Death Is Like the Wind

Rip!

How could the giant python's skin withstand such razor-sharp wind blades? After a tearing sound like leather ripping apart, the snake was split vertically in two, scarlet blood spraying everywhere.

But before Araki could breathe a sigh of relief, five arm-thick mottled snakes had already gathered into a bundle and launched another attack.

Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!

At the same time, Orochimaru was already close at hand. A cold gleam flashed as a sharp blade shot from his mouth, seemingly about to pierce through Araki's body in the next instant.

Was he treating me as the weak point to break through?

Araki took a deep breath.

As an old ninja who'd been famous for years, he wasn't careless at all when facing young people like us. How were we supposed to ambush him like this?

With a flick of his wrist, he swung out five sword shadows in an instant, accurately striking at the five incoming mottled snakes.

Five-Star Rend!

Yet just as Araki's sword was swung, his vision suddenly turned blood-red, as though he had fallen into an entirely crimson world.

Before he could react, a sharp sword thrust out from ahead and pierced straight through his chest!

Agh!

Blood sprayed, and the pain felt utterly real. Yet Araki's sword did not waver in the slightest. It continued along its predetermined path, cutting down the pythons that had emerged from Orochimaru's sleeve without a hint of hesitation or trembling.

In less than 0.1 seconds, Araki's vision returned to normal. He immediately raised his sword in an upward slash, blocking the Kusanagi Sword that Orochimaru had brought down.

Then, borrowing the slight recoil, he used the Body Flicker Technique to widen the distance between them.

In that instant, a light breeze seemed to swirl around his body, greatly increasing the speed of his Body Flicker Technique and leaving Orochimaru no time to stop him.

Though Araki had temporarily escaped danger and was drenched in cold sweat, he felt an inexplicable thrill and exhilaration deep inside, especially after sensing the faint breeze lingering around him.

"Death is like the wind, always at my side."

He murmured thoughtfully.

"Interesting. You broke my illusion instantly. If I hadn't seen your eyes lose focus for a moment, I might have thought you were immune to illusions."

Orochimaru stopped, and the interest in his gaze toward Araki grew even stronger.

Not only did he target me, a genin, first, but he even used an illusion? He really was being ridiculously cautious! Good thing I wasn't careless and got out of the way.

Araki grumbled inwardly, but he said aloud:

"A mere illusion is only fit for dealing with the weak!"

It was trash talk, but it was not wrong. What Orochimaru had used on him was a killing-intent illusion similar to the Hell Viewing Technique he had used on Kakashi during the Chunin Exams in the original story.

As its name implied, it used one's intense killing intent to taint the opponent's mind, making them see themselves being killed. Both the mental pressure and pain simulation were extremely realistic. Even Kakashi, already an experienced jonin at the time, had been unable to withstand it and froze in fear for a moment.

Araki's overall strength was undoubtedly far inferior to Kakashi's at that time, but he was more familiar than anyone with being killed.

From Asuna, to Himura Kenshin, to Yasuo now, Araki had died who knew how many times in the Consciousness Space. There was simply nothing frightening about it to him, much less enough to leave him trembling and unable to move.

So Orochimaru had completely used the wrong skill this time. If he had used a restraining illusion like the Body Bind Illusion, Araki might not have been able to disrupt his own chakra. He might even have needed Kisame to save him.

But that simple, brutal intimidation through killing intent was like a gentle breeze brushing Araki's face. It could not stir the slightest ripple within him.

"Bloody Mist..."

Orochimaru softly repeated the words, the interest in his eyes growing deeper.

"Water Release: Multiple Water Fang Bullet Technique!"

At that moment, Kisame, who had somehow lacked any real presence despite this being a three-man battlefield, finally made his voice heard.

He formed hand seals alongside his three Water Clones. Eight spiraling streams of water, whirring like drills, pierced toward Orochimaru.

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

As the disciple of the Third Hokage, the Professor of Ninjutsu, Orochimaru was proficient in nearly every type of conventional elemental technique. But out at sea, Water Release Ninjutsu was naturally more efficient.

