Evenly Matched?

Yunju gritted his teeth. Blood spurted from the wound on his shoulder, soaking half his collar. Orochimaru had already withdrawn his fingers, blood still beading on his fingertips.

"Your reflex arc is longer than I imagined." Orochimaru stood two steps away and licked the blood from his fingertips. "Speaking of which, Senju blood really is different."

Yunju's left arm drooped, but he raised it again within three seconds. It wasn't that it didn't hurt. Chakra from the Strength of a Hundred Seal seeped out near his shoulder blade, quickly sealing the bleeding point as his muscles and bones slowly repaired themselves. The speed was not fast, but he was indeed recovering.

He retreated three steps, widening the distance.

Orochimaru did not pursue. He was observing—not Yunju's injury, but how Yunju responded after being hurt. If Yunju panicked, it would prove that his mental fortitude was still lacking. If Yunju found some way to offset his close-range advantage, it would mean Yunju had truly grown to the point where he needed to be taken seriously.

Yunju raised his right hand.

Lightning Release: Flash.

The sphere of light compressed to its limit in his palm flew toward Orochimaru's face. It was not released point-blank, but thrown from three meters away—a detached throwing version, just as Orochimaru's prior intelligence had indicated.

But what Orochimaru had not expected was that Yunju had trained this move to the point where he could throw it steadily with one hand even while his center of gravity was still shifting.

The sphere of light exploded less than half a meter from Orochimaru's face.

The blinding white light illuminated the entire underground base, and everyone instinctively narrowed their eyes. Sasuke Uchiha's Sharingan did not need to blink, but he still turned his head slightly—he did not want the intense light to interfere with his observation of the situation.

Orochimaru's eyes were flashed blind. That fraction of a second of temporary blindness—his eyes had not been exposed like a human face before this, but Quick Flash had detonated directly in front of him. It was enough for any living creature, and for Orochimaru, who was accustomed to precise control, that fraction of a second of blankness was even more deadly.

Yunju moved within that fraction of a second.

Taijutsu. Hidden Shadow Snake Hands coiled around Orochimaru's wrists, tightening ring after ring around his arms and binding his hands together. There was no time for hand seals; every movement was completed within that fraction of a second.

Orochimaru's eyes were still adapting to the brightness. The instant his vision returned, he saw Yunju standing before him, his right fist gathered with Super Strength chakra. He threw a punch, then immediately unleashed the Water Prison Technique. Water poured from Yunju's other palm, rapidly engulfing Orochimaru's entire body and condensing into a sealed sphere of water—a water prison.

Orochimaru's hands were bound by the snake hands, his body sealed inside the water prison, his breath cut off. His mouth opened, and bubbles spilled from the corners of his lips, floating upward through the water.

Yunju did not remove the hand pressed against the surface of the water prison. He stood before it, the wound on his left shoulder still slowly healing. His breathing was heavier than before, but his eyes remained steady.

The field fell silent for several seconds.

Naruto stood at the edge of the field, fists clenched, keeping his breathing low. He stared at the figure temporarily sealed within the water prison, unsure of what to say.

Orochimaru kept his eyes open inside the water prison. Those golden snake pupils continued staring at Yunju through the refraction of the water. Then he smiled—the water prevented him from opening his mouth wide, but the corners of his lips did curl upward.

Cracks appeared across the surface of the water prison.

They did not form from the outside. They formed from within. The interior of the water prison began to churn as murky chakra surged out of Orochimaru's body, something beneath the surface swelling at high speed. Yunju felt the hand pressed against the water prison being pushed outward from within—the force was so great that the base of his palm began to go numb.

He reinforced the water prison, but the reinforcement could not keep up with the speed of the swelling inside.

Bang—

The water prison exploded. It did not shatter; it burst apart, water scattering in every direction along with fragments and venom. Dozens of fist-sized craters were blasted into the ground. Orochimaru broke free from the water prison in a rather disheveled state—his clothes were torn in several places, with obvious rips around his left shoulder and arm. His hair hung messily against his face, yet that smile still remained at the corner of his mouth.

Yunju backed away three steps and steadied himself again. The Hundred Healings chakra began to work, and most of the mobility in his left arm had already returned.

Orochimaru stood there, looking at Yunju as he licked the water from his lips.

"To force me this far, you're already worthy of being half a Kage." Orochimaru's voice was half a note lower than before. "But I didn't plan to fight you to the end today."

He suddenly slapped his right hand onto the ground. The summoning jutsu's formula rapidly spread across the floor. Smoke exploded—Manda.

A massive green snake head emerged from the smoke, opening its jaws to reveal rows of hooked fangs. Manda's eyes swept over everyone present before finally settling on Orochimaru.

"One hundred people." Manda's voice was low and hoarse. "That was what you said."

"You won't be shortchanged." Orochimaru flipped onto the snake's back and grabbed Kabuto with his other hand—Kabuto had been caught between Sai and Yamato's attacks, blood already staining the corner of his mouth. The moment he heard Orochimaru's voice, he drew in his arms and leaped backward out of the battle, landing on Manda's back.

Sai instinctively tried to grab him, but Sasuke Uchiha stopped him halfway. Sasuke Uchiha stood atop Manda's back, looking down at the people below—Naruto, Sakura, Yamato, Sai, Yunju, Jiraiya. His gaze lingered on Naruto's face for a moment before moving away.

"How much longer are you going to stand there watching?" Orochimaru's voice came from Manda's back.

Manda's tail swept across the ground, kicking up rocks and dust. Then the entire snake launched backward, smashing through the ceiling of the base and vanishing into the night. Gravel and dust pattered down for a while, leaving behind a massive snake-shaped trail and several broken snake scales on the ground.

The cave fell silent.

Jiraiya walked over to Yunju, glanced at his shoulder, and looked away after confirming there was no fatal wound. He patted Yunju on the back. "Don't chase them. Pursuing Orochimaru is one of the most dangerous things in the shinobi world. You beat him into that state today. That's enough."

Yunju was still breathing heavily, but his breathing had become much steadier than before.

Naruto remained where he was, staring up at the hole in the ceiling. The night wind poured in through it, stirring his loose strands of hair.

It was impossible to tell whether he was stunned by the battle's intensity or regretting Sasuke Uchiha's departure once again.