The Serpent's Pupil

Synopsis
Orochimaru's current host body, Gen'yūmaru, begins to reject him, leaving the sannin to cough up blood and consider initiating his Living Corpse Reincarnation. Kabuto pulls out his Ninja Info Cards from the Chūnin Exam days three years ago, and Orochimaru recalls back when he first encountered Sasuke in the Forest of Death, when he ingested Sasuke's scroll and forced Sasuke to stab himself in the leg with a kunai. He tells Kabuto that he knew that Sasuke was the perfect host body for him when he witnessed Sasuke activate his Sharingan and combine the Manipulating Windmill Triple Blades along with his Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique to burn him when he using Shiore's body; subsequently, he remembers how he had given Sasuke the Cursed Seal of Heaven and had encountered Anko shortly after that. Orochimaru goes on to reminisce about Sasuke had fared in his match against Yoroi Akadō, and how Yoroi had begun using his chakra absorption in an attempt to draw out Sasuke's cursed seal, only for Sasuke to repress it with willpower and defeat Yoroi with his Lion Combo. Kabuto remarks that this is when Orochimaru had decided to stick around and witness the rest of the exams, which Orochimaru claimed was a good idea as Sasuke had improved considerably by his second match, in which he had used the Chidori against Gaara. As Orochimaru continues to hack up blood, Kabuto excuses himself to fetch more medicine.

Kabuto muses how Orochimaru is the only person he'd always be loyal to and faithfully serve, recalling Orochimaru's attack on Konoha, how he managed to kill the Third Hokage and the Fourth Kazekage, and the fact that he was able go up against both Jiraiya and Tsunade. In Konoha, Tsunade is told by an Anbu that the squad sent to the lake have disappeared and that the Three-Tails is no longer there, prompting the Hokage to dispatch another squad. Concurrently, Sasuke remembers observing Itachi perfectly hit all targets with his shurikenjutsu and manages to obliterate all of his targets with his Chidori Current. Satisfied with his progress, he walks to Orochimaru's room, where he uses his Chidori Sharp Spear to go through the door in an attempt to impale Orochimaru's heart. Orochimaru manages to block the attack with his forearms and marvels at the perfect use of both shape and nature transformation as Sasuke uses his sword to slice through the door. He tells Orochimaru that the sannin has nothing left to teach him and reveals that he had all intentions of giving up his body but does not wish to do so now that he is stronger than Orochimaru. He claims that all Orochimaru wanted was the power of the Uchiha Clan and the Sharingan but was unable to handle Itachi, and thus chose to go after the "baby of the clan". He adds that he finds Orochimaru's need for experiments on humans and ingestion of strange medicines in order to disrupt nature disturbing and that he also sees him as pathetic, and goes to further state that geniuses like Orochimaru are considered average when compared to the prowess and talents of the Uchiha clan. Enraged, Orochimaru reveals his true form to Sasuke and attempts to steal his body, only for Sasuke to slice away all the snakes that bind him. Activating his cursed seal to the second stage, he tells Orochimaru that the latter is like a snake who was confined to the ground and wished to fly, and thus nurtured a baby bird in his own nest, only for the baby bird to grow into a hawk that will hunt the snake; Orochimaru then lunges at Sasuke.