As soon as Kuroto entered the secret room, he saw the figure of Orochimaru sitting on a chair and reading the content on a scroll.

Noticing that Kuroto walked in, Orochimaru spoke in his signature hoarse voice, "Kuroto-Kun, I have a doubt." ​​

"What could that be, Orochimaru-Sama!?" – asked Kuroto while still standing at the door.

Orochimaru didn't rush to speak anything, just threw the scroll he was reading a moment ago towards Kuroto with a curious expression.

Catching the scroll, Kuroto opened it and read the information recorded on it.

The information recorded on the scroll was about himself, the latest news it recorded was about the mission that Team-11 was responsible for 'to hunt down the defected-nin, Uchiha Shinichi.'

After reading everything, Kuroto folded back the scroll and said with an innocent smile, "It seems that you have been paying quite a bit of attention to me, Orochimaru-Sama."

Orochimaru licked his lips and added an extra circle around his mouth while he said, "You have been growing so fast that I am afraid that I can't afford to ignore you, Kuroto-Kun!"

Kuroto nodded calmly, "Thank you for the compliment, Orochimaru-Sama!"

Orochimaru was a little doubtful at the moment, as Kuroto's calmness made him feel a little strange.

Compared to the rest of the World, Orochimaru has a better understanding of the Shinobi named Hyuga Kuroto, after all, the kid has been nurtured by him, and he perfectly understands the kid's character.

Initially, Orochimaru took Hyuga Kuroto under his wing because he was reminded of his own childhood, and considering that Kuroto's parents were his subordinates, Orochimaru decided to take the child under him.

His talent as a researcher was just an added benefit.

It was strange that Kuroto-Kun continued reminding of his younger self the more he interacted with the kid, the only problem was the kid's talent as a shinobi.

Orochimaru knows that the world is cruel, what could a kid with very meagre talent as a Shinobi do to survive…? He had to find that out… there was a reason behind it.

Although Hyuga Kuroto was not a very talented child, unlike him. The kid still had that desperate look in his eyes, this has always convinced Orochimaru that the kid will grow.

Why was Orochimaru so sure?

Because Orochimaru knew that the kid was just like him!

And look what do we have here… the kid that used to be so scared of him when he started as a genin… has grown into someone who has the confidence to stand up to him?

Orochimaru would never express it, but he is highly proud of his disciple, and somewhere in his heart Orochimaru knows that this kid is the only straw still connecting him with Humanity.

But be that as it may, there is still a need to test the kid, Orochimaru knows that Kuroto-Kun has become the Jinchuriki of the Dragon Vein, so it's about time he tests his disciple, and see if Kuroto is ready to graduate.

Of course, Kuroto was unaware of Orochimaru's thoughts… and if he was… he would be highly stunned… but that wouldn't be happening… as Orochimaru would rather die than show this on his face.

After all, that's not his style!

Orochimaru is a ruthless cold snake that would do anything to achieve his goal!

And for that purpose, he acts, witnessing Hyuga Kuroto's growth is just a good pastime for him.

After groaning a little, Orochimaru asked, "I heard that you not only fought against Uchiha Shinichi but even defeated him?"

Kuroto smirked when he heard this question and just nodded slightly, "I did fight him for a while, but to say that I defeated him would be an exaggeration, after all, you should be aware that Uchiha Shinichi has awakened the legendary Mangekyou Sharingan, so even if I have grown strong, how could I defeat someone like him, right Orochimaru-Sama?"

Orochimaru's questioning about Uchiha Shinichi was within Kuroto's expectations, and Kuroto suspected that Orochimaru was targeting Shinichi's Mangekyou Sharingan.

After all, in the original plot, it was only after Itachi Joined Akatsuki that tempted Orochimaru to grow impatient and attacking him.

So, Shinichi appearing in the Akatsuki with a similar situation would obviously tempt Orochimaru.

And exactly as Kuroto expected, Orochimaru asked, "So, what are his Mangekyou Sharingan abilities?"

Kuroto shook his head with an exaggerated look, "I don't know Orochimaru-Sama, other than the fact that it is so strong that no one in Konoha was able to stop him, there is no clear detail, it's actually very confusing."

"Is that so?" – asked Orochimaru with a sharp look.

"Yes! Even Shimura Danzo had to avoid him, initially." – Kuroto nodded without losing his calmness.

"Humph! It appears that I'll have to search for other ways!" – Orochimaru said coldly with a look of disdain.

Kuroto didn't know whether the disdainful look was towards Danzo or Shinichi.

At this time Kuroto said, "Orochimaru-Sama if you plan to deal with Uchiha Shinichi, I advise you to be more cautious against him!"

Since Kuroto needs to inquire about intelligence on Hiruko and going further, he needs the secret technique from Hiruko, therefore he doesn't want Orochimaru leaving the Akatsuki too early, therefore Kuroto advised this.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes towards Kuroto and asked with a vicious smirk, "Oh, and why would you say that, Kuroto-Kun? It's not as if I am going after Uchiha Shinichi specifically, is it?"

