Shuffling the Boss!

"Ah, this..."

Naruto and the others were all dumbfounded by Anko's poor performance.

Even Orochimaru, still hidden in the smoke, couldn't help commenting:

"Kid, the reinforcements you were desperately waiting for don't seem nearly as useful as you imagined..."

"Jonin Anko, I know that as your teacher, Orochimaru must have left some contingencies in place on you..."

Kazeka came to Anko's side.

"But your performance is far more unexpected than I thought.

The Third Hokage stopped me from getting close to you because he was afraid my experiments might trigger the Cursed Seal's negative effects.

But judging by the situation now, you'd have been better off letting me experiment on you.

Is there any chance you can draw on something called 'conviction' to pull yourself together and recover your fighting strength?"

"Orochimaru's Cursed Seal isn't something you can overcome so easily.

Even the seal on me now is the highest-grade Sealing Jutsu the village can use..."

Anko struggled to speak.

"But it still hasn't done much!"

"That's because you haven't met me. Don't resist..."

Kazeka pursed his lips, then placed a hand over Anko's Cursed Seal and released another Sealing Jutsu.

A vast mass of densely packed characters, like tadpoles, spread from Kazeka's hand and covered most of Anko's body in an instant.

Kazeka formed another set of Hand Seals. The characters immediately contracted, forming an inverted pentagram-shaped seal that appeared around the Cursed Seal!

"This!"

As the one being sealed, Anko knew best how effective Kazeka's Sealing Jutsu was.

She slowly straightened up and rolled her shoulders. Astonishment flashed in her eyes.

"My body isn't being affected anymore?

I can still feel a heavy, oppressive sensation, and it's limiting me to about sixty or seventy percent of my fighting strength.

But that unbearable pain that left me unable to move is gone!"

"I didn't expect to make an unexpected discovery here. Kazeka, what you used isn't a conventional Sealing Jutsu, is it..."

The dust settled, gradually revealing Orochimaru's completely unharmed body.

Yet as a scientist, his terrifying thirst for knowledge had kept him from interrupting Kazeka while he performed the Sealing Jutsu on Anko.

On the contrary, he'd watched Kazeka's work with great interest, even finding time to discuss it.

"In Sealing Jutsu, an inverted pentagram usually represents evil, pain, or harm.

Its purpose is to make the person or object being sealed suffer throughout the duration of the seal.

It's mainly meant to torment the one being sealed, and it inevitably causes some harm to the one performing the seal as well!"

"But it's already caused harm..."

Kazeka pointed at Anko beside him.

"Her strength has dropped by thirty or forty percent. That's no small harm.

As for the damage Anko was suffering before, I've already transferred it to someone else.

I'd prepared the first half of this pain-transferring seal on some of my test subjects in advance.

I'd planned to use it on myself, but I didn't expect to use it on Anko instead.

Still, based on my calculations, at this stage, the seal is far more suitable for Anko than it would be for me!"

"To come up with a method like that in such a short time... I'm starting to find you interesting again..."

Orochimaru looked Kazeka up and down, then suddenly lowered his voice and invited him:

"Would you like to come back to me? I'm sure you faced plenty of restrictions while conducting experiments in Konoha.

The Hokage's ideas are far too outdated. He doesn't understand the principles of scientific progress at all.

With me, you could work without restraint and conduct your research to your heart's content!"

"No!"

Before Kazeka could respond, Anko stepped in front of him and hurriedly tried to dissuade him.

"Orochimaru only cares about his experiments. He couldn't care less whether anyone else lives or dies. Kazeka, you'll regret it if you go with him!"

"I wasn't planning to go with him anyway..."

Kazeka waved dismissively.

"A washed-up researcher who's trying to achieve immortality by studying new techniques, then wants to obtain every kind of ninjutsu.

He even covets the Sharingan just because it can copy a whole lot of techniques.

Tch. Going to work for such a pathetic fool would be an insult to a scientist like me!"

By all rights, Orochimaru's research abilities were among the best in the entire Shinobi World. But Kazeka had no qualms about insulting him.

And he'd hit all of Orochimaru's sore spots, leaving him barely able to contain himself.

Orochimaru's gaze gradually turned cold, and a murderous intent began to rise.

"Kazeka, if you're asking for death, don't blame me for showing no mercy.

Your Sealing Jutsu can't keep Anko in this state for long. The mark is already fading—that's proof enough.

Besides, even at full strength, she wouldn't last long against me!

In a moment, I'll cut off your head and preserve your mind.

Then I'll show you just how revolutionary my research really is!"

"You're getting worked up already? That was all it took?"

"Kazeka, don't push your luck..."

Anko couldn't help speaking up.

"Provoking a venomous snake into attacking its prey is a good idea, but don't forget not to anger it too much. It could kill you with one strike!"

Anko formed Hand Seals, and a huge swarm of venomous snakes, like the one Orochimaru had used earlier, surged toward him.

"I'll take the lead. Help me attack him—we have to keep Orochimaru here. He's an enemy of the village, and we absolutely can't let him escape!"

"Fang Over Fang!"

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Shadow Imitation Jutsu!"

"Kikaichū Swarm!"

"Konoha Strong Whirlwind!"

At first, only Anko, Kazeka, and Naruto's two squads were attacking.

But the commotion here was so great that it soon drew other ninja squads.

Seeing Kazeka and the others locked in a fierce battle, Shikamaru Nara's Ino-Shika-Cho Squad, Shino Aburame's squad, and Rock Lee's team arrived too!

Led by Anko as the main attacker, this large group of ninja hurled every kind of ninjutsu and Taijutsu at Orochimaru as if they cost nothing.

They weren't perfectly coordinated, but they worked together well enough. It felt just like teaming up to grind a boss in a game!

"Something's wrong!"

Halfway through the battle, Orochimaru's relaxed expression suddenly changed.

He cut a gash in his left arm and forced out a stream of unusually bright red blood.

"The other side has so many ninja here. Why am I still fighting leisurely? Even if I can't kill them all, I should be retreating as quickly as possible..."

He casually knocked away Rock Lee as he charged at him, then looked at Kazeka with an expression of genuine seriousness for the first time.

"Kid, what did you drug me with?"

"A drug that makes an opponent's brain more excited, heightens their desire to explore and learn, and makes them more eager to toy with their enemies..."

Kazeka shrugged and pursed his lips in dissatisfaction.

"I've been setting it up ever since I first arrived on this battlefield. I didn't expect all that effort to delay you by only a few minutes!"

Orochimaru: "..."