"You cowardly bastard! You're definitely not the Sasuke I know!"
Naruto stood in Orochimaru's way and roared.
Sasuke stood frozen in place, staring fixedly at Naruto, his mind completely blank.
Suddenly, Orochimaru's tongue shot out and wrapped around Naruto, binding him before slowly lifting him up to face him.
Naruto had just erupted in rage, letting a great deal of the Nine-Tails' Chakra leak out. Orochimaru worried that if this continued, Naruto would completely lose control.
If Naruto went berserk now, it would inevitably interfere with Orochimaru's plans.
With that in mind, Orochimaru raised his right hand, purple light shimmering at his fingertips.
After pulling Naruto's clothes aside, Orochimaru added a Five Elements Seal over Naruto's existing Eight Trigrams Seal.
The Five Elements Seal completely cut off the Nine-Tails' Chakra from leaking out, and Naruto's pupils slowly returned to normal.
Orochimaru was relieved to see this. With a casual flick of his tongue, he tossed the completely unconscious Naruto away.
Seeing Naruto flying through the air, Sakura trembled all over, but still forced herself to throw a kunai. She caught him cleanly and pinned him to a tree trunk.
Sasuke remained frozen in place.
Sakura sat slumped on the ground, tears streaming down her face. She turned to Sasuke and shouted:
"Naruto really is different from Sasuke! He may be clumsy and get in the way, but at least he isn't a coward. Right? That's true, isn't it?"
Though Sakura's voice was loud, Sasuke didn't hear a single word.
At that moment, Sasuke's mind was filled with what Naruto had just said.
"Are you hurt, coward?"
"Are you hurt, coward?"
The words kept echoing in Sasuke's mind.
Then the face of someone he feared appeared in his mind—the man who had destroyed all the happiness in his life with his own hands.
"My foolish little brother, if you want to kill me, then hate me, despise me, and cling to life in shame."
"Run... Run..."
Uchiha Itachi's face and voice drowned out Naruto's, echoing in Sasuke's mind.
Remembering Itachi's face, his parents' faces, and the faces of his clan, Sasuke pushed away his fear of Orochimaru.
"I have to take revenge. I can't die here! I have to survive so I can defeat Uchiha Itachi!"
Sasuke suddenly raised his head and activated his Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
Orochimaru was delighted to see Sasuke regain his confidence and activate his Sharingan.
He knew that now was the real test of Sasuke's abilities!
With a kunai clenched between his teeth, Sasuke charged at Orochimaru.
As he ran, he kept hurling kunai at Orochimaru. They carried a cold aura and murderous intent.
Orochimaru tilted his head, easily dodging one kunai after another.
At the same time, Sasuke had already closed in on him.
Sasuke raised his hand and punched, engaging Orochimaru in close-quarters combat.
Every punch and kick Sasuke threw was at full strength.
The two moved faster and faster. Orochimaru handled Sasuke's relentless barrage with ease.
Orochimaru gave a sinister smile, increased his speed, and began to counterattack.
Sasuke was exceptionally calm now. He used his Two-Tomoe Sharingan with ease, making full use of its abilities.
Orochimaru was fast, but thanks to the Sharingan, Sasuke could still see his movements clearly.
Sasuke accurately blocked every punch Orochimaru threw, while using kunai to restrict his movements.
"Can you use the Sharingan to predict my moves? No wonder it's something I've always wanted to obtain!"
Orochimaru had noticed it too. Though he was using only a tenth of his strength, Sasuke's performance still impressed him.
After all, Sasuke was only a child.
Sasuke's performance only strengthened Orochimaru's resolve. He had to obtain the Sharingan!
Orochimaru let his guard down for an instant, and Sasuke seized the opening. He stepped forward, grabbed Orochimaru, and threw him to the ground with all his strength.
Orochimaru landed headfirst and instantly stopped breathing.
"Is it over? No... It can't be this easy!"
Just as Sasuke had suspected, Orochimaru's lifeless body on the ground gradually turned into a puddle of mud.
