The moment Orochimaru took his tenth step, he finally completed the last hand sign!
Earth Release: Underworld Swamp!
The four earthen walls that had risen around Orochimaru suddenly crumbled and disintegrated, transforming into a rolling torrent of brownish-black mud that spread across the ground for dozens of meters around him and continued to expand outward.
Under Orochimaru's profound understanding of Ninjutsu and his superb control skills, ten brownish-black, millstone-sized mud hands suddenly materialized from the widespread swamp, reaching out to grab the surrounding puppets.
The ten swamp hands, with an overwhelming momentum, surrounded and intercepted the puppets, grabbing and crushing them one by one. In just a few breaths, only the two strongest puppets Sasori had initially summoned remained.
Facing a jutsu of such magnitude from Orochimaru, Sasori was utterly frustrated. While a puppeteer's abilities boast strange attacks and unpredictable variations, they are most vulnerable when encountering a ninja whose Ninjutsu is this overbearing and powerful.
With no other choice, Sasori could only recall his last two puppets to his side, forced into a passive defense.
Orochimaru didn't bother with the two remaining puppets. The ten mud hands quickly merged in the air, instantly growing to the size of a flowerbed!
Underworld Giant Hand!
The brownish-black Underworld Giant Hand, controlled by Orochimaru, descended upon Sasori and his two puppets with overwhelming force.
Watching the terrifying shadow envelop him, Sasori's eyes widened in horror!
Boom—
In the nick of time, Sasori abandoned the last two puppets and created a Sand Clone!
However, the changes to the Underworld Giant Hand did not stop. While smashing Sasori's puppets and Sand Clone, Orochimaru's gaze sharpened, and the entire Giant Hand suddenly splashed outward, transforming into clusters of mud missiles the size of an adult's fist. These missiles covered half the arena, raining down with continuous explosions like a torrential downpour, blasting countless craters into the ground!
Pfft—
Sasori violently spat out a mouthful of blood. Unsurprisingly, he was struck by the mud missiles that covered half the arena, and his body was thrown uncontrollably backward.
Orochimaru raised his right hand, making a grabbing motion at Sasori, who was soaring through the air.
Five poisonous pythons shot out like lightning from his moonlight-white sleeve, wrapping around the injured Sasori like a bundle and dragging him back to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru's expression remained as calm and composed as before the match. Only his dark-golden eyes, fixed on Sasori's crestfallen look, held a hint of sarcasm and disdain. He licked his lips, smiled wickedly, and his slightly magnetic voice reached Sasori's ears: "You want me to remember your name? You're not qualified yet!"
With that, Orochimaru recalled his pythons, allowing the utterly defeated Sasori to slump to the ground, and looked toward Yūhi Rō.
Yūhi Rō, faced with Orochimaru's crushing victory, smiled and announced: "The winner of the first semi-final match, Konoha Ninja—Orochimaru!"
"Orochimaru won, haha!"
"Lord Orochimaru, we love you! Ah, Lord Orochimaru!"
...
In the stands, excited cheers and joyful screams rose one after another. They shouted Orochimaru's name, thrilled and delighted by his victory!
Orochimaru offered a faint smile and slowly retreated from the arena.
On the Kage's high platform, the Kazekage's expression was slightly displeased at Orochimaru's overwhelming victory, while Sarutobi looked deeply gratified and satisfied!
The Following Matches
The second match was Ōnoki versus Hōzuki Mangetsu!
Returning to the stands, Orochimaru showed absolute interest in this battle. He clearly understood that among all the examinees, only Ōnoki, Yotsuki A, Hōzuki Mangetsu, and Nagai Moriyama—the young generation leaders of the major villages—were his true rivals. As for the still-developing Sasori, he truly hadn't earned Orochimaru's serious attention yet!
In the battle between Ōnoki and Hōzuki Mangetsu, although Mangetsu was at a slight disadvantage in terms of chakra nature, the Demon Swordsman of the Seven Ninja Swords compensated for this flaw perfectly with his terrifying swordsmanship.
