Boar finished his hand seals and shouted.
Doton: Doryūdan ▻ Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet
An earthen dragon head rose in front of him, spewing basketball-sized bullets at extreme speed and range.
Orochimaru sneered, "You think such a jutsu can hurt me?"
At the same time, Elephant completed his hand seals.
Katon: Endan ▻ Fire Style: Flame Bullet
He spat out a large flame from his mouth, but the target wasn't Orochimaru — it was the earth dragon bullets Boar had released. The flames attached to them.
Flame bullets had short range and slow speed. But once attached to the earth dragon bullets, these weaknesses were immediately compensated for.
One by one, the earth-fire bullets flew rapidly toward Orochimaru.
In the forest nearby, Mizuki watched the battle.
Though puzzled that Orochimaru had made a special trip for his sake, he had no interest in allying with that pervert.
He wasn't in a hurry to show himself. Orochimaru and Konoha ANBU fighting to the death had nothing to do with him. Best if all three ANBU died, so Hiruzen could feel the pain.
'These two ANBU are pretty skilled — combining Earth Style and Fire Style to execute a combination jutsu! Earth dragon bullets have weak lethality but long range and high speed. Even if they hit the enemy, they can't cause real damage. Flame bullets have strong lethality but short range and slow speed, so enemies can easily dodge. But by combining the two, the weaknesses are overcome and the power increases exponentially.
In the original manga, the Third Hokage used this technique when fighting Orochimaru. However, he used it alone. Here, two people are working together. Too bad — a jutsu of this level poses no threat to Orochimaru.'
The next moment, Orochimaru was hit by several earth-fire bullets and let out a piercing scream.
In an instant, he was burned to ashes!
But Elephant and Boar didn't relax. The Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes was still active, which meant Orochimaru wasn't dead at all.
Seeing the snake swarm getting closer, Elephant formed hand seals again. He pressed both hands to the ground, and electrical light spread across the surface in all directions.
Raiton: Amigumo ▻ Lightning Release: Spider Web
Wave after wave of venomous snakes were electrocuted. In the blink of an eye, all the snakes lay dead.
Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes, broken!
But the cost was high. Elephant bent over, gasping for breath, his legs trembling.
"Boar, my chakra is completely depleted!"
After releasing multiple high-power, wide-range jutsu in quick succession, even a Jōnin couldn't hold up. Elephant swallowed a Food Pill to restore his chakra while scanning the surroundings, remaining vigilant.
Boar stood nearby, hands raised and ready to form seals at any moment.
Suddenly, Elephant shouted, "Here it comes!"
Boar had already seen it — no reminder needed. Among the masses of dead snakes, one suddenly moved. Its mouth opened, and Orochimaru crawled out.
Slimy and disgusting — it almost made Mizuki vomit up yesterday's meal.
That's fucking gross!
He could barely stand it, yet he was curious. How did Orochimaru hide inside the belly of such a thin little snake?
Orochimaru looked toward where Mizuki was hiding, laughing in his raspy voice, "I suppose you've seen enough. Well then, these two are no longer useful."
Sen'ei Jashu ▻ Hidden Shadow Snake Hands
Orochimaru raised his hand. Several arm-thick snakes shot out from his sleeve, heading toward Elephant and Boar.
Boar reacted quickly, forming hand seals at high speed.
Doton: Doryūheki ▻ Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall
Orochimaru sneered, "Naive!"
The earth wall blocked the front, but the snakes weren't inanimate objects. They simply went around the wall and, at extreme speed, wrapped around Elephant and Boar.
But the next moment, Elephant dispersed into lightning and Boar turned into a mud figure.
"Lightning Clone and Earth Clone?"
The earth wall had blocked part of Orochimaru's view. By the time he realized it, the two had already fled far away.
Orochimaru didn't pursue them. Instead, he turned to glance at the forest, then at the unconscious Sakura on the ground.
"Talentless trash doesn't deserve to live in this world."
Sen'ei Jashu ▻ Hidden Shadow Snake Hands
His arm transformed into venomous snakes, lunging to bite Sakura.
The next moment, she disappeared — replaced by Mizuki holding a kunai.
Swish!
Blood spurted as the snake head was severed.
Orochimaru looked at Mizuki, a smile spreading across his lips as he spoke in his raspy voice.
"Do you know what eternal life is, Mizuki-kun?"
Right off the bat with the cult leader rhetoric.
Mizuki looked coldly at him, "You said that to Itachi Uchiha, didn't you? Now you're saying it to me — are you trying to take over my body? Too bad. I'm not an Uchiha. I'm just an ordinary civilian ninja with a common bloodline."
Orochimaru's pupils contracted sharply, waves of shock surging through his heart.
