaru, I didn't expect even you to be alerted!" Minato, unfazed by Orochimaru's behavior, spoke first.

Orochimaru was Jiraiya's teammate, one of the legendary Sannin of Konoha who had achieved great renown for the village. Minato could not, and would not, put on airs with him. It simply wasn't his personality.

"Lord Orochimaru, does this serpent have some connection to you?" Minato continued, his gaze quickly shifting from Orochimaru to the enormous serpent below. He couldn't help but ask, intrigued.

Although Minato was famous throughout the ninja world as the Yellow Flash for his Flying Thunder God Technique, as Jiraiya's student, he had also trained in Sage Mode and could enter it. He sensed a faint fluctuation of natural energy within the Azure Serpent.

As far as he knew, only Mount Myoboku and Ryuchi Cave, the two great sage regions, possessed knowledge of Sage Mode training. And, coincidentally, many of Orochimaru's techniques involved snakes. His summons were also snakes, and more than one at that. The most powerful among them, Manda, hailed from Ryuchi Cave.

Therefore, Minato subconsciously assumed that this serpent had some connection to Orochimaru.

"This is the first time I've seen this serpent. I have no idea of its origins. However, regardless, we must capture it first! Summoning Technique!" Orochimaru shook his head, his golden eyes constantly scrutinizing the serpent. Without further ado, he bit his finger and began to summon his own creature.

Orochimaru was not interested in the Azure Serpent's size and strength. What truly captivated him was its rapid growth and the immense chakra it contained.

A sudden whirlwind appeared, and an even larger serpent materialized beneath Orochimaru's feet. This serpent was significantly larger than the Azure Serpent. Immediately upon appearing, it lunged at the Azure Serpent at Orochimaru's command.

Boom!

The two colossal serpent heads collided, intertwining and coiling. The force of the impact generated a powerful gale that ripped through the surrounding area.

When facing a large summon, the best course of action was undoubtedly to summon an equally massive creature to combat it. Orochimaru wanted to test the Azure Serpent's true power.