'Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!'
After falling victim to Sasuke's genjutsu, Orochimaru's face instantly darkened.
He was all too familiar with this technique, the very one that had brought him profound humiliation four years prior.
Since that crushing defeat, he had tirelessly studied this genjutsu countless times.
His hands moved swiftly, forming the seal with a sharp clap. In an instant, he forcefully broke free from the illusion.
"You broke free quickly," Sasuke remarked with a light chuckle, unfazed.
First, he had deliberately held back, using only the power of his three-tomoe Sharingan.
Second, his innate talent and mastery of genjutsu were fundamentally inferior to Uchiha Itachi's.
In the original timeline, even with his Eternal Mangekyō, Sasuke couldn't match Itachi's skill during their battle against Kabuto, who was using a Reanimation Jutsu body.
The disparity between their genjutsu abilities was starkly evident in that fight—Sasuke, wielding the Eternal Mangekyō, still fell short of Itachi's genjutsu prowess despite the latter's Reanimated state.
Third, even Uchiha Itachi couldn't completely suppress Orochimaru with genjutsu using only his three-tomoe Sharingan.
In truth, Orochimaru remained capable of movement; it was only when he attempted to break free that Uchiha Itachi severed his hand.
Orochimaru was a master of ninjutsu. Having suffered such a devastating setback, he would undoubtedly devise a countermeasure.
Even if he couldn't completely neutralize the technique, the same ninjutsu wouldn't necessarily yield the same results again.
Still, this was enough!
Boom!
Though Orochimaru quickly dispelled the Tree Binding Death, the brief delay proved fatal.
In that split second, the colossal water dragon, surging with overwhelming force, crashed into him, engulfing him in a tempestuous torrent.
"Impressive, Sakura! You took him down so quickly!" Naruto exclaimed, giving her a thumbs-up as he sprinted to her side.
"Don't let your guard down. He won't go down that easily," Sakura warned, shaking her head, her eyes fixed on the turbulent water churning in the distance.
Her Water Dragon Bullet hadn't even been able to defeat a shadow clone of Kisame Hoshigaki back in Waterfall Village.
How could it possibly defeat Orochimaru's true body, a ninja whose reputation and strength far surpassed even the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?
'He's one of the Legendary Sannin!'
"The battle is far from over—it's only just begun!"
Heh heh heh...
Amidst the violently churning, surging waves, a distinctively raspy, low-pitched, sinister chuckle echoed, tinged with both exasperation and a predatory excitement—the kind a serpent makes as it begins to devour its prey, a sound that sent involuntary shivers down one's spine.
Then, the waves parted, and a figure slowly emerged from within.
His clothes were tattered and disheveled, but it was his face that truly chilled the bone. Horrifically mangled, it was split in two from the jawline upward.
The lower half retained the appearance of the Grass Hidden Genin, while the upper half revealed his pale skin and purple eyeshadow that extended to the bridge of his nose.
"This genjutsu... it brings back some very unpleasant memories," Orochimaru said as he emerged, his expression dark and brooding. After staring intently into Sasuke's eyes for a long moment, he suddenly grinned, licked his lips, and continued, "But compared to those wretched memories, the fact that you can execute this genjutsu... that brings me far greater delight, Sasuke-kun."
As he spoke, Orochimaru tore off the mask on his face, revealing his true countenance.
'Is this guy a monster?'
Naruto stared in disbelief at Orochimaru, who appeared completely unscathed.
He couldn't imagine anyone in the world surviving both Sasuke's Genjutsu and Sakura's Water Dragon Bullet head-on without a scratch.
"You two brats have given me a few surprises, but my target isn't you. Let's just finish you off first," Orochimaru said coldly, his chilling gaze sweeping over Naruto and Sakura.
"Tch! Don't underestimate us, you arrogant bastard!" Naruto snapped, bristling with anger.
This guy had only eyes for Sasuke from the start, which already irked him.
But what truly infuriated him was Orochimaru's disdain for taijutsu.
This was the last straw!
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Naruto formed the hand seals, and a massive surge of chakra erupted from his body, instantly summoning nearly a hundred shadow clones. The ground and tree branches were soon swarming with the overwhelming crowd, creating a spectacular sight.
"The chakra reserves of the Uzumaki Clan are truly astonishing," Orochimaru remarked, his tongue flicking out as he glanced at the dense swarm of shadow clones around Naruto, a hint of amusement in his tone.
"Konoha Multi-Great Whirlwind!"
'Boom!' Like a volcanic eruption, nearly a hundred Shadow Clones simultaneously stomped the ground, violently shaking the nearby forest until it reverberated with a deafening roar.
The hundred Shadow Clones spun rapidly through the air in synchronized, lightning-fast movements, twisting and coiling like a tempest.
They coalesced into an even larger, more powerful hurricane, surging relentlessly toward Orochimaru.
"Impressive power, but that's all it is."
Faced with the surging hurricane—a raging tempest crashing like tidal waves against a shore—Orochimaru remained unfazed, calmly forming hand seals.
"Summoning Technique: Rashomon!"
'Rumble!' The earth trembled violently as a colossal, multi-story gate—summoned from the depths of hell like an Asura Gate—rose majestically from the ground, towering before him.
'Boom!'
The two forces collided in a cataclysmic explosion, releasing a thunderous roar. The intense friction and impact sent countless fragments of rock and golden dust flying from the gate, leaving its surface battered and pockmarked. Yet simultaneously, the hurricane's rotation began to slow.
"Is that all you've got? Heh."
Orochimaru sneered coldly. Taijutsu had its limitations; against large-scale defensive ninjutsu like this, its inherent weaknesses were laid bare.
"Damn it!"
Naruto gritted his teeth, his resolve hardening. He unleashed another torrent of Chakra, as vast and turbulent as an ocean tide. The slowing hurricane suddenly transformed into a colossal wind dragon, its deafening roar shattering the air as it lunged forward with relentless momentum!
'Boom!'
Another earth-shattering explosion erupted as the wind dragon tore through Rashomon, sending sparks flying like molten metal.
The Asura Gate shattered into countless fragments that scattered across the sky. The wind dragon paused momentarily before resuming its relentless assault on Orochimaru.
"This is... somewhat interesting," Orochimaru murmured, a hint of surprise flickering across his face.
"But your opening is far too large!"
With a sudden expulsion, Orochimaru spat out a gleaming sword. The blade sang with a metallic clang as it extended nearly a hundred meters, lunging forward with unwavering precision to pierce the wind dragon's eye.
'How?!'
'How could he...?'
Naruto's mind reeled in disbelief. The Leaf Dragon God did indeed possess a flaw, one he had yet to perfect even now.
But the Leaf Dragon God's flaw was only relative. The hurricane's rapid rotation made the dragon's eye virtually undetectable to ordinary observers.
Even Teacher Kakashi had only noticed the Leaf Dragon God's flaw after witnessing Naruto perform it countless times.
Yet the man before him had actually spotted the Leaf Dragon God's weakness on his first try!
Naruto couldn't possibly realize that his Leaf Dragon God, though it had shattered Rashomon, had inevitably paused for a split second. That brief pause was all it took for the experienced Orochimaru to detect the Leaf Dragon God's vulnerability!
___
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