But those people feared Gekkō Raito even more.
Even when Raito left himself wide open and brazenly turned his back on them, not one of the lurkers around him dared make a reckless move.
Since these small fry had no death wish, Raito could not be bothered to waste his energy crushing them.
He was waiting. The bait had been scattered, and sooner or later, the big fish in this stagnant pool would bite.
Sure enough, before long, that greedy big fish could no longer resist.
By now, Sasuke had racked up impressive results, with one Heaven Scroll and two Earth Scrolls in hand.
Three genin teams had crumpled like paper beneath his attacks.
Just as Sasuke lowered his head to sort through his spoils, an incredibly sinister presence quietly descended. At some point, an enormous creature had coiled around the towering tree behind him.
It was a giant python, flicking its scarlet tongue as greed gleamed in its slit pupils. Its gaze was fixed on Sasuke below.
It looked as though it were appraising a delicious main course.
Sasuke had just put the scrolls away when a chill shot up his spine-his body's instinctive warning of death.
He spun around, his pupils contracting.
An enormous snake's head was almost touching the tip of his nose. It was so close he could smell its nauseating stench.
Under that crushing pressure, cold sweat instantly trickled down Sasuke's forehead.
How could a monster like this exist in the forest?
Before Sasuke could collect himself, a husky, resonant voice drifted over as though from the depths of hell.
"Uchiha... Sasuke!"
"So this is the last surviving seedling of Konoha's illustrious Uchiha Clan."
"A true diamond in the rough. Taking down three teams single-handedly in so little time is impressive."
Sasuke stiffly turned his