The Instant Defeat of Manda

"Ye Fan... he isn't dead, is he?"

Sakura stared blankly at the deep ravine and the vast stretch of shattered trees before her, her legs too weak to stand.

"Sakura, I've realized that sometimes your brain really doesn't work well enough."

"Given the strength Ye Fan has shown, do you really think a blow like that could kill him?"

Sasuke glanced at Sakura and snarked.

"Huh? I guess you're right..." Sakura scratched her head, feeling extremely embarrassed.

Sasuke paid her no more attention and instead stared intently into the clouds of dust.

Though his Sharingan couldn't see the "Qi" inside Ye Fan's body, he could still tell that Ye Fan was completely unharmed.

"Protecting the environment is everyone's responsibility. Where I come from, you'd go to jail for destroying it like that."

Ye Fan brushed off his sleeves and slowly emerged from the billowing smoke.

"Brat, today I'll show you what a true powerhouse is! Tell your family to prepare to collect your body!"

Manda panted heavily, snapping countless trees with every breath.

As he spoke, his vast, surging Chakra erupted, seeming to bring the air to a standstill for an instant.

Ye Fan paid no attention to Manda's threats.

He tilted his head, examining every inch of Manda's skin, and murmured to himself:

"Looks like the skin on his belly is probably the best quality. A snake this big should give me enough for several snakeskin belts and a few snakeskin bags."

"Purple is a little flashy, but I like it."

As he spoke, Ye Fan even measured Manda with his hands.

Hearing Ye Fan's contemptuous words, Manda's face darkened with fury.

"Orochimaru, I won't ask you for a sacrifice this time. Consider this one free favor!"

Manda roared and charged at Ye Fan at tremendous speed.

Though its body was enormous, it was no less swift, and its strength had unquestionably reached Kage Level.

It charged like a gale, covering the distance in an instant.

Ye Fan stood perfectly still, as if he'd been scared stiff.

Just then, Neji and Gaara arrived with the others.

Seeing this, Rock Lee hurriedly shouted, "Ye Fan, don't just stand there! Run!"

Immediately, Rock Lee dropped the weights he was wearing and opened the Fifth Gate of the Eight Gates.

"Neji, I'd meant to save this move for you, but things have come to this, so I'll let you see it now!"

The Chakra around Rock Lee surged, and his presence became astonishing.

Ye Fan glanced at Rock Lee rushing toward him, looking a little surprised.

"Is he here to save me? Seeing you risk your life like this, I'll teach you taijutsu!"

"Haha! Another brat here to die! If you're all so eager to die, I won't hold back!"

Manda laughed wildly. Its massive body swept toward Rock Lee and Ye Fan, carrying immense force.

Neji frowned at the sight, blaming Rock Lee for acting so recklessly.

Still, he charged forward without hesitation.

Neji raised his strength to its peak, preparing to protect Rock Lee and Ye Fan with Rotation.

Watching Rock Lee and Neji recklessly throw themselves into danger, Gaara scoffed.

"Comrades. What a ridiculous thing to believe in!"

Ever since the person closest to him had tried to assassinate him—and he'd killed the person closest to him with his own hands—Gaara had stopped believing in comrades.

In his eyes, comrades could never exist.

Anyone who tried to get close to him had an ulterior motive!

"Neji's here too. Is he trying to protect Rock Lee? As expected, among Konoha's Twelve Young Ninja, everyone except the rogue ninja Sasuke and Sakura is someone you can count on."

"Rock Lee, hurry and bring Ye Fan over to me. That's the only way we'll have a chance of surviving!"

"Neji!"

Rock Lee was a little moved. He rushed toward Ye Fan as fast as he could.

He also understood that against an attack of this magnitude, they'd be doomed unless they took shelter inside Neji's Rotation!

"Ye Fan, hurry and run over here! Don't just stand there!"

Rock Lee's voice was filled with urgency. It was clear he truly wanted to save Ye Fan.

At that, Ye Fan turned and smiled warmly. "Rock Lee, even though I don't need your help, thank you all the same."

Then Ye Fan raised his right hand and slapped Manda's enormous head with a mighty smack.

In an instant, Manda felt a force like an avalanche slam into it. It spun through the air more than ten times before crashing heavily to the ground.

Orochimaru, standing on Manda's head, was thrown away by the tremendous force as well, landing face-first in the dirt.

After Manda hit the ground, Ye Fan didn't stop.

He appeared in front of it in an instant and swung a powerful kick.

Manda spun through the air a few more times before crashing heavily to the ground again—this time belly-up.

"You beast, did you think I was bluffing?"

"I said I was going to make snakeskin bags from your hide, and that's exactly what I'm going to do!"

With a casual wave of his hand, Ye Fan stripped a huge patch of purple skin from Manda's belly.

Everyone stared at the scene, stunned, so shocked they forgot to breathe.

They'd lived this long and never seen anyone so ruthless.

Even Gaara, the One-Tails Jinchuriki, had never seen anyone this ruthless.

For a moment, a thought surfaced in his mind: Was Ye Fan really human? Could a person's physical strength alone truly achieve something like this?

Sasuke stared at Ye Fan holding the blood-soaked snakeskin, his mouth twitching as his mind buzzed.

He suddenly felt ridiculous for ever thinking he could kill someone as fearsome as Ye Fan.

Neji and Rock Lee were the most astonished. They'd experienced Manda's strength firsthand, and knew just how powerful it was.

Yet that very power—which they'd thought impossible to match—had crumbled before Ye Fan in the blink of an eye!

"Ye Fan..."

"Just how strong are you? What secrets are you still hiding?"

"What kind of training could give a boy of only thirteen or fourteen such terrifying strength?"

"Can this level of strength really be achieved through hard work alone?"

Rock Lee and Neji felt as if their entire world had crumbled.

Neji in particular couldn't believe that someone without any Kekkei Genkai could be this powerful!

Badly injured, Manda felt as if its brain was about to explode, its eyes filled with terror.

It had roamed the ninja world for years, yet this was the first time it had encountered such a powerful human.

Even more baffling was that the man had used nothing but physical strength—not a trace of Chakra!

"Orochimaru, what kind of freak have you run into? Is this damn thing even human?"

Manda had lost all its earlier arrogance, and its voice had grown noticeably weaker.

"So strong!" Orochimaru shook his head, greed filling his eyes.

Suddenly, he felt that the Sharingan wasn't quite so appealing anymore.

"Ye Fan, I have to get your body!"

The stronger Ye Fan proved to be, the more excited Orochimaru became.

Ye Fan glanced at the snakeskin in his hand and thought, Good thing I held back at the last moment, or I wouldn't have been able to make snakeskin bags.

Then he looked at Manda and smiled coldly. "Now that I have the material for my snakeskin bags, there's no reason to let you live."