The lady with the long tongue

Son Goten complained, "This smells worse than when Naruto uses the toilet and doesn't flush."

Naruto was on the ground dry-heaving. He wanted to argue when he heard that, but his throat felt as if an invisible hand had clamped around it, leaving him unable to make a sound.

Sasuke and Sakura were frozen in place.

Sweat slid down Sasuke's forehead and dripped into his eyes, stinging terribly, but he didn't even have the strength to blink.

It was an instinctive, primal fear.

It was like being targeted by a predator at the top of the food chain. Every cell in his body screamed, "Run," yet his muscles refused to obey.

The aura was far too thick, carrying a nauseating stench of blood and malice.

The surface of the tree trunk ahead rippled like water.

A figure slowly emerged from the bark.

He wore a Grass Ninja forehead protector, a loose beige robe, and a conical hat that hid most of his face.

What stood out most was his tongue.

It was absurdly long, and he was slowly licking his own cheek with it, leaving a wet trail.

"That was my pet, brat."

The man spoke in a low, hoarse voice with a peculiar resonance that raised goosebumps.

He glanced at the giant snake lying limp on the ground, his eyes showing little pity. Instead, he looked as though he were inspecting a broken toy.

"It may be useless, but that doesn't mean just anyone gets to eat it."

The man turned his head, fixing his cold gaze on Son Goten.

"Especially... without my permission."

Son Goten tilted his head and looked the strange man who had suddenly appeared up and down.

The sensation of being watched by a snake didn't frighten him. It only disgusted him more.

"You're its owner?"

Son Goten pointed at the giant snake on the ground. "If you're its owner, shouldn't you pay for it relieving itself everywhere and damaging public property?"

The man paused.

He apparently hadn't expected the brat to demand compensation so confidently under the pressure of killing intent at this level.

"Compensation?"

The man gave a low laugh, his shoulders shaking. "Heh heh heh... what an interesting brat. The Uchiha Clan boy is too frightened to move, yet you're worrying about compensation?"

"Obviously. I'm a busy guy."

Son Goten slipped his kunai back into his ninja tool pouch and put his hands on his hips. "Also, could you stay away from me? You really smell like you just crawled out of a sewer."

"And..."

Son Goten narrowed his eyes, staring at the man's face with an exceedingly strange expression.

"Are you a man or a woman?"

That question made the already frozen atmosphere even stranger.

The man stopped licking his lips.

Son Goten warily took half a step back, holding both hands protectively in front of his chest. "Let's get this straight first. I'm allergic to people who are neither men nor women."

Ever since that pretty boy Haku had nearly tricked him into falling for him, Son Goten had been left with a mental scar whenever he saw someone whose gender was ambiguous.

This man had shoulder-length hair, skin as pale as a ghost's, and a voice that sounded both male and female. He was practically dancing all over that damned minefield.

"Whether I'm a man or a woman..."

The man removed his conical hat, revealing his pale, androgynous face. A greedy gleam shone in his golden, slit-pupiled eyes. "That doesn't matter."

He walked toward Son Goten step by step, his eyes examining him like a perfect work of art.

"What matters is that I'm... very interested in your body."

The man's tongue slid out again, curling through the air. "Such formidable physical strength, such an unheard-of aura... how wonderful."

"I want to cut you open and see exactly how you're put together inside."

"I want you."

Son Goten's expression completely fell apart.

He felt every hair on his body stand on end. This was more terrifying than seeing a hundred Friezas.

"Pervert!"

Son Goten shouted, pointing at the man's nose as he cursed, "I only like gorgeous older girls with big boobs and slim waists! Who would show their body to a long-tongued freak like you?!"

"Get away from me! Don't get your spit on me!"

Son Goten turned toward the still-trembling Sasuke. "Hey, Sasuke, this pervert has his eye on you. I won't fight you for him, so hurry up and take him away!"

Sasuke's face was as white as paper, his clenched teeth chattering.

He couldn't take in a word Son Goten was saying.

In his eyes, this was no Grass Ninja.

This was a giant python that could devour heaven and earth, its bloody maw wide open and its venomous fangs already pressed against his neck.

A vision of death.

This was the mental shock caused by killing intent concentrated to its utmost extreme.

Watching Son Goten jumping around, Orochimaru grew even more interested.

"Not only a powerful body, but such a resilient mind as well?"

Orochimaru murmured, "In that case, let me see where your limits lie."

Boom!

An aura even more terrifying than before erupted.

The forest, which had merely been cold and sinister, now seemed to turn into a hell of carnage.

Every speck of dust in the air seemed stained with blood.

Sasuke's knees buckled, and he dropped straight to the ground. His pupils lost focus; he had clearly fallen into a deep hallucination of terror.

Even Naruto's eyes rolled back under the pressure of that aura, leaving him motionless on the ground.

This was an advanced application of genjutsu called the "Hell Viewing Technique," which drew out the deepest fears in people's hearts and made them witness their own gruesome deaths.

Orochimaru imagined that the brat before him should now be seeing himself devoured by countless venomous snakes, then breaking down and screaming.

However.

Ten seconds passed, and a crow even flew by.

Son Goten stood where he was and blinked.

He looked at Sasuke kneeling on his left, then at Naruto lying on his right.

"Hey, what are you guys doing?"

Son Goten scratched his head. "Why are you suddenly bowing down to this pervert? It's not even New Year yet."

Orochimaru's sinister smile froze on his face.

It didn't work?

Even a Jonin couldn't act as if nothing had happened after being struck by his killing-intent genjutsu.

Was this brat's skull filled solid?

Grrrrumble-

An enormous, thunderous rumble rang out.

It was Son Goten's stomach protesting.

Son Goten rubbed his flat belly, his expression turning ugly.

"What the heck? Your interruption just made me even hungrier."

Son Goten raised his head. There wasn't a trace of fear in his black eyes, only anger at having his meal interrupted.

"Hey, you with the long tongue."

Son Goten clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking. "You scared my teammates senseless, and you're keeping me from eating."

"Are you trying to become snake food?"

As Orochimaru watched the utterly unpredictable brat before him, his golden, slit-pupiled eyes abruptly contracted.