A barrage of strikes powerful enough to cleave mountains and shatter stone stripped away Gaara's final layer of defense. The final blow struck him with such force that he coughed up a spray of crimson blood, a look of utter disbelief flickering across his twisted, bloodthirsty face.
He couldn't remember the last time he had been wounded, but he was certain this strike had damaged both bone and internal organs. The searing pain continuously jolted his most sensitive nerves.
Death! If he let this continue, he might actually die! Unless... he released the monster sealed within his body!
Upon realizing this, a massive surge of sand erupted from the ground, transforming the area for a hundred meters into a desert wasteland. Gaara's eyes, rimmed with deep dark circles, shot out rays of savage madness.
"Hey! Gaara! Stop! Now isn't the time!" Temari shouted, terrified. If the Hidden Sand's Jinchuriki went on a rampage here, it would be a total disaster for the upcoming plan. Konoha would certainly focus all their defensive efforts on the vessel containing the One-Tail, Shukaku.
Unfortunately, Gaara, now in a state of hysterics, was beyond reason. His body had already begun to show signs of partial Tailed-Beast transformation.
Just as he was about to lose control completely, Orochimaru, who had been lurking in the shadows, finally made his move. The member of the Sannin who possessed the most knowledge and ninjutsu flickered into the fray. With a swift application of the Five Elements Seal, he completely suppressed the leaking Tailed-Beast Chakra, forcing the Jinchuriki back to lucidity.
Following this, he sent Gaara flying with a powerful kick, giving the other two children of the Fourth Kazekage a clear excuse to retreat. In just a few seconds, Orochimaru had effortlessly resolved the minor complication before turning his gaze toward the members of Team 3.
"What staggering Chakra! Who are you?" Neji questioned, his guard high. Through his Byakugan, he saw the terrifying volume of Chakra flowing through the man's meridians, realizing instantly that this person could not possibly be a mere Genin.
"Hehe, such keen observation. Don't worry, I am not your enemy. I merely came to confirm something," Orochimaru replied with a smile.
"Confirm something?" Neji suddenly had a bad premonition.
"Indeed! But before that, I need to clear away the bystanders, or a certain someone might get angry."
No sooner had he spoken than Orochimaru attacked Tenten and Rock Lee without warning. He used a Summoning Jutsu to call forth two giant snakes, forcing the two Genin to retreat and dodge until they were separated by a significant distance.
Once they were sixty or seventy meters away, Orochimaru smiled. "Now, take off your forehead protector. Let me see if the Caged Bird seal has truly vanished. Don't worry, Allen-kun and I are the closest of partners. He's currently participating in the Chunin Exams under another identity himself."
"You're Orochimaru, one of the Sannin?!" Neji's expression shifted slightly.
"Precisely! Time is short, so move quickly. Otherwise, I can't guarantee what serious consequences might occur if your teammates accidentally see something they shouldn't," Orochimaru threatened with a playful smirk.
Neji gritted his teeth and hesitated for a moment before finally pulling down his forehead protector, revealing his bare forehead.
"The Caged Bird seal is truly gone! Hahaha! Interesting! Truly fascinating! Allen-kun, you've given me yet another grand surprise. Farewell, Neji Hyuga... I look forward to your performance in this operation."
Leaving behind those meaningful words, Orochimaru didn't stay for a second longer, sinking into the earth and vanishing without a trace.
Watching the dangerous figure who radiated such a horrifying aura depart, Neji finally breathed a sigh of relief. Deactivating his Earth Release hardening, he bit his lip and muttered, "S-rank rogue ninja Orochimaru... is that your partner now? Allen, what exactly are you after? What are you pursuing?"
Undoubtedly, Allen's recent actions had caused him unprecedented confusion. Most ninjas who defect have a clear reason; Orochimaru, for instance, defected because his cruel human experimentation was not tolerated by the village.
But in Allen, Neji saw none of that. To this day, he didn't even know the true reason for Allen's planned defection. All he knew was that the persona Allen presented to the world was a façade, a disguise used to deceive and numb those around him. Allen had never truly trusted Konoha, nor did he possess the resolve to lay down his life for the village like other ninjas. From the very beginning, he had his own agenda.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the Forest of Death, Allen encountered a second team that had set their sights on him to steal his scroll. This team was none other than Team 8, which included the heroine Hinata.
Looking at Kiba Inuzuka shouting provocations at the front, Allen finally couldn't help but lean his head against his hand, asking Karin and Haku beside him: "Do I really look that weak and easy to bully? Why do these Konoha Genin ignore everyone else and target us specifically?"
"No, you just look relatively... kind," Haku replied, stifling a laugh.
Truth be told, being "robbed" by a group of Genin felt like being barked at by a cute little puppy on the side of the road; rather than feeling fear, it was oddly comical.
"Fine. 'Kindness is taken for weakness, and a gentle horse is ridden hardest.' It seems the cost of being a good person far exceeds that of being a villain. The morals and values of this world are truly twisted to the extreme," Allen sighed with a look of helplessness.
"Hey! Sound ninja! Have you made up your minds yet? Hand over the scroll quickly, or we won't be polite!" Kiba Inuzuka, entirely unaware of the danger he was provoking, shouted impatiently.
In contrast, Hinata, possessing the Byakugan, sensed something was wrong and tried repeatedly to warn her teammates. Unfortunately, her voice was so quiet that the other two couldn't hear her at all.
"Yes, I've made up my mind. Karin, go and show them some 'color.' Especially that kid shouting the loudest, beat him as hard as you can without actually killing him," Allen ordered with a dark expression.
"Understood!"
Karin cracked her knuckles, a dangerous light gleaming in her eyes as she slowly approached Kiba. Just as the distance between them closed to fifteen meters, she suddenly used Body Flicker to appear right in front of him, slamming a fist into his arrogant face.
BANG!
Without any suspense, Kiba, who didn't even have time to react, slammed head-first into the ground. Though Akamaru tried to leap up and bite the enemy to save his master, Karin sent him flying ten meters away with a single kick, only stopping when he smashed into a tree.
————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my p-atre-on: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]