Kuroto just shrugged at this question, "It's not really strange for you to go after him, the research value of the Mangekyou Sharingan is well understandable, and considering your goal, it's not that strange to develop an interest in the Mangekyou Sharingan, and then you asked me about Uchiha Shinichi's abilities, so it wasn't hard to guess!"

As soon as Kuroto finished his explanation, "True…" – Orochimaru muttered. And lifting his hand he shot several shadow snakes at him.

Kuroto didn't dodge, just stretched his hand forward as the Kusanagi Sword appeared out of the cuff of his Kimono and he waved that sword very precisely.

Under the cold light of the Kusanagi Sword, all the snake shot from Orochimaru's cuff were cut into several pieces and fell on the ground as they twitched to breathe the last of their life.

Orochimaru wasn't surprised by this and said with a thoughtful expression, "Looks like you have cracked the 'The Caged Bird Seal'!"

Orochimaru was sure of this because if this wasn't the case, then Kuroto would never dare to confront him.

After all, as long as Orochimaru reveals Hyuga Kuroto's identity as a spy, even if Orochimaru doesn't do anything further, Kuroto would surely die by The Caged Bird Seal.

Therefore, Orochimaru was really curious about it.

After dealing with all the snakes, Kuroto just stood silently, neither agreeing nor denying.

Noticing Kuroto's silence, Orochimaru licked his lips again and said, "You really are becoming more and more fascinating Kuroto-Kun, let me see just how many secrets you are trying to hide!"

With that said, he quickly formed hand seals and shouted, "Ten Thousand Snake Formation!"

And instantly, the entire secret room was filled with poisonous snakes.

Hiss… Hiss… Hiss… Hiss… Hiss… Hiss… Hiss… Hiss… Hiss… Hiss… Hiss…

No sound other than hissing reached Kuroto's ears.

Without wasting any more time, Kuroto immediately took out a gas mask from a storage scroll.

After putting the Gas Mask over his face, Kuroto activated the Tenseigan.

Kuroto specifically prepared this gas mask before he set off to the Land of Sound. After all, he does know many of Orochimaru's techniques, so he will naturally guard against them.

In the Tenseigan vision, Kuroto immediately noticed Orochimaru's position and walked towards him with his Kusanagi Sword tapping over his shoulder.

Hiss… Hisss…

The snakes kept coming at Kuroto, but without any exception, they all fell under Kuroto's blade.

If such a thing happened in the past, Kuroto would have obviously used 'Revolving Heaven' to defend, but after experiencing so many battles and life-threatening situations ever since he awakened the Tenseigan, Kuroto has been constantly improving.

Plus, the joint training that Team-11 carries out has improved Kuroto's Kenjutsu skills greatly, because of repeated sparring with Kakashi, Shisui, and Guy.

Orochimaru however sneered as Kuroto approached him, and immediately spit out his own Kusanagi Sword from his belly.

Accompanied by the sound of cutting wind, the sword blade extended at super-fast speed and slashed towards Kuroto.

Kuroto didn't dare to be careless and immediately greeted him.

Clang…

As soon as the two swords met, a sharp sound of metal clashing sounded throughout the hideout.

Orochimaru was a little surprised that Kuroto could resist that slash with his sword and asked suspiciously, "Kusanagi Sword?"

Kuroto immediately took the advantage of this short gap and immediately rushed towards Orochimaru.

Clang… Clang… Clang…

The two didn't speak anymore, nor did they back down, and continued a Kenjutsu battle.

Slash…

Boom…

From the mere sword slash of the two parties, the secret room was starting to break down, as the things kept in the room were chopped into pieces by the sword wind.

Soon, the candle fixed at the walls were cut into pieces and the room turned to darkness, but the battle between the two didn't stop.

Clang… Clang… BOOM…

After a while, the secret room finally couldn't withstand the clash between the two and collapsed.

Along with the smoke and dust, two figures flashed out of it.

Glancing at opposite Orochimaru who just stood lazily with one hand at his waist and waving his sword, Kuroto said with a smile, "As expected, I still can't compare to Orochimaru-Sama in terms of pure Kenjutsu skills, even after I defended each of your strikes, some of the attacks still got through!"

Orochimaru smirk coldly, "Don't be too modest Kuroto-Kun, your taijutsu, and Kenjutsu skills have made great improvement, and if I counted right, fifteen of you attack managed to slash me… that's an overwhelming number… as expected of someone hailed as the most genius Hyuga… you really have become strong… but enough with the chit chat… as its almost time!"

Kuroto was confused and asked doubtfully while tilting his head to the side, "Time for what?"

Tapping the flat surface of the sword on his shoulder, Orochimaru hoarsely said, "You don't think that just because you wore a mask, you wouldn't be affected by the poison present in the air, right Kuroto-Kun?"

"Oh, you mean this?" After a short pause, Kuroto nodded and explained, "Maybe you will be disappointed by the result because even if my skin does absorb the poison, such a low amount wouldn't have much effect on me!"

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Read up to Chapter - 290 on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. Page : p-atreon.com/Milta_translations