The Anbu members were a small squad, but one had already fallen and another had lost his mask. Only two remained.
Having his mask removed meant the mission could no longer continue.
The Anbu had to keep their personal information secret. Especially now that Orochimaru had seen one of their faces—the consequences were obvious.
Now, they had nowhere left to run.
"Orochimaru, if you kill us here, Konoha won't let you get away with it!"
Anko was still making one last attempt to resist. She had clearly already fought Orochimaru, and was now incredibly weak.
"Heh. Anko, you're still as naïve as ever..."
Orochimaru stuck out his long tongue and licked his face. There was no blood, but the gesture alone was enough to make anyone imagine the gruesome scene that was about to unfold.
Orochimaru moved. He took just one step, and the Anbu members all panicked. Only Anko managed to hold her ground.
She was Orochimaru's student. No matter how powerful he was, she didn't feel the same instinctive fear of him that an ordinary person would feel because of the distance between them.
"Are you planning to kill a former student here?"
Anko asked.
Orochimaru lowered his head and let out a soft chuckle.
Then he slowly burst into laughter.
"Haha... Hahahaha!"
"Life is like a flower. In the end, it will wither. When it withers, how it withers, or who leads it to its demise... it makes no difference."
After speaking, Orochimaru's eyes flashed with murderous intent.
He clearly had other business to attend to and didn't intend to linger here.
A streak of light flashed past. Orochimaru was bent forward, moving in.
"Zzz!"
A masked youth with a boyish build landed swiftly.
Gripping a kunai in both hands, he lunged straight at Orochimaru, leaving him no time to dodge. The blade sliced through the side of Orochimaru's clothes!
Orochimaru glared at the boy, but the youth didn't hesitate. His reactions were lightning-fast.
He threw a punch!
Orochimaru raised a hand to block it, but the blow still landed.
"Urgh..."
Orochimaru immediately retreated. The gaze of the youth behind his mask was impossible to read in the darkness.
Anko and the other Anbu members were all stunned.
The youth's long hair was neatly concealed behind him, and the mask on his head was the one Yugao had just dropped.
"Who are you?"
Anko asked, but Neji didn't answer.
He only said, "Treat Anko's injuries. If I start losing, come help me."
Neji did his best to suppress his voice beneath the mask.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to fight "that man" in front of the Anbu and a Special Jōnin!
Orochimaru!
Neji had been worried he might end up making a fool of himself, but now, at just the right moment, he'd managed to get some backup. If he really couldn't handle it, someone could lend him a hand!
Neji quickly caught up to Orochimaru. The entire exchange had taken less than five seconds, and Orochimaru hadn't even properly assessed the situation in front of him.
Orochimaru barely managed to dodge every punch.
Even without being skilled at Taijutsu, he could move with such speed...
That was what it meant to be strong!
Neji's desire to fight grew stronger and stronger!
Finally, Orochimaru leaped high and landed twenty meters away from Neji. Neji had also put some distance between himself and Anko's group.
"Fists infused with chakra?"
Orochimaru had just taken a punch head-on. He'd thought it was simply powerful, but he hadn't expected the boy's chakra to interfere with his own at that instant.
"The fundamentals of those moves are very similar to the Hyuga Clan's Taijutsu. But you've mixed Wind Style nature transformation into your punches... How interesting!"
Orochimaru had started to take an interest in the masked boy before him, but Neji's attack was far from over.
He charged forward again, delivering punch after punch at lightning speed, each aimed at a vital point.
Orochimaru had noticed the moment the fabric over his abdomen was cut. The boy's chakra didn't reveal any killing intent, yet every move seemed designed to take his opponent's life!
To have such skill, he must have trained tens of thousands of times... or even more. This wasn't the proficiency of an ordinary person!
"I can't let you land another punch. But you... fists probably aren't your specialty, are they?"
Orochimaru's lips curled into a sly smile.
Neji straightened up without a word.
A gentle breeze swept by, mild in feeling yet concealing a deadly threat!
"Come on. If you're going to save them from me, at least show me your true strength!"
Orochimaru widened his eyes and pulled down on one eyelid.
His terrifying eyes were like the pupils of a serpent.
"Hiss!"
It was as if a giant python were slithering right in front of him, while he himself was... no more than an ant!
Neji took a step back, cold sweat running down his face.
Everything around him was dark and chaotic!
Fear engulfed everything!
"Release!"
Neji furrowed his brows and broke free of Orochimaru's Binding Jutsu.
But his mental strength had already taken a severe hit. He felt as if he'd been completely drained.
That was the kind of genjutsu a powerful person could use with ease. Even after it was broken, it still left lasting damage!
"True strength?"
Neji thought to himself. He couldn't worry about that now. If they saw through him, then so be it.
"Ha!"
Neji let out a shout and moved. His speed was unlike anything he'd shown before.
Orochimaru was startled too. He hadn't expected the boy to transform so suddenly.
Neji brought down his palm. Unlike his punches, this palm strike carried the weight of countless years of experience, and its force was on an entirely different level.
"Pow!"
"Thud!"
The palm cut through the air again and again. Even though Orochimaru hadn't been hit directly, he still took a considerable impact. One could only imagine how powerful the strike would have been if it had connected.
Neji's final strike came too quickly to dodge, so Orochimaru had no choice but to block it with his arm.
With a heavy thud, Orochimaru caught the palm strike, and the ground caved in beneath him.
"Is there really a genius like you among Konoha's Anbu? You remind me of that man."
Neji paid no attention to Orochimaru's praise. Instead, he smoothly followed up with another practiced move!
A sharp whistle cut through the air. Neji's other hand was already in position, and he slashed with his kunai. Orochimaru simply tilted his head aside.
"Hmph!"
But in that brief opening, Orochimaru had already formed Hand Seals. Dozens of little snakes burst out from the trees behind him and lunged at Neji.
"Watch out! Behind you!"
Anko shouted. Neji reacted and furrowed his brows.
"Eight Trigrams: Ro..."
In that instant, he remembered something and abandoned his advantageous attack, quickly retreating to the side.
Neji fell to the ground nearby and thought, I can't use Rotation. It'll be too obvious!
"Who is this kid? He looks so young. Is there really someone like him in the Anbu?" one of the Anbu members asked in surprise.
Yugao said, "He's not in the Anbu. That's my mask he's wearing."
Anko gritted her teeth. "Whoever he is, he must be incredibly strong. To think someone so young could go toe-to-toe with Orochimaru!"
"Don't worry about me. Go help!"
Yugao and the two other Anbu members rushed forward together and stepped in front of Neji.
Looking at them, Orochimaru laughed arrogantly. "Hehehe. You're not even as good as this boy! Don't force yourselves to show off..."
He turned and quickly left.
"I have business to take care of. Don't spoil my mood, or I'll destroy Konoha!"
Orochimaru's voice echoed all around them.
Anko hurried over and clutched the spot on the back of her neck where the Cursed Seal was.
"Phew. He's gone."
Yugao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Everyone looked behind them, but the masked boy from a moment ago had vanished too!
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