Orochimaru is Excited: A New Vessel Found!

Ninjutsu: Myriad Serpent Formation!

Hiss, hiss, hiss!

Countless venomous snakes of varied colors and sizes, hissing as they writhed, erupted from Orochimaru's mouth, forming a terrifying, undulating sea of serpents.

The snakes tangled with each other, scales scraping, tongues flickering, surging forward like a tide toward Team 7.

"Holy crap!!"

Naruto's scalp nearly crawled off his head, goosebumps erupting all over his body as his trypophobia kicked in instantly.

Sasuke's face went pale too, his stomach churning violently.

Karin was so scared she shut her eyes tight and curled into a ball.

"Hmph!"

Facing this suffocating serpent sea assault, honestly, Yao's hairs stood on end as well—he was terrified of snakes.

"Go to hell!"

Yao formed hand seals rapidly, his chest puffing up high, and aimed at the overwhelming snake tide: "Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"

Chakra poured out wildly, the maximum output of Majestic Destroyer Flame.

Boom!!!!

Flames verging on white-hot, carrying the heat to incinerate everything, surged forward like an avalanche.

The range of the flames was so vast it nearly swallowed the entire serpent sea.

Hiss, hiss, hiss!!!

The piercing sizzle of burning, the agonized shrieks of snakes, crackled like firecrackers, popping endlessly.

The air thickened with the stench of scorched flesh and burnt protein.

The seemingly endless serpent sea melted away like snow under the scorching sun, carbonizing and turning to ash.

"So... so amazing!"

Karin watched, her eyes filled with shock and admiration.

A few breaths later.

The flames dissipated, leaving the ground charred black, wisps of smoke rising—where was any trace of the snake tide?

"Phew..."

Yao exhaled.

A fire technique on this scale consumed an astonishing amount of Chakra.

But his ton of Chakra was still plenty abundant.

"A fire technique of this scale..." A cold, sinister voice came from a high branch off to the side.

Everyone looked up.

Orochimaru stood on a horizontal branch of a large tree, looking down at Yao with a sneer: "Kid, burning through Chakra like that, how much longer can you last?"

Shwoosh!

Without any warning, Yao vanished from his spot in an instant.

"Oh?"

Orochimaru's pupils contracted.

Almost at the same moment.

Yao appeared out of thin air behind Orochimaru, his voice ringing out: "Senior Orochimaru, I'd like to have a heart-to-heart talk with you!"

"When did he—?"

Alarms blared in Orochimaru's mind, his vast combat experience driving him to twist away instinctively.

But... too late!

Yao's right hand had already lifted, and in his palm, the piercing shriek of Chidori exploded once more.

Without a hint of hesitation.

Yao's arm, wreathed in dazzling blue lightning, plunged viciously straight through Orochimaru's back, right into his heart.

Thud!

The dull sound of a blade piercing flesh and bone was unmistakable.

The lightning-flickering hand burst out through Orochimaru's abdomen, blood dripping down Yao's arm.

Orochimaru's movements froze, his head lowering in disbelief to stare at the hand piercing his stomach.

Then he slowly turned his head to look at Uchiha Yao, inches away.

Orochimaru's eyes showed shock and confusion for the first time:

"Brat... what... what technique is this?"

"Flying Thunder God? No... how could you possibly learn Flying Thunder God?"

Yo maintained his piercing stance, leaned close to Orochimaru's ear, and spoke two words with a smile:

"Take a guess?"

The next moment, the Chidori lightning in Yo's palm surged again.

Violent lightning-natured chakra rampaged through Orochimaru's body.

Crackle!!!

Blue electric arcs spread along blood vessels, meridians, and bones, instantly reaching every corner of Orochimaru's body!

"Ughaaa!!!"

Orochimaru let out a hoarse, inhuman scream of agony, his body convulsing and spasming violently.

His skin blackened and carbonized at a visible rate, his hair turned to ash, his clothes burned away.

In the blink of an eye.

Orochimaru had once again become a smoking, carbonized humanoid frozen in a posture of agony.

Yo shook his arm and flung the completely charred corpse to the ground.

The scorched body hit the floor with a brittle crack, shattering into several pieces.

