The golden python phantom coiled behind Orochimaru, its slender tongue flicking out. The look in its eyes, directed at Yotsuki A, was one of innate nobility and majesty, which instantly descended upon A.
Yotsuki A's entire body suddenly trembled. "Crunch—" With the harsh cracking sound of the earth, the solid ground beneath his feet instantly shattered, and Yotsuki A sank in by fully half a foot.
He gritted his teeth. His Lightning Armor flickered, counteracting the pressure from the golden phantom. He pulled his feet out of the ground, straightened his body, and fixed his gaze, filled with infinite battle spirit, upon Orochimaru, who seemed like a king descended to earth, framed by the golden snake phantom.
Orochimaru waited until Yotsuki A had shrugged off the crushing pressure of the golden phantom before smiling wickedly and stating calmly: "Very well, let's continue now!"
Yotsuki A rallied his aura once more. He knew he was absolutely no match for Orochimaru in Ninjutsu; he could only secure victory by getting in close!
Lightning flashed violently around Yotsuki A. His speed instantly increased to the extreme, leaving a residual afterimage as he charged toward Orochimaru.
The golden phantom behind Orochimaru was the second stage of his Curse Mark ability, developed after gaining inspiration from the phantom form of the young Eight Branches (Yamata no Orochi) and combining it with the Curse Mark.
This golden snake phantom represents the condensed embodiment of Orochimaru's native Wind-Style chakra. With this Wind-Style phantom, Orochimaru's chakra recovery was enhanced several times over. Furthermore, his Wind-Style Ninjutsu would also be greatly amplified and channeled by the presence of the golden phantom, increasing its power significantly.
Observing the rapidly approaching Yotsuki A, Orochimaru swept out with his formidable spiritual power, continuously sensing the direction and position of Yotsuki A's attack. Armed with the experience of the blood drawn earlier, Orochimaru launched a stunning counterattack!
His pale, slender hands shifted through hand signs, initiating a strange and profound transformation!
Earth Release: Earth Python of the Dragon's Entrapment!
Python One, Emerge!
"Hiss!" A rock python, the girth of a man's waist, erupted from the ground, bringing with it earth and stone. The moment its head emerged, it ferociously clamped down on Yotsuki A's left thigh.
The sharp, rock-formed fangs of the earth python could not pierce Yotsuki A's Lightning Armor, but they successfully used brute force to rigidly restrict his movement. For Orochimaru, this was enough.
Just as Yotsuki A was about to slash down with the electric blade in his right hand, Orochimaru made his next move.
Chakra continuously surged into the final hand sign Orochimaru was weaving. Python Two, Emerge!
Another ferocious earth python sprang out from the ground and clamped down fiercely on Yotsuki A's attacking right hand.
Then, without giving Yotsuki A time to react, Orochimaru let out a sudden roar: "Hraah—!" He slammed his hands, surging with dense chakra, heavily onto the ground!
Nine Earth Pythons of the Dragon's Entrapment: All Nine Pythons Attack!
The earth cracked open. Seven massive crevices instantly appeared, and seven more hissing, roaring rock pythons—reeking of earth—surged wildly from the ground. Including the two previously summoned, a total of nine ferocious earth pythons latched onto Yotsuki A's hands, feet, waist, and head.
Three of the pythons coiled around him, lifting Yotsuki A clear off the ground.
Having pinned Yotsuki A's movement, Orochimaru did not stop. Taking advantage of the momentary pause, he launched another attack.
Forbidden Jutsu: Shadow Clone Technique!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three plumes of white smoke erupted, and three Shadow Clones of Orochimaru appeared in the arena.
Crack! Crackle—
The sound of rock shattering echoed. Spiderweb-like cracks began to appear on the nine earth pythons restraining Yotsuki A and quickly spread across their bodies.
Orochimaru glanced at this and, without hesitation, quickly had his Shadow Clones and original body take up positions at the four cardinal directions (East, South, West, North) around Yotsuki A.
An astonishing aura and a tidal wave of powerful chakra simultaneously surged from all four figures!
The original body and the Clones immediately began weaving an identical set of Ninjutsu hand signs. A suffocating, oppressive, and even sickening aura emanated from the four figures, quickly dominating the entire battleground.
Boom—Crash!
Accompanied by the explosion of the earth pythons and the crash of shattered rock, dazzling blue-violet lightning burst forth from the pythons. To the shock of the watching Konoha ninja, Yotsuki A had actually broken free of this powerful Earth Release jutsu—which was capable of pinning down an Elite Chūnin—in less than three breaths of time.
At the same time, the dark-golden eyes of Orochimaru lit up. The hand signs of the four figures were complete!
A powerful Ninjutsu—obtained, researched, and improved by Orochimaru from a Sand Ninja Jōnin during a mission in the Land of Rivers—was fiercely unleashed!
Wind Release: Vacuum Scythe Weasel Killing Array!
Thick, pure chakra, like a surging river, was injected wildly into the surrounding air.
Unlike the astonishing sound and display of the original Sand Ninja Jōnin's release, Orochimaru's improved version had almost no prior sound effects, save for the intense chakra fluctuation. In the chaos of fierce combat, such fluctuation is absolutely normal, making this technique far more stealthy and practical!
As Orochimaru launched the technique, Yotsuki A was suddenly astonished to find that the air for about ten meters around him, in that instant, felt as if time had stopped. It ceased to flow, becoming stagnant and heavy like mercury. "Boom—" With a loud thud, Yotsuki A's body sank into the ground again, this time by a full half-foot.
He felt an overwhelming force pressing down on him, as if someone had carried a small mountain and dropped it heavily onto his body.
The four "Orochimarus," seeing Yotsuki A rooted to the earth, focused their gazes, bringing the powerful technique to its full potential.
A light "zzz-zzz-zzz" hum—like the buzzing of an insect's wings—began to sound in the air. This hum quickly grew more violent and louder, and in just three snaps of the finger, it escalated into a high-frequency vibration sound beyond the range of human hearing. Crucially, this sound was perfectly contained by Orochimaru within the space where the four figures stood.
Then, even this high-frequency sound completely vanished. Yotsuki A couldn't help but glance toward the stands, but his eyes suddenly widened in shock!
🗒️NOTE:
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