Chapter 129: Rain Ninja Slaughter Tour (III)
Mitsuyama Otoko meticulously studied the figure, facial features, and attire of the man in the moon-white outfit. A sense of familiarity struck him, and suddenly, he recalled a name famous across the continent: "The Serpent Lord, Orochimaru of Konoha."
"That's it, it's him! It's Orochimaru of Konoha!" Mitsuyama Otoko concluded with certainty. However, the shock and dread he felt only intensified.
He recalled that when he first heard that name, Orochimaru was reported to be a Chūnin. Yet, barely three years later, this continental genius now possessed such terrifying, horrifying combat power.
Mitsuyama Otoko compared his own strength, realizing he could, at most, handle seven or eight Chūnin, and not with the ease Orochimaru displayed. This was a slaughter.
In an instant, Mitsuyama Otoko's face turned ashen. He could not comprehend the immense difference in strength between the ninja of a Great Nation and those of a small one.
Orochimaru's fighting style was a nightmare vision, violently assaulting Mitsuyama Otoko's mind. Every time Orochimaru's gaze cut through the crowd and landed on him, Mitsuyama Otoko felt a heart-stopping dread shoot straight to his head, as if death was only a brief glance away.
In a matter of about ten breaths, only three Chūnin were left struggling on the field. Their ninja uniforms were tattered like rags, covered in numerous wounds.
Orochimaru knew that the commotion he was creating wouldn't be concealed from Hanzō of the Salamander for long. To conserve chakra for escape, and to prepare a grand "surprise" for the Kage-level opponent later, he decided to use only his kunai to quickly dispatch these insignificant small fry.
Cling, cling, cling. The sharp clang of kunai continuously echoed on the field. Rain Ninja corpses littered the ground. The three men left had long lost all will to fight, enduring only out of a desperate will to survive, yet their coordination remained instinctively sharp.
The two longest-surviving Rain Ninja skillfully fended off Orochimaru's phantom-like, tricky attacks with their kunai, while the third occasionally took a chance to launch a Water Release Ninjutsu at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru's dark-golden eyes flashed.
Ten Chūnin-level Rain Ninja, even as small-country ninja, were proving somewhat troublesome, given that he was using a vessel with only two-thirds of his chakra, Chūnin-level intensity, no Eight Branches Cursed Seal for a power-up, and no Demon Blade Muramasa in hand. To quickly eliminate the seven Chūnin, he had already sustained three minor cuts, a few centimeters long, on his own body.
The Master's Blitz
Suddenly, his powerful soul-sensing ability detected a strong chakra rapidly approaching. Orochimaru glanced over. The Rain Ninja Jōnin, unable to tolerate the continuous deaths of his subordinates and having sent the Genin to raise the alarm, had finally charged forward, launching an attack on Orochimaru.
A fierce look flashed in Orochimaru's dark-golden eyes. He knew that if the Jōnin successfully joined the remaining three Chūnin to form a pincer attack, the battle would become even more difficult.
Orochimaru's wicked smile grew more pronounced. He hardened his resolve, accelerating and closing the distance. He stared coldly at the Rain Ninja before him, who was terrified by the sudden increase in his battle tempo.
Orochimaru ignored the kunai slicing toward him. Psch! A wound over ten centimeters long opened on his chest, but Orochimaru's kunai was already deeply embedded in the throat of the Chūnin across from him.
Tsh!
A faint whoosh of air passed by his ear. Having instantly killed one, Orochimaru's aura grew even colder and more desperate, the dense killing intent making the black python coiled behind him look even more ferocious.
His fair ear twitched slightly, easily mapping the trajectory of the other ninja's kunai attack in his mind.
His right foot shot up like lightning, delivering a powerful kick that instantly propelled the first Chūnin's lifeless, downward-falling body toward the Rain Ninja who was preparing a Ninjutsu. The corpse, hurled by the forceful kick, perfectly interrupted the hand signs the ninja was weaving.
This gave Orochimaru time to deal with the kunai attack that had already reached his ear.
This particular Rain Ninja's kunai skill was clearly the result of hard practice. The sound of the slicing air was minute and faint, and the angle and timing of the attack were incredibly precise, catching Orochimaru just as he executed the killing blow and was about to catch his breath.
However, how could his battle experience compare to Orochimaru, who had survived mountains of corpses and seas of blood in his previous life?
Having registered the Rain Ninja's kunai technique completely, Orochimaru did not turn back. His right hand, which still had the kunai embedded in the corpse's throat, clenched violently into a talon shape and thrust toward a point behind him.
Poom. A dull, forceful collision sound rang out. Orochimaru's clawed right hand had accurately intercepted the Rain Ninja's kunai attack trajectory.
His pale, slender right hand clamped down on the Rain Ninja's wrist joint like a steel vise, then twisted. Crack, crack, crack. The sound of crushed bones was heard.
A piercing scream erupted, and the kunai dropped to the ground.
Orochimaru's left foot stepped back, and he violently slammed his body backward, knocking the Rain Ninja's breath out and cutting off his scream. His left hand, holding the remaining kunai, shot back like a viper, stabbing behind him.
Psch! The sound of metal sinking into flesh. Orochimaru pulled the blade free and, wearing the wicked smile of a Shinigami, charged toward the last remaining Chūnin.
The Rain Ninja behind him, his face etched with disbelief and his chest pierced, could only stare blankly at Orochimaru's retreating figure before collapsing onto the ground, becoming the next fresh corpse.
This entire sequence of lightning-fast killing moves, which was witnessed by Mitsuyama Otoko—who had not even covered half the distance—filled him with terror. Yet, remembering that his home, his village, lay behind him, he suppressed his fear. He frantically activated his strongest Ninjutsu, determined to stop Orochimaru's killing spree.
As Mitsuyama Otoko wove his hand signs, the several rivers that passed through Amegakure were instantly affected by the powerful chakra emanating into the air. They surged like boiling water, churning with continuous bubbles and white foam.
Orochimaru, charging toward the last Chūnin, abruptly halted and turned to look in Mitsuyama Otoko's direction.
The Chūnin opposite him immediately seized the opportunity and fled desperately toward Mitsuyama Otoko's side.
Arrogant as he was, Orochimaru couldn't be bothered to kill the last, utterly demoralized "stray dog."
He tossed the kunai in his left hand aside, smiled faintly, and watched with keen interest as the chakra surrounding Mitsuyama Otoko intensified. He made no move to stop him.
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