Orochimaru's Madness! Sasori Flees

Whether in the original story or during his time spent with Orochimaru, Lihuo had never seen Orochimaru lose his temper.

This man always kept his emotions buried deep within, revealing neither joy nor sorrow.

Yet, the Orochimaru before him now seemed to have lost even the strength to hide his feelings; he looked at Lihuo with a complex gaze.

"Humans truly are fragile."

"Rest assured, I will not let history repeat itself."

When Orochimaru turned his gaze back to Oniichiro and his companion, his eyes were filled with boundless rage and madness.

Oniichiro hurriedly shouted, "What are you standing there for? Run!"

Puff!

In the next second, Orochimaru's tongue pierced through Oniichiro's right palm.

Had it not been for the protection of Oniichiro's right hand, Orochimaru's tongue would have pierced his heart!

Seeing his teacher's hand crippled so effortlessly, Sasori finally understood the strength of the intruder.

Without the slightest hesitation, Sasori turned and fled rapidly.

Watching Sasori's unhesitating retreat, Oniichiro felt no surprise at all.

He knew that Sasori was a rational person who would make the most suitable decision based on the circumstances.

But Sasori was by no means cold-blooded or heartless; Oniichiro knew that this child, who had lost his parents at a young age, lacked a sense of security but still harbored a shred of kindness in his heart.

Therefore, Oniichiro believed that Sasori's flight was not an act of cowardice, but a desperate attempt to fetch reinforcements capable of saving him!

Thinking of this, Oniichiro ignored his injured right hand, pulled a purple pill from his ninja tool pouch, and swallowed it without a second thought.

Watching Oniichiro's actions, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. He had seen this pill during the Second Shinobi World War; it was created by Chiyo of the Sand Village.

Its effect was to maximize a ninja's potential, but it was also highly toxic.

If a Jonin did not receive treatment within ten minutes of taking the drug, they would die on the spot!

Glancing at Lihuo lying on the ground, Orochimaru understood that he did not have much time left to tangle with Oniichiro.

"I must finish you off quickly, Mr. Enemy."

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Although it was the same technique, Orochimaru's version was clearly far more powerful than Lihuo's!

Seven deep-brown giant pythons erupted from Orochimaru's sleeves, charging straight at Oniichiro.

Not only that, these snakes were incredibly ferocious; the aura they released caused anyone who saw them to suffer a brief moment of distraction, comparable to a minor genjutsu!

Oniichiro was clearly caught in the trap. In an instant, the seven giant snakes tightly coiled around him, continuously constricting his body.

The heads of the seven snakes were not idle either, spewing countless toxins and venom that began to erode Oniichiro's skin and body.

If Orochimaru used this technique at full power, being ensnared by the giant pythons was tantamount to a death sentence.

Clearly, Oniichiro, trapped in the center of the pythons, was enduring immense pain; the constriction of the giant snakes was not something an elite Jonin could easily break free from.

But he had already consumed the Poison Pill, and through the stimulation of this drug, his strength had already climbed to the level of a peak Jonin!

Bang!

As Oniichiro straightened his body, an invisible shockwave was released instantly, even creating a small sonic boom!

Crackle, crackle!

The corpses of the snakes fell to the ground one after another, yet Oniichiro's aura continued to climb steadily.

Orochimaru glanced at Lihuo on the ground once more; he knew he truly could not delay any longer.

Orochimaru performed hand seals at high speed, his chakra pouring out at an unprecedented rate.

"Earth Dragon Flame Flow!"

Indeed, as a ninjutsu genius, Orochimaru had perfectly mastered the signature composite ninjutsu of the Third Hokage!

A massive earth dragon rapidly coalesced in front of Orochimaru. It opened its abyssal maw, and a rolling torrent of mud erupted from within, surging straight toward Oniichiro.

Furthermore, the earth dragon spat out scorching flames in the very next moment.

The two terrifying natural elements, mixed with an aura of destruction, rushed wildly toward Oniichiro.

Oniichiro wanted to dodge, but he was already locked onto by Orochimaru's killing intent, and the wounds inflicted by the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands had severely limited his capabilities.

He had no choice but to take the hit head-on!

BOOM!

The massive energy generated an incredibly intense shockwave and a deafening roar.

