[Bang—!!!]
[With a loud explosion, a large amount of white smoke rose.]
[Directly dispersing the fireball.]
[From within the massive cloud of white smoke, Orochimaru's figure shot out.]
[But instead of attacking Sasuke, she pulled back and opened up some distance.]
[Standing on a tree branch with arms crossed, she looked at Sasuke with a faint, mocking smile.]
[She wanted to properly observe Sasuke, this almost perfect vessel.]
[Observe everything about him... every inch of his body.]
[Hiss—]
[The white smoke had not yet dissipated.]
[A massive snake head poked out from the mist.]
[Like a demonic python within the smoke.]
[In an instant, the giant snake head arrived before Sasuke.]
[Opening its bloody maw wide, it prepared to swallow Sasuke in one gulp.]
[Facing this giant snake head, its pupils alone were as large as half a person's body.]
[Sasuke not only didn't panic, but instead wore a look of ridicule.]
[Rumble—!!!]
[The giant snake head swept past Sasuke, and its bloody maw snapped shut.]
[Sasuke, along with the ground beneath his feet, was swallowed whole by the giant snake.]
[Vroom—]
[However, as the dust settled, Sasuke was seen standing unharmed atop the giant snake's head.]
[The great snake from Ryūchi Cave was also stunned.]
[Then it slowly opened its bloody maw.]
[Spitting out a mouthful of sand and soil.]
[An indescribable sense of shame welled up in its heart.]
[Its snake eyes stared fixedly at Sasuke, and its cold, murderous aura, combined with the stench of the Ryūchi Cave snake, assailed Sasuke together.]
[Sasuke's expression remained unchanged.]
[Looking at the somewhat startled Orochimaru in the distance, he sneered, "Is this kind of earthworm... something you let out just to embarrass yourself?"]
[Gah—]
[The Ryūchi Cave snake, already shamed into rage, almost lost its mind.]
[Orochimaru was also surprised by Sasuke's sharp, honeyed tongue.]
[It was a bit different from what she had imagined.]
[Is an Uchiha... like this?]
[Probably. Geniuses are allowed to be a bit unique, after all.]
["Here he goes again... Naruto-kun, are we really not going to do anything about him?" Sakura asked somewhat helplessly as she watched Sasuke naturally start posing again.]
[Naruto glanced at Orochimaru not far away and smiled faintly, "It's fine."]
["Orochimaru seems very interested in Sasuke."]
["Even if Sasuke is no match for her, his life won't be in danger."]
["This is for the best... Sasuke's personality is like this; no matter how much you try to change it, it won't go away."]
["On the contrary, if forced... the backlash later would be even more intense."]
["It's better to let him stay as he is. Anyway, Sasuke has a long future ahead of him, and there are plenty of powerful Ninjas out there..."]
[Sakura rolled her eyes and, looking at the hesitant Naruto, complained, "You're saying Sasuke needs to learn the hard way, right?"]
[Naruto smiled without saying a word. What else?]
[He had tried to suppress it before, but the result was an explosion... Sasuke almost played himself to death.]
[Keeping things as they are is fine. After all, when the rain stops and the sky clears, he'll settle down for a while after getting beaten up.]
[Naruto felt it was quite good.]
[Sakura massaged her temples with a wry smile.]
["Sasuke really is... forget it, since nothing's wrong, let's just watch quietly."]
["Otherwise, if it looks like we're going to intervene, Sasuke might go down a rabbit hole again."]
Uchiha Sasuke: "..."
Damn it!
Am I really that pathetic?!
Am I?!
[Sure enough, Sasuke started posing again.]
[Hiss—!!!]
[The Ryūchi Cave snake opened its bloody maw wide.]
[It suddenly lunged up at Sasuke.]
[Sasuke took the opportunity to leap into the air.]
[Below, the Ryūchi Cave snake opened its mouth, waiting for him to fall.]
[Sasuke sneered, "Not only useless, but stupid."]
[Swish swish swish—]
["This hand seal..."]
[Orochimaru murmured.]
[Before the words were out.]
[The Ryūchi Cave snake suddenly lunged.]
[Its speed was extremely fast.]
[In the blink of an eye, it swallowed Sasuke into its belly.]
[This time, the sensation was real.]
[And there was no mouthful of sand to interfere.]
["I see... so his Jōnin Instructor is Kakashi."]
["But if that's all it takes... to place himself in danger."]
["Too proud... easy to be overconfident..."]
[Orochimaru extended her long tongue, licking her dry lips.]
[Then she smiled faintly again, "Compared to perfection, having some flaws in character is actually more enticing..."]
["However, the typical Uchiha behavior seems out of place on Sasuke... instead, he seems more like a normal person."]
[As an Uchiha, Sasuke must naturally have extremely strong self-esteem and pride.]
[But his various behaviors, while looking like a normal person's, were different from the average Uchiha.]
[He lacked the Uchiha's extremism and extreme arrogance; everything was just right.]
[Well... he's just a normal person who likes to show off once he has a bit of strength.]
[The corners of Orochimaru's mouth curled up slightly.]
[Her excited heart calmed down a little.]
[But in the eyes watching Sasuke, determination and desire became increasingly solid.]
[As everyone knows, Auntie Snake knows how to cherish talent.]
[Even if Sasuke weren't an Uchiha, with this kind of talent and personality, Auntie Snake would still appreciate him.]
[Zzt—]
[Just as the Ryūchi Cave snake thought it had eaten the brat who looked down on it, wearing a triumphant expression.]
[A crisp and sharp electrical sound rang out.]
[In its massive snake eyes, a look of disbelief emerged.]
[How is this possible?!]
[A mere human brat... I am a great snake of Ryūchi Cave!]
[There was no answer.]
[No sound.]
[Except for that crisp, sharp, and ear-piercing electrical sound.]
[It was as if the whole world had gone quiet.]
[Zzt—]
[A flash of lightning passed through the giant eyes of the Ryūchi Cave snake.]
[Immediately following.]
[In the eyes of the Ryūchi Cave snake, the world before it was covered by lightning.]
[Pfft—!!!]
[A sharp arc of lightning directly pierced through the eye of the Ryūchi Cave snake from the inside.]
[Shhh—!!!]
[Then, another sharp, ear-piercing cry rang out.]
[Like the chirping of ten thousand birds.]
[The Lightning Blade that had pierced the Ryūchi Cave snake's eye suddenly moved upward.]
[Slash—!!!]
[Without any resistance.]
[The Lightning Blade swung in a half-circle, and the giant head of the Ryūchi Cave snake was split in half.]
[Red and white matter fell to the ground like rain.]
[Crack—]
[The Lightning Blade dissipated, and a pair of hands reached out from the split wound of the Ryūchi Cave snake.]
[Then, with a sudden pull to the left and right.]
[The Ryūchi Cave snake's head was directly torn in two.]
[Orochimaru narrowed her eyes; this already exceeded the physical strength an average Ninja could obtain through Chakra enhancement.]
['As expected of the Sharingan!']
[Orochimaru excitedly extended her long tongue, this time licking her own face.]
[She attributed everything to the Sharingan.]
[Furthermore... with such power, thinking of Chidori's creator, Kakashi, one could guess many things.]
[Kakashi's friend, Might Guy, mastered the Eight Gates.]
[For the Sharingan, copying the first three of the Eight Gates is easily done.]
[In this way, Sasuke's strength makes sense.]