Reactions from All Sides

Lu Zeming showed no surprise at all, which only piqued Orochimaru's interest.

Orochimaru extended his tongue and licked the blood from the Kusanagi Sword.

Something more dangerous seemed to be brewing in those golden, slit-pupiled eyes—greed.

He looked like a scientist who had discovered an unfamiliar cell structure in a petri dish.

"Your Chakra... No, what should I call it? It's something like Natural Energy, but it carries a scent that doesn't belong to this world. What interests me more is where you got your power."

Lu Zeming forced a smile and said lightly, "Want to learn? I can teach you!"

Orochimaru paused. He hadn't expected the brat to crack a joke at a time like this.

Orochimaru's voice was barely a whisper. "What an interesting brat. Do I need to learn? No. I only need to wait for this unripe fruit to mature!"

Orochimaru closed in again. This time, Lu Zeming was ready to fight for his life.

Hundreds of Kunai flew out silently, pressing their attack on Orochimaru under Lu Zeming's control.

At the same time, Lu Zeming bit his finger, formed a hand seal with one hand, and slammed his palm against the ground.

Runes spread, and the earth shook. Ghost Lantern Vine's massive body burst from underground.

"So you had another trick up your sleeve. Interesting!"

Orochimaru swept the Kusanagi Sword through the air, deflecting every Kunai flying at him. Then he formed a seal with one hand and summoned Manda.

Manda and Ghost Lantern Vine, two colossal creatures, grappled with each other. Dirt and shredded grass sprayed everywhere, and the ground trembled with every collision.

Orochimaru moved. His legs became a snake's tail, and he skimmed over the grass, slipped through the net of Kunai, and headed straight for Lu Zeming.

Lu Zeming unleashed Grass Release: Thorn Whip to trap Orochimaru, but Orochimaru was like an eel, always slipping through the gaps.

"Fuck it! I'm going all out!"

Lu Zeming roared. Spiritual Power surged wildly through his Dantian, and an invisible hand of Spiritual Power slammed down at Orochimaru from above.

For the first time, Orochimaru sensed danger. Instinctively, he swung his sword toward the sky, carving a gap nearly two meters wide in the hand. The remaining force still smashed him deep into the ground.

Orochimaru's entire body was flattened. He lay motionless on the ground.

Was it over?

Lu Zeming was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when a new body crawled out of Orochimaru's mouth.

Still slick with mucus and still holding the Kusanagi Sword, it lunged straight at Lu Zeming.

Lu Zeming had no choice but to block with his blade. As their weapons locked, Orochimaru's neck suddenly stretched past Lu Zeming's sword, and he sank his teeth into Lu Zeming's neck.

Lu Zeming's heart sank. No. The Cursed Seal of Heaven.

The Cursed Seal of Heaven implanted a byproduct of Senjutsu Chakra, created through a reverse process, into another person's body. It was both a source of power and a shackle.

A person branded with the seal would gain a tremendous surge of power, but their soul would gradually be eroded until they became a host for the one who cast it.

"No!"

Lu Zeming struggled fiercely, but his body felt as though it had been injected with a nerve toxin. He couldn't move.

You branded me? Then you won't get off easy!

Lu Zeming gathered his Divine Sense and struck directly at Orochimaru's mind.

Orochimaru let out a muffled grunt and staggered back several steps, putting distance between himself and Lu Zeming.

Lu Zeming was in no better shape. The black markings of the seal had burrowed into his skin like living things.

"Aah!"

Agony tore a scream from Lu Zeming's throat.

It was no ordinary pain. It felt as though something were ripping him apart from the depths of his soul.

The black markings spread from his right shoulder, branching like roots along his blood vessels and meridians through his entire body. Every meridian they crossed was left with a burning trace.

Black mist swallowed Lu Zeming's vision in an instant. All he could hear was his own screaming and...

Orochimaru swayed on his feet. He was clearly badly hurt.

"We'll meet again, little one."

Orochimaru left, and silence returned to the grassland.

Lu Zeming lay facedown in the grass. The seal on his right shoulder still burned, and every heartbeat sent a stab of pain through him. He tried moving his fingers. They still worked.

He tried circulating his Spiritual Power. A cold power that wasn't his surged from the seal on his right shoulder and collided with his own, like liquids of different temperatures rushing against each other through his veins.

He could feel the seal taking root inside him, like a seed buried in soil, waiting for its chance to sprout.

Lu Zeming braced his left hand against the ground and struggled to sit up.

The night wind swept across the grassland, setting the grass rustling in waves. His sword stood embedded in the mud three paces away.

Lu Zeming reached out and pulled it free. The blade trembled slightly. It wasn't the wind; his hand was shaking.

He felt fear and anger alike. He tightened his grip on the hilt until his knuckles turned white.

"Orochimaru, I'll return this seal to you—along with your head."

Hurried footsteps came from the grass in the distance.

Kumi Uzumaki, who had only just regained the ability to move, ran toward him. Her face was deathly pale. When she saw the black seal still writhing on Lu Zeming's right shoulder, she stopped dead.

"That's..."

"The Cursed Seal of Heaven," Lu Zeming said hoarsely. "Orochimaru branded me with it."

Kumi Uzumaki's lips trembled.

"Can you remove it?"

"Yes. It'll take time."

Lu Zeming glanced down at his right shoulder. The black markings had stopped writhing, but when he touched them, he felt an eerie coldness.

He took a deep breath and sheathed his sword.

"Let's get back first!"

One behind the other, they crossed the grassland toward the heart of the Land of Grass.

A thousand miles away, on Mount Myoboku...

The Toad Sage reclined in a chair, as still as an old monk in meditation. Suddenly, he seemed to sense something. He opened his eyes and looked toward the Land of Grass.

Confusion and shock crossed his large, round eyes. Then his kindly expression returned, though a trace of ruthlessness flashed deep in his gaze.

After a moment of silence, he summoned Fukasaku.

"Tell Jiraiya to come see me at once. I've had a new Prophecy."

In Shikkotsu Forest, a Slug as enormous as a mountain seemed to sense something momentous as well. Its massive body shuddered slightly.

The next moment, its body melted like cream. Countless smaller slugs separated from it, revealing a naked, white-haired girl with two slug eyestalks rising from her head.

The girl was silent for a long time before murmuring, "Anyone who has glimpsed the path to immortality must die!"

In Ryūchi Cave, the White Snake Sage opened her white eyes.

"A human has taken that step. Hiss, hiss, hiss... Things are getting more interesting!"

In the Land of Grass, the moon hung high, and a light breeze stirred.

Lu Zeming walked across the grassland. The seal on his right shoulder felt like a slab of ice pressed against him, sending faint stabs of pain through him with every step.

To distract himself, he replayed the battle over and over in his mind.

He still had too little experience in fights to the death. Against true veterans who had clawed their way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood...

Whether in battle instincts or fighting experience, they outclassed him by a mile.

Then there was the other problem: he had plenty of ways to attack, but almost no moves that could truly finish an opponent.

No. When I get back, I need to get much stronger. I can't underestimate any expert in this world.