Chapter 21—Obedience

Orochimaru crested a large, grassy hill overlooking a sprawling valley. He had been running for hours to come to this place and he decided it would be wise to rest before dealing with Manda. He went to the bottom of the hill and sat down, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep to the steady sound of the river that cut through the valley.

He did not sleep long – just long enough to recover his energy. The shifting clouds threw a ray of sunlight across his face and he stirred, getting to his feet and stretching a little. Then, with a smirk, he bit his thumb and dragged a line of blood across the seal on his arm. Manda appeared before him in an explosion of white smoke. When the haze cleared, the dark eyes locked on Orochimaru and a vicious hiss sliced across the quiet valley.

"Orochimaru," Manda thundered. "You presumptuous bastard. How dare you summon me again after dismissing me like that? You think you can do whatever you want?" He lowered his head almost to the ground, level with Orochimaru and only a few yards away. Fangs taller than the human before him flashed as he spoke. "I'll eat you right now if you don't give me an explanation."

Manda could have closed the insignificant gap between them in a second and Orochimaru knew it, but he did not back down or step away. He was completely composed as he answered, "I thought you might get unreasonable. I summoned you here to fix that."

"Hn," Manda sneered. "How arrogant. I don't see any sacrifices. I want at least 300 this time – and none of your leftover experiments."

Orochimaru laughed and the snake seethed, baring his fangs.

"It seems it's been too long," Orochimaru said. "Since I reminded you of why you serve me."

Manda shot forward, mouth wide and hissing. Orochimaru felt the wave of heat before leaping straight up, out of the way of the snake's great maw. He struck Manda's head as he came back down, driving it into the ground. Large chunks of grass and dirt were torn up as Manda skidded forward, propelled by his own momentum.

He quickly shook off the blow and realized Orochimaru was standing on his head. Manda reared violently, trying to shake him off, but Orochimaru crouched down, attempting to use his chakra to cling to the smooth purple scales. Manda countered with his own chakra, disrupting the technique and Orochimaru began to slip. Only seconds before Manda threw his head back, Orochimaru pulled out the Kusanagi. As he slid further down Manda's body, he dug the blade into the tough skin along his back. This kept him from falling, but he quickly decided it was not worth trying to stay where he was, and it seemed Manda had hardly even felt the wound.

Orochimaru wrenched the blade free and jumped down, and immediately, Manda whipped around and shot toward him again. Orochimaru moved aside and the snake rushed by, but his tail lashed out as it passed. This attempt missed as well and the heavy tail smashed into the ground, causing it to shake and buckle. By the time the dust had settled, Manda had disappeared underground.

Orochimaru waited, knowing Manda would soon strike, and when he did, Orochimaru was a step ahead once again. He jumped back, moving just out of Manda's reach, and at this failure, the snake rose up indignantly and hissed, "Is that all you're going to do? Hold still so I can kill you!"

Orochimaru stood his ground and stared back at Manda, silently challenging him, and Manda shot forward, hissing viciously.

At the last second, Orochimaru drove the Kusanagi sword into the ground at his side, bit both of his thumbs, and pressed his palms to the earth. "Rashōmon," he said calmly, and a massive, demonic gate rose up between them. Manda smashed into it and the valley shook once again, but the gate held and the giant snake thudded to the ground, stunned from the impact. Orochimaru dismissed the Rashōmon, picked up his sword, and walked over to Manda.

"Don't get reckless just because you know you can't win," he said, and he sunk the blade deep into the snake's thick hide once again.

Manda slowly shook off his stupor and glanced around to find Orochimaru. When he spotted him, Orochimaru was dragging the bloodstained blade out of the fresh wound.

"Ha!" Manda twisted around to face him again. "I don't even feel that. What do you intend to accomplish with such a tiny wound?"

The powerful jaws descended on Orochimaru, and as Manda continued to strike at him again and again, Orochimaru continued to evade him, but for each attempt Manda made, Orochimaru found an opportunity to stab him.

Then, suddenly, Orochimaru sank into the earth. Manda halted his attack before he crashed into the ground. Then he saw it. The grass in the valley was painted red with blood. He hadn't paused in his assault to realize how weak he was becoming. He coiled himself slightly and saw the rivulets of blood flowing along the whole length of his body. Orochimaru emerged slowly from the ground before him.

"You're a coward," Manda snapped, slightly breathless.

Then he was frozen, caught in Orochimaru's temporary paralysis technique.

Orochimaru ran the tips of his fingers down the flat of the Kusanagi's blade. "I could keep you paralyzed like this, and you would slowly bleed to death." He raised the sword. "I could cut out your eyes or your tongue. I could burn you to ash. I could even make you kill yourself." His voice became colder. Darker. "I don't need a disobedient servant."

"Orochimaru…" Manda hissed. "You bastard."

Orochimaru stepped closer, pointing the sword inches from Manda's eye. "I am willing to come to an understanding." Manda stared at the blade in tense silence and Orochimaru continued. "I need to know that you understand that I am stronger than you."

Manda struggled against the paralysis to no avail. "Don't… let your guard down, Orochimaru. You have your weaknesses. If you give me the chance, I will get you back for this."

Orochimaru laughed. "Good," he said. "I think you do understand." He lowered the sword and turned away, breaking the paralysis. He was about to walk away but he stopped.

"One last thing…" He turned back suddenly and slashed the Kusanagi's blade across Manda's eye. Manda let out a screeching hiss and began to thrash wildly, blood from his eye and body drenching the valley.

"Maybe you won't forget so easily next time," Orochimaru said. He dismissed the summoning and the great snake vanished, the last of the spraying blood raining softly into the grass.

Orochimaru walked over to the river and sat down beside it, lowering his sword into the water and watching the blood lift from its blade and wash away with the current. His clothes and body were also covered with blood and even as he cleaned away what he could, he knew he would not be able to hide the stains from Tsunade.

I'll deal with that when I come to it, he thought, and he tilted his head back, wrapping his tongue around the sword and pulling it back into his mouth. He sighed and stood.

I suppose it would be all right to head back. He started walking at an easy pace. I doubt I'll make it back tonight anyway.

I wonder… if she's made her decision. A creeping, strained anxiety drove him to walk a little faster. I shouldn't have told her to talk to Jiraiya.

It suddenly occurred to him that Tsunade's sense of guilt and blind devotion coupled with Jiraiya's support had the potential to drive her away. If that were the case… she could already be gone.

He broke into a run.