"RUN…"
"DON'T STOP RUNNING!"
Kiyomi shouted as he practically shoved Karin and Sakura forward, manhandling them. Sasuke had the same role to play with their team's blond idiot.
Needless to say, neither Sakura, Karin, nor Naruto wished to leave Sukuna alone with Orochimaru.
However, they knew they would just hold him back, not to mention Sukuna's own condition. It felt wrong.
Sakura cried out, eyes still misty upon thinking of her brother's strange form. "We can't just leave him behind."
"We are not, but we can't…"
Boom…
A blast erupted and a row of trees around them were slashed open, flying high in the air, later crashing down just near them.
All of them swallowed hard. If they were a bit to the side, the ones cut open among the trees would have been them.
"Is that Orochimaru?" Karin's eyes widened. Her Mind's Eye of Kagura tried to read Sukuna's location and chakra signature (mainly because she didn't know he and Kiyomi had CE), however she couldn't.
Sukuna's signature now was different, so different that it was entirely unfamiliar. It was way too violent and strong enough to give her the creeps.
It wasn't the familiar dark yet warm feeling from her just recently confirmed boyfriend.
Not just dark, but sinister as well.
"Oh I assure you that ain't Orochimaru," Kiyomi retorted. If anything, they had to get away from that boy right now.
Gods know what curse had taken over his mind. He was turning back into that monster again.
"And that's your reason right there, why we need to run, now get on with it." Sasuke didn't understand what that attack was. His Sharingan also only saw a glimpse of shadow before everything went boom.
"That bastard was holding out on us," Sasuke gritted his teeth. There was no doubt in his mind that Sukuna had withheld much of his power back, never letting them know how strong he was.
Technically it was to not hurt them while training, but for Sasuke, it was like the boy was looking down on them.
He knew he wasn't as strong as him, but dammit, to not even know what the boy was capable of, that he withheld this much power—it was humiliating.
He didn't know whether this was because of Orochimaru or Sukuna's own power, but for Sasuke, power is power. As long as it can make him stronger, he didn't care.
Boom.
Another huge explosion sound was heard and another row of trees were sent flying. A deep gash was left behind where that attack left its mark.
"What the hell are those doing out there?" Naruto whined, at one point all of them running for their lives.
A little further away from them…
"…FUGA."
Sukuna inhaled, saturating his lungs with all the air he could muster before exhaling what could only be described as an inferno.
The chaos lit up the entire place from the moment they started fighting. Technically they weren't fighting, it was Sukuna who was forcing him to fight, Orochimaru's main goal was still Sasuke.
The forest ignited instantly, flames devouring everything Sukuna had already reduced to splinters. The sky glowed orange as heat distorted the air itself.
Orochimaru leapt back, hissing, his skin blistering before sloughing off entirely.
"That technique, there is no way a genin can do that level of fire style jutsu." Orochimaru gave a wary smile, backing off quickly from the raging inferno created by the boy.
The forest lit up like a Christmas tree. If it was set on fire, that is.
And if that wasn't enough, Orochimaru felt it. The fire wasn't ordinary. Something was strange about it.
"This is absurd," Orochimaru growled. "For a Genin to use that level of fire release, tell me, is that old man really that desperate to win the chunin exams that he sent a jonin-rank shinobi like you into this exam."
Sukuna only laughed, his eyes still holding that manic look in which he only wished to rip apart his opponent and move on to the next fight. Fight someone stronger and fight until one of them dies.
Sukuna didn't bother launching another dismantle and rushed at Orochimaru, ready to take him down hand to hand. Because perhaps he realized that he couldn't beat Orochimaru without damaging his soul, something he couldn't do right now.
Just as he approached Orochimaru, the ground split beneath Orochimaru as something massive surged upward.
"Manda!" Orochimaru barked.
The colossal serpent erupted from the earth, roaring as it lunged to coil around Sukuna, its sheer size blotting out the flames.
"Orochimaru, didn't I tell you to ready my 100 people…" It never got to finish the motion before Sukuna's upper right arm moved.
Cleave.
The blade of cursed space passed through Manda's body without resistance. The serpent froze for a heartbeat—then collapsed into dozens of massive, writhing segments, each sliding lifelessly to the ground.
Orochimaru just stared in disbelief. Manda was the strongest snake from Ryuchi Cave beside the Snake Sage himself.
And this boy killed it just like that? Even if he got a huge boost from his curse seal, this level of strength is ridiculous.
On the other hand, Sukuna earlier didn't even notice when Orochimaru summoned Manda. This was the years of expertise that Orochimaru had mastered.
