"Hm?"
After hearing Seiryū's words, Duy froze for a moment.
But he also instinctively stopped trying to open the Eighth Gate of Death.
He turned to look at Seiryū and said gravely, "If I don't open the Eighth Gate, I don't think I'm his match. This Takigakure shinobi's pressure is too strong. He's definitely a Jōnin. If I only open the Seventh Gate, I have no confidence!"
The enemy was too strong!
He needed to go all out!
Only then could he protect the two juniors from being harmed!
Seeing that Duy had stopped trying to open the Eighth Gate, Seiryū let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
He felt that if he had been two seconds slower, Duy probably would have already opened the Eighth Gate of Death!
Too extreme!
How could there be someone this extreme?
Seiryū quickly said, "Uncle Duy, your understanding of your own strength is way too unclear. The Seventh Gate is enough. We're on the same team right now, so how can we let you stay behind alone?"
"If you die here, how are we supposed to explain it to Guy?"
To be honest.
Seiryū had really been startled just now.
Who could have expected that he would want to open the Eight Gates Formation the moment things turned bad?
Duy's tone still did not change. It remained extremely firm. "I trained the Eight Gates for times like this. Now is the time to completely burn my youth. You two leave quickly. Don't waste time. I'll hold him back!"
Seiryū was going numb.
How could there be someone this stubborn?
He hurriedly said, "No need. We can attack together. His strength has clearly already gone beyond the scope of the Chunin Exam."
"As long as he's discovered, the village will definitely act. The Chunin Exam venue has surveillance. We only need to stall for a little time!"
He did not expose Orochimaru's identity.
After all, Sasori was still here.
If word got out that Orochimaru, an examiner, had directly entered the field, that could not be brushed off with some excuse about "the Chunin Exam process."
It would be treated as a Konoha plot.
If the Third Great Ninja War started ahead of time and cut short his time to develop, that would be disastrous.
Still, Seiryū also felt annoyed inside.
Why did Orochimaru have to come out and stir up trouble, and even set his sights on him!
That only made Seiryū's temper flare up.
This matter was not over!!
"But..."
Duy still wanted to say something.
But Seiryū cut him off. "Uncle Duy, you gave me command of the team. As a shinobi, the squad leader's words are an order."
"We'll attack together in a moment. You need to trust your current strength. The Seventh Gate is enough. You can fight him!"
Duy still felt it was inappropriate, and his expression remained grave, but he also took Seiryū's words into consideration. In the end, he still nodded. "Th, then alright."
What Seiryū said was not without reason.
The other party's strength had already gone beyond the scope of the Chunin Exam.
There was no way Konoha would not have some response prepared for that.
As long as they stalled for some time and Konoha's experts arrived here, they would no longer be in danger!!
Over here.
Sasori, protected in the middle by his puppets, also wore a very grave expression, muttering, "With chakra fluctuations like this, Konoha actually has another ninja of this level."
The feeling Duy gave him after opening the Seventh Gate of Shock was no weaker than that disguised Takigakure shinobi.
He had already surpassed the level of an ordinary Jōnin.
Konoha truly had deep foundations!
But what exactly did it mean for Konoha to send a strong person like this to participate in the Chunin Exam?
Was it to eliminate all the Genin from the other villages?
Still, wasn't this too blatant?
Did Konoha not care about how the other villages would feel?
This Chunin Exam was jointly held by the major villages. Even if it was not explicitly agreed upon, there was still some tacit understanding between them.
Having Genin whose strength exceeded ordinary Genin was acceptable to a degree.
This was originally a small-scale war, so naturally the stronger one's own side was, the better.
But...
Letting a shinobi who surpassed the level of an ordinary Jōnin participate, and doing it this openly.
Wasn't that going too far!?
"This guy actually has this kind of power..."
Sasori was grave, but Orochimaru was even more shocked and puzzled.
Looking at Duy, whose body was wrapped in flickering blue vapor, he could not help narrowing his eyes. "What kind of technique is this exactly?"
As one of the examiners for the Chunin Exam.
Orochimaru naturally knew all of the examinees.
And it was only after learning that there were some people among the examinees who interested him that he took this job.
Might Duy... he naturally knew who that was!
A completely ordinary, perennial Genin of Konoha, and yet he could erupt with such powerful strength?
In Orochimaru's perception, he might not even be weaker than himself.
"Right, the Eight Gates!"
Thoughts flashed rapidly through Orochimaru's mind, and light burst from his eyes. "I never expected this technique to display such power. Hehe, how very interesting."
Seeing the blue vapor flickering around Duy's body, Orochimaru remembered.
This was a taijutsu called the Eight Gates.
He knew of it, but had never come into contact with it.
He had not expected it to allow a Genin to possess strength of this level.
That inevitably aroused some interest in him.
He wanted to study it!
"As expected of Konoha, your foundation is indeed deep. But do you think this is enough to defeat me?"
Orochimaru licked his lips, his smile turning somewhat playful. "Trying to stall for time won't work. The surveillance here has already been destroyed by me. You are merely turtles in a jar."
And it was just as Orochimaru said those words.
A system notification suddenly rang out in Seiryū's mind.
[Ding. As the future Soul King who will rule over the three realms, the host's natural talent is unprecedented, drawing the attention of members of the Gotei 13's Thirteenth Division, who wish to investigate the secrets on the host's body!]
[Mission issued: Safely overcome this crisis!]
[Mission reward: Bakudō #63. Sajō Sabaku!]
Hearing the system notification in his mind.
A flicker passed through Seiryū's eyes, and he grinned slightly. Another mission had arrived! Get through this crisis safely? That did not seem too difficult, but the reward was extremely generous. Sure enough, where there was conflict, there were missions...
Bakudō #63. Sajō Sabaku.
In Seiryū's guess, it should be similar to Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Maybe it could be used to restrain tailed beasts!
If nothing else.
The Yin Seal on his forehead contained what seemed to be tailed beast-like Dragon Vein chakra.
At this side, Orochimaru was still smiling wickedly. "Even if I kill all of you here, no one will discover it. There is only one outcome waiting for you."
As his words fell.
Orochimaru began forming hand seals with both hands, his chest swelling as he spat out a storm from his mouth!
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
A vast gale swept toward the front, covering a huge area and making the surrounding trees sway violently.
Even though it was only a C-rank ninjutsu, in Orochimaru's hands it still erupted with formidable power!
"Unforgivable!!"
Hearing Orochimaru's words and looking at the incoming storm, Duy was filled with rage.
A person like this completely violated the way of youth!
Unforgivable!
He absolutely would not allow the other side to threaten Seiryū and Kakashi, even if he had to give everything he had!!
(To be continued.)