The air in the center of the forest was as thick as congealed blood.
Buzz—
The roar of the Chainsword was the only sound in the dead silence, like an ancient beast awakened, growling deeply.
"Sasuke, be on guard," Naruto's command broke the stillness.
"Sakura, fall back."
His voice was devoid of inflection; the command, like an imprint, instantly overwhelmed their fear. Sasuke's Sharingan spun sharply, his body automatically adjusting to a combat stance. Sakura also gritted her teeth, forcing herself to retreat to a safe distance.
A hoarse, scale-rubbing laugh, like a snake, came from the dense canopy.
"Hehehehe... What interesting eyes."
A Ninja dressed in Grass Hidden Village attire slowly emerged. Her face, before them, twisted and elongated like melting wax, finally settling into a pale, eerie countenance.
A long tongue extended, greedily licking his lips.
Orochimaru.
He rolled the Scroll of Heaven in his hand into his mouth, his throat wriggling, and he actually swallowed it whole.
This movement was filled with an inhuman distortion, and Sakura's stomach churned, almost making her vomit.
Sasuke's body tensed; he could feel every muscle fiber trembling. That evil aura instinctively filled him with dread.
Orochimaru didn't look at Sakura, nor did he look at Naruto. His entire attention was focused on Sasuke, with the fanaticism and possessiveness of a connoisseur seeing a perfect work of art.
"I found you, Sasuke-kun," his voice had a serpentine hiss, "What a perfect vessel."
Sasuke's heart pounded. Fear, anger, and a hint of suppressed excitement.
Just as Orochimaru was about to reach out to Sasuke, Naruto moved.
He didn't use any Body Flicker Technique, just took a firm step forward, like an insurmountable wall, blocking Sasuke.
He held the roaring Chainsword across his chest, its tip pointing directly at Orochimaru.
"Stay away from my soldier."
Naruto's tone was flat, yet carried an undeniable sense of command.
Soldier?
Sasuke's pupils contracted sharply. He disliked the feeling of being protected, but ironically, his body felt a trace of... reassurance because Naruto stood in front of him.
Orochimaru's movement stopped. His greedy eyes finally moved from Sasuke, scrutinizing Naruto with interest, as well as the unheard-of weapon in his hand.
"Soldier? Heh heh, an interesting way to put it," Orochimaru laughed, "And this weapon... you, too, are full of secrets, Naruto-kun."
"An heretic like you has no right to ask questions," Naruto gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands, his body sinking slightly into a standard assault stance.
"Heretic?" Orochimaru's smile widened, a delight at discovering a new toy. "What an interesting word. Let me see what you're truly capable of!"
He formed hand signs.
"Summoning Technique!"
Boom!
A massive cloud of smoke erupted, and a giant snake with scales thicker than armor appeared out of nowhere, a foul-smelling gust of wind hitting them. The giant snake raised its head, its lantern-like eyes locking onto Naruto, then opened its massive maw and bit down fiercely!
"Naruto!" Sakura's shriek was torn apart by the wind.
Sasuke's Sharingan spun wildly, trying to analyze this overwhelming attack, but he only felt a sense of powerlessness. Against such a behemoth, any Taijutsu or Ninjutsu seemed so insignificant.
However, Naruto did not dodge, nor did he retreat.
He met the oncoming shadow of death, his arm muscles bulging, and raised the Chainsword high above his head.
With a low roar, he brought it down in a perfectly executed vertical slash!
Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz—!
The roar of the Chainsword reached its peak at this moment. The blade, infused with wind-style Chakra and high-speed rotating arc-saw teeth, transformed into a silver lightning bolt that tore through everything.
Pfft—!
There was no earth-shattering collision.
The moment the Chainsword touched the giant snake's head, it was like a red-hot knife cutting into butter. The hard scales, thick skull, writhing flesh... everything was pulverized, torn, and churned into a blurry pulp of flesh and blood by the furious saw teeth.
One sword, all the way through.
The roaring weapon, from the giant snake's head, pierced all the way to its tail.
Time seemed to freeze for a second.
