Ding! Headpat A-Rank Ninja: Orochimaru!

As the thick smoke gradually dissipated, the enemy's voice drifted over from the distance.

"Hehehe, a self-created A-rank ninjutsu without hand signs; the power is truly not insignificant."

"Uchiha Lihuo, you are indeed worthy of the title of genius."

The voice was low and slightly raspy. Although he was praising him, Lihuo couldn't feel even a shred of joy.

He knew that despite using numerous methods, every single one had been neutralized by his opponent.

"Oh? It seems you have also mastered some kind of medical ninjutsu?"

The voice came from afar, reaching Lihuo's ears with a hint of mockery.

Lihuo understood that Dark Release: Inversion Hole was his final trump card; he had to seize the chance to touch his head to have even a glimmer of hope for survival.

Without giving Lihuo time to think further, the thick smoke slowly cleared away.

"Searching for you like this is far too slow."

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

As the slightly raspy voice rang out, Lihuo could clearly perceive a violent surge of chakra fluctuations from the distance.

A Wind Style of this scale—it's truly terrifying!

Suddenly, a massive gust of wind rushed toward him from afar, faintly carrying a sensation of being sliced.

Following that, the surrounding dust was swept away in an instant.

Facing the rapidly approaching gale, alarm bells rang in Lihuo's mind.

He couldn't take this attack head-on!

Lihuo exerted force through his feet, struggling to escape the range of the gale.

Boom!

The gust of wind ultimately struck the training post, and the post, unable to withstand the power, snapped instantly.

What surprised Lihuo even more was that the broken post was densely carved with scratches.

Deep and shallow, Lihuo realized that the opponent had infused the Great Breakthrough with wind-attribute nature transformation.

While it didn't compare to Naruto's Wind Style: Rasenshuriken, it had forcibly elevated an original C-rank ninjutsu to the destructive power of an A-rank!

This was definitely a master among masters! He absolutely could not let him seize the tempo again!

Thinking of this, Lihuo did not hesitate, charging toward the enemy at his maximum speed.

"Your speed is decent, but your path is too straightforward," the enemy said while rapidly weaving hand signs, aiming at the advancing Lihuo.

"Wind Style: Wind Cutter," the voice carried a trace of chilling coldness.

Suddenly, countless tiny wind blades erupted from his hands, rushing toward Lihuo.

Lihuo knew in his heart that these seemingly small and invisible wind blades were truly lethal killing moves.

If he were hit, his only fate would be to be "minced into meat paste."

Only now did Lihuo deeply regret not asking Sakumo for advice on footwork; his own Strong Fist footwork was too wide and open, making it impossible to dodge and weave freely within the encirclement of wind blades.

Facing such a situation, Lihuo's eyes turned red, and the anger of being suppressed surged up instantly.

He decided to trade injury for injury.

Without slowing his advance, he dodged as many wind blades as he could, and for those he couldn't, he would do his best to repair the damage using Life Return!

Success or failure hinged on this one move!

Watching Lihuo continue to charge forward despite his wind blades, the enemy couldn't help but be a little surprised.

"Oh? Changed your tactics?"

"But I can't let you get close so easily."

With that, he continued to increase the output of wind blades, even forming an airtight web of attacks in front of himself.

However, through his rapid advance, Lihuo had already reached the enemy's front.

Looking at the incoming web of wind blades, the scent of danger rushed straight to Lihuo's forehead. His pupils constricted, and he thrust his left hand forward.

"Dark Release: Inversion Hole!"

In an instant, Lihuo's left hand erupted with immense suction. The wind blades that had been exuding a lethal aura a second ago were now unusually docile.

A large number of wind blades dissipated instantly, transforming into pure chakra that was absorbed into his body through his left hand.

Refreshing!

Lihuo felt that he was now filled with power; his chakra was nearly reaching the limit of what his body could withstand!

Looking at the enemy, who was stunned for a split second, Lihuo grinned.

"That kick from before—I'm returning it to you!"

