Orochimaru's cold killing intent was almost tangible, threatening to freeze the air. His golden snake eyes studied Ling, who stood in front of Sasuke, and the nearly shattered yet remarkably resilient Water Mirror Barrier before him with keen interest.
"So young, yet you've mastered Water Release to this degree... you can even deflect my Kusanagi Sword..." Orochimaru licked his lips, his voice hoarse and probing. "A brat from the Hatake Clan. It seems you have no fewer secrets than the Uchiha boy."
Ling's face was pale. Maintaining the Water Mirror Barrier took an enormous toll, but his eyes remained calm as his mind raced.
Don't take him head-on! He's far stronger than any of you! Sasuke is his target! Use your speed and the terrain to keep him at bay! I'll help you predict his movements! Tobirama directed urgently.
"Sasuke! Naruto! Take Sakura and fall back!" Ling shouted, changing his hand seals!
"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
Rather than attacking Orochimaru, the water slammed into the cave's floor and ceiling, creating a massive surge and chaos. Spray flew everywhere, instantly obscuring their vision!
"Go!" Ling seized the chance to retreat.
"Trying to escape?" Orochimaru sneered. His figure slipped through the curtain of water like a ghost, moving at an astonishing speed as he lunged straight at Sasuke! His target had never changed!
"Bastard! Keep your hands off Sasuke!" Naruto was terrified, but seeing his teammate in danger made his blood surge. A mass of shadow clones appeared in an instant and charged at Orochimaru, howling!
"The number of ants makes no difference." Orochimaru did not even turn around. Countless venomous snakes shot from his sleeves, tearing through swathes of shadow clones and making them vanish!
Sasuke's Sharingan spun furiously as he tried to track Orochimaru's movements. He threw shuriken, but Orochimaru easily avoided them with the Substitution Technique. A moment later, Orochimaru's pale hand was already reaching for his face!
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screamed in terror.
At that critical instant!
"Water Release: Water Prison Technique!" Ling's voice rang out from the side! Rather than imprisoning Orochimaru, a huge sphere of water precisely enveloped a small area in front of Sasuke! Orochimaru's hand plunged into it, abruptly slowing!
It lasted only an instant! But that was enough!
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Sasuke seized the opening and spat a searing fireball at point-blank range!
Boom!
The fireball exploded, forcing Orochimaru back a little and scorching a small patch of his sleeve.
"Beautiful teamwork..." The interest in Orochimaru's eyes deepened, but his displeasure at being challenged by ants was greater still. "But this ends here!"
He slammed both hands onto the ground!
"Summoning Technique: Many-Snake Formation!"
Countless venomous snakes poured from the ground in a dense mass, surging toward the four like a tide! The sight was utterly horrifying!
"Aaaah!" Sakura screamed in fright.
Naruto's shadow clones were far less effective against these flesh-and-blood snakes.
Sasuke's Fire Release had limited range.
"Get behind me!" Ling rapidly formed hand seals, unleashing his chakra without reservation!
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall: Circular Current!"
A massive ring-shaped wall of water rose from the ground, shielding all four within it. The high-speed current swept away and shredded the oncoming snakes! But there were simply too many, and the wall was draining his chakra at a furious rate.
No! There are too many! Use that move! The one I taught you! Tobirama ordered.
Ling's gaze hardened, and his hand seals changed again!
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave: Scattershot!"
Dozens of highly concentrated, high-pressure water jets suddenly shot from the spinning wall, spraying the surrounding snakes like a shotgun blast! Wherever they passed, venomous snakes were sliced apart! A vast swath was cleared in an instant!
"Oh? You can use it like that, too?" Orochimaru's surprise became genuine admiration. "Your control over Water Release's shape transformation is exquisite! Boy, interested in coming with me? I can give you even greater power..."
His answer came in the form of Sasuke's flame-wreathed shuriken-Phoenix Sage Fire: Crimson Claw-launched after the water wall vanished, and the Fūma Shuriken Naruto threw at the same opportunity!
Orochimaru dodged them easily and shook his head. "It seems I'll have to strip you of any ability to resist first..."
His body suddenly twisted as though he had no bones, and he appeared among the four in an instant!
"So fast!" Sasuke's Sharingan could catch only an afterimage!
Thud! Thud!
Sakura and Naruto, who had tried to protect her, were sent flying almost simultaneously. Sakura struck the rocky wall and lost consciousness. Naruto landed even farther away.