"You… how do you know that? Did Kabuto tell you? No, my conversation with Itachi in the genjutsu — even Kabuto doesn't know about it. Could it be you're in contact with Itachi?" He suddenly felt panicked.
He even suspected Itachi was nearby.
"Heh, how I know — you don't need to know. In any case, I know far more than you imagine."
Orochimaru's expression darkened, and the look he gave Mizuki began to radiate killing intent.
Mizuki smiled, "Killing me won't be so easy. I advise you not to waste your effort. I have no interest in being your enemy. We could even cooperate."
Orochimaru scoffed, "Cooperate with me? Let's see if you have the qualifications."
Sen'ei Jashu ▻ Hidden Shadow Snake Hands
He attacked without another word.
Mizuki moved even faster. His enhanced dynamic vision granted him observational powers far beyond ordinary people. Every move Orochimaru made was caught by his eyes.
'Getting Orochimaru's recognition won't be easy. Well then, let's try out the new jutsu!'
In his right hand, a Rasengan instantly formed. He hurled it toward Orochimaru.
The Hidden Shadow Snake Hands exploded the instant they made contact with the Rasengan, but the Rasengan held firm, continuing toward Orochimaru.
Watching the chakra ball flying toward him, Orochimaru frowned slightly.
"This is… the Fourth Hokage's technique. How do you know it?"
The next moment, the Rasengan struck Orochimaru's abdomen. Its tremendous power exploded. Amid screams, his body was torn apart — his chest and abdomen completely shattered, leaving only his neck, head, and legs falling to the ground.
Any normal person would have died on the spot. But Uncle Snake was best at survival.
"Now, am I qualified?" Mizuki asked calmly.
The broken corpse on the ground suddenly opened its mouth, and a fresh Orochimaru crawled out.
Another slimy, super-disgusting scene!
"I never expected you to have learned the Fourth Hokage's Rasengan. The Third has been targeting you all along — where did you learn it?… Whatever, that's not worth being curious about. However, the Rasengan alone doesn't qualify you."
Mizuki said, "Then what about this?"
He raised his right hand again, and the Rasengan reappeared, but that wasn't all. He controlled the Rasengan, keeping it farther from his palm, then injected wind-nature chakra into it.
A pale blue, rapidly spinning shuriken had now taken shape.
"What? You learned the Rasengan and injected wind-nature chakra transformation into it — something even the Fourth couldn't do. This technique has reached S-Rank power. How did you accomplish this?" Orochimaru's expression finally changed.
He retreated rapidly, biting his right index finger and drawing a bloody line across his left palm. Then he slammed both hands on the ground and shouted,
Kuchiyose: Sanjū Rashōmon ▻ Summoning: Triple Rashōmon
Three massive gates rose from underground like side-by-side mountains, blocking his front.
Mizuki threw the Rasenshuriken. It tore across the ground like a Tailed Beast Ball.
The first Rashomon gate shattered instantly. The second followed, unable to hold. The third barely lasted one second before being knocked down. But it altered the Rasenshuriken's trajectory, angling it upward toward the sky.
Cold sweat broke out on Orochimaru's forehead, his eyes showing fear. The next moment, a smile spread across his lips.
He stood up and looked at Mizuki, "I originally admired you. Since you're being targeted in Konoha, I planned to take you as my subordinate. But seeing you today, your strength far exceeds my expectations. Cooperation is acceptable. So tell me — what can you offer me?"
Mizuki said, "The Konoha Crush Plan. When necessary, I can help you deal with the Third."
Orochimaru was even more shocked.
He couldn't figure out how Mizuki knew about the Konoha Crush Plan. Had Sunagakure leaked information? Had Otogakure been infiltrated by Mizuki? Where would an ordinary Konoha Chūnin get such intelligence?
"Heh, the Third is already old. I don't need anyone's help — I can kill him myself."
Mizuki said, "Your old classmate Jiraiya will be returning to the village soon. You might face a two-on-one situation."
Orochimaru furrowed his brow.
Mizuki added, "Don't worry. The Third will ultimately die by your hand. I won't compete with you for that."
Orochimaru stared at him, trying to read something from his face. But Mizuki's expression remained calm, giving nothing away.
"That's still not enough. I also want Sasuke Uchiha." Orochimaru brought up the emo boy directly.
Mizuki said, "Sasuke is also important to me. I won't hand him over — when the time comes, may the best man win."
Orochimaru fell silent for a moment, "What do you want?"
Here it was — the crucial moment. Mizuki had been waiting for this.
"I want jutsu scrolls. It doesn't matter what jutsu or what rank — the more the better. Also, those three ANBU keep following me around, and it's annoying. Help me deal with them."
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T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
If you want to enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations: MrBlackWing (on that website with P)
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)