"Mud Clone?"
Sasuke furrowed his brows. He hadn't noticed when Orochimaru had used the technique!
A cold gust of wind whistled toward him, and Sasuke hurriedly dodged to the side.
The instant he moved, Orochimaru's fist came with the wind and slammed into Sasuke's face.
Then another combination of punches followed!
Sasuke couldn't defend himself in time. In just a few seconds, he was struck more than a dozen times.
Another punch came swinging toward him, and Sasuke raised both arms to protect his head.
But this time, he failed to predict Orochimaru's move. The blow to the head had been a feint; Orochimaru's real target was Sasuke's stomach.
Bam!
Orochimaru's punch sent Sasuke flying, and he slammed hard into a tree trunk.
"Ugh..."
His throat suddenly tasted sweet, and blood gushed from his mouth.
Despite his injuries, Sasuke didn't stop. He charged at Orochimaru again.
Orochimaru's lips curled upward, and another punch sent Sasuke flying.
The tremendous force sent him crashing into the tree trunk once more.
The tree had dense branches, and one long, thick branch stood out.
Sasuke lay motionless on that branch, as if he had completely lost the ability to fight.
Orochimaru leaped up and landed in front of Sasuke. Looking down at him, he mocked:
"Kid, you're far too weak. I haven't even tried, and you've already fallen."
At this, Sasuke's lips curled into a smile, as if his plan had worked.
Sasuke quickly formed a hand seal, and a violent explosion erupted on Orochimaru's back.
"An Explosive Tag? Did you stick it there back then?"
Orochimaru recalled when he had been beating Sasuke, during the combination of punches.
Though the Explosive Tag was powerful, it still couldn't hurt Orochimaru.
Clearly, Sasuke had known that too.
He sprang to his feet and leaped away, putting some distance between himself and Orochimaru.
As soon as he landed, countless kunai came flying toward him.
Using his Sharingan's advantage, Sasuke narrowly dodged every kunai.
At the same time, Sasuke threw a large number of kunai attached to steel wires, using the terrain to surround Orochimaru from every direction.
Seeing this, the smile on Orochimaru's face grew wider and wider.
"You laid a trap in advance and deliberately let yourself get hurt to lure me over?"
In an instant, numerous kunai attached to steel wires sank deep into the surrounding trees and ground.
Sasuke pulled hard, and the wires rapidly tightened, binding Orochimaru firmly to a tree trunk.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A blazing inferno surged along the steel wires toward Orochimaru.
Boom!
After a deafening blast, Orochimaru took the full force of the Fire Style technique. Even the tree trunk behind him had a huge hole blown through it.
"So this was your real plan? One move leading into the next. Nicely done."
Once the flames had completely died away, Orochimaru broke free of the wires, his smile growing wider.
Orochimaru pressed his hands together and formed a single hand seal. Sasuke and Sakura, some distance away, were instantly unable to move.
Orochimaru fixed his gaze on Sasuke and praised him. "To use the Sharingan so skillfully at such a young age—you truly are a genius who inherited the Uchiha name."
"I still want you for myself, after all."
"As far as I know, you're desperate to kill Uchiha Itachi and avenge your parents and your clan."
"Do you want power? If you want enough power to defeat Uchiha Itachi, come find me!"
Orochimaru wiped the Kusagakure symbol from his forehead protector, revealing the Otogakure symbol underneath. Green flames rose from the hand holding the Heaven Scroll and reduced it to ashes.
"If you want to gain even greater power and find me, then do everything you can to stand out in the Chunin Ninja Exams!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Orochimaru's neck stretched rapidly toward Sasuke, ready to plant a Cursed Seal on him.
Watching this unfold, Ye Fan hadn't made up his mind yet, but his body moved involuntarily.
He suppressed himself in time, but still made a considerable noise.
"Who's there?!"
Orochimaru's head stopped in midair. He looked toward the swaying tree, his expression turning grave.
The instant the tree moved, he had instinctively sensed a powerful threat!
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