Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with curiosity. In his view, a Sunagakure ninja who could master such advanced Magnet Release at such a young age was already a prodigy.
Judging by his use of the Mystical Palm Technique, however, his skill in Medical Ninjutsu was also impressive. Orochimaru's human experiments required assistants who were proficient in Medical Ninjutsu and open-minded.
"I don't need funding. And as for talent, do you really think Konoha's medical ninja are any weaker than yours?" Orochimaru said disdainfully. With Konoha backing him, he had access to some of the best resources around.
It was only because his experiments were inhumane that he couldn't make them public.
After he later started working with Danzo, the number of human test subjects he could get his hands on only grew...
"Would Konoha accept the experiments you're conducting in secret?" Souya countered.
Orochimaru's pupils contracted abruptly. This Sunagakure ninja he'd never met seemed to know exactly what sort of experiments he was conducting...
Was the information from Sunagakure, or had the man found it out on his own? Those thoughts flashed through Orochimaru's mind.
"However you look at it, I can't work with an enemy from another village like you..." Orochimaru said in a low, hoarse voice.
"There are no eternal enemies. Even friends are only temporary..."
"Do you think Konoha's ninja still consider you one of their own?" Souya glanced at the growing crowd of Sunagakure ninja behind him.
On either side of Orochimaru, across from Souya, Konoha ninja were appearing one after another.
They watched Souya and his group warily, but when their eyes fell on Orochimaru, fear crept into their expressions. They did their best to keep their distance from him.
"Heh!" Orochimaru had naturally noticed, but he didn't care about the feelings of these so-called "comrades."
Having understood how fragile life was, all he truly yearned for was immortality...
As for Konoha, he only stayed for old times' sake—and to make use of its resources.
He'd advised the Third Hokage long ago that they couldn't keep defending passively. They had to take the initiative and wipe out Sunagakure's main force. Only then would Sunagakure settle down and stop holding Konoha back.
But the Third Hokage had no intention of accepting Orochimaru's advice. Instead, he kept sending Minato Namikaze around to "put out fires." The ninja Minato rescued were naturally grateful to him, and before long, he'd built up a great deal of prestige.
Support for Minato as the next Fourth Hokage was growing by the day...
In the end, the Third Hokage had simply sent Orochimaru to guard the border of the Land of Fire, putting the matter to rest.
Faced with this outcome, Orochimaru could only sigh once more. The man once hailed as the "Shinobi Hero" had truly grown old...
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Whoosh!
Before Orochimaru could say anything, a house-sized ball of fire came hurtling toward them.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
A powerful gale surged toward the fireball, tearing it apart before scattering its remnants.
"Looks like someone doesn't want us to keep talking, Orochimaru... If you're interested in working together, come find me. I'm very interested in your experiments!" Souya glanced to the left.
The one who'd just spat out the fireball was a Uchiha ninja. Two tomoe turned slowly in his blood-red eyes.
This was the first time Souya had seen a Sharingan, the initial form of one of the Ninja World's three great dojutsu...
Calling them the Ninja World's three great dojutsu was a bit of a stretch. The Hyuga Clan, with its Byakugan, and the Uchiha Clan, with its Sharingan, were both in Konoha. The Rinnegan had been awakened by the Elder Dancer. It would be more accurate to call them Konoha's three great dojutsu.
Orochimaru also glanced at the Uchiha ninja. He looked to be in his early twenties, with a trace of youthfulness still on his face. He probably didn't have much real combat experience.
The real heavy hitters were all deployed on other battlefields. There were barely any jōnin among those sent here.
The Uchiha ninja looked at the Sunagakure ninja with pride and disdain. After all, everything he'd been taught since childhood said that the Land of Wind was the weakest of the Five Great Nations.
The Uchiha Clan had always considered itself Konoha's backbone. Most Uchiha who awakened their Sharingan developed a "main-character" complex. Shinobi like Shisui, Itachi, and Fugaku were rare.
Yet even someone as arrogant as this Uchiha ninja instinctively shuddered when Orochimaru's cold, slit-pupiled gaze settled on him. Sweat immediately trickled down his back.
"Roar!"
Manda, still struggling to break free, roared again. Under Souya's deliberate control, most of the giant snake's body had already sunk into the Gold Sand swamp.
Vast amounts of Gold Sand climbed over its enormous body, dragging it deeper into the earth.
Pfft!
Furious, Manda spat out a huge mouthful of thick, purplish-black liquid.
Souya raised both hands. The ground in front of him instantly surged upward, forming a slanted wall of Gold Sand that caught all the poison.
Sizzle!
The moment the poison touched the Gold Sand, thick smoke billowed as it desperately ate away at the barrier.
Some of the poison splashed onto the plants, boring holes right through them and destroying their vitality.
Orochimaru seized the opportunity. He dropped to the ground, opened his mouth impossibly wide, and sent countless snakes swarming out.
The snakes slithered forward at speed, each opening its jaws to reveal a gleaming blade.
This was Orochimaru's perfected technique of "man spits out snakes, snakes spit out swords"—Summoning: Demonic Statue of the Thousand Armed Killers!
The ground looked like a pool of water into which ink had been poured. The snakes rapidly spread across the area in front of Orochimaru, rushing toward Souya and the others.
"Everyone, get behind me!"
Souya shouted, then spun his hands like wheels, forming a series of hand seals so quickly they blurred.
The ground responded violently to his movements. Then he grabbed the Starfall Rod and released the Chakra within it.
"Gold Sand Prison Flow!"
Souya struck the ground ahead with the Starfall Rod.
Bam!
The ground in front of him abruptly surged upward, forming a cascading torrent of Gold Sand more than three meters high.
Rumble!
The solid ground was swept apart by the churning Gold Sand. Snakes, trees, rocks...everything on the surface was swallowed by the golden torrent.
"Ah!"
Several Konoha ninja who'd been standing too close to the front were also dragged under by the torrent, vanishing without a trace.
The enormous mass of Gold Sand crashed into Manda, burying its coiled body completely. The torrent's powerful impact also knocked its head sideways. It struggled helplessly, like a drowning man caught in a raging river.
Poof!
A cloud of white smoke appeared, and Manda vanished. Fortunately, summoned beasts had a lifesaving trick: they could undo the summoning contract and return to where they'd been before they were summoned.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Seen from above, the vast area in front of Souya looked like the Yellow River bursting its banks. The glittering Gold Sand flowed like liquid, sweeping across the land.
In the end, only a few scattered, towering trees still stood above the surface. The area in front of Souya had become a golden lake.
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