"Is... is it over?" Naruto's eyes were wide as he stared at the blackened remains, his voice dry.

"Is he... dead?"

Sasuke's Sharingan locked onto the charred corpse, trying to detect even a trace of chakra fluctuation.

Karin timidly raised her head as well, watching nervously.

Yo returned to the three of them and glanced at the charred chunks on the ground:

"Not yet!"

"What? Still not dead?"

Naruto nearly jumped up: "He's turned to charcoal!"

Sasuke was also shaken: "Is this guy... a cat demon reincarnated? Does he have nine lives?!"

As if to confirm Yo's words, a small hole suddenly burst open on the charred corpse without warning.

A pale, slick hand reached out from inside.

Then came the arm, shoulder, head, chest...

Orochimaru crawled out of the corpse once again.

His body was still covered in mucus, but his skin was perfectly intact, and even his clothes had eerily restored themselves.

Orochimaru Style Substitution Technique!

Orochimaru straightened up, his golden vertical pupils locked onto Yo, a strange smile twisting at the corner of his mouth.

Though he was smiling, his gaze was as cold as millennia-old ice, carrying undisguised killing intent and humiliation.

"Heh... brat..."

Orochimaru's voice was still hoarse, but now tinged with a darker edge:

"You really... gave me quite a surprise! But..."

His tone suddenly turned harsh:

"This is where it ends!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Orochimaru's head lunged forward.

His mouth stretched open to a horrifying degree, impossible for any human.

Whoosh!

A cold, slender blade gleaming with metallic light shot out from his wide-open mouth.

It was the Kusanagi Sword!

The Kusanagi Sword extended infinitely, moving at extreme speed, thrusting straight at Yo.

This attack came without warning—Orochimaru's signature move:

Mouth Sword!

"Boring!"

Just as the tip of the Kusanagi Sword was about to touch Yo's skin, Yo vanished into thin air again.

Orochimaru's pupils shrank! That instantaneous body-flicker technique again—could it really be Flying Thunder God?

Yo appeared behind Orochimaru, almost pressed against his spine.

His five fingers spread apart, gently pressing against Orochimaru's back.

No hand seals. Not even a clear precursor of Chakra eruption.

"Wood Release: Insertion Technique."

Puffpuffpuffpuffpuff!!!

Orochimaru's body snapped rigid. His eyes bulged abruptly, his mouth fell open, and a rasping, air-leaking sound escaped his throat.

Countless sharp wooden spikes burst out simultaneously from Orochimaru's chest, abdomen, limbs, neck...

In the blink of an eye!

Orochimaru's entire body was pierced through by countless wooden spikes, skewering him into a miserable, pathetic hedgehog.

Blood gushed along the wooden spikes, dyeing him into a figure of crimson.

Orochimaru remained standing, his face showing no pain at all—only shock and disbelief:

"Wood... Wood Release?!"

Orochimaru's voice was hoarse, yet carried a manic thirst for inquiry: "You... how... Wood Release?!"

The shock in Orochimaru's heart was far more intense than the Third Hokage's!

Because he was the one who understood the difficulty and absurdity of it best.

As a top-tier researcher.

Orochimaru had poured endless effort, sacrificed countless test subjects, and tirelessly studied Hashirama's cells.

He had tried to recreate the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju's, power, yet always ended up with only unstable, defective products.

This brat before him, with Uchiha blood flowing in his veins, possessed Yin Release Chakra—yet had awakened Wood Release?

This completely overturned Orochimaru's understanding of Kekkei Genkai, of Chakra, even of life science itself!

"What a joke... an Uchiha... how could..."

Yo looked at Orochimaru, a smile spreading across his face:

"Senior Orochimaru, the ninja world is vast. There are many things we don't understand, wouldn't you agree?"

Orochimaru tugged at the corner of his mouth, torn by the wooden spikes. Blood welled up, but he actually... laughed.

A twisted smile, yet brimming with the fervor of discovering a new continent.

"Heh... haha... right... you're right... I... was the frog at the bottom of the well..."

"But... I'm even more curious now... why you?"

"An Uchiha... why would you awaken... Wood Release?"