"Come on…" Sukuna shouted with a grin permanently plastered on his face before launching himself once again at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru's stiff smile instantly turned into a grimace and he finally had to lift his hand, fingers into a familiar sign, the one to control his curse seal etched into Sukuna's flesh from afar. But he felt nothing…?
At first confusion covered his face, then realisation dawned on him.
For the first time since entering the Forest of Death, Orochimaru's expression hardened.
"…My soul fragment, it's not reacting…" he murmured.
Then he looked at Sukuna with an almost crazed look. His soul fragment was gone. Part of his soul was lost.
'But how?' He couldn't understand. However, the rage was building now inside him. For once he forgot about Sasuke and Mangekyo.
"Not running anymore huh," Sukuna said, voice deep and layered. "Good."
Orochimaru's face was chilly. He wasn't running away earlier either, just his priorities were different. However, not anymore.
He couldn't let his soul fragment get lost. He now had to capture this boy, no matter the case.
Earth exploded upward as serpents of stone and mud burst from beneath Sukuna's feet, coiling to crush him. At the same time, Orochimaru's sleeves split open—dozens of white snakes launching forward, blades in their mouths, lightning chakra crackling along their fangs.
Sukuna didn't dodge.
Cleave.
The stone serpents were diced mid-coil. Dismantle followed in a horizontal sweep, shredding the incoming snakes into raining fragments. Lightning dispersed harmlessly through the burning air.
Orochimaru was already forming seals.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A compressed wall of wind slammed forward, feeding the surrounding flames into a roaring inferno aimed to consume Sukuna whole.
Sukuna stepped into it.
Fire swallowed him—then split apart.
Sukuna didn't even use Kamui, that wasn't a part of his instincts. His instincts were to cut and burn.
Four arms swung in intersecting arcs. Invisible slashes tore through wind and flame alike, carving corridors through the inferno as if it were cloth. The ground beneath Orochimaru fractured from the aftershock.
"Too soft," Sukuna muttered.
Orochimaru's neck elongated unnaturally, his body bending backward as a giant snake erupted from his mouth, jaws wide enough to swallow a building. Its fangs glistened with paralytic venom.
The serpent descended.
Sukuna vanished.
A crater detonated where he had stood.
He reappeared midair above the snake's skull—instinct, not technique. One hand grabbed its upper jaw. Another seized the lower.
He pulled.
The colossal snake split in half with a wet, tearing roar.
Before the corpse hit the ground, Orochimaru emerged from its remains, Kusanagi blade already thrusting forward at blinding speed.
The sword pierced Sukuna's chest.
Silence.
Then a grin spread slowly across Sukuna's face.
"You serious now," he asked with a grin plastered on his face.
Four hands closed around the blade.
Crack.
Kusanagi shattered.
Orochimaru's eyes widened—but he was already dissolving into a swarm of smaller serpents, slithering outward to regroup.
Dismantle fell like rain.
The ground became a grid of death. Serpents were reduced to fragments mid-slither, their remains scattering across scorched earth. Orochimaru reformed again—breathing heavier now.
Sukuna laughed and once again sent hundreds of dismantles at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru still couldn't see the attacks coming. However, he could predict when Sukuna was using those deadly invisible slashes. He quickly formed hand signs and then slammed both palms into the ground.
Black markings spread outward as summoning arrays flared. Massive triple Rashomon gates erupted between them—towering demonic faces layered in defense.
All of Sukuna's dismantles were absorbed by the Rashomon gates.
Sukuna just grinned more and charged right at Orochimaru, completely ignoring the stationary gates only used for defense.
He landed right next to the Snake Sannin, the shockwave flattening what little forest still stood.
Orochimaru's composure finally cracked.
This was turning out to be much more troublesome than he expected.
He bit his thumb, blood splashing across another summoning seal.
"Eight-Headed Serpent!"
A titanic hydra-like monstrosity burst forth, eight massive heads roaring in unison, each maw forming chakra for different elemental attacks—fire, lightning, acid, wind.
They unleashed simultaneously.
The world vanished beneath overlapping destruction.
And from within it—
Laughter.
Sukuna burst through the elemental storm like a demon ascending from hell.
Natural energy and curse energy churned violently, reinforcing him in raw, reckless bursts. Efficiency was nonexistent. However, the sheer defense his CE provided was immense.
He leaped once again and threw himself against Orochimaru once again.
xXx
A/N : Guys, please tell me if you find any problem in this chapter, I'm current traveling and don't get enough time to fix everything. Please tell me if you find anything missing. And if you thing the chapter is a bit lacking, please forgive me, Writing while travelling is quite hard.
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