In the distance, Sasori's heart sank upon hearing the sound, but he forced himself to quicken his pace.

The noise also jolted Lihuo, who had fallen into a coma, back to consciousness.

Using the last of his strength, Lihuo utilized Life Return to examine his body.

The poison has entered my system; if I am not treated in time, my life will be forfeit, Lihuo thought to himself.

"Extract rewards."

The moment he was struck by Sasori, Lihuo had already devised a countermeasure: to use the reward obtained from patting Sasori's head to break the deadlock!

"Ding! Patting B-rank ninja: Sasori. Please select two of the following rewards:"

"Advanced Puppet Crafting"

"Advanced Puppet Manipulation"

"Advanced Mechanism Engineering"

"Top-tier Pharmacological Knowledge"

Upon seeing the final reward, Lihuo felt a wave of relief; if patting Sasori hadn't yielded a method for detoxification, he would have been left to the mercy of fate.

Lihuo chanted in his heart:

"Select 'Top-tier Pharmacological Knowledge' and 'Advanced Mechanism Engineering'."

"Rewards have been issued."

Yet, the expected pain did not arrive. Lihuo sensed carefully, only to discover that the toxins had already begun to gradually destroy his sensory system!

However, since the rewards had been issued, it meant that Lihuo was now a top-tier pharmacology master, second to none, not even Sasori!

Lihuo spotted the poison-coated kunai; it had been lying quietly on the ground ever since it struck him.

Sensing the toxins within his body and carefully observing the color of the venom on the kunai, Lihuo rapidly deduced the composition of the poison and realized how the antidote should be formulated.

But Lihuo could not muster the strength to move; he felt his entire body growing cold. As an expert in pharmacology, he understood that he was likely already in critical condition.

Suddenly, a figure appeared within Lihuo's line of sight.

It was Orochimaru!

Thud!

Orochimaru tossed Oniichiro's head onto the ground. His expression was hideous and terrifying, as if he had seen the most horrifying thing in this world!

Orochimaru hurriedly checked Lihuo's condition. Upon discovering that Lihuo still had a breath of life left, Orochimaru revealed a rare expression of relief.

Seeing Orochimaru arrive, the last heavy stone in Lihuo's heart finally fell. He used all his remaining strength to whisper, in a voice barely audible, how to save him.

Then, he lapsed into unconsciousness once more.

Orochimaru did not dare to delay for even a second; the only thing he could do now was to trust his disciple.

He trusted this boy, who was only six or seven years old, yet capable of creating miracles time and time again.

Finally, after ingesting the antidote, Lihuo's breathing gradually stabilized, and his body slowly began to regain its warmth.

"Oh my, little Lihuo, you truly are a boy full of miracles."

Carrying Lihuo on his back, Orochimaru set out on the road back to Konoha Village.

Along the way, he did not forget to clear away all traces of the battle to avoid any unnecessary complications.

While Lihuo had survived a brush with death, Sasori's situation was not nearly as fortunate.

"I request that Your Excellency, the Kazekage, send reinforcements," Sasori said, though his expression remained as calm as an ancient well, his tone carried a hint of urgency.

"You said it yourself, Oniichiro had already consumed the Poison Pill and was already in grave danger, not to mention that his opponent is Orochimaru, one of the Sannin..."

The Third Kazekage paused, the implication behind his words already self-evident.

"Please, Your Excellency, do not abandon Oniichiro."

Sasori continued to plead.

"Enough!"

The Third Kazekage roared, the imposing aura of a village leader instantly unleashed, causing Sasori's face, already pale from the exhaustion of the journey, to turn even more ghastly.

"Do you want me to send my ninja troops to their deaths!"

At this moment, Chiyo, who had been listening from the side, spoke up.

"That is enough, Kazekage. Sasori is still young and does not understand."

With that, the scroll of the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets had already quietly slid into her hand.

"Sasori, stand down."

Sasori still wanted to argue, but seeing that his grandmother had also spoken, he suddenly felt disheartened, and the luster in his eyes faded away.

Walking slowly out the door, Sasori recalled his parents and remembered Oniichiro, who had resolutely stood in front of him.

At this moment, his gaze was incomparably indifferent, just like the desolate desert Gobi.