Before the words had even faded, Lihuo quickly reached out with his right hand, touching the enemy's head, and then launched himself into a whip kick, striking the still-astonished enemy with heavy, powerful force.

Bang!

The enemy was kicked by Lihuo and transformed into a black shadow, flying backward until he crashed into several large trees, barely coming to a stop.

Amidst the smoke, the enemy slowly stood up.

"Ding! Congratulations on the head pat..."

Feeling the abundant chakra within his body and looking at the enemy who had been suppressing him the entire time, Lihuo could not suppress the rage in his heart as a bold idea rushed into his mind.

I've never fought such a wealthy battle in my life; even if the Heavenly King himself came down today, he'd still have to take this hit!

With no time to spare for the system prompts in his mind, Lihuo performed hand seals at lightning speed, and two shadow clones appeared!

He spread his hand, and a pale blue Rasengan formed instantly.

It wasn't over yet! The two shadow clones assisted from the sides; one maintained the shape transformation of the Rasengan, while the other used Kage-level chakra control to infuse the Wind Style nature transformation into the Rasengan!

Success or failure rested on this single move. Sensing the rapidly depleting natural energy, Lihuo knew his Simplified Sage Mode was about to end!

"Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!"

A massive chakra shuriken appeared in Lihuo's hand.

The shuriken spun at high speed, emitting a piercing screech and stirring up countless wind blades around Lihuo.

He threw it with all his might at the enemy, and at that moment, Lihuo's Simplified Sage Mode completely dissipated.

Watching the Rasenshuriken fly rapidly away, Lihuo finally steadied his mind, for he knew this was his strongest technique.

"By the way, System, who did you say I patted on the head?"

"I need to choose my rewards carefully. If he doesn't die, I can still steam him a bit more."

"Ding! Head pat on A-rank ninja: Orochimaru. Please select three of the following rewards."

"Oh, who could it be? It turns out to be an old acquaintance, Orochi... Wait! Orochimaru!"

"Isn't he a ninja from an enemy nation?"

In an instant, a thousand thoughts flooded Lihuo's mind.

Why would he disguise himself as an enemy ninja?

Why would he attack me?

My trump cards are completely exposed; what kind of impact will this have?

These thoughts tangled in Lihuo's heart, and he didn't even know which one to ponder first.

Watching the shuriken speed away, Lihuo thought to himself:

"Since things have come to this, I'll choose the rewards first."

What? Save him?

If a powerhouse like Kakuzu could survive a Rasenshuriken, let alone Orochimaru, who possessed the strongest survival abilities in the entire Naruto series!

Lihuo wasn't worried at all about whether Orochimaru would survive, because the answer was certain. Lihuo understood clearly that this battle would fundamentally change his situation in Konoha.

Whether it was good or bad remained unclear, but if he didn't improve his strength as quickly as possible, he would only be treated as fish on a chopping block, waiting to be slaughtered.

As the Rasenshuriken accurately struck the location where Orochimaru stood, countless microscopic chakra blades erupted instantly.

Due to it being his first attempt, Lihuo didn't achieve the terrifying lethality of Naruto's version that could sever cells.

However, such destructive power was enough to give even an elite Jonin a run for their money.

"System, claim rewards."

"Ding! Head pat on A-rank ninja: Orochimaru. Please select three of the following rewards."

"Face Copying Technique"

"Five Elements Seal"

"Summoning: Triple Rashomon"

"Significant enhancement of physical fitness"

"Three random Orochimaru-style ninjutsu"

"Five random Wind Style ninjutsu"

Rich! Too rich! Lihuo looked at the dazzling array of rewards before him, his eyes practically spinning.

Although there were no powerful techniques like the Reanimation Jutsu or the Eight Branches Technique that Orochimaru would master later, these rewards were enough to upgrade Lihuo's current arsenal.

Lihuo didn't dare hesitate for a second, because he knew that as soon as the aftermath of the Rasenshuriken ended, Orochimaru would appear again, and that would be the final phase!

He had to spare no effort to increase his chips!

"System, I choose..."