The massive shower of yellow sand, formed by the collision of the fire wave and the giant sand hand, drifted down, covering an area of a thousand meters.
The entire front line of the battle around the inn was drawn to the terrifying power of the two incredible jutsu.
Shhh, shhh, shhh—
The fine yellow sand rained down on Orochimaru's body, splashing into small, bean-sized dots of earth-colored mud.
Orochimaru ignored it, walking slowly forward. The surging currents of wind whipped his black hair, and a bloodthirsty, wicked cold smile hung on his lips. His dark-golden eyes released an ice-cold, bone-chilling killing aura, which locked onto the black-clad ninja leader, who was kneeling on the ground and violently panting a hundred meters away.
Seeing the leader's ragged breathing, Orochimaru's cold smile widened. The massive jutsu he'd just unleashed had been largely due to the Wind Release countering the Fire Release and consuming the Great Fireball to form a combined jutsu. His own chakra consumption was only that of a B-rank Many-Faced Wind.
The black-clad leader, however, was different. He had genuinely deployed the A-rank jutsu, Desert Great Funeral. Setting aside the chakra cost to power an A-rank jutsu, the lush, well-watered terrain severely restricted the execution of the Sand Release, significantly increasing his consumption. Even after swallowing a Military Ration Pill, he couldn't quite bear it and was now panting violently.
Hoo, hoo—
The night wind blew, and the fine yellow sand gradually subsided, finally stopping completely.
Orochimaru had initially intended to wait for the enemy to make the first move, but seeing that the black-clad leader, who couldn't afford a delay, remained stationary, he became impatient.
He crouched and pushed off, simultaneously pulling several shuriken from his ninja pouch. In the midst of his high-speed movement, his hands moved with blurring speed, casting shadows as he launched them into the air with a "Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—"
Doubt flashed in the black-clad leader's eyes. He watched the direction of the shuriken and kunai Orochimaru launched; they seemed aimless, flying in all directions. However, an inexpressible sense of alarm suddenly rose in his heart.
Orochimaru drew a few more kunai and launched them skyward. With Orochimaru's precise prediction, the rapidly flying kunai and shuriken collided several times with a "Ding, ding, ding—" sound, subtly changing direction with breathtaking precision.
The dark clouds in the sky suddenly parted, and a single, clear ray of moonlight shone through, illuminating Orochimaru's battleground.
Under the moonlight, the black-clad leader was horrified to discover that every shuriken was trailed by a tough steel wire as thin as hair. After colliding with the kunai, the shuriken, along with the steel wires, formed a seamless net descending from the heavens, aiming directly for his head. Panic-stricken, he quickly darted aside to dodge.
Seeing the sudden appearance of the moonlight expose his killing move, Orochimaru frowned. As the net of steel wires descended upon the black-clad leader, he quickly wove hand seals again.
Wind Release: Wind Cutter Jutsu!
In the transparent air, a half-meter long, invisible wind blade, activated by Orochimaru's chakra, shot silently along the black-clad leader's escape path.
Shh! Splat!—
Under the black-clad leader's shocked and terrified gaze, the wind blade slashed a hideous, decades-of-centimeters-long gash across his chest. If he hadn't experienced a moment of startling awareness at the last second, Orochimaru's wind blade would have cut him in half.
Blood profusely sprayed out. The black-clad leader weakly clutched his chest and fell to the ground. A look of malice and madness flashed in his eyes. Such an injury could no longer support his escape back to camp.
Hardening his resolve, he let the blood flow freely from his chest, swallowed another Military Ration Pill, and his depleted chakra surged back, enveloping him in a visible deep-blue chakra aura. However, having consumed two Military Ration Pills consecutively, his death was certain.
Driven by his intense resentment, the black-clad leader began weaving seals with his bloody hands. He was spending his life force with the pills, swearing to drag Orochimaru to hell with him!
The net of steel wires descended, firmly binding the black-clad leader to the ground. Almost instantly, Orochimaru rushed up behind him. His reverse-gripped kunai savagely slashed across the leader's neck.
Splat! Shhh, shhh, shhh—
"Hmm?" Orochimaru's kunai cut through, but he keenly sensed that the tactile feedback was wrong. He abruptly spun around to look.
Sand Release: Sand Clone!
The black-clad leader had already dissolved into a pile of shattered quicksand.
Orochimaru frowned slightly and coldly snorted at the sight. His powerful spiritual energy furiously swept out, scanning for the black-clad leader's actual location.
Not far away, the black-clad leader, covered in blood and his eyes filled with sheer madness, was wrapped in a visible deep-blue chakra aura. His hands had just finished the last seal for a Sand Release jutsu.
Sand Release: Sand Binding Coffin!
The yellow sand, formed by the Desert Great Funeral beneath Orochimaru's feet, suddenly seemed to be imbued with life and surged violently. It quickly condensed into thick, adult-thigh-sized chains of yellow sand that wrapped around Orochimaru. The earthy-yellow sand chains immediately coiled around Orochimaru's legs.
Orochimaru felt a massive force emanating from the sand chains, firmly pinning him in place as they continued to coil up toward his waist and chest.
In a split-second crisis, brilliant light suddenly exploded from Orochimaru's dark-golden snake eyes. Looking at the disheveled, inhuman black-clad leader nearby, he curled his lip in contempt. His surging chakra instantly gathered in his right hand, and he fiercely slammed his fist down onto the sandy ground!
Taijutsu: Super Strength Fist!
BAM!—
A dull, thunderous sound suddenly rang out on the ground, startling the surrounding ninja. A large pit, several meters in diameter, appeared around Orochimaru. The sand chains that had been coiling around him instantly lost their anchor, shattering and scattering with a "Shhh, shhh, shhh—" sound.
More sand chains immediately began to reform, coiling toward Orochimaru like vicious, yellow pythons.
Orochimaru gave a wicked laugh. He concentrated chakra in his limbs, forcefully pushed off the ground, leaving a shallow crater, and executed his perfectly mastered, exquisite taijutsu.
BAM!—
He fiercely punched, exploding two yellow sand chains. The scattered sand sprayed out over ten meters.
Leaping up, he stomped his right foot forcefully onto the ground. His chakra-infused right leg executed the taijutsu technique, Heavenly Foot of Pain!
Thud! Thud! Thud!—
A powerful shockwave even exploded in the air where his leg struck. Over a dozen surrounding sand chains immediately exploded into nothingness.
Yet another advanced jutsu failed to land a hit. The blood in the black-clad leader's eyes intensified. His hands continued weaving seals. From his blood-filled mouth, he let out a choked, inhuman roar: "Die for me!"
🗒️Note:
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
Explore up to 10 chapters in advance!