Chapter 10: Orochimaru's Shock!
Orochimaru was feeling rather puzzled at the moment.
He really couldn't figure it out.
Just who was this red-haired girl who suddenly appeared out of nowhere?
Why did she know his identity?
And why, after knowing who he was, was she still not afraid at all?!
"Red hair… You're an Uzumaki clan descendant, aren't you?"
"You can sense me… That should be the Uzumaki clan's secret technique, Kagura Shisen (Mind's Eye of the Kagura)."
"Uzumaki clan?"
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all turned their heads to look at Karin in unison.
Inside Naruto's heart, curiosity toward Karin instantly exploded.
Because… this was the first "clan member" he had ever met!
"Correct." Karin nodded calmly.
Then she raised her hand and pointed straight at Sasuke.
"This person, I'm protecting him.
The Holy Master gave the order.
He said this person must not be bitten by a snake.
So, if you don't want to fight me and attract Konoha's attention… you should leave quickly."
"Bitten by a snake?"
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly.
Right now, he was growing even more curious.
Why did this red-haired girl know he planned to plant the Cursed Seal of Heaven on Sasuke?
Or perhaps…
"The 'bitten by a snake' she mentioned is just a metaphor… not referring to my cursed seal?"
While Orochimaru was deep in thought, Karin suddenly spoke again.
"That's right~
Weren't you planning to put the Cursed Seal of Heaven on him?
And after that… you were going to take over his body, right?
All of this… isn't it just because Itachi cut off one of your arms back then?"
"WHO… ARE YOU?!"
Killing intent instantly surged wildly inside Orochimaru.
He felt someone had betrayed him.
Otherwise, there was no way this red-haired girl could know so many secret details!
"What's wrong?"
Karin heard him and immediately let out a cold laugh.
"Are you really sure you want to fight me?
Think carefully~
If we fight…
your entire plan might collapse.
The Konoha Crush plan will also fail miserably."
"WHO… EXACTLY… ARE YOU?!"
Orochimaru could no longer suppress the murderous intent in his heart.
This girl knew far too many inside details.
Clearly, someone very important had betrayed him.
"Was it Kabuto who told you all this?"
"Of course not~"
Karin pushed up her glasses with a smile.
"Anwoman~ (A secret makes a woman more womanly~)"
"…"
Orochimaru suddenly stuck out his long tongue, a ferocious grin on his face as he slowly licked his lips.
"How interesting…
It seems you have no intention of telling me."
Whoosh!
The next instant, Orochimaru's body twisted and transformed into his half-snake, half-human form, lunging straight toward Karin!
Karin didn't panic in the slightest.
She rapidly formed hand seals, then slammed both palms onto the ground.
"Mokuton: Kongō Jōki!" (Wood Release: Adamantine Binding Pillars!)
Crack—crack—crack!
The earth beneath Orochimaru's feet instantly shattered.
Thick, hard wooden pillars shot upward, smashing ruthlessly toward him!
"Mokuton?!"
Orochimaru was shocked!
He wasn't particularly surprised that Karin knew some confidential information.
Those things could be obtained if someone betrayed him.
But…
Mokuton?!
He, who had once been in charge of the "Senju Hashirama cell experiments", understood better than anyone just how terrifying Wood Release truly was.
At the same time, he also knew very well—
Without Hashirama's cells, it was fundamentally impossible to perform Mokuton!
"Who the hell is she?!
How can she use Mokuton?!
Does she have Hashirama's cells implanted in her body?
But… there are only a handful of people in the entire world capable of conducting such an experiment!
Just who is she?!
What organization does she belong to?!"
Filled with confusion, Orochimaru continued attacking Karin relentlessly.
However, Karin no longer used Wood Release.
Because the Mokuton she knew had been taught to her by Ho-Oh.
The specific techniques were given to her by master.
And master himself hadn't extracted that many Wood Release ninjutsu.
So Karin's Mokuton repertoire was actually quite limited.
What she truly excelled at… was close-quarters combat.
Thus, the two of them clashed fiercely in melee.
No matter how fast Orochimaru moved, Karin suppressed him steadily.
This kind of battle left Orochimaru inwardly shaken.
"She's so young… yet so powerful?!
Could she be another genius on the level of Itachi?!"
Even though he couldn't gain the upper hand after a prolonged fight, Orochimaru didn't panic at all.
In the ninja world, information was the most important thing.
And what he was best at… was using his near-immortal Great White Serpent Substitution Technique to continuously gather intelligence about the opponent.
Then deliver the fatal strike.
Right now, that was exactly what he was doing — constantly collecting data on Karin.
However… he hadn't used the serpent substitution yet.
Because Karin still wasn't able to inflict fatal damage on him.
"Extremely powerful regeneration… wounds heal almost instantly.
Perception is frighteningly sharp — ordinary clones can't fool her.
Speed and strength both surpass normal jōnin level.
Also knows a bit of Mokuton.
Overall strength… roughly on par with Rasa if he didn't have Magnet Release."
After figuring out Karin's approximate power level, Orochimaru immediately changed tactics.
He rushed in close once again, and suddenly — Shadow Clone? No — Kusanagi no Tsume: Many Hidden Snake Hands!
Numerous snake arms burst out, instantly wrapping around Karin and binding her tightly!
Right after that.
His mouth opened wide.
A second Orochimaru holding the Kusanagi sword shot straight out from his throat!
Stabbing viciously toward Karin's heart!
A ferocious, triumphant look flashed in his eyes.
Just when he thought he would finally get rid of this troublesome girl—
Karin suddenly smiled faintly.
The next second—
A pair of wings appeared behind her!
Whoosh!
With one powerful flap, all the snakes around her were instantly torn apart!
At the same time, Orochimaru himself was sent flying backward!
"What?!"
Orochimaru was shocked once again.
He was completely dumbfounded.
How could a normal human suddenly grow a pair of colorful feathered wings?!
Even more bizarre…
Around those wings shimmered a seven-colored halo of light!
"Is she… a jinchūriki?!"
Orochimaru froze for a moment.
"No… impossible…
There's no tailed beast like this!
And I can't sense any tailed beast chakra inside her at all!"
"Mandara no Jin!!" (Ten Thousand Snakes Array!!)
Orochimaru refused to give up.
He summoned a massive amount of snakes from underground, sending them surging toward Karin like a tidal wave.
Karin, however, simply flapped her wings and rose into the air.
"You fell for it."
A cold, mocking smile appeared on Orochimaru's face.
His lower body transformed into a snake tail, and he shot like an arrow straight toward Sasuke!
Since she wanted to protect Sasuke…
Then he would simply attack Sasuke directly!
Force her to reveal an opening!
But what Orochimaru never expected—
The girl floating in the sky suddenly transformed into a magnificent phoenix radiating seven-colored light!
Then the phoenix dove down at extreme speed.
One flap of its wings—
BOOM!!
Orochimaru was sent flying once again!
Not only that — all the snakes on the ground exploded simultaneously!
Terrifying shockwaves blasted the earth, creating an enormous crater!
"Wh… what the hell is this monster?!
Such terrifying pressure… such terrifying chakra…
This feeling…
It's even more frightening than the Nine-Tails!!"
Orochimaru was shocked beyond words.
Before he could even recover—
The phoenix rose into the air again.
Opened its beak.
And then—
A Tailed Beast Ball came roaring straight toward him!
"Fuck!!"
For the first time in a long while, Orochimaru couldn't help but swear out loud.