The True Power of a Kage-Level Ninja

By the time Lu Zeming fled the Bounty Station, darkness had fallen and the moon hung high overhead.

He had no thought for the moonlight. He immediately summoned his long blade, pulled Kumi Uzumaki onto it, and leaped up after her. The blade shot away beneath them.

Spiritual Power erupted from him at full force. Carrying them both, the blade streaked across the sky like a meteor.

Wind roared in their ears. The ground and trees below raced backward. The cold air cut at Lu Zeming's cheeks, but he paid it no mind. He only wanted to escape the danger his instincts sensed.

The gaunt, pale man appeared at the Bounty Station's entrance as if out of nowhere. He watched Lu Zeming flee, a smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Such an exquisite test subject won't get away!"

The man raised a hand and snapped his fingers.

Snap.

The ground burst open. A massive purple Giant Python surged out, its body as thick as a house. It reared toward the sky and opened its jaws, baring stark white fangs.

The man leaped lightly onto its head. The Giant Python whipped its tail against the ground, then launched its entire body forward like a taut bowstring released.

It was even faster than Lu Zeming!

Before long, Lu Zeming sensed their pursuer. The unease in his chest grew stronger.

It was catching up!

Kumi Uzumaki glanced back, unable to hide the shock in her voice.

"What is that thing?!"

"Don't look! Hold on!"

Lu Zeming drove his Spiritual Power harder, pushing the blade to even greater speed.

But the snake was too fast. It did not seem to crawl so much as fly over the treetops.

Its launch carried it forward, while the twisting motion of its body propelled it through the air like a black arrow.

The gap narrowed.

A hundred meters. Eighty. Fifty.

The Giant Python raised its head and opened its jaws!

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!"

A huge ball of fire erupted from its mouth, tearing through the night toward Lu Zeming's back.

Lu Zeming twisted sharply, sending the blade into a high-speed drift through the air like a board beneath his feet.

He and Kumi Uzumaki skimmed past the fireball's edge. Even so, the searing heat left their skin stinging, and the hems of their clothes smelled scorched.

That moment's delay brought their pursuers even closer!

Standing atop the python's head, the gaunt man began weaving hand signs so quickly that his fingers were almost impossible to follow.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

A violent gale swept out from above the snake's head. It was not a single blade of wind, but an entire wall blocking Lu Zeming's path.

The man was clearly trying to cut off Lu Zeming's flight route in advance.

"Damn it! I refuse to believe I can't lose something that has to crawl when I can fly!"

Lu Zeming adjusted the blade and began climbing sharply. He just couldn't believe a giant snake could fly.

Clearly, the gaunt man had also sensed Lu Zeming's intent. His hand signs changed again.

"Earth Release: Heaven-Climbing Ladder!"

A ladder of earth rose a hundred meters into the air. The python raced up it like an arrow loosed from a bow. At the top, its body bent like a slingshot drawn to its limit, then hurled the gaunt man high into the sky.

He was not flying. Momentum had thrown him there. But in the blink of an eye, less than ten meters separated them.

It was too late for Lu Zeming to change course again.

"Shadow Clone Shuriken!"

A flood of Shuriken covered nearly the entire area around Lu Zeming.

There were too many, spread too wide. Lu Zeming threw Kunai to knock down only those Shuriken headed straight for him.

In his subconscious, Shuriken that wouldn't hit him were not worth bothering with. Little did he know that this very decision had put him in grave danger.

One Shuriken, a good two meters from Lu Zeming and plainly off target, gave a soft pop.

The Shuriken transformed into the gaunt man.

The change was so sudden that Lu Zeming had no chance to guard against it.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

The gaunt man’s arm became a mass of White Snakes. They wrapped around Lu Zeming and Kumi Uzumaki in an instant, then hurled them hard toward the ground. With his other hand, the man also snatched the long blade from beneath Lu Zeming’s feet.

Lu Zeming and Kumi Uzumaki struck like falling meteors, smashing a pit ten meters across into the ground.

At the bottom of the pit, Lu Zeming's Transformation Technique fell away, revealing his true appearance. Broken ribs had pierced his abdomen. Blood poured from the wound and kept spilling from his mouth.

All four of Kumi Uzumaki's limbs were broken. She could not get up anytime soon, and that was only because Lu Zeming had quickly used Spiritual Power to cushion her fall.

Otherwise, Kumi Uzumaki would have died on impact.

Fortunately, Lu Zeming had reached Foundation Establishment, and his vitality was strong. He forced himself up and took a defensive stance before the gaunt man landed.

The man touched down three meters away. Moonlight fell across his pale face.

Narrow golden eyes held thin, snakelike pupils.

His lips were thin and pale, their corners naturally upturned as though he were smiling. He was so gaunt he looked like a skeleton wrapped in skin. The neck beneath his cloak was unnaturally slender, as if it might snap at any moment.

Yet the Chakra radiating from him was dense and cold. It felt like an ancient python coiled deep underground, its weight making it hard to breathe.

His voice was slow and languid.

"Flying on a blade... I've seen plenty of flying Ninjutsu, but you're the first I've seen carry yourself through the air on a sword with Chakra."

With that, he tossed the long blade back to Lu Zeming.

Lu Zeming held his long sword and said nothing. He had already guessed who the man was.

Orochimaru!

Lu Zeming was already cursing inwardly. Damn it. Of all the luck, how did I run into this lunatic?

"No need to be nervous. I mean you no harm. It's just..."

As Orochimaru spoke, his neck stretched and his mouth opened wide. He spat out a sword.

The Kusanagi Sword!

He took a step forward.

"Your Chakra is unusual. I can sense something in it... a trace of something that doesn't belong to this world."

Lu Zeming's pupils contracted.

Orochimaru took another step. The distance between them abruptly shrank to a meter. He moved so fast that Lu Zeming could barely track him.

Blade met sword, scattering sparks.

It became a contest of swordsmanship alone, and both of them fought with everything they had.

They slashed, swept, and parried. Blades flashed in the moonlight as fists and feet struck with brutal force.

Wind swept through the yellowed grass while the two fought beneath the moon.

More than ten minutes later, they drew apart and stopped.

Orochimaru was unharmed, with only a little dirt on his clothes. Lu Zeming was covered in cuts, as if he had been soaked in blood.

Orochimaru studied Lu Zeming like a work of art and slowly ran the tip of his tongue over his lips.

Then he smiled. Not merely with the corners of his mouth: his whole face twisted into a grin like a snake opening its jaws.

"Allow me to introduce myself." He tilted his head, his golden eyes fixed on Lu Zeming's. "Orochimaru."

The wind over the grassland stopped. The insects fell silent. The waves of grass seemed frozen in place.

It was as though the whole world had been paused. Only those golden eyes remained, gleaming coldly like a snake's in the moonlight.

"You can call me... Scientist."