Just as Sasuke was stunned, Orochimaru extended his five-meter-long tongue, wrapped it around Naruto, and pulled him close.
Naruto struggled in the air. "Let me go, you damn snake demon!"
"A Kyuubi brat? Even the seal is showing. Let me reinforce it for you."
Orochimaru ignored his flailing fists.
Instead, he spread his palm, and five types of purple chakra—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—gradually appeared on his five fingers.
"Five Elements Seal."
Orochimaru slammed his palm against Naruto's abdomen, adding another seal atop the existing one.
Naruto's Nine-Tails' vertical pupils gradually reverted to blue.
"Damn it…"
As the Nine-Tails' power was sealed, he also fainted from excessive chakra depletion.
Orochimaru stared at Naruto, a slight smirk on his lips, and retracted his long tongue with force.
The unconscious Naruto fell like a kite with a broken string, crashing toward a tree trunk.
"Naruto!"
Sakura quickly threw a kunai, which precisely pierced through Naruto's clothes, pinning him to the tree.
Then, under Sakura's verbal assault, Sasuke was finally persuaded to snap out of it.
"I'm not a coward."
The recovered Sasuke instantly activated his two-tomoe Sharingan and glared at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru dismissed the summon, licked his nose with his tongue, and chuckled. "Let me test your strength."
The two engaged in close combat.
…
Feng An felt sleepy watching and nodded off occasionally.
Soon, Fubuki noticed his state and looked at him disdainfully. "Hey, didn't you say we should gain experience? Why are you asleep again?"
"What?!"
Feng An jolted awake.
Yukime quickly covered his mouth, signaling for silence.
Feng An then remembered they were hiding.
"Who's there?"
Orochimaru's eyes turned cold. He spat a kunai from his mouth toward the bushes where Feng An was hiding.
Fubuki was shocked. "Oh no!"
She quickly concentrated chakra, and an ice crystal began to form before her.
Clang!
Feng An rushed out first and slapped the kunai away.
He stared ahead, moving his lips slightly. "Don't reveal your Ice Release in front of him."
Orochimaru fixed a cold gaze on Feng An. "Where did this rat come from?"
Sasuke and Sakura also looked toward Feng An.
Upon recognizing him, Sakura covered her mouth in surprise. "Feng An?!"
Why was he here?
Sasuke said calmly, "Do you know him?"
"He's Feng An. We're in the same class."
Sasuke frowned.
Feng An?
"The one on par with Naruto?"
After recalling, his frown deepened, and he ignored Feng An.
In his view, people without self-awareness who dared to spy were simply seeking death.
Sasuke threw a shuriken at Orochimaru and charged. "This isn't a fight for someone like you. Get out of here!"
Feng An was stunned upon hearing this. "Worried about me? You're such a nice guy."
Orochimaru attacked Sasuke again but paid Feng An no mind as long as he didn't interfere.
Fubuki whispered behind him, "Let's slip away now."
"Slip away? He cares about me so much! How could I leave? He's my best friend from the Ninja Academy!"
Feng An pretended to be angry and shouted.
He didn't want to leave. Now was the time to showcase his abilities.
He'd originally planned to strike Orochimaru's neck when he placed the Cursed Seal, but now he had to move the plan up.
Fubuki and Yukime exchanged strange looks.
Did he have such a helpful side?
Hearing his loud declaration, Sasuke mentally cursed him as another hot-blooded idiot.
Besides, since when were they best friends? He didn't even remember speaking to him.
"I'm coming, Sasuke!"
Feng An leaped up and threw a shuriken at Orochimaru's back.
Fubuki and Yukime looked at each other.
"Sister, what should we do?"
"He's done all the hard work so far. Let's just follow his lead."
Fubuki nodded.
She watched the battle carefully, ready to rush out and rescue Feng An if things turned against him.
Orochimaru swiftly dodged the attacks from both.
"Shady rats should tremble in the corners."
Orochimaru coiled around the tree trunk like a snake, quickly closing in on Feng An, and spat the blue Kusanagi Sword from his mouth.
"Idiot! Didn't I tell you to run?!" Sasuke roared, throwing a shuriken toward Orochimaru.
But Orochimaru moved too fast; the shuriken couldn't hit him.
Orochimaru opened his mouth wide, his tongue wrapping around the Kusanagi Sword as he stabbed toward Feng An's throat.
This unexpected attack was extremely fast.
If Feng An hadn't known about this move, he might have been pierced due to a slow reaction.
With cell activation, his body could withstand shuriken, but he wasn't confident about surviving a strike from the divine weapon, the Kusanagi Sword.
He suddenly burst with speed, sidestepped quickly, and reached out to grab Orochimaru's long tongue.
Instantly, the blade slashed down.
The moment the Yin-Yang power touched his tongue, it severed into two pieces.
Orochimaru retracted his tongue in pain. "Damn rat!"
Feng An tossed away half of Orochimaru's tongue with disgust.
He hurriedly performed a simple sealing technique on the Kusanagi Sword to prevent Orochimaru from summoning it back.
"Since you've already called me a rat, is it okay if I take one of your Kusanagi Swords?"
He turned and slipped the Kusanagi Sword into his pocket.
Sasuke looked at Sakura with confusion. "Is he really that Feng An?"
"That should be him…"
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, staring at Feng An, deep in thought.
If he used his full strength and attracted Sarutobi Hiruzen's attention, it would definitely affect his final plan.
"Let's end the test here, Uchiha Sasuke."
He chuckled sinisterly and quickly formed hand signs.
His neck suddenly elongated, shooting toward Sasuke.
In an instant, he crossed the ten-meter distance and bit Sasuke's neck.
"Perfect opportunity."
Feng An swung the Kusanagi Sword toward Orochimaru's neck.
"Sasuke!" Sakura, standing to the side, clamped her trembling legs together, staring blankly as Sasuke was bitten.
"Stab him in the neck with a kunai!" Fubuki, watching from the bushes, was even more anxious than her.
Slash!
Even sealed, the Kusanagi Sword in Feng An's hand cut through iron like mud. It easily severed Orochimaru's neck upon contact.
Fubuki and Yukime exclaimed, "It worked!"
Everyone present breathed a sigh of relief—except Feng An.
He knew Orochimaru was immortal.
He immediately stabbed toward the decapitated Orochimaru's body.
Thud—
The Kusanagi Sword easily pierced through Orochimaru's heart.
So easy?
Wrong!
His expression changed, and he quickly turned, leaping toward Sasuke.
At that moment, Orochimaru had already implanted the Cursed Seal, licked Sasuke's neck, and instantly another body emerged from his mouth.
He looked coldly at Feng. An rushing toward him from the air. "Red-haired rat, I'll remember you."
With those words, he slithered around the tree trunk like a snake and vanished from sight in an instant.
"Sasuke!" Sakura quickly supported Sasuke, who was writhing in pain.
Feng An looked at the deflated head of the Grass Ninja.
"The goal is achieved."
*****
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