A circular wall of water surged up from the sea, completely shielding Orochimaru's body and rendering the eight fang-like currents ineffective.

Before the water wall could disperse, a laser-like water arrow pierced through it and shot outward, blue lightning flickering along its surface.

This was a combination of Water Release: Water Severing Wave and Lightning Release: Earth Flash, a technique with terrifying piercing power known as Lightning Water Severing Wave!

"Another Lightning-Water combination technique? Damn it!"

Kisame Hoshigaki was also at a loss for words. Since that stream of water had so easily pierced Orochimaru's Water Formation Wall, his Multiple Water Formation Wall would most likely fail to stop it as well. He could only hurriedly use the Body Flicker Technique to evade.

The lightning-charged, laser-like water stream fired from Orochimaru's mouth nearly carved a semicircle across the ocean surface. Crackling currents spread far across the water, forcing Araki and Kisame to retreat more than a hundred meters before they finally escaped the expanding lightning.

Orochimaru truly deserved to be the Third Hokage's favorite disciple. His combination of Water Severing Wave and Lightning Release: Earth Flash was starting to carry a hint of Storm Style.

If the speed of Water Severing Wave had fully merged with Lightning Release and become an actual laser, they would not have escaped that attack so easily.

"Captain, this won't work. If we can't deal with his Lightning Style Ninjutsu, this fight will be difficult."

Araki looked toward Kisame. The brush with death had deepened his understanding of the wind even further, so he had no desire to run now. All he wanted was to squeeze a few more benefits out of Orochimaru.

Maybe once this battle is over, my Wind-Slaying Sword Technique will reach mastery?

Araki thought happily.

"But I don't know Wind Style Ninjutsu!"

Kisame was also rather frustrated. Wind and lightning were both rare chakra natures in Kirigakure, while his own chakra affinities were only water and earth.

With his chakra reserves, he was not worried about being unable to use Earth Release at sea. The problem was that lightning countered earth. If he created some Water-Earth composite technique, would that not mean he was being completely countered?

After all, Lightning Style Ninjutsu could deal "super effective" damage against Earth Release.

"But I know Wind Style! Captain, we can only turn this around by using a combination technique together!"

Feeling the increasingly active gale around him, Araki made his suggestion.

Seeing another composite technique about to take shape on Orochimaru's side, Kisame had no other choice.

"Then let's try it!"

His hands rapidly formed seals, and a water tornado quickly took shape.

"Water Release: Water Tornado Technique!"

Araki seized the opportunity, gripped his sword with both hands, and slashed with all his strength.

"Whirlwind Slash!"

Whoosh!

A fierce tornado blasted outward. Under Araki's control, it struck Kisame's water tornado from behind.

To be honest, such crude coordination could not truly be called a combination technique. But the two of them, desperately improvising in battle, had no time to fuss over details.

"Gale Water Assault Technique!"

A tornado of water roughly ten meters tall, wrapped within a swirling gale, howled forward to meet the slender water pillar glittering with lightning.

Boom!

Using water against water and wind against lightning, Araki and Kisame's approach was not wrong. If they could truly merge the two techniques into a new composite ninjutsu, then under this elemental advantage, Orochimaru's Lightning Water Severing Wave would certainly be no match for their Gale Water Assault Technique.

Unfortunately, reality had no room for hypotheticals. If composite ninjutsu were so easy to develop, would the Third Hokage still be called the Professor of Ninjutsu?

Thus, after an earth-shaking explosion, the Water Severing Wave, stripped of its lightning, still pierced through the Water Tornado Technique's defenses and continued unwaveringly toward Kisame and Araki.

But faced with this pure Water Release Ninjutsu, Kisame found it much easier to handle. After forming seals, his chest swelled high, and he fired a Water Gun Technique head-on, causing both attacks to annihilate each other.

Yet before they could catch their breath, several more giant snakes burst from the water. Their enormous mouths gaped wide, exposing savage fangs as they lunged wildly at the two of them.

Ninja Art: Chaotic Snake Destruction!

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