Sensing the fierce wind directly overhead, Orochimaru didn't look up. He retracted his powerful punch stance and executed a few clean, nimble leaps and side-steps, easily dodging the attack.
BOOM!
Tsunade landed with a heavy, powerful strike—the Heavenly Kick of Pain, a Strength of a Hundred technique.
The Strength of a Hundred Technique was originally created by Tsunade in her past life. After learning it from Orochimaru, Tsunade, as the princess of the Senju clan with exceptional physical talent, immediately demonstrated immense comprehension, showing a tendency to surpass her teacher.
The savage force blasted a meter-wide, deep crater in the ground. "Whoosh!" Dust and soil flew everywhere.
The moment Orochimaru dodged, he immediately prepared to weave hand signs to counterattack. However, just then, Chi, whose timing was exquisitely precise, shot out from Orochimaru's shadow.
After Bluebird gained power from the Cursed Mark, Chi, deeply feeling his own lack of power and inability to contribute to Orochimaru, had also requested Orochimaru to imprint him with the Yamata Cursed Mark after Orochimaru explained its pros and cons.
Unlike Hyūga Bluebird, Chi's activated Cursed Mark manifested as strange, cloud-like, pale-gold patterns, the size of a thumb, extending from the Yamata Mark on his neck and spreading across various parts of his body.
While the appearance was unnerving, both his speed when emerging from the shadow and the force of his kunai thrust were increased by nearly double. What was even more bizarre was that the chakra fluctuation generated the instant Chi emerged from the shadow was even fainter than before, achieving a level of near-silence and complete stealth.
The sharp kunai slashed out a chilling dark streak behind Orochimaru, and it wasn't discovered until it was about to touch the skin on Orochimaru's back.
In this moment of crisis, Orochimaru flashed a meaningful smile. He stopped the hand seals he was half-forming, and the contingency he had secretly set earlier was immediately triggered by a mental command.
Two mottled giant pythons, each the thickness of an adult's arm, burst out of the ground with scattered rock fragments and dust. One opened its huge, blood-red mouth to bite at Chi's kunai-wielding right hand, while the other had already coiled around Chi's thigh, intending to swiftly bind Chi's small body.
The instant the two giant pythons launched their offensive, Orochimaru used his left foot as a pivot, spinning to the right. His lithe body passed through the gap, narrowly grazing the sharp edge of the kunai, successfully evading Chi's attack.
Left with no choice, Chi had to withdraw his attack again. The dark light was fierce. With two quick "Swish, swish—" sounds, the two giant pythons that had erupted from the ground were immediately sliced into several pieces. Crimson snake blood spilled onto the ground, and they stopped moving shortly after.
After dealing with the two giant pythons, Chi was about to retreat into the shadows to prepare for another attack, but Orochimaru was not about to give him the chance.
Spinning to face Chi, Orochimaru pushed off the ground, causing two small depressions to form instantly. With the astonishing acceleration gained, Orochimaru's left hand clamped onto Chi's neck. He suddenly exerted force, forcibly yanking Chi, whose body was already half-submerged into the shadow dimension, completely out and tossing him into the air before sweeping a whip-kick across.
Chi, violently thrown into the air, heard nothing but the fierce wind rushing past his ears. Unable to move his position and evade the attack, he immediately adopted an excellent defensive posture: he curled his body to minimize the surface area and crossed his arms tightly in front of him.
Chi's reaction was noted by Orochimaru. The instant his whip-kick was about to connect, Orochimaru accelerated again, making high-intensity micro-adjustments at his knee. He instantly flexed and extended his leg multiple times in a minimal range, delivering several rapid whip-kicks consecutively.
The ferocious, multi-stage kicking force sent Chi flying like a football. However, Orochimaru's masterful technique caused the force to dissipate across Chi's limbs the instant the kicks landed. Although Chi was sent flying, he was only bruised and sore and had sustained no major damage, though he was temporarily out of the fight.
In the brief moment Orochimaru took to neutralize Chi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Hyūga Bluebird all unleashed their strongest attacks, rushing toward him head-on.
Powerful chakra fluctuations emanated from Tsunade's two black gauntlets. Clearly, this strike was her full-power attack, gathering all her chakra. The savage punch force generated a surging, hurricane-like tide of astonishing fist pressure.
Jiraiya dared not slack off. He mobilized his remaining chakra and quickly formed hand seals!
Unt - Horse - Snake - Dragon - Rat - Ox - Tiger
Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet Technique!
"Awoooooo!—" A dignified, commanding dragon roar suddenly erupted from the ground!
After Jiraiya poured a massive amount of chakra into the technique, a formidable dragon head, the size of a millstone, pierced out of the empty air in front of him. The moment its head emerged, it opened its vicious, ferocious mouth and spat out an orange-red, high-temperature fireball the size of a water barrel, carrying a menacing heatwave and charging aggressively toward Orochimaru.
Hyūga Bluebird's Yamata Cursed Mark was pushed to the extreme of its first stage. The pale-gold color in his Dual Pupil Byakugan was becoming increasingly vivid and brilliant.
He moved his hands with an enigmatic technique, extending his left hand forward, drawing his right hand back, and lowering his center of gravity. His Dual Pupil Byakugan locked tightly onto Orochimaru's movements, and a bright light flashed!
Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Mountain Crusher!
His right hand, poised to strike, surged with accumulated energy from behind, thrusting forward. Strong waves of chakra quickly poured into his right hand, and all his momentum was focused on the attack. He let out a fierce shout: "Haa!—" and the Mountain Crusher slammed out from his right palm.
The strong, deep blue chakra was even visible in Hyūga Bluebird's right palm. After condensing an astonishing momentum, this exquisite and powerful Gentle Fist technique was unleashed.
The air was compressed by the savage punch, creating an ear-piercing shriek. This Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Mountain Crusher shot out a vacuum wave, dozens of centimeters thick and several meters long, soaring toward Orochimaru.
With Chi, the threat in the shadows, resolved, Orochimaru's pressure was greatly reduced. Facing the combined full-power strike from Tsunade and the others, he focused his mind once again.
The three attacks were exceptionally fierce, and their momentum was greater than Orochimaru had anticipated. However, he was only more excited and thrilled. Instead of preparing to dodge, he met the attacks head-on, intending to finish the fight in one decisive blow.
After three years of training, Orochimaru's hand seal speed had also greatly improved. In just one breath, his pale, long hands wove a series of familiar, complex hand signs. A powerful aura surged from Orochimaru, driving his remaining chakra entirely into this powerful Ninjutsu!
🗒️NOTE:
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
Explore up to 10 chapters in advance!