After Sasuke knocked the huge bear to the ground, he still remembered to cast a seemingly casual glance in Karin's direction. She was so delighted that her eyes turned straight into hearts.
Meihui watched from the sidelines, utterly stunned. If he'd had Sasuke's knack for showing off back then, would he really have stayed single his entire life? He hadn't even held a girl's hand before he died. Every time he thought about it, he wallowed in sadness for a good while.
Meihui and the others didn't give Karin's group any trouble, either. After a glance at her, they left, leaving Sasuke to deal with the situation himself. But Sasuke, utterly clueless about romance, had no idea what was going on. Seeing them leave, he hurried after them.
"Hey, what's your name?" Seeing Sasuke about to leave, Karin grew anxious. I've almost picked out our kids' names, and you're leaving already? You jerk!
"Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke delivered his answer coolly and walked away, leaving Karin with only the sight of his retreating back.
Karin stood rooted to the spot like a wife waiting endlessly for her husband, staring blankly after him for ages. Only when her teammates came to get her did she reluctantly wake from her daydream.
Since Meihui was waiting for Sasuke, it wasn't long before Sasuke caught up with the two brothers.
Before anyone could say anything, Meihui felt a terrifying pressure sweep over them.
It was as though something filled the air, making even breathing difficult. Cold sweat had already soaked his entire body. Naruto and Sasuke weren't doing much better; their eyes were wide, as though they were facing some terrifying being. A figure slowly appeared, unmistakably a Grass Ninja judging by his outfit.
But that terrifying pressure was truly suffocating. Before they could react, several kunai shot toward them. All three seemed to have lost control of their bodies, unable to move from where they stood.
Meihui found it strange, too. With the system's help, he shouldn't have been in this state, yet he was so frightened that he couldn't move a muscle. If word got out, he'd disgrace every transmigrator out there.
Without a second thought, Meihui bit through his tongue. The pain instantly restored his control over his body, and he kicked Naruto out of the way. Sasuke had already snapped himself out of it by stabbing himself with a kunai.
The three dodged the attack. Meihui glanced at Sasuke, who immediately understood.
"Little bro, time to put on a show."
Meihui and Naruto instantly created thousands of clones, filling the forest with gold.
Watching them, Orochimaru sneered. "Trying to win through sheer numbers? How ridiculous."
But what Meihui and the others did next made him eat his words.
Meihui and Sasuke unleashed fire release ninjutsu like mad while Naruto fired off wind release ninjutsu. Their techniques combined on a massive scale and surged toward Orochimaru with overwhelming force.
Fire release couldn't kill anyone? What a joke. That just meant you were using it wrong. Ever heard of a turret mage? If you couldn't beat him in close combat, then blast him to death with ninjutsu.
Orochimaru watched the flames mixed with wind release hurtle toward him. Fed by the wind, the fire grew even fiercer, making the corners of his eyes twitch uncontrollably. This is how you're going to play? That makes no sense.
But his hands didn't stay idle. He immediately formed hand seals.
"Summoning Technique: Triple Rashomon!"
The raging flames slammed into the Rashomon gates, setting the surrounding forest ablaze, but Orochimaru had vanished.
When Orochimaru reappeared, he immediately used several water release ninjutsu to extinguish the flames around him.
"Hahaha, not bad, not bad. You genin really are interesting."
With that, he flashed to Naruto's side, seized him by the neck, and lifted him into the air.
Meihui couldn't possibly stand by and watch. He rushed forward and sent Orochimaru flying with a kick.
An all-out battle was about to erupt.
Before you continue