Ōnoki unleashed one Earth Release Ninjutsu after another, each formidable and powerful, but Mangetsu deftly countered them all with his exquisite swordsmanship. Slowly, Mangetsu brought out a Water Clone and drew his two swords: the Hiramekarei and the Explosion Blade: Shibuki.
However, Ōnoki's Earth Release Ninjutsu continued to climb in rank and power. The ten-meter-tall Earth Golem roared in the arena once more.
Hōzuki Mangetsu finally couldn't hold back and unsealed the last blade, the Kubikiribōchō. He, along with his two Water Clones, slashed out three breathtaking arcs of light, slicing the Earth Golem into fragments!
Yet, at that moment, Ōnoki used the Second Tsuchikage's ultimate secret technique, the Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique—a so-called Kekkei Tōta technique. That dazzling beam of light won the match, causing Orochimaru to furrow his brow.
The third match was Yotsuki A versus Nagai Moriyama!
The future Third Kazekage, the Sand ninja Iron Sand user, seemed to run out of steam when facing the similarly future Third Raikage—Yotsuki A.
The Second Raikage's Lightning Release secret techniques were used to their fullest by Yotsuki A. He charged toward Nagai Moriyama like a human beast, his aura wild and overbearing.
The strongest spear of Lightning Release Taijutsu—the Hell Stab of Four Fingers—repeatedly broke through Nagai Moriyama's Iron Sand defense. Conversely, Nagai Moriyama's offensive Iron Sand Ninjutsu could not inflict any substantial damage on Yotsuki A's strongest shield—the Lightning Release Armor.
Finally, when Yotsuki A used the even more condensed and powerful Three-Finger Hell Stab, Nagai Moriyama regretfully fell.
Setting the Stage for the Finals
The three semi-final matches officially concluded. Amidst the cheers and applause of the audience, Orochimaru, Yotsuki A, and Ōnoki would compete in the finals two days later for the title of the "Foremost Young Powerhouse of the Ninja World!"
Two days later, in the early morning, the nine cannon shots rang out once more. This time, even more ninja and spectators stood in the stands and on the rooftops. The stands, originally capable of holding around eighty thousand people, were now jammed with nearly twenty thousand more spectators in the aisles, walkways, and on the rooftops, packed shoulder-to-shoulder.
On the Kage's high platform, they were excitedly discussing who would ultimately claim victory!
Yotsuki Manrō's (the Raikage's) rough voice, as direct and overbearing as his temper, declared: "Sarutobi, that student of yours named Orochimaru is quite good. However, he falls far short of my student! Heh heh, Mū, that boy A's Lightning Release Armor has received my true teachings. Although your student's Dust Release is powerful, it won't be able to do anything against our Cloud Village's strongest shield!"
The Second Tsuchikage, Mū, who exuded an aura of emptiness and void like Dust Release itself, humbly replied: "My student is indeed not highly gifted. However, I am quite satisfied that he was able to defeat a certain village's ninja!"
Hōzuki Jōrō (the Mizukage), like a tiger whose whiskers had been pulled, trembled. His immense aura surged out, and his tone immediately turned hostile: "Mū, your student won. How about we two old-timers have a match? Have you forgotten my power?"
As soon as Hōzuki Jōrō spoke, Mū instantly recalled the feeling of being struck by Jōrō's jutsu. He subconsciously felt a phantom pain under his bandages and was uncontrollably filled with fiery anger.
Just as Mū was about to lash out, Yotsuki Manrō placed a hand on him: "As Sarutobi said, this is just a bit of roughhousing among the younger generation. Do you Kage have such little tolerance?"
Since Yotsuki Manrō, the strongest of the group, had spoken, the Mizukage and Tsuchikage couldn't completely ignore him. They grumbled and sat back down.
🗒️NOTE:
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