At this point, the distance between the two had just opened up, and they both turned simultaneously, almost as if they were about to charge at each other.
During this, a long, thin Kusanagi sword was spat out from Orochimaru's mouth.
Controlled by him, it moved like a serpent, meeting Qingming's long sword head-on.
Cling cling cling~
A series of crisp metallic clashing sounds echoed.
The long sword and the thin Kusanagi sword collided, sparking bits of fire.
After exchanging blows several times, Qingming seized the opportunity. At the moment their weapons clashed again, he once more performed the Raiton: Raikōken (Lightning Style: Lightning Sword).
Zzzzzzz~
The sound of intense electrical currents filled the air.
A surge of electricity shot from Qingming's palm, traveled down the long sword, and at the point of their weapons' collision, it quickly spread to Orochimaru's body.
Orochimaru's body immediately trembled, his movements heavily restricted.
Seeing this, Qingming's eyes brightened, and he immediately swung his sword, aiming for Orochimaru's neck.
Puchi~
The sound of a sharp blade cutting through flesh was heard.
Qingming's sword passed cleanly through, severing Orochimaru's head, which rolled on the ground.
"Mm?"
Upon seeing this, Qingming slightly raised his eyebrows. He didn't believe that Orochimaru would die so easily.
In fact, that was indeed not the case.
The head lying on the ground suddenly deflated.
At the same time, a new Orochimaru crawled out from the severed neck.
Orochimaru's Hidden Body Substitute Technique?
Qingming immediately recognized the technique with just one glance.
He had initially thought that this technique could only emerge from the mouth, but he had not expected it to have this kind of application.
Not pausing for a moment, Qingming immediately prepared to strike again.
However, Orochimaru, seizing the opportunity to feign death, was not going to let him repeat his previous move. Almost the instant his new body appeared, a massive number of brown snakes shot out from his mouth, as if a tidal wave, rushing straight toward Qingming, threatening to swallow him whole.
This was one of Orochimaru's advanced techniques — The Snake Swarm Formation — capable of summoning thousands of venomous snakes in an instant, overwhelming his enemies.
Facing such a vast number of snakes, even Qingming, with his superb swordsmanship, would not dare to face them head-on.
Thus, he slammed his foot on the ground, propelling himself like a cannonball, swiftly distancing himself from the snake horde.
However, Orochimaru had no intention of letting him escape. He directly controlled the venomous snakes to chase after him.
Qingming, seeing this, didn't hesitate. He immediately sheathed his sword, formed hand seals, and in an instant performed the Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique).
Poo~
A fireball erupted from his mouth, expanding rapidly in the air.
It soon grew to more than three meters in diameter and was spinning furiously as it hurtled towards the swarm of snakes.
Boom~
A violent explosion rang out.
Fierce flames spread in all directions, engulfing the venomous snakes within moments.
A chorus of hissing filled the air as the snakes writhed in the flames, but they could not escape and were burned to death.
A foul, charred odor wafted through the air, making one gag.
Once the flames dissipated, the snake horde was entirely gone.
Both Qingming and Orochimaru stood on opposite sides, neither moving to attack again.
A few seconds passed, and it was Qingming who spoke first: "Orochimaru-sama, what is the meaning of this? Why are you attacking me?"
Hehehe~
Orochimaru chuckled eerily in response.
After a moment of laughter, he replied, "Why attack you? Boy, do you have any idea how much I lost in cooperation with Tōrō's death?"
Qingming had no way to refute this.
At this point, Tōrō had been of considerable assistance to Orochimaru. Leaving aside the shady experiments, Tōrō had been a key player in Orochimaru's bid for the position of Hokage. Without Tōrō's help, Orochimaru's chances were slim.
Thus, Qingming's killing of Tōrō had effectively severed Orochimaru's path to power. Although Orochimaru may not have cared much about the position, it had still been a real opportunity for him.
Now that this was cut off, his chances of winning had plummeted, so naturally, he came to make trouble.
At this point, Qingming didn't know that earlier that morning, Hiruzen Sarutobi had found Orochimaru and presented evidence of his collaboration with Tōrō in human experimentation, forcing him to withdraw from the Fourth Hokage race.
Faced with the pressure, Orochimaru reluctantly agreed.
This meant that his chances had not just diminished; they were now entirely gone.
And this was just one reason. Another was that his performance had piqued Orochimaru's interest.
Orochimaru was well aware of Tōrō and the Root's abilities. He also understood Tōrō's personality. Since Tōrō was prepared to strike, it meant he was ready for whatever would come.
Yet, despite this, Qingming had still managed to turn the tables. None of Tōrō's men had returned, and Orochimaru himself had been caught up in it. What intrigued him the most was that Qingming had shown no signs of injury afterward.
This caused his curiosity about Qingming to skyrocket.
Thus, following his instincts, he came to investigate.
Upon seeing him, Orochimaru realized that Qingming was indeed extraordinary.
Just observing Qingming's calm demeanor in front of him showed that he wasn't your average Jonin.
This required absolute confidence in one's abilities.
And the brief exchange they had just had confirmed that Qingming was indeed quite formidable.
Unfortunately, the location was too close to the village, making it an unsuitable place for a full-blown fight.
Besides, this visit had merely been a test; he hadn't yet decided on his next move, so he had no plans to continue the battle.
Thinking this, Orochimaru stopped speaking. He finally said, "I hope we can collaborate in the future," before walking off into the depths of the forest.
"Collaborate? More like an opportunity to be experimented on!"
Qingming watched as Orochimaru's figure disappeared, inwardly scoffing.
However, he didn't find his departure hard to understand.
From the moment Orochimaru attacked, Qingming knew it was nothing more than a test — or more accurately, just a greeting.
Now that the greeting was over, Orochimaru was naturally leaving.
As for why Qingming didn't stop him—well, he had no deep enmity with the man. There was no reason to prevent his departure.
This wasn't a game where defeating him would earn experience points. Qingming could increase his power by training, not by killing.
So, there was no need to create unnecessary trouble.
Moreover, even if he stopped Orochimaru, what then? He couldn't kill him in such a short time, and with this close to the village, a large-scale battle would quickly attract attention. How could he explain that?
He wasn't about to do something thankless.
With that thought, Qingming immediately raised his hand, formed the seals, and used Fūton: Fū no Tsubasa (Wind Style: Wind Wings) and Chakra Armor to soar into the sky, heading toward the direction of the island.
plz support me if you can.
patreon.com/Mano99
all the fanfic is 30 chapter a had and you will get 1 chapter everyday.