"Boom—!!!"
A torrential current of water, like a tsunami, swept through, instantly engulfing Orochimaru and the giant snake beneath him! Hundreds of water dragons collided and tore at each other, creating a massive impact that plowed the surrounding ground and sent a surge of water vapor skyward, forming a brief downpour over the forest.
To avoid accidental injury, Naruto had already used the Flying Thunder God Technique to transfer Satsuki and Sakura to a distant, towering tree, so large it would take over a dozen people to embrace its trunk, placing them on one of its sturdy branches.
"So... so powerful..."
Looking at the landscape below, completely reshaped by the violent Water Release, Sakura couldn't help but whisper in a daze. The sight had completely exceeded her understanding of a Genin's strength.
It's just that the name of this jutsu... isn't it a bit too long? She silently added in her mind.
When the surging water finally subsided and slowly seeped into the earth, the original battlefield was a mess. The massive summoned giant snake lay limp on the ground, its life force long gone, and the blood from its mouth had been completely washed away by the turbulent water.
And Orochimaru's body lay motionless, face down in the mud, utterly devoid of life.
"...Is he dead?"
Satsuki looked at the unmoving corpse below, and just as she was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a strong surge of frustration welled up—in that recent crisis, she hadn't been able to do anything!
"Stay alert!" But Naruto's shout immediately interrupted her thoughts, "This guy won't die that easily!"
Sakura looked somewhat puzzled, wasn't the opponent already...?!
The next moment, a scene that made one's scalp tingle and stomach churn unfolded.
The prone "corpse" suddenly twitched unnaturally, and its mouth snapped open at an angle that defied human anatomy!
Then, a giant snake, as thick as an adult's waist and covered in slimy scales, slowly crawled out of that open mouth!
And that wasn't all! The newly emerged giant snake opened its gaping maw again, and with an unsettling sound of tearing mucus, a dripping wet, yet completely unharmed "Orochimaru" was "spit" out from its throat!
He stood in the mud, casually wiping away the lingering mucus from his face.
"...It seems I was indeed mistaken," Orochimaru said, his gaze fixed on Naruto in the tree. Although his tone still carried a hint of his usual flippancy, it now contained a new seriousness and gravity.
"You are indeed not prey, but a hunter worthy of serious attention. However..."
He extended his long tongue, licking the corner of his mouth, "I am not an opponent that can be dealt with so easily."
"Summoning Jutsu!"
As Orochimaru formed hand signs, a huge cloud of white smoke burst forth. The next moment, an even larger giant snake, its body as thick as a small building, appeared, its cold snake eyes looking down.
"You are not a lamb to be slaughtered... But in a predator's struggle, the one who shows a flaw first often pays with their life."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly lowered his head and opened his mouth—the next second, countless writhing, squirming snakes poured out of his mouth like a broken dam! The dense swarm of snakes intertwined and hissed, forming a horrifying, living tide that swept overwhelmingly towards the giant tree where Naruto and the two girls were!
Is his target Satsuki and Sakura? Does he want to tie me down by attacking them? Naruto instantly saw through Orochimaru's intentions.
"Ugh..."
Sakura's face instantly turned pale at the nightmarish sight, her legs gave out, and she knelt on the branch, desperately covering her mouth to keep from vomiting. Satsuki was equally pale, but she still braced herself, raising a kunai. Her Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun wildly; she knew there was a huge gap in strength between herself and the opponent in a battle of this magnitude.
"I won't let you succeed."
Naruto took a step forward, "You don't seem to have grasped the situation yet. I'll say it again—right now, you are the prey trapped in this hunting ground!"
Orochimaru was somewhat surprised. This was the first time in his life that, when facing any prey, the other party not only showed no fear but actually turned the tables.
Naruto no longer intended to prolong the fight. He had to display enough power now to make Orochimaru weigh his options, even if he couldn't capture him, he needed to make him deeply realize that the so-called "Konoha Crush Plan" was simply impossible to achieve, and it would be best for him to cancel it now, while he still could.
Under Satsuki's alarmed gaze, a scorching, violent crimson Chakra, like flames, surged from Naruto's body, rapidly covering him entirely.
The intelligence was actually true! Seeing this Chakra, Orochimaru finally shed all his playful demeanor, and an expression of gravity and shock appeared on his face for the first time.
Finally, four fox tails made of Tailed Beast Chakra swayed and appeared behind Naruto. His form rapidly changed in the red glow, ultimately transforming into a compact, small Nine-Tailed radiating pure destructive aura!
"Ah ah ah ah—!"
Naruto, in his small Nine-Tailed form, let out a deafening roar, his body shielding Satsuki and Sakura firmly behind him. He opened his enormous mouth, and destructive Tailed Beast Chakra violently compressed and condensed within it, emitting a heart-pounding energy fluctuation.
"Boom—!!!"
The next instant, a torrent of crimson Tailed Beast Ball, several meters in diameter, tore through the air and slammed into the center of the surging snake swarm! The destructive shockwave instantly leveled trees, rocks, and even the ground within a hundred meters, and violent air currents swept in all directions like a passing typhoon!
Through the raging energy storm, Orochimaru's usually composed face finally, uncontrollably, showed an expression of "terror."
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