Ship-borne Machine Gun!

"Lord Orochimaru!"

Aburame Ryoma let out a low hiss. "Why not take a look at the terms Lord Danzo has offered you?"

"Lord Danzo has shown sufficient sincerity this time; he can eliminate a rival for you and provide you with a distinguished military achievement!"

"These terms are already quite generous. Are you truly not going to consider them?"

"Ryoma-kun, this is not the version of you that I remember—the one who could always remain calm."

Orochimaru glanced at the receding figure of Ruohuo, then at the unopened scroll in his hand, and shook his head with a light chuckle.

"Look... am I not considering it right now?"

Orochimaru toyed with the scroll in his hand. He didn't need to look at it; based on Aburame Ryoma's words, he had already guessed the contents.

"If Lord Danzo wants to cooperate with me, besides showing sufficient sincerity, he must at least demonstrate sufficient strength, don't you think?"

"Otherwise, why would I abandon Konoha's oldest ninja clan to engage in such a high-risk partnership with Lord Danzo?"

Aburame Ryoma's expression shifted in shock!

Orochimaru was actually planning to cooperate with the Uchiha Clan? Just because this brat was his disciple!?

"Let's make a bet, Ryoma-kun."

Orochimaru looked toward the distance.

"I recall that Chito-kun became an elite guard for Elder Danzo three years ago, selected from among a group of Special Jonin..."

"If he can last five minutes against Ruohuo-kun... I will open this scroll right in front of him."

"How about it?"

The bombardment of the Dragon Flame Song Jutsu had failed to take effect.

Yamanaka Chito dashed out from the flames, using the trees as cover as his figure flickered incessantly.

Ruohuo formed seals with his hands, his Three Tomoe locking onto Yamanaka Chito from the air.

The jutsu he wanted most right now was actually Senju Tobirama's Water Style: Water Severing Wave.

With its high attack speed and strong penetration, it was essentially a high-pressure water gun.

If launched with Fire Style and augmented by various buffs, it might just become a high-temperature laser.

If he used it like a sniper rifle, he might have been able to ignore the cover just now and blow the head off this Yamanaka Root Ninja.

His dear teacher Orochimaru had already said that if he encountered someone with the "Will of Darkness," he could choose to strike directly.

This wasn't murder; it was purifying the world...

Ruohuo had been thinking at the time whether he could find an opportunity to carry out his teacher's teachings once he returned to Konoha.

He hadn't expected to get the chance so soon.

So, Orochimaru really has no intention of stopping me?

If Yamanaka Chito is killed here, Orochimaru will have to take full responsibility...

Ruohuo maintained his distance, not intending to give this guy a chance to activate his Yamanaka secret techniques.

He spared a glance toward Orochimaru and Aburame Ryoma, noticing that neither of them was pursuing him.

Ruohuo was no stranger to this duo.

In the original timeline, after Orochimaru failed his bid for Hokage, he "defected" to Danzo and became his elite guard, making him a colleague of Aburame Ryoma.

But at this point in time...

Ruohuo noticed that Orochimaru seemed to be holding Aburame Ryoma back.

"Interesting."

Ruohuo raised an eyebrow.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet!"

Ruohuo pressed his hands onto the dragon's head, pouring chakra into it, and the flaming dragon immediately opened its bloodthirsty maw!

Now that he possessed the Three Tomoe, he could attempt to fuse several "Dragon" class ninjutsu.

What Ruohuo intended to do now was to fuse the Fire (Water) Dragon Bullet and the Fire (Earth) Dragon Bullet to install a ship-borne machine gun!

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

Maintaining a certain distance, Ruohuo had the fire dragon beneath his feet fire a continuous stream of fire bullets at Yamanaka Chito!

"This damn brat!"

Yamanaka Chito gritted his teeth. Ruohuo, high in the sky, was beyond the range of his secret techniques; he had no room to counterattack and could only endure the assault passively!

Flight was always faster than sprinting on the ground.

Yamanaka Chito quickly realized this reality, using the trees as cover to dodge constantly, putting on a display of standard tactical evasion for Ruohuo!

Spin!

Leap!

Never stop!

Yamanaka Chito dared not pause for even a second; the slightest hesitation would invite a barrage of relentless bombardment!

"Is this brat insane?!"

His landing spot had been anticipated by Ruohuo. Seeing countless fire bullets about to strike, Yamanaka Chito cursed under his breath and used the Substitution Technique to escape disaster.

As his figure shifted and the roles of attacker and defender briefly swapped, Yamanaka Chito quickly formed hand seals, aiming at Ruohuo.

"Ninja Art: Heart... Damn it!"

Before the secret technique could be unleashed, Yamanaka Chito saw a sky full of fire bullets rushing toward his face!

"Do you really think you can pull these little tricks under the gaze of these eyes?"

"You rats in the gutter, who gave you the nerve to deceive my teacher and dare to compete with me in mind techniques?!"

"DIE!!!"

Ruohuo controlled the Fire Dragon at full power, firing bullets as densely as if he had used the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!

But this was, after all, a dense forest. Yamanaka Chito immediately locked onto a towering tree; as long as he could dodge this wave of attacks, he still had a chance!

Whoosh!

Yamanaka Chito dashed with a Body Flicker!

Clap!

Ruohuo slammed his hands together!

Yamanaka Chito finally reached the vicinity of the tree, but the first fire bullets to arrive were already exploding not far from him!

"Ninja Art!" Yamanaka Chito dared not stop, forming seals in advance to prepare his secret technique; this might be his last chance!

But when he aimed once more at the boy riding the Fire Dragon...

"Fire Style: Twin Dragon Fire Prison!"

Two Fire Dragon Bullets circled the tree from the left and right, finally striking Yamanaka Chito!

And at the moment of impact, the form of the two fire dragons shifted again, transforming directly into a cage of flames!

Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet + Fire Style: Fire Prison Technique.

Just as Orochimaru had said.

Ruohuo did not change the form of these two ninjutsu, but rather utilized the momentum of the flames to launch a second technique.

It was just like how a Water Style ninja could conjure a massive amount of water in a place without a water source, and then use that water to launch another ninjutsu.

"Argh!!!!"

"Let me out!! My eyes!!!! Ah!!!!"

"I am... Lord Danzo's..."

In battles between ninjas, the outcome is often decided in a single instant.

The fire prison lasted for a minute.

But Yamanaka Chito only lasted for less than half that time...

And by the time Orochimaru and Aburame Ryoma arrived, all that remained for them was a charred corpse...

"Another enemy eliminated, Ruohuo-kun."

Orochimaru ignored the expression on Aburame Ryoma's face and smiled, "This is already the 15th enemy you have killed."

"Theoretically, this has already exceeded the danger level of an A-rank mission. Once we return to Konoha, I will explain the situation to the Hokage."

Beside him, Aburame Ryoma's face turned incredibly grim.

"It will be the 16th one soon, Teacher."

Ruohuo formed seals with one hand and held a loose fist in front of his mouth.

He had just had an idea on the way here: the Dragon Fire Jutsu was essentially a high-temperature flamethrower.

If he were to install a choke on this flamethrower, perhaps it could double as a sniper rifle within ten meters?

A choke wouldn't be hard to find.

With his 90% high-temperature immunity, combined with the protection of his own chakra, holding the "barrel" with his bare hands was no problem.

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Spear!"