The kunai in Orochimaru's hand
was sliced cleanly in half by the blade of Tian Yu's kunai, dropping to the ground.
"Oh?"
Orochimaru's golden eyes gleamed with interest.
"Orochimaru, is this all you have?" Tian Yu's voice was cold and mocking. In an instant, he vanished.
Before Orochimaru could react,
Tian Yu reappeared behind him like a blur.
A kick lashed out—
the sound of cutting wind followed.
Azure chakra wrapped around Tian Yu's leg in a spiral,
the pressure visibly distorting the air around him.
A tempestuous gale formed as his chakra-enhanced kick gathered slicing winds into a concentrated current—
a rare blend of taijutsu and elemental manipulation.
"Leaf Typhoon: Chakra Spiral Variant!"
Tian Yu's right leg slammed into Orochimaru's spine with bone-rattling force.
Boom!
The impact echoed like thunder.
Orochimaru's body was flung through the forest like a ragdoll.
He smashed through a thick tree, which cracked and fell in half.
His limp body ricocheted through five more trunks before finally crashing into the earth, a hundred meters away.
Sasuke and Sakura stood stunned.
That overwhelming power…
Could a human really do this?
The man who had nearly broken Sasuke—
was just kicked through the forest like a sack of leaves?
In that moment,
Sasuke finally understood:
This Konoha jōnin, Tian Yu—only a year older than him—
was on a completely different level. The gap between them was vast—like sky and mud.
"Haha… interesting."
Despite his mangled state, Orochimaru laughed—voice hoarse and amused.
His body oozed blood. Bones were shattered.
Yet, somehow, he staggered to his feet with a twisted grin.
Then, unnaturally, Orochimaru's mouth unhinged,
stretching open at a grotesque, inhuman angle.
From within the gaping maw,
a fresh, pale-skinned version of Orochimaru slithered out, his body coated in mucus.
His previous form collapsed behind him like shed skin.
"Seriously…
your regeneration methods are as revolting as ever," Tian Yu muttered, massaging his temple.
Sasuke and Sakura gasped.
The man who'd just been nearly killed—
—was now standing before them again, completely intact.
"H-How… how is that even possible?" Sakura stammered.
That kind of injury—any normal person would've died within minutes.
How could he still move, much less smile?
Sasuke clenched his fists.
Only now did he truly grasp it:
the Orochimaru he'd been fighting earlier…
had never even taken him seriously.
He'd barely scratched the surface of this monster's power.
I'm… still too weak!
But Tian Yu wasn't surprised.
He knew Orochimaru's obsession with immortality.
The real body was hidden—this "shell" was just one of many.
No ordinary taijutsu strike could end him.
Orochimaru's eyes glinted.
He suddenly extended one hand—
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Several serpents exploded from his sleeves, their jaws wide, venom glinting.
Tian Yu responded instantly.
"Puppet Thread: Razor Line!"
His hand clawed forward.
Invisible threads, too thin for the eye, shimmered faintly in the air.
They twisted forward with slicing force, honed like chakra scalpels.
Before the snakes could strike,
the threads sliced cleanly through them in mid-air.
Chunks of serpent flesh rained down, twitching on the forest floor, blood splattering the soil.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed.
"Puppet threads? Is this Sand's puppet ninjutsu? No... these aren't ordinary strings."
He recalled the Red Sand Scorpion's puppet threads—
but they were nothing like this.
These were sharper. More refined.
He finally realized—
Tian Yu wasn't just some random jōnin.
He was something far more dangerous.
Tian Yu vanished again.
The ground cracked beneath his leap.
In hand-to-hand combat between high-level shinobi,
seal-less jutsu and tools decided life and death.
His puppet threads lashed out again.
"Thread Bind!"
"Leaf Whirlwind: Collapsing Arc!"
Two techniques, seamlessly combined—
Eight threads curved through the air like fangs, gouging sharp trenches around Orochimaru.
They sliced across the terrain, converging from all angles.
If they connected—
they would cut Orochimaru to ribbons.
Too fast.
Orochimaru barely had time to react.
Abandoning his ninjutsu, he leapt backward, shielding himself with his arms.
Boom!
But it wasn't enough.
The razor threads sheared through his raised arms and tore into the forest behind him,
splitting trees and stone alike. The forest floor shook.
Sasuke and Sakura watched in stunned silence.
Their expressions were blank, overwhelmed.
Such power…
Even Kakashi-sensei—
had never shown this kind of dominance.
Then, Sasuke came to his senses first.
"Sakura. We need to leave. Now."
"What?"
"If we stay here, the aftershocks alone could kill us. We need to regroup with Naruto. Fast."
He winced as he stood, still weak,
but determined.
"I understand."
Sakura nodded, helping him up.
Together, they began to retreat toward Naruto's last known location.
As they vanished into the trees,
Tian Yu—still locked in combat—caught a glimpse of their movement and allowed a small smile to form on his lips.
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