The next moment, the massive snake's body split cleanly down the middle, turning into two constantly twitching pieces of mangled flesh that crashed to the ground.
Foul-smelling blood and 碎塊 of internal organs splattered everywhere like a downpour.
Sasuke and Sakura stood frozen, their faces covered in warm liquid, but completely unaware.
Their minds were blank, numbly witnessing a slaughter.
Naruto stood in the rain of blood, the high-speed rotation of the Chainsword having flung off all impurities.
He slowly pointed the tip of his sword at the unharmed Orochimaru.
"Rotten soul, corrupted will, pure evil," Naruto's expression was more serious than ever, "Your very existence is a form of pollution, like... a Chaos God of the Warp!"
"I don't understand what you're talking about."
Orochimaru's smile finally vanished; he needed to be a little more serious.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Dozens of black venomous snakes suddenly shot out from his sleeves, like animated whips, coiling around Naruto from all directions.
Naruto did not retreat.
The Chainsword in his hand danced into a silver storm.
His movements were completely devoid of excess, every swing, every block, precisely landing on the venomous snakes' most vulnerable spots.
There were no flashy techniques, only the purest efficiency, existing solely for slaughter.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Broken snake corpses fell like rain, but none could approach within half a meter of Naruto.
Sasuke watched, his heart pounding.
Orochimaru's attacks were bizarre and deadly, but Naruto's response was even more terrifying.
It was a pure destruction, completely devoid of aesthetics and variation.
Orochimaru sneered, his body gliding across the ground as if boneless, instantly closing the distance.
His speed was faster than imagined.
"Your weapon is certainly interesting, but battles between Ninja aren't just about whose tool is sharper!"
He opened his mouth, and the tip of a sword emerged from it, stabbing directly at Naruto's heart.
Naruto sidestepped, the sword tip grazing his ribs, clashing with the Chainsword and sparking.
At the same time, the Chainsword in his hand swept horizontally, aiming directly for Orochimaru's neck.
Orochimaru's neck stretched backward at an incredible angle, like a rubber band, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.
The two instantly separated, facing each other again.
"Very quick reactions," Orochimaru licked his lips, his eyes a mix of admiration and greed, "Your body is also very interesting."
Naruto did not respond.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three Shadow Clones identical to him appeared beside him, each holding a Chainsword made of Chakra, slightly more ethereal in form.
"Tactical squad, Mode Two, execute purification protocol."
At the command of the original, the four "Narutos" moved simultaneously.
They did not fight individually but formed a standard diamond assault formation, rushing towards Orochimaru from four directions with flawless coordination.
Orochimaru's expression finally changed.
He was not facing four independent Ninja, but a perfectly coordinated killing machine.
No matter which direction he moved, he would simultaneously face attacks from at least two directions.
All his escape routes were completely sealed off.
"Interesting! Too interesting!"
He laughed wildly, forming hand signs again.
However, Naruto's attack had already arrived.
From the front, the original delivered a powerful overhead vertical slash.
From the left, a Shadow Clone executed a tricky horizontal sweep, blocking his retreat.
From the right, another Shadow Clone performed a ground roll advance, targeting his legs.
From behind, the fourth Shadow Clone had already leaped high, ready to launch a fatal aerial attack.
This was a checkmate.
Boom!
The furious Chainswords simultaneously struck their target, carving several deep furrows into the ground.
The "Orochimaru" surrounded in the middle was instantly torn to shreds.
But the fragments did not turn into flesh and blood; instead, they transformed into scattered dirt in the air.
Earth Clone?
Sasuke's Sharingan caught the anomaly.
"Over here, you see."
A playful voice came from behind a large tree nearby.
The real Orochimaru stood there unharmed, though his expression was much more serious than before.
He looked at Naruto, his eyes no longer showing the delight of a toy, but a complex mix of confusion, apprehension, and extreme curiosity.
"You are not a Ninja."
Orochimaru spoke word by word, as if stating a fact.
"Your fighting style, your killing intent, your so-called 'tactics'... none of it belongs to this world."
"What exactly are you?"
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