"Who is there???"
Orochimaru roared. His colossal killing intent, like water bursting from an open floodgate, was no longer restrained and surged madly from his disproportionately small body.
The chilling, icy killing intent, which regarded all life as insignificant, rushed like a torrential flood toward the direction he sensed.
Simultaneously, Orochimaru's pale hands instantly changed through several jutsu seals.
Forbidden Technique: Shadow Clone Jutsu!
A solid clone immediately appeared by Orochimaru's side. The two ran at high speed, forming a pincer-like position for an enveloping attack.
Faintly, Orochimaru spotted a black shadow in the tree. Without hesitation, he and the Shadow Clone simultaneously drew sharp shuriken from the weapon pouch on their right legs and shouted: "Get out here!"
"Swoosh, swoosh—" Using all their strength, they flung the shuriken toward the black shadow.
The black shadow was momentarily stunned by Orochimaru's astonishing, wave-like killing intent. It only reacted when Orochimaru used the Shadow Clone Jutsu and fired the two shuriken.
Damn it!
The black shadow cursed under its breath, shocked again by the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Its extensive combat experience ensured its hand movements were swift. It quickly crouched low, performing a flawless evasive maneuver that looked straight out of a textbook.
Orochimaru licked his lips, smiling menacingly. The black shadow's reaction was entirely within his expectations. At this moment, the sinister, dominating aura of his past life was fully displayed, the battle entirely under his control. He was like a savage, giant python spotting its desired prey.
Immediately after throwing the shuriken, Orochimaru rapidly began to form seals, and the jutsu seals of his main body and Shadow Clone were completely different.
Ox (Ushi) - Dog (Inu) - Dragon (Tatsu) - Rat (Ne) - Dog (Inu) - Boar (I) - Snake (Mi) - Tiger (Tora)
Orochimaru gave an icy smile. His jutsu was complete. His sharp eyes were like swords and knives as he drank in a low voice: "Die!"
Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!
The two sharp shuriken began to hum with a continuous, soft resonance. The magical jutsu power caused the two shuriken to rapidly transform and multiply in the air: one became two, two became four, four became eight...
In the blink of an eye, dozens of dark, sharp shuriken covered the black shadow like a net closing in.
The black shadow saw this and was about to leap away to dodge the direct brunt of the shuriken storm when it suddenly sensed a feeling of imminent danger.
A burst of intense heat abruptly struck from above. In a panic, it looked up. A high-temperature fireball the size of a millstone was rapidly dominating its vision.
"Boom! Thud, thud, thud—"
A perfect pincer attack! The Great Fireball Jutsu exploded in a thick cloud of smoke. The tree branch, as thick as a grown man's leg, was instantly shattered and fell to the ground. A stream of shuriken passed through the smoke, embedding themselves several centimeters deep into the thick tree trunk behind.
Orochimaru listened intently, but did not hear the sound of a sharp object piercing flesh. He frowned slightly. He dodged it? He has some skill, it seems!
Sure enough, when the smoke cleared, all that remained was a Substitution Log.
In such an extremely dire situation, the black shadow was still able to execute the Substitution Jutsu seal just as it was evading. This spoke volumes about its rich combat experience and superb sealing speed!
Realizing this, Orochimaru decided to stop holding back his power.
His pale hands began moving like invisible piano keys being played in the air, dancing along with the Shadow Clone, which had used the Great Fireball Jutsu and landed on a branch not far away. The trap he had prepared beforehand was now activated!
In the reflection of the sunlight, one could clearly see transparent steel wires as thin as hair. One end was tied to the fingers of Orochimaru and his clone, and the other end was connected to the numerous shuriken he had fired.
As Orochimaru's fingers flickered, the transparent steel wires, like a massive, invisible yet deadly spider web, quickly stretched out in the air.
Orochimaru lowered his eyelids, carefully sensing the vibrations on the wires!
Suddenly, one section of the wire subtly vibrated.
His eyes lit up, and an icy smile appeared on his lips once more. Heh heh, I found you!
Orochimaru's ten fingers fluttered wildly like butterflies, constantly interweaving and crossing.
The massive web of transparent steel wires, like the silk net in the hands of the most agile spider, wrapped itself around the reappearing black shadow, carrying with it the chill of death.
"Snap! Tear, tear, tear—"
The black shadow, wearing a dark black trench coat and a tanuki mask, was tightly bound in the air by the steel wires, like a massive zongzi (rice dumpling).
Hmm? An Anbu member!
Orochimaru paused internally, but his actions were merciless!
His ten fingers, still tied to the steel wires, quickly formed a sequence of jutsu seals.
Snake (Mi) - Dragon (Tatsu) - Rabbit (U) - Tiger (Tora)
Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!
Chakra surged into his mouth. A torrent of raging flame, like a flying fire dragon, spewed fiercely from Orochimaru's mouth. Following the steel wires, it rapidly spread toward the black shadow.
As if the wires were trails of oil, the flame "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—" wildly extended into a giant web of fire in the air.
Looking at the surging, scorching torrent of flame, the black shadow's eyes, however, were as serene and cold as a still lake.
A right hand, as pale and delicate as a woman's, extended from beneath the dark Anbu trench coat. His movements were too fast to discern, but several flashes of stunning blue-violet blade light zipped around the black shadow. The steel wires binding his body instantly shattered.
Seeing that striking blade light, a strong alarm blared in Orochimaru's heart, and his pupils contracted slightly.
A whisper of wind brushed past his ears, and a few leaves fluttered down!
Shunshin no Jutsu! (Body Flicker Technique!)
This jutsu name suddenly crowded into Orochimaru's mind in that instant.
By the time he realized it, there was a person and a blade behind him.
The short sword, radiating icy coldness, rested steadily against his neck. The sharp edge made the skin on his neck involuntarily rise in goosebumps!
The short sword in the black shadow's hand was as steady as a rock, yet as fatally ruthless as the Grim Reaper's scythe. A profound chill erupted in Orochimaru's heart. What an astonishing swordsmanship!
Orochimaru forcibly suppressed the coldness in his heart. Sensing that the Anbu's movements didn't seem to indicate any malicious intent toward him, he subconsciously asked: "Who are you? Why were you spying on me?"
The white tanuki mask slowly moved close to Orochimaru's ear. An icy voice containing a hint of killing intent echoed in Orochimaru's ear: "Little one, sharp senses, and intense killing intent. Heh heh, quite interesting."
Another whisper of wind passed. The short sword on his neck instantly vanished. Orochimaru immediately turned his head to look in the direction the black shadow had left. All he saw was an afterimage that flickered a few times before disappearing into the distance.
Standing rooted to the spot, a faint anger surged in Orochimaru's eyes. Disregard, naked disregard!
Throughout the entire battle, Orochimaru had used every technique he knew, yet this powerful Anbu ninja had only used a Substitution Jutsu and a short sword.
Although Orochimaru knew that this person was likely a powerful Jōnin-level ninja and that he was only six years old—even with rich combat experience, the gap between their realms of strength was still too vast—a sense of humiliation still rose uncontrollably in his heart!
The pride he had felt since his rebirth, stemming from having decades more experience than others, was completely shattered by this Anbu's strike. In its place was an intense hunger for power and inexhaustible motivation!
A powerful, ferocious beast is just a tender, weak cub before it grows up!
Orochimaru profoundly believed this to be true.
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