Chapter 48: Illegal Experiments

                                    

                                          


                          
"Orochimaru is far too dangerous to be allowed to go rogue." Danzo informed the squadron of Anbu knelt before him. "Even when Hiruzen and I disagree on most things, I agree with him on this, Orochimaru must not be allowed to escape." 
                          
The Anbu team took no time to receive any additional orders before disappearing from the room leaving behind one little boy who intently stared at Danzo. 
                          
 "You will go ahead to the Irubi clan hideout and warn them of Orochimaru's arrival." instructed Danzo. "Do not let yourself be seen by the others."
                          
 Kinoe nodded before also disappearing. 
                          
Team Ra travelled outside of Konoha village in the direction which Orochimaru escaped when his hideout was uncovered and his illegal experiments came to light. Katsuko was quiet about the situation, she was just as shocked as her previous teammates who heard that their sensei has gone rogue. Now Katsuko would be the one to kill him if they found him. 
                          
 The team knew of Orochimaru's strength. Going against a Legendary Sannin was a suicide mission. 
                          
Yuzuki trailed ahead of her team, her sharingan active, they weren't far behind the Anbu the Third Hokage sent after Orochimaru and they were quickly approaching. 
                          
They passed by several Anbu bodies laying dead on the forest floor and strewn across branches. They were going the right way. Katsuko gulped knowing this was the work of her Sensei. 
                          
 "Ahead!" Yuzuki's voice called and Katsuko's yellow eyes darted ahead to see Orochimaru fleeing. They drew their swords flanking Orochimaru. 
                          
Orochimaru suddenly turned and released a dozen kunai to which the they easily deflected. Unknowingly  snakes dropped from the tree canopy in an attempt to bite and poison the pursuing Anbu. 
                          
 Yuzuki was quick to blow fire from her mouth burning the falling snakes into ash. Orochimaru growled irritably.
                          
 Katsuko leaped ahead knowing it was her duty to protect her village, even if meant killing her own sensei. She raised her sword high and swung with a mighty blow only to find Orochimaru had leaped over her head. Their eyes met and she saw the evil they contained. 
                          
 Cage and West collided with Orochimaru and crossed their blades to slice his throat. Orochimaru's slender fingers grasped their wrists and turned their swords away and used their own fists to punch themselves before jumping into the air to avoid Poh's attack from behind. His sword was outstretched but he left his back open allowing a shuriken to pierce him. 
                          
 Cat threw herself at Orochimaru's front when Katsuko aimed for his back and Yuzuki coming from above. 
                          
With a great thrust of wind, Orochimaru blew back all three girls. Katsuko's back slammed into a tree and suddenly found Orochimaru's hand around her throat. 
                          
 "You would betray me, your own Sensei?" he said with the flick of his snake like tongue. Katsuko however remained silent. "A pity. You hold such potential. Come with me." he offered. "Come with me and I can teach you great things." 
                          
 The protocols forbid Katsuko to speak. Her yellow eyes trailed passed Orochimaru's shoulder to see Yuzuki's eyes staring past her mask. Her team leader who's eyes only told her to fight back. 
                          
Yuzuki threw a kunai and Orochimaru snatched the kunai with his free hand from the air. His snake eyes gazed over the familiar thunder kunai before realisation struck him, Yuzuki appeared before his eyes and he barely had enough time to dodge the swift swipe of her blade. 
                          
 Orochimaru gazed his own reflection in the clean metal when strands of hair was cut from his head. He leaped back discarding the thunder kunai. 
                          
"Impressive." he said. "Almost had me-" again Yuzuki appeared beside him and she thrusted her blade forward. Orochimaru was quicker however. He managed to direct the blade sideways and it struck the tree instead of his body. His eyes met with the two sharingan behind the mask and he realised what he was up against. 
                          
Katsuko launched herself into Orochimaru and sent him flying back into the ground. They rolled and he pushed her from him. Cage came flying from the trees with a paper bomb attached to a kunai. The kunai was deflected and exploded above their heads. 
                          
Team Ra all attacked at once. They came down with hard blows of their swords. Orochimaru fought hard in dodging and deflecting their attacks, especially with a sharingan user. 
                          
Orochimaru then made a series of hand seals; Ox → Dog → Dragon → Rat → Dog → Boar → Snake → Tiger. All in one quick motion there was a hundred shadow clones surrounding them and in an instance they turned into shuriken which then all flew to attack the anbu team. 
                          
 Yuzuki was quicker. She activated her mangekyou sharingan and a deep crimson humanoid figure came to surround her team as the kunai deflected off the red armour. This time her susanoo was different. It wasn't just the ribcage to surround her, this time it was half a susanoo structure. The face wore an oni mask with two horns and a grisly snarl with protruding fangs. The eyes were dark and shallow with two glowing orbs. 
                          
 Katsuko's mouth fell gasp behind her mask. She was sure her teammates felt the same standing inside the structure. Even Orochimaru who stood on a branch to witness this turn of events was more than impressed. 
                          
Yuzuki raised her right arm and the susanoo followed. She then swung her arm and the susanoo swiped threw the trees where Orochimaru stood. The one swipe was enough to clear nearly a dozen trees and hit Orochimaru in the process. He was slung across the land like a rag doll and it was enough to make Yuzuki believe she might have killed him. 
                          
 "Is he dead?" Cage asked with a deep rough. 
                          
Yuzuki turned to Katsuko and nodded. The susanoo dematerialised and Katsuko set out to search for any sign of Orochimaru still being alive. She came to crouch on a branch and scanned the area. She found no sign of Orochimaru.
                          
And Katsuko was glad she didn't. Even if she did she had intentions of letting him go. After all, he was her sensei and she cared about him. 
                          
 "He's gone." she reported back. "There's no trace, he must have used a teleportation technique." 
                          
Yuzuki sighed when her hand suddenly flew to her mask as if to grasp her face in pain. She scrunched her eyes closed feeling them throb. 
                          
 "Are you okay?" Katsuko asked worried.
                          
 "There's nothing more we can do here." said Yuzuki. "Collect Poh, and let's head back." 
                          
Cat leaned over Poh's body to find him still breathing and groaning with pain. "He's alive." she informed touching the shuriken embedded into his back and he grunted. 
                          
Yuzuki came to stand over them and Cat peered up with pleading eyes. The protocol would be to end his life. "Pick him up, we leave no one behind." she ordered and relief washed over Cat. 
                          
 Cage and West came to sling Poh's arms around their shoulder and they helped their teammate to his feet. 
                          
"Did you really think Uni would order us to kill him?" Katsuko asked Cat seeing the relief.
                          
 "Well..."
                          
 "She's not like that, you know." Katsuko gestured to Yuzuki who leaped into the trees with Cage and West following with Poh's injured body. "She's here to protect us and the village." 
                          
 "But that power- it's incredible. I've never seen anything like it." 
                          
 "Yeah, she's..."
                          
 "Do you really think the Uchiha orchestrated the Nine Tails attack?"
                          
Shock struck Katsuko. "What. What do you mean by that?"
                          
 "I didn't believe it until now." said Cat with a nod of her head. Her brown locks bouncing. "But, with power like that, I'm sure they did it."
                          
Katsuko then grabbed Cat by the scruff of her uniform and snarled. "Don't you dare accuse her of anything. She is my best friend and she's already lost two teammates and her sensei. Don't you dare ever say that again." she shoved Cat back angrily. "She's only here to protect us and I am here to protect her."