Child of Prophecy

Ye Fan's icy words fell on Manda's ears, chilling him to the bone.

The moment Manda saw Ye Fan's gaze, he began trembling with fear.

In Ye Fan's eyes, he seemed to see his own future. That gaze was far too calm—so calm it sent shivers down his spine.

For a moment, fear flooded every inch of his body.

The way Ye Fan looked at him, as if he were nothing more than a dead snake, left him with only one thought: run!

He understood that Ye Fan wasn't joking. He really intended to kill him—and there was no doubt about it!

The strength Ye Fan had displayed made Manda feel utterly powerless, as if he were no more than an ant before him.

"Orochimaru! If you summon me again and make me face an enemy of this caliber, I'll kill you first!"

Manda roared and immediately tried to use the Reverse Summoning Technique to return home.

But!

Something entirely unexpected happened. The instant he began the technique, Ye Fan grabbed his tail with one hand.

Ye Fan's palm was clearly tiny, barely able to grasp the tip of his tail, yet Manda felt completely helpless before him.

What was more, he sensed something truly terrifying: his body had been bound by an extraordinarily unusual force.

He had never encountered this strange power before. The only thing he could be sure of was that it wasn't Chakra. It was a force many levels above Chakra!

"How do you possess..."

Manda stared at Ye Fan in horror, as if he wanted to say something.

But before he could finish, Ye Fan killed him with one hand. Not a single speck remained; he vanished from the world without a trace, as if he had never existed.

The image of Ye Fan effortlessly killing Manda lingered in everyone's minds, replaying over and over and leaving them utterly stunned.

Until then, they had never imagined that anyone this powerful could exist in the world!

Ye Fan's strength far exceeded their understanding.

"Ye Fan... Th-that's way too powerful, isn't it?" Sakura stared blankly, frozen in shock. Then her gaze turned fervent, and her heart began to flutter.

"With a face that handsome and power that's beyond compare, he seems... he seems so much better than Sasuke..."

Sakura stole a glance at Sasuke and couldn't help comparing the two in her mind.

Sasuke stared at Ye Fan, trembling from head to toe, inside and out. His mind was a complete mess.

"That terrifying snake was killed in an instant?"

"How ridiculous. Just how ridiculous... I actually thought I could take his life?"

Sasuke was utterly despairing. At that moment, he craved power more than ever.

Ye Fan was the person he had sworn to kill, yet the strength he had shown left Sasuke feeling that he could never catch up.

Torn by those conflicting feelings, Sasuke was close to breaking down.

The image of Ye Fan killing Manda in an instant also kept replaying in Rock Lee's mind.

Thinking of it filled Rock Lee with excitement.

Ye Fan's appearance had validated the path Rock Lee had always followed. He saw hope and felt that the road ahead was shining bright.

"Who says hard work can't beat a genius? Who says you can't become strong without a Kekkei Genkai!" Rock Lee grew incredibly excited and clenched his fists. "Ye Fan, I'll work twice as hard and do everything I can to catch up with you! That's the spirit of youth!"

Like the others, Orochimaru was utterly shocked. He could hardly believe what he had seen.

He knew Manda's strength better than anyone.

Manda was one of the strongest Summoned Beasts not just in the Land of Fire, but in the entire shinobi world.

Yet a Summoned Beast of that caliber couldn't even withstand a single move from Ye Fan.

Orochimaru stood stunned for a moment, then grew so excited that his entire body began to tremble.

"He's only a teenager, and he's already this powerful. How strong will he be when he grows up?!"

"I've traveled across most of the shinobi world and crossed countless mountains and rivers. At last, I've found the perfect vessel."

"Your body is even more suitable for me than Sasuke's or Itachi's! I have to get it!"

Previously, Orochimaru had wanted Itachi's body so badly only because Itachi's Sharingan had captivated him. He had desperately longed to obtain Itachi's power.

Now, however, someone with even greater strength had appeared before him. Naturally, he wanted to pursue that power instead.

Orochimaru understood that before absolute strength, everything else was worthless. All ninjutsu and Genjutsu were laughable!

"What a marvelous body. It's truly irresistible!"

Gaara and the others wore complicated expressions.

Temari and Kankuro desperately tugged at Gaara's clothes, trying to pull him away from the area as quickly as possible.

They had seen the excitement in Gaara's eyes—the thrill of wanting to fight, the fervor of wanting to taste a powerful opponent's blood.

"Gaara!"

When Temari saw that Gaara was gradually losing his reason, she shouted loudly, bringing him back to his senses.

Temari and Kankuro finally relaxed once Gaara had regained his composure.

A rampaging Gaara was indeed powerful, and he possessed tremendous strength. But Temari and Kankuro believed that even in that state,

Gaara wouldn't necessarily fare well against Ye Fan.

After all, the strength Ye Fan had shown was far greater than what they had seen when Gaara went on a rampage!

Among those who had arrived first, Neji was the only one whose expression stood apart.

He was more shocked than anyone else present.

The instant Ye Fan attacked, Neji's eyes had caught sight of an extraordinarily unusual power.

Its level was so high that it far exceeded his understanding.

Before then, he had never seen that power in anyone.

Though he had only caught a glimpse of it, he was certain he hadn't been mistaken.

Neji stared blankly at Ye Fan. Though the man stood very close, he somehow seemed far away—extremely far away!

In Neji's eyes, Ye Fan's figure seemed shrouded in layer upon layer of mist, so mysterious and unfathomable.

After a long silence, Neji murmured, "Your strength may already surpass the Third Hokage of the Leaf, and by a great deal!"

"What? Neji, what are you saying? I didn't hear you," Rock Lee said.

Neji shook his head and gave a wry smile. "It's nothing..."

Aside from those present, someone else in the forest had witnessed Ye Fan kill Manda.

"Has that brat really become this ridiculously powerful?" Jiraiya stroked his chin, a broad smile spreading across his face.

"You brat, you really are the Child of Prophecy the Great Toad Sage spoke of."

"Looks like I'll have to hurry up and find a way for you to learn ninjutsu."

"If you combine your Taijutsu with ninjutsu, perhaps you could become the next God of Shinobi. You might even surpass the First Hokage, who knows!"

Just as Jiraiya was imagining what lay ahead, a furious shout suddenly rang through the forest.

"Orochimaru! I won't hold back today. I won't let you leave the Leaf again and wreak havoc across the shinobi world!"

"Protect the students taking the Chunin Ninja Exams. Leave Orochimaru to me!"

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, gave the Anbu their orders. His figure appeared before Orochimaru, his gaze icy.