Hyuga Soushu's temper was rising fast.
Although Orochimaru's simultaneous three-pronged attack had not yet caused him direct harm, the frustrating inability to counterattack was something he found hardest to accept.
Orochimaru had the battle rhythm down to perfection!
Though Soushu, in his defensive stance, was nowhere near exhaustion, if this dragged on much longer, even the tightest defense would crack eventually.
As for Orochimaru's chakra reserves, although they weren't as vast as Tsunade's practically bottomless supply, with his elite ninja status, years of training under his teacher, and countless secret medicinal potions, combined with Military Rations Pills, his chakra reserves could easily be sustained for 24 hours.
[Blood Slash!]
After activating the active skill [Hunger Hydra] once again to clear out a wave of approaching snakes, Hyuga Soushu casually batted away the Sword of Kusanagi swinging toward his head. Then, using his natural resilience to endure mid-to-low-level ninjutsu harassment from shadow clones, he vanished in a flicker, reappearing amidst the snake swarm, aiming directly at Orochimaru, who was still lying on the ground vomiting out endless snakes!
If Orochimaru's spellcasting wasn't interrupted, this nightmare would never end!
Therefore, despite being harassed relentlessly by Orochimaru's shadow clones and genjutsu, making him appear quite disheveled, Soushu made up his mind—he was initiating a forced engagement!
As for exposing skill characteristics or anything else, at this point, Soushu, eyes bloodshot with urgency, had no time to consider such details anymore.
[Counter Storm!]
[Jumping Slash!]
After closing the distance using Shifting Body Technique, Soushu locked onto Orochimaru spewing snakes from the ground. Using the Wind Barrier created by Counter Storm, he smashed through the snake wall blocking his path, then swung his battered torch pole straight downward in a fierce overhead strike aimed directly at Orochimaru's head!
"Boom!"
Predictably, one hit reduced the target into a puddle of mud!
Another Earth Release Body Fission Technique clone!
But this time Orochimaru had switched places using Earth Body Fission from extremely close range, so his escaping form hidden underground was immediately detected by Soushu.
[Counter Storm Second Activation!]
Soushu let out a low growl, actively triggering the second-stage effect of his E ability. As the wind barrier dispersed, strange ripples of chakra spread outward, freezing Orochimaru's underground figure that had only partially burrowed beneath the surface!
However, instead of attacking Orochimaru while he was immobilized underground, Soushu directly used a summoner skill.
[Flash!]
Then, just after shattering the earth clone, Soushu appeared before an Orochimaru shadow clone that was preparing to draw attention with a jutsu!
"You almost had me going, didn't you?" Soushu smirked at the three Orochimaru clones, then without hesitation swung his hammer horizontally, blowing up one of them!
The backlash from dispelling the clone also returned to the caster's original body, worsening Orochimaru's condition further, already immobilized under the secondary stun effect of Counter Storm!
But it didn't stop there.
"Boom! Boom!"
With two more heavy strikes, the remaining two shadow clones burst apart one after the other!
After all three Shadow Clones were destroyed, Orochimaru leaped up from his hiding place underground, his hands forming rapid hand seals.
"Clang!"
Hyuga Soushu, who possessed the Byakugan, casually swung the torch pole weapon behind him, deflecting the Sword of Kusanagi that came attacking once again!
Then, Hyuga Soushu activated his equipment skill again. A red ripple spread outward, instantly killing a cluster of snakes wherever it reached.
What annoyed him most was that even though Hyuga Soushu had killed so many venomous snakes, neither Coins nor Experience showed any reaction whatsoever. He couldn't gain any rewards from this battle at all, and that was exactly what irritated him the most!
If just killing one snake could grant even one Coin or an Experience point, he wouldn't have felt so impatient.
[Fire Release Inferno Blast!]
Orochimaru took a deep breath and exhaled a sea of flames toward Hyuga Soushu!
Since Orochimaru was the most favored disciple of Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, it made perfect sense that he inherited the Sarutobi Clan's fire-based Ninjutsu passed down through generations.
However, ninja techniques came with no inherent ability to distinguish friend from foe. Although Orochimaru's intended target was Hyuga Soushu, the first thing scorched by the wave of flame was actually the snake wall recently broken through by Soushu himself.
[Watchtower Totem!]
[Jumping Slash!]
Hyuga Soushu had no intention of enduring this technique head-on. Instead, he placed an invisible ward on the opposite side and immediately blinked(Q) over there, avoiding the flames entirely.
After all, no matter how high his magic resistance stat was, there was no way he'd walk unscathed through a blazing inferno without losing his clothes. Worse than just burned clothing would be damaging those Sealing Scrolls containing precious substances—that would be a huge loss.
"More than just Body Flicker."
Taking advantage of this opportunity provided by his jutsu, Orochimaru finally managed to figure out the nature of Hyuga Soushu's secret techniques.
Although the majority of the poisonous snakes surrounding Soushu were incinerated by his own Ninjutsu, Orochimaru didn't flinch in the slightest. Rather, the death of these snakes opened up his vision, allowing him to observe the entire process of Hyuga Soushu vanishing via instantaneous movement from a relatively close distance—uninterrupted and clearly.
Additionally, he recalled the Barrier Formation set up by the special sealing unit specially dispatched from the Sealing Team when Danzo conspired with Daimyo's Guardian Ninjas to ambush Soushu.
According to Danzo's report, although the Barrier Formation capable of blocking Space-Time Ninjutsu had sealed off Soushu's Sealing Scrolls, forcing him into unarmed combat; during the fight against the Guardians, Soushu often used this strange but effective teleportation technique to flash around the battlefield and take down enemies.
Orochimaru was extremely curious about the exact mechanism behind this seemingly superhuman Body Flicker technique, as well as how the red ripple, which had an effect similar to all-around blade energy damage, constructed its chakra formation.
"That's enough."
Orochimaru licked his lips. "We're only having a practice match after all. There's no need to continue fighting."
Hyuga Soushu frowned slightly but did not object.
He also found these evasive, dull battles incredibly tedious.
"The limitations Soushu has revealed are precisely the problems our clan faces."
Inside the Main House Mansion of the Hyuga District, Hiashi Hyuga silently withdrew his gaze from the ongoing battle. He respectfully bowed toward his father seated above him. "The limitations Soushu has revealed are precisely the problems our clan faces."
Faced with a well-rounded ninja like Orochimaru—one who excelled equally in taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu—the Hyuga warriors, who depended heavily on the Byakugan and Gentle Fist, truly had no way to counter. This was an undeniable fact.
"Tell Hizashi to make the Gentle Fist Sixty-Four Palms available to all Branch House Jonin."
After thinking it over for a while, the Hyuga Clan Leader made his choice and then sat in silence with his eyes closed.
As the clan leader, he naturally understood the predicament the clan faced and recognized the importance and critical nature of reform.
But as they say, position shapes perspective. Could centuries of deep-rooted tradition built into the Branch House/Main House system really be undone by just one clan leader?
So, even just easing up a little and openly teaching the Gentle Fist Sixty-Four Palms—which wasn't a secret to high-ranking Branch House ninja anymore—could already be seen as a progressive reform. After all, for years now, the Main House had only ever done one thing: tighten the chains around the heads of Branch House members. This was the very first sign of any real loosening of the chains.
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