The Terrifying Might Duy

Listening to the shrill howl of the wind.

Before he even arrived, the gale had already pressed forward ahead of him.

Orochimaru widened his eyes, bracing himself against the wind as his hands rapidly formed seals.

"Summoning Jutsu! Triple Rashomon!"

Three enormous gates appeared before Orochimaru at once amid three successive thunderous booms.

Then Might Duy kicked the massive gates.

Three simultaneous explosions rang out, announcing that all three gates had been breached at the same time.

They had not even held for a second.

Under Might Duy's flying kick, everything was instantly shattered.

Facing the incoming flying kick, Orochimaru had no time to do anything. His hands had only just crossed as he tried to form a seal.

In an instant, he was kicked into countless sprays of blood.

Boom!!

Might Duy's kick blasted a huge crater into the ground.

Might Duy knelt on one knee, gasping heavily. The green Chakra around his body faded away as the Eight Gates Formation could no longer be maintained.

Orochimaru's figure emerged from the ground, the Kusanagi Sword in his hand resting against Might Duy's neck. With the slightest movement, he could cut off Might Duy's head.

"Duy, you lost."

Orochimaru licked his lips. If that strike had truly hit him, he would have been dead.

He looked at Might Duy's stubbled face.

He truly was a terrifying man.

Who would have thought that, as one of his peers, he had not fallen far behind them at all?

"My apologies, Orochimaru Jonin."

Might Duy scratched his head awkwardly. "For now, I can only open the Sixth Gate."

"I heard you just now." Orochimaru withdrew his sword and looked at Might Duy with a beaming smile. "The Eight Gates Formation you mentioned refers to the Eight Gates of the human body, right?"

The Eight Gates of the human body were no secret to a researcher like Orochimaru. Many of his studies on developing potential had been based on the Eight Gates.

Yet he had never imagined there was such a crude method of opening them as Duy's.

"Yes. To fight Orochimaru Jonin, I thought I would need to open the Eighth Gate and use that attack. But the Eighth Gate should only be opened to protect someone."

After all, once it was opened, one's life entered a countdown.

Orochimaru stared blankly at Might Duy, while inwardly exploding.

Are you fucking trying to kill me?!

No matter how good Orochimaru's temper was, he could not help wanting to curse. He could only force down the roar in his heart with a smile.

That kick just now had been more than enough for him. Judging from the amplification brought by opening the Eight Gates—

If Duy opened the Seventh Gate, he would be completely outmatched.

And then the Eighth Gate!?

Did he want to see how he died?

Looking at Might Duy's earnest face, Orochimaru felt a chill in his heart.

This guy... was terrifying! In every sense of the word!

If he had not promptly used the Substitution Technique to hide underground, taking that strike head-on would have guaranteed his death.

This was a spar, not a fight to the death.

Even his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would not have been able to take that kick!

"Orochimaru Jonin, can I join now?"

Might Duy asked uneasily.

Seeing Orochimaru's expression suddenly darken made him even more nervous.

Was his strength really still not good enough?

"Call me Orochimaru. No need to be so formal." Orochimaru replied flatly. "From now on, you'll act with me. I'll report your transfer to Lord Hokage."

He could not simply take a village ninja away at will. A transfer required the Hokage's approval.

Still, Konoha would not make things difficult over a ninja transfer at a time like this.

"Thank you, Orochimaru Jo—" Seeing Orochimaru glare at him, Might Duy hurriedly corrected himself. "Orochimaru."

So Orochimaru Jonin was not as heartless as the other ninjas said.

Orochimaru expressionlessly looked at the stunned ninjas around them. Quite a few had their mouths hanging open, unable to close them for a long time.

Then he looked at the delighted Might Duy.

For no reason, he sighed inwardly.

This man had no idea how powerful he truly was.

Jin really was good at discovering talent.

The ninja force rushing toward the battlefield in the Land of Rain began to advance.

Orochimaru led the way at the front.

All the ninjas leaped swiftly through the trees.

Passersby could only see dark shadows flash past and might mistake them for a startled flock of birds.

A ninja force on the move would not draw attention, and its mobility was beyond doubt.

Might Duy followed at the very rear of the group. This had been arranged by Orochimaru himself.

Ahead of him was a jonin named Ran.

Ran slowed slightly and began leaping alongside Might Duy.

"You shouldn't have joined the war."

Ran's voice was somewhat low.

Even knowing that Might Duy was far stronger than himself, he still did not want Duy to enter the battlefield.

"Ran..."

"If you go to war, what will happen to your wife and child?!"

Ran interrupted Might Duy. Without waiting for Duy to argue, he slowly voiced his thoughts.

"Duy, do you know? I've always mocked you, belittled you, looked down on you, but I've always envied you too."

He had also been one of Orochimaru's peers, but he had always been a member of Class C. From being regarded as cannon fodder to becoming a jonin, who knew how much effort he had put in?

He had sacrificed all his time just to grow stronger and improve his status.

That was the sorrow of civilian ninjas.

He had even given up on the idea of marrying and having children. Perhaps one day, he would die for the village in some forgotten corner.

He had prepared himself for that.

But he knew very well that it was not the life he wanted.

"You're living the life I hoped for. You could have lived your entire life safely, with your wife and son by your side. You wouldn't need to take risks or fight desperately."

"Wouldn't it be better to carry our hopes and simply live a peaceful life?"

Although Might Duy had once been considered a useless nobody, many who had experienced the battlefield had placed their hopes for a peaceful life upon him.

Seeing the strength Might Duy had displayed, many people had changed their minds.

But Ran had not.

He had clearly obtained the life Ran dreamed of. Why did he still have to step into this crimson whirlpool?

"Ran."

Might Duy smiled at Ran and gave him a thumbs-up.

"I want to protect all of you too!"

Ran's lips moved twice, but in the end, he could not say anything. He could only lower his head and rush forward.

Perhaps that was why everyone had placed their hopes on Might Duy.

He was far more pure-hearted than most people in the village.

The rapidly advancing ninja force stopped as Orochimaru raised his hand.

Everyone turned their gaze toward the distant forest.

There.

Figures emerged from the trees one after another.

The forehead protectors they wore bore the symbol of the Sand ninjas.

"Sand ninjas." Orochimaru's gaze locked tightly onto the middle-aged man standing at the center of the Sand ninjas.

"Ebizo."

A troublesome figure had appeared.

What had happened on Sakumo Hatake's side?

Thanks to reader 20191021071309488 for the monthly ticket.