Orochimaru could not help but feel shocked. With his level of strength, someone had actually managed to appear behind him without making the slightest sound, and he had not sensed it at all.
It was simply unbelievable.
If that person had chosen to launch a sneak attack instead of speaking, Orochimaru would likely have suffered a heavy blow. He could not even guarantee that he would have been able to dodge it in time.
Are there still experts of this level in the current Ninja World?
Just who is it?
And judging from the person's tone, it sounded as if they had met before.
With countless questions in his mind and extreme vigilance in his eyes, Orochimaru slowly turned around. What greeted him was an incredibly young face, one that was completely unfamiliar to him.
???
Orochimaru carefully searched through his memories, yet he could not recall ever meeting the person standing before him.
Even so, he felt an oddly familiar sensation from this man.
"Sir, have we met before?" Orochimaru asked cautiously as he looked at Ryūjin, a trace of seriousness filling his eyes.
"Of course we've met. Not only that, I almost killed you once, Orochimaru. I didn't expect you to be such an unkillable cockroach. I watched you burn to ashes with my own eyes, yet here you are, still alive."
Ryūjin shrugged casually, admiration visible on his face.
The admiration was genuine.
Orochimaru really was like a cockroach that refused to die, no matter how hard you tried to crush him.
The Reaper Death Seal was an unbelievably terrifying technique. Even the Nine Tails would have difficulty resisting it, yet Orochimaru only lost the use of his arms.
Then there was the Totsuka Blade wielded by Itachi, a sealing weapon no less powerful than the Reaper Death Seal. No ordinary ninja could survive that.
Yet Orochimaru had somehow escaped that seal as well.
And even more ridiculously, after escaping, he was burned to ashes by Itachi's Amaterasu.
That should have been the end of him. After all, it was Amaterasu.
But in the end, Orochimaru still managed to return.
Although that final resurrection involved some luck, Ryūjin believed that even if Sasuke had not revived Orochimaru, the snake sannin would have eventually found another method to return.
A survival record like that was honestly impressive.
"It's you!"
Orochimaru's voice suddenly sharpened. Shock, caution, and resentment all appeared on his face.
The humiliation Ryūjin had inflicted on him back then had been carved into his memory for an entire year. Throughout his long career dominating the Ninja World, when had Orochimaru ever been placed in such a miserable situation?
"That's right, it's me," Ryūjin replied calmly. "You escaped last time, Orochimaru. This time, that won't happen."
His tone was flat and indifferent, as if he were discussing something completely ordinary.
"Heh heh..."
Orochimaru sneered and extended his long tongue to lick his lips.
"With just those eyes of yours?"
After saying that, he stopped wasting words.
Orochimaru suddenly opened his mouth wide toward Ryūjin. From within his mouth, a black snake burst out.
That black snake also opened its mouth, and several more black snakes emerged from inside it. Each of those snakes repeated the same action, releasing even more snakes.
Within seconds, an overwhelming torrent of black snakes surged toward Ryūjin.
Calling it a torrent was not an exaggeration. The sheer number of snakes formed a dense black mass that completely filled the space before him.
If someone unfamiliar with the situation were watching from afar, they might have believed that the Hidden Mist Village was being flooded.
Except the flood was made of snakes.
There were simply too many.
And the snakes at the very front each held a Kusanagi Sword tightly in their mouths.
After suffering once at Ryūjin's hands, Orochimaru no longer dared to underestimate him. He opened the battle with one of his most powerful techniques.
In truth, this technique was an excellent counter to many of Ryūjin's known abilities.
No matter how powerful black flames like Amaterasu were, could they burn through an endless sea of snakes?
No matter how terrifying the Sharingan's genjutsu might be, it would be useless if Ryūjin could not even see Orochimaru's face.
Against such a massive Snake Torrent, most ninjutsu would appear weak and ineffective.
Of course, what Orochimaru did not realize was that Ryūjin possessed far more abilities than he expected.
"Ninjutsu of this level... as expected of one of the Sannin."
Ryūjin silently praised him.
For an ordinary ninja, this technique would be impossible to overcome.
Even for Ryūjin, breaking through this Snake Torrent was not something he could do casually. It was not difficult for him, but it certainly required something more than ordinary attacks.
"Shukaku, lend me some chakra."
Ryūjin communicated with Shukaku and immediately entered Tailed Beast Chakra Mode.
A massive amount of chakra surged around him. In an instant, he condensed a Tailed Beast Ball and launched it directly toward the incoming sea of snakes.
The sphere of destructive energy flew forward with terrifying momentum.
Boom!
A violent explosion erupted as the Tailed Beast Ball collided with the Snake Torrent.
The countless black snakes were instantly obliterated by the overwhelming energy. Their bodies were torn apart and erased, leaving nothing behind.
Not even fragments remained.
"Nani?"
Orochimaru's eyes widened in disbelief.
His technique had been destroyed in the blink of an eye.
What kind of attack was that?
Why did it look so similar to a Tailed Beast Ball?
Only now did Orochimaru realize that he had underestimated Ryūjin once again.
At that exact moment, the sound of something slicing through the air came from behind him.
Clang!
By the time Orochimaru reacted, a cold blade had already cut through his skin and pierced into his flesh.
It was Ryūjin.
Using Kamui, he had appeared silently behind Orochimaru.
Without hesitation, Ryūjin drew his sword and swung it toward Orochimaru's neck.
Not good!
The thought flashed through Orochimaru's mind. He knew there was no time to dodge, so he immediately thrust his right hand forward.
A thick black snake slid out from his sleeve.
The snake opened its mouth, and another Orochimaru crawled out from inside it.
At that exact moment, Ryūjin's blade completed its strike.
Chii!
Orochimaru's original head was cleanly severed.
Plop!
Whether it was coincidence or deliberate timing from Ryūjin, the severed head fell directly in front of the newly emerged Orochimaru.
The two stared at each other face to face.
Orochimaru: "..."
"If that were anyone else, they'd already be dead," Ryūjin said with a faint mocking tone. "Orochimaru, you really do have a lot of ways to survive."
"Heh heh."
Orochimaru let out a cold laugh as he slowly stood up.
"This is only the beginning. I have far more methods than you could ever imagine."
On the surface, he still appeared calm and dismissive.
But in reality, Orochimaru had already become extremely wary of Ryūjin.
Just now, he had not sensed even the slightest trace of how Ryūjin managed to appear behind him.
That alone was enough to make him uneasy.
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Powerstones?? (´ε｀ )
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Patreon = _Zeph