However, the reality seemed to be quite different...
...
Orochimaru quickly fled from the battlefield, and Kakashi and the others exerted their strength to pursue him.
The three, Kakashi, who were already prepared, were about to close in and catch up with Orochimaru.
It was at this very moment that a black shadow flashed by!
It was Luffy, whose body had swollen into a giant, with muscles bulging high, and who was constantly wrapped in Armament Haki around both his arms and chest!
"His legs... what... what's going on?!"
In the dense forest, Kakashi, Asuma, and Genma Shiranui, who had been leaping back and forth between tree branches, couldn't help but stop in their tracks.
Because at this moment, from their perspective, Luffy's legs and calves, wrapped in Armament Haki, repeatedly shot out from and retracted into his thighs!
In and out, in and out... He repeatedly and furiously blasted large amounts of air backward from his body!
Through this powerful thrust, Luffy actually flew with surprising agility in mid-air!
One must know that even in the ninja world, the power of "flight" was not something everyone could master.
Among ninjas who could fly using their own bodies, there were currently only the Third Raikage and Ōnoki, the two Kage-level figures.
Other ninjas might be able to fly by controlling objects, summoning beasts, or similar means.
But compared to flying purely by one's own power, these methods still involved an intermediate step and would never be as freely controllable.
The more high-level the battle, the more obvious such inconveniences would become!
Sometimes it could even be life-threatening!
On the other hand, Luffy's form, relying on his own power and using his incredibly fast speed and powerful muscles to expel air, flew.
It was simply like taking steps in the sky. This kind of control was definitely not something that could be emulated by relying on external objects!
"Thump thump thump thump!"
Luffy's two legs were like two jets. A large amount of air was expelled by them, and the powerful reactive force propelled Luffy's body forward continuously at incredible speed.
His two arms and head were faintly wrapped in Armament Haki.
Anything that stood in Luffy's way, whether trees or rocks, was pulverized!
...
"What?! 'J'!"
Luffy's display was truly astonishing, startling Orochimaru!
At this moment, he no longer cared for Luffy's body as an excellent vessel.
At this moment, whether he could escape from this guy was probably the most urgent matter!
Luffy's speed was so fast that even before the thought fully formed in Orochimaru's mind, he was already close!
"Gum-Gum... Rhinoceros Schneider!"
Luffy didn't even brake or slow down. His gigantic body directly charged towards the stunned Orochimaru!
After that, it was three lightning-fast flips!
After contracting and compressing, his legs, wrapped in Armament Haki and accumulating immense energy, fiercely kicked and struck Orochimaru!
Luffy's body, which released power instantly after high-intensity compression, was definitely the most terrifying weapon!
Even Orochimaru, upon seeing Luffy launch such an offensive against him, was so startled that he broke out in a cold sweat, even vaguely feeling that he had been locked on.
Even trying to escape seemed impossible...
"Urgh!"
There was nothing he could do. Even Orochimaru had moments when he was helpless against an enemy.
Although Orochimaru was already considered a top expert in the current ninja world, and his personality was sly and cunning,
But he was not yet the strongest existence in the ninja world... let alone facing the strongest person in another world?
"Smash!"
Luffy's legs landed squarely on Orochimaru's face!
Orochimaru's body was originally stolen from elsewhere. How could it withstand such a heavy blow?
With just this one strike, Orochimaru was almost directly ripped in two by Luffy!
This also clearly showed the gap between these top ninjutsu users in the ninja world and Luffy.
The Armament Haki on Luffy's body, along with his own rubber-like Devil Fruit ability, plus the training he had undergone in the past,
Made his body's toughness far exceed the scope of ordinary people.
Especially against a body like Orochimaru's, which was pieced together from various sources, this advantage became even more prominent.
Orochimaru barely had time to react before he was brutally kicked to the ground by Luffy!
"Ugh!"
Large mouthfuls of fresh blood spurted from Orochimaru's mouth. His body also began to separate from his lower half, as if it had been split in two, folded at a strange angle.
However... Orochimaru was Orochimaru after all.
He had indeed withstood Luffy's fierce attack, and he was indeed seriously injured.
However, this was an injury sufficient to kill an ordinary person, even a high-level one. But for Orochimaru, it seemed not to be fatal...
"...Hiss, hiss..." This body of Orochimaru should be unusable.
But he was not an ordinary ninja who would be trapped within his own body.
Without a body, Orochimaru was about to escape. How could it be so simple?
Just at this moment, a snake as thick as a fist actually drilled directly out from Orochimaru's body, which was already twisted beyond recognition.
Under normal circumstances, Orochimaru's methods could already deceive a considerable number of ninjas.
After all, even in the ninja world, Orochimaru's power belonged to the particularly bizarre and strange kind.
However, under Luffy's Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki), such techniques and methods truly had no obvious use.
"What a cunning fellow... What are you? A venomous snake?"
Luffy's two legs landed, then immediately bounced up again. This was the characteristic tremor of his current battle mode.
He simply couldn't walk and move freely like in his normal form.
However, after countless battles, Luffy had completely mastered this fighting style.
Lightly bouncing on the ground was not only not a limitation for him, but a clever technique to speed up movement and move flexibly.
Orochimaru's ninjutsu, or rather, his casual methods, how many times had they reminded Luffy of those strange Zoan Devil Fruit abilities from his previous world?
Zoan Devil Fruit users also possessed some special abilities. For example, they could change their form, or possess strong dual bodies of humans and animals.
Zoan Devil Fruit users were also the most difficult among all ability users to completely defeat.
And now, Orochimaru in this state seemed to exhibit similar characteristics...
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