The Underdog's Dignity

"Hey! You're Orochimaru, right?"

Having settled on a battle plan, Sasuke strode out from behind the tree.

"Oh? Even a brat like you has heard my name?"

Orochimaru had not intended to reveal his identity so soon, but since Sasuke had called him out directly, he could not be bothered to keep hiding it.

"An old man like you crawling into someone else's body... doesn't that disgust you?"

Remembering the fake Sakura's behavior just now, Sasuke felt from the bottom of his heart that this man was a pervert.

"Formless transformation, selfless as water—that is what a ninja is."

Orochimaru clicked his tongue and chuckled, utterly unembarrassed.

"Like this?" Sasuke's figure flickered, and he vanished from the spot.

Body Flicker Technique!

The next instant, Sasuke appeared before Orochimaru and kicked upward at his jaw.

But Orochimaru, who had prepared long ago, calmly blocked the blow.

Sasuke's fists and kicks rained down on Orochimaru, but his opponent shifted left and right as if toying with him, completely unhurried and seemingly still holding back.

With the Sharingan, Sasuke could clearly see his opponent's movements, but his own physical speed had reached its limit, preventing his attacks from landing effectively.

This man surpasses me in taijutsu.

It seemed that the advantage he had gained against the fake Sakura earlier had mostly come from catching her off guard.

Sasuke thought to himself.

The moment his attention wavered, Sasuke was struck and sent flying.

Orochimaru pressed forward with a sinister grin. "Ninja Art: Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Several venomous snakes shot from his sleeves at Sasuke, a horrifying sight.

"Break!"

Sasuke formed a seal with one hand.

Orochimaru staggered, and his attack narrowly veered off course.

During their close-quarters exchange just now, Sasuke had secretly stuck two Exploding Clay Pills onto Orochimaru's back. They detonated at that moment.

Though their destructive power was almost negligible, they still helped Sasuke evade the attack.

Sasuke rolled across the ground, sprang to his feet, and hurled several shuriken and kunai at Orochimaru in succession.

Orochimaru easily dodged them and was about to advance when he realized that transparent threads were tied to the ninja tools. Under Sasuke's precise control, they spun back and forth, ultimately binding him to a tree.

"Sharingan Control: Windmill Triple Blades!"

It worked!

Sasuke was overjoyed and immediately unleashed his strongest single-target attack.

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"

A slender, high-speed fire dragon shot straight at Orochimaru.

After a scream, Orochimaru...

Was completely unharmed.

He even wore an excited, sinister smile.

How am I supposed to fight this?!

Sasuke's heart sank.

"You've already performed well enough. It is time you saw my power." Orochimaru spoke unhurriedly. "Summoning Technique: Giant Snake!"

A gigantic snake a hundred meters long appeared out of thin air. Its enormous body smashed through layers of tree trunks, while great drops of saliva fell from its tongue onto the grass, instantly turning it into scorched earth.

"Is this the power you desire?" Orochimaru asked darkly as the giant snake charged toward Sasuke at a speed utterly unfitting for its size.

Though he had predicted its movements through the Sharingan early on, the exhaustion in his body left him unable to react in time. The shockwave from the charge sent Sasuke tumbling repeatedly before he finally crashed to the ground.

"After using so many ninjutsu, your Chakra must be at its limit." Orochimaru had the giant snake bring him before Sasuke, looking somewhat bored.

"Then let me give you one final gift."

Orochimaru formed hand seals with both hands. His neck suddenly stretched out like a giant snake's, sharp fangs emerging from his mouth as he prepared to use the Cursed Seal Technique.

However, what his mouth met was not the soft warmth of Sasuke's neck, but the hard, sour texture of wood.

Substitution Technique?!

He still has the will to fight?

A trace of irritation flashed in Orochimaru's eyes. To him, this sort of ending was needlessly dragging things out.

He looked around, ready to bring this all to a ruthless close.

"Shadow Dancing Leaf!"

Sasuke's true body was beneath that piece of wood. With a full-powered low rising kick, he sent Orochimaru flying into the air.

That force...

Could his Chakra have recovered?

The thought flashed through Orochimaru's mind, only for him to dismiss the absurd notion. How could such a ninjutsu possibly exist?

In truth, when he had been sent flying by the giant snake, Sasuke had secretly swallowed the High-Quality Soldier Pill the system had given him earlier.

He knew it was the greatest variable in his hand, and he had to save it until the final moment.

In the air, Sasuke clung tightly to his enemy like a falling autumn leaf. He then bound Orochimaru with bandages, spun at high speed, and slammed him violently into the ground headfirst.

The enormous impact kicked up clouds of dust. When the dust cleared, Sasuke faced Orochimaru, panting heavily.

Earth Substitution: Split.

The upside-down Orochimaru had turned into dirt.

"Ninja Art: Hidden Shadow Multiple Snake Hands!"

Orochimaru stood behind him as a massive torrent of giant snakes burst from his sleeves and tightly coiled around Sasuke.

"This ends now!"

Orochimaru wanted only to end the battle quickly, afraid that the brat's stubborn nature would drive him to use every last bit of Chakra in a desperate fight.

But as the giant snakes wrapped around him, Sasuke shouted those same words in unison: "This ends now!"

"Bang!"

The Sasuke bound by the snakes vanished.

Earlier, under the cover of the smoke created by the Hidden Lotus, Sasuke had swiftly used the Shadow Clone Technique and hidden himself.

This was the moment he had been waiting for!

Orochimaru could not withdraw his attack in time, while Sasuke rushed forward with a kunai in hand.

He knew that he might be nowhere near capable of killing his opponent.

Even so, he wanted this arrogant man to understand that even someone far weaker than him was not someone he could freely manipulate and humiliate.

The price.

Anyone who comes after me, Second Pillar—no matter how strong you are—I will make you pay the price!

"You think you can control everything?!!"

Sasuke roared and viciously drove the kunai into Orochimaru's left eye.

For the first time, Orochimaru let out a truly agonized howl.

Sasuke was about to use his other hand to stab the kunai into Orochimaru's throat.

But the giant snakes from those sleeves swiftly turned back as if they possessed intelligence and viciously bit Sasuke.

The battle was over.

Sasuke smiled in relief. Having done this much, he could answer to himself.

With the help of countless snakes, Sasuke was ultimately hurled viciously onto the ground.

Blood streamed from Orochimaru's left eye as he grinned ferociously. "As expected of a brat from the Uchiha clan. Good, very good!"

This time, he did not use Soft Physique Modification. Instead, he personally walked over step by step and bit Sasuke on the neck.

"Your performance has far exceeded my expectations. I need your power. And you are destined to seek me out as well."

In his haze, Sasuke seemed to see Orochimaru's mouth stretch impossibly wide, his entire face twisting as his bleeding left eye was squeezed like a rotten orange.

Then, an entirely new Orochimaru crawled out of his mouth, covered in slime.

That person was handsome, with complete and refined features, entirely unlike the grass ninja he had fought.

This was far beyond Sasuke's understanding, just as Sasuke's seemingly inexhaustible Chakra perplexed Orochimaru.

Intense pain surged endlessly from the back of Sasuke's neck. The power coming from the Cursed Seal made him tremble as it dragged him into the depths of unconsciousness.

Sasuke passed out.

"What a treasure of a child."

Orochimaru's voice was hoarse as he hoisted Sasuke onto his shoulder.

After several leaps, Orochimaru arrived where Naruto and Sakura were and tossed Sasuke down.

"Hey."

"This is my exceptionally precious vessel."

"But I still have other interesting things to do."

"Until then, please take good care of him for me."