Trump Card

"So I underestimated you... Yei-kun..." Sure enough, within the Byakugan's field of vision, Orochimaru's body on the other side rose like it had no bones. His mouth opened wide, and another Orochimaru crawled out from inside.

His entire body was drenched and covered in disgusting mucus. He licked his lips, his golden vertical pupils fixed on Yei, his voice still hoarse but carrying a hint of admiration. "A fist style you developed yourself by blending the traits of the Strong Fist and Gentle Fist? It possesses not only the Gentle Fist's precision, but also the Strong Fist's dominance. Your fist style was not meant to seal chakra points and obstruct chakra flow—it was meant to shatter the chakra points altogether. Truly remarkable..."

Orochimaru rolled his neck and looked at Yei teasingly, letting out a sinister chuckle. "However, it is useless against me, Yei-kun..."

This brat from the Hyuga Clan truly differed from the other members of the Hyuga Clan. His taijutsu had a certain unique quality.

But... if this was all he had, he still could not do anything to him!

Orochimaru-Style Body Replacement Technique? It can even restore his injuries... What a troublesome technique... Yei's gaze darkened. He had clearly attacked Orochimaru's real body, even shattering the chakra points and internal organs within him.

Yet in the next instant, all the injuries on the newly emerged Orochimaru had vanished. The only thing expended was chakra...

Yei had long been mentally prepared for how troublesome Orochimaru would be.

If there was a method that could restrain Orochimaru, it was undoubtedly genjutsu...

Unfortunately, Yei did not know genjutsu. His time was limited, and he had all kinds of ninjutsu to develop and learn. Where would he find the time to study anything else?

Medical Ninjutsu concerned some of his future plans, so he had no choice but to learn it. That was why he had put it on his agenda.

As for genjutsu, Yei had no such intentions. No matter how hard he studied it, surpassing the Uchiha Clan in genjutsu would be nothing more than a dream...

Therefore, genjutsu was not within his considerations. Perhaps only once he had more time in the future, and obtained abilities related to it from his Cheat Ability, would he give it some thought...

"Whether it works or not isn't decided by words alone. As for whether this is my full strength, Lord Orochimaru can find out for himself!" Yei exhaled, his gaze still cold.

He was already planning to end this quickly!

Although this place was within the Forest of Death, it was not far from the village. There was a chance the barrier team would detect them.

If people from the village came, that would also be troublesome...

Of course, if the village sent people, Yei would likely escape this crisis. Orochimaru certainly would not want the village to know that he had attacked a ninja from within the village—especially a member of the Hyuga Clan.

Furthermore, according to Yei's guess, Orochimaru had likely already colluded with Danzo and was secretly researching the First Hokage Cells. He would definitely be more cautious than before.

Otherwise, Orochimaru would not have blocked Yei's path just before he was about to leave the Forest of Death...

In addition, Yei did not want his strength to be fully exposed to the higher-ups yet. It could easily invite suspicion and wariness, which would not be worth the cost.

"Commendable courage..." Orochimaru praised sinisterly, a cold smile hanging from the corner of his mouth. "Then let me test it. Display your strength to the fullest. The stronger you are, the more excited I become! My experiment has happened to reach a bottleneck. A Hyuga prodigy like you, one with a few secrets, may bring unexpected changes to my research..."

As he spoke, Orochimaru formed hand seals, his chest swelling. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

This time, Orochimaru struck first. He expelled a storm from his mouth, the raging winds carrying sand and stones as they surged toward Yei.

At the same time, he kicked off the ground and followed close behind, his vertical pupils locked onto Yei.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!" Chakra surged through Yei's body. After forming hand seals, he pressed a hand to the ground, and an earthen wall rose before him, standing firm despite the violent winds battering it.

Yei's Observation Haki and Byakugan locked onto Orochimaru's movements. His kunai crackled with the Lightning Blade as he charged forward as well.

The two collided in an instant. Their taijutsu clashed, and waves of air blasted outward.

Holding his kunai in a reverse grip, Yei slashed down and carved a wound across Orochimaru's body, blood flowing from it.

However, Orochimaru seemed not to feel any pain. He opened his mouth wide, revealing the triangular head of a blue-gray venomous snake. A gleaming blade extended from the snake's jaws, stabbing toward Yei from a tricky angle.

Yei's senses were extraordinarily sharp, and he noticed it almost instantly. His body spun rapidly as he unleashed Rotation, blocking the attack. The Rotation then burst forth with power, striking Orochimaru and knocking him away once more!

After landing, Orochimaru curled his lips and gave a soft shout. "Evil Serpent Arm Explosion!"

Countless hidden venomous snakes burst from the ground beneath Yei's feet, twisting as they lunged at him. The bodies of the snakes, infused with a tremendous amount of chakra, suddenly swelled.

"Hm?" In Yei's eyes, those venomous snakes had been filled with a massive amount of Orochimaru's chakra. The ignited chakra was like Exploding Tags, on the verge of detonating!

There isn't enough time for Rotation. I can only use that move... Yei made his judgment in an instant. His spinning body needed momentum to reach its greatest speed. It was already too late to use Rotation again, and even if he forced it, it might not withstand the explosion!

In an instant, Yei mobilized the chakra within his body. It burst from every chakra point in his body and clung to his surface like a chakra cloak. The sound of crackling electricity rang out—crackle, crackle!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The venomous snakes, swollen to their limit, suddenly exploded. Firelight flashed, illuminating Yei's face, followed by shockwaves radiating in all directions. Smoke and dust rose as bits of flesh scattered everywhere!

Yei was also struck by the shockwaves and sent flying backward, but most of the impact was blocked by the chakra cloak covering his body. He was unharmed for the moment.

He lowered his body, drove his legs into the earth, and grabbed the ground with both hands to disperse the force. He slid more than ten meters before coming to a stop, leaving a long trail across the ground!

"That was close..." Yei let out a quiet breath, his gaze toward Orochimaru becoming even more solemn.

Orochimaru truly deserved to be a Kage-level powerhouse. His strength was indeed terrifying!

If his reaction had been even a little slower, if he had failed to block that explosion, he would probably have already lost...

"What kind of technique is that... It actually has such defensive power? Is it a secret technique of the Hyuga Clan? No, this is Lightning Release ninjutsu... This brat..." Over there, Orochimaru did not rush to attack. Instead, he stared intently at Yei.

At this moment, Yei had undergone some changes. Tangible Lightning Release chakra covered his body like flickering flames, electric currents dancing across it with sharp crackling sounds...

It resembled the chakra aura that appeared around the body after opening the Third Gate, the Gate of Life, of the Eight Gates Formation!

However, the Eight Gates Formation was green, while the aura around Yei was blue and carried dancing arcs of electricity!

It was somewhat similar to the Lightning Release Chakra Mode of the Raikage's lineage, but upon closer inspection, there were clear differences!

The Raikage's Lightning Release chakra erupted like sharp spikes, while the Lightning Release chakra around Yei's body wrapped around him like flickering flames!