Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Green Snake (II)
Arriving at the place where the giant snake was hiding, Suigetsu and Chidamatsu were immediately stunned by its enormous size.
In the ninja world, the strength of summoned beasts is generally directly proportional to their size—the stronger they are, the larger their bodies tend to be.
The principle of overwhelming power conquering all is especially applicable to large-scale ninja beasts.
For this reason, despite already being mentally prepared, the two of them had devised a strategy in advance to ensure success: Suigetsu would engage the snake head-on, while Chidamatsu would secretly use Water Release to restrain it.
Who could have expected that the moment Suigetsu made his move, the awakened green giant snake would swat him away with a single sweep of its tail. Shocked, Chidamatsu's Water Release was delayed by half a beat.
After missing that brief opportunity, the enraged giant snake gave Chidamatsu no chance to get close and use ninjutsu again, relentlessly chasing and battering the two of them.
Caught off guard, the pair had no effective way to deal with the massive green snake. Ordinary weapons and ninjutsu were completely unable to injure it.
Rumble—
Left with no other choice, they could only keep dodging and retreating, causing tree after tree beneath their feet to be knocked over.
"We can't let it keep rampaging like this. I'll hold it off—go back to the village and call for reinforcements!"
After holding out for several minutes, with a large area of the Forest of Death already flattened, Suigetsu stopped, panting heavily as he spoke.
As he said this, he took out a scroll from his clothes, bit his finger, and pressed it onto the scroll, instantly activating a summoning technique.
Judging from the power the green snake had displayed, even Suigetsu—who specialized in close combat—would suffer badly if he took a direct hit.
If this were somewhere else, the two of them could rely on their agility to evade and wear down the green snake's stamina.
But this was the Forest of Death, which they were tasked with protecting. If the green snake continued its rampage, their mission would inevitably end in failure.
Bang!
A puff of white smoke appeared, and a massive cleaver materialized in Suigetsu's hands.
Gripping the weapon, Suigetsu immediately charged toward the rapidly slithering giant snake, swinging the huge blade straight at its head.
Clang—
An even louder metallic crash rang out, and an enormous rebound force surged up from the handle.
Suigetsu felt the cleaver stall the instant it made contact with the snake's body. Overwhelmed by the recoil, he instantly lost his footing and was sent flying backward.
While his body was airborne, the ferocious green giant snake opened its blood-red maw and lunged viciously toward Suigetsu.
Hiss—
Even before the snake's head arrived, a thick, nauseating stench rushed toward him.
This is bad!
With no point of leverage in midair, Suigetsu had no time to react. His face turned pale as he could only raise the cleaver horizontally in front of his chest, preparing to block the snake's violent attack.
"No!"
Time seemed to freeze at that moment. From afar, Chidamatsu let out a heart-rending shout as he ran desperately toward the giant snake.
Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!
Just as the tragic scene was about to unfold, a hoarse voice rang out. Several white snakes spiraled through the air, rapidly extending toward Suigetsu, coiling around his body and dragging him swiftly backward.
Bang!
The giant snake, having missed its bite, slammed heavily into the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.
Chidamatsu came to an abrupt halt.
Beneath a large tree, as the dust settled, the massive green snake coiled its body together, its long tongue flicking out as its pupils locked tightly onto Orochimaru standing on a tree branch.
Perhaps sensing the cold and powerful aura emanating from Orochimaru, it did not dare to launch another reckless attack.
"Lord Orochimaru…"
Having narrowly escaped death, Suigetsu stood shakily on the ground. When he turned and saw that it was Orochimaru who had saved him, he immediately bowed in respect.
That strike just now—Suigetsu had truly believed he was going to die.
"Tsk, tsk! What a surprise. For such a giant snake to appear in the village—and it even contains such an enormous chakra fluctuation. Could it be someone's summoning beast?"
Orochimaru ignored Suigetsu. His gaze was fixed on the green snake below, as though he were looking at a priceless treasure, clicking his tongue in admiration.
Hokage's Office
"Hm? Has it already caused such a commotion?"
While buried in paperwork, Minato Namikaze sensed the disturbance from afar. He raised his head and glanced toward the western side of the village, murmuring softly.
Before his words had even faded, Minato's figure vanished from the spot.
Back in the Forest of Death, a figure flashed into view. Wearing the Hokage hat and a ceremonial cloak, Minato Namikaze appeared on a tree branch not far from Orochimaru and the others.
Minato's sudden appearance heightened the vigilance in the green snake's eyes—it sensed an equally great threat from this human.
"Lord Hokage."
Suigetsu and Chidamatsu immediately bowed deeply, their faces full of shame.
The Hokage's personal appearance meant that their mission had already failed.
Orochimaru shifted his gaze from the giant snake to Minato, glancing at him without speaking.
Toward this junior who had defeated him in the Hokage election, Orochimaru did admire Minato's abilities—but he felt neither reverence nor goodwill.
Although Orochimaru himself did not have an overwhelming desire for the Hokage position, the fact that the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had supported Minato instead of his own student left a deep sense of resentment in his heart.
That resentment lingered like a knot in Orochimaru's mind.
He believed it was his once-revered teacher's denial of his abilities.
Years later, when Orochimaru defected from the village and launched his plan to destroy Konoha, it was not only due to his rejection of the Third Hokage's governing philosophy, but also an outlet for the bitterness of this defeat.
"Lord Orochimaru, I didn't expect even you to be alarmed."
Minato spoke first, showing no displeasure at Orochimaru's actions.
Orochimaru was Jiraiya's classmate and one of the legendary Sannin who had rendered great service to Konoha. Minato could not put on airs in front of him—and that wasn't his personality anyway.
"Lord Orochimaru, does this giant snake have anything to do with you?"
As he spoke, Minato's gaze quickly shifted from Orochimaru to the giant snake below, and he couldn't help but voice his surprise.
Though Minato was famed across the ninja world as the Yellow Flash for his Flying Thunder God Technique, as Jiraiya's disciple he had also studied senjutsu and could enter Sage Mode.
From the green snake, Minato sensed a faint fluctuation of natural energy.
To his knowledge, only Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave were sacred lands in the ninja world where senjutsu was practiced.
And coincidentally, many of Orochimaru's techniques were snake-related. His summoning beasts were snakes as well—more than one—with the strongest, Manda, originating from Ryūchi Cave.
Thus, Minato subconsciously assumed that this giant snake was connected to Orochimaru.
"This is also my first time seeing this snake. I don't know its exact origins.
But no matter what, let's capture it first.
Summoning Technique!"
Orochimaru shook his head as he spoke, his golden pupils continuously examining the giant snake. Then he bit his finger and began summoning a creature.
He wasn't interested in the green snake's size or brute strength—what truly intrigued him was its growth rate and the massive amount of chakra within its body.
A whirlwind suddenly appeared, followed by the emergence of an enormous snake beneath Orochimaru's feet.
This snake was even larger than the green giant snake. The moment it appeared, it charged toward the green snake at Orochimaru's command.
Bang!
The two massive snake heads collided as they coiled around each other, the violent impact unleashing fierce gusts of wind in all directions.
When fighting large ninja beasts, the best method is undoubtedly to summon a beast of comparable size to battle it.
Orochimaru also wanted to test the true strength of the green snake.