Orochimaru's target was still Sasuke! His neck suddenly stretched, and he lunged like a snake to bite Sasuke's neck!
"Not a chance!" Ling fired another Water Severing Wave, aiming precisely at Orochimaru's elongated neck!
But Orochimaru seemed to have anticipated it. A kunai sprang from his other sleeve, deflecting the water jet with a clang! Though briefly impeded, his mouth still lunged toward Sasuke!
Sasuke twisted aside with all his strength, but the bite still caught his shoulder!
"Aaaah!!!" Indescribable pain and cold, sinister energy flooded Sasuke's body in an instant! He let out an agonized scream, his entire body convulsing as eerie black cursed seal markings began appearing on his skin!
"Sasuke!" Ling's eyes widened in anguish.
"Bastard! What did you do to Sasuke?!" Seeing Sasuke's suffering, Naruto, who had been knocked away, felt unprecedented anger and worry overwhelm his fear! He struggled to his feet and charged at Orochimaru with a roar!
Yet Orochimaru merely waved a hand and sent Naruto flying hard once more!
This time, however, Naruto did not immediately lose consciousness when he hit the ground. His overwhelming rage and determination to protect his teammates stirred the immense power sleeping within him!
"Graaagh!" Naruto let out an inhuman growl. Dark red chakra, brimming with ominous, violent energy, boiled out of his body! His eyes became beastlike slit pupils, the whisker-like markings on his cheeks deepened, and his nails sharpened!
Nine-Tails chakra had leaked out!
"Oh? The Nine-Tails brat is finally getting interesting, too?" Orochimaru watched Naruto's sudden surge of power with interest.
"I'll kill you!" Influenced by the tailed beast chakra, Naruto lost most of his reason, leaving only the instinct to destroy. He lunged at Orochimaru with speed and strength far beyond what he had shown before, attacking wildly!
This sudden burst of savage power made even Orochimaru take him a little more seriously. He easily parried Naruto's attacks with taijutsu, his eyes gleaming with the urge to study and toy with him.
"Decent strength, but no technique. Nothing more than a beast's fury," Orochimaru assessed. Suddenly spotting an opening, he curled his fingers into claws, wreathed them in strange chakra, and slammed them into Naruto's abdomen!
"Five Elements Seal! Seal!"
A complex sealing formula was driven into Naruto's body in an instant! The raging Nine-Tails chakra abruptly halted as though its source had been cut off, became chaotic, then violently flowed back! The signs of tailed beast transformation rapidly faded from Naruto's body. He gave a pained grunt, the madness in his eyes replaced by profound weakness and confusion, then fell flat and lost consciousness.
The Five Elements Seal! A seal specifically designed to disrupt a Jinchūriki's chakra circulation! This is trouble. Naruto's chakra will become extremely difficult to control! Tobirama's voice was grave.
Having dealt with the powered-up Naruto in an instant, Orochimaru turned his gaze back to Sasuke, who was writhing in pain, and Ling, who stood ready to fight.
"Now that the noisy little insects have been dealt with..." Orochimaru looked at Ling, narrowing his golden snake eyes. "Your talent for Water Release truly is astonishing. I want you more and more... but we'll leave it here for today."
His body slowly sank into the ground, like a venomous snake melting into the shadows.
"Remember me, Sasuke Uchiha... and you, Ling Hatake... I'll come looking for you again... wait for me..."
His chilling voice echoed through the cave, and Orochimaru's presence vanished completely.
The terrifying killing intent receded like a tide.
The cave was a wreck. Sakura and Naruto lay unconscious. Sasuke curled up on the ground in agony as the black cursed seal spread across his body, then slowly receded, leaving a three-tomoe mark. Finally unable to endure the pain and shock any longer, he passed out as well.
Only Ling remained standing, panting heavily, his chakra nearly exhausted and his body covered in scrapes. He looked at his unconscious teammates, especially the cursed seal on the back of Sasuke's neck and the lingering, chaotic fluctuations of the seal on Naruto's abdomen, his expression grim.
The Cursed Seal of Heaven, the Five Elements Seal... Orochimaru really left us two "generous gifts." Tobirama's voice was cold. We have serious trouble ahead. Make sure they're safe first.
Ling dragged the three to a relatively safe spot, then stood guard at the cave entrance, recovering his chakra while watching for any danger that might return. Nights in the Forest of Death were especially long and cold. Orochimaru's shadow and the "gifts" he had left behind had already taken deep root.
Before you continue