The Rogue Ninja: Orochimaru

The Third Hokage takes a team of Anbu to raid one of Orochimaru's many hidden storehouses and seize the traitor. Rather than clash with the man who once trained him, Orochimaru slips free and becomes a fugitive. Heading toward the edge of the country, he is ambushed by Kakashi, whom he brushes aside with little trouble. A snake then slithers up to him, and because he does not notice the paper bomb tucked inside it, the blast leaves him gravely wounded.

Under Danzo's orders, Kinoe travels to a rendezvous point to guide Orochimaru over the Land of Fire's frontier. Instead of the sannin, he encounters the unusual clan that dwells there in service to Orochimaru. A young girl among them, Yukimi, becomes certain that Kinoe is Tenzo, the brother she lost long ago, a case of mistaken identity that anchors the arc's quieter thread.

The episode is part of Kakashi's Anbu Arc, subtitled The Shinobi That Lives in the Darkness, and expands on Orochimaru's defection years before the main story. A continuity wrinkle stands out: during the Chunin Exam preliminaries Orochimaru claimed Kakashi lacked the Sharingan at their previous meeting, yet this flashback shows Kakashi already wielding it, contradicting that remark.