Orochimaru was incredibly fast, far faster than any of them by an unknown margin.
In just a few minutes, he had passed through the dense forest and spotted Naruto and the others in the distance.
"Stop right there!"
Orochimaru shouted, then bit his finger and let a drop of blood fall onto his palm. His hands flew through seals, and a strange pattern appeared in midair beneath him.
Then, a thunderous boom rang out through the forest as an enormous earth-yellow snake burst from the pattern.
Standing atop the giant snake's head, Orochimaru charged forward with a vicious smile.
As the only girl on the team, Sakura had always been terrified of things like snakes and insects.
Especially when faced with such a huge snake, she was terrified out of her wits. She screamed and collapsed to the ground.
Naruto, who was at the front, turned around and cursed inwardly, fury flashing in his eyes.
He had clearly knocked him into that pile of rocks earlier. How was he still here?!
Had no other teams passed by during all that time?
He stopped, turned back, and shielded Sakura behind him.
The giant snake was already upon them. Even if he wanted to use Wood Style to restrain it, he probably did not have enough time to form hand seals.
He hurriedly raised both arms in front of his chest, intending to withstand the snake's charge by himself.
Sasuke stopped on a tree branch, anxiety appearing on his face as he shouted with a frown, "Idiot! Run!"
Run?
Naruto let out a long breath.
If he ran, Sakura would definitely be seriously injured by the giant snake, or even killed.
He had never had companions by his side while growing up. Now that he finally had teammates, how could he possibly watch them fall into danger?
He silently shook his head, every muscle in his body tensing.
Bang!
The massive impact startled countless birds from the forest.
The ground beneath Naruto's feet was plowed into a trench more than a meter wide.
Yet the giant snake did not stop. It continued driving Naruto forward.
Sakura's mind was completely blank from fright. She could only watch helplessly as Naruto was sent flying, unable to muster even a shred of strength.
"Idiot! Still trying to act tough at a time like this!"
Sasuke cursed under his breath and pulled the Chili Pepper that could drastically increase Chakra from his ninja tool bag.
He had originally planned to save this pepper for the Chunin Exam finals.
But now, he had no choice but to eat it first!
Crunch!
The pepper made a crisp sound as it entered his mouth.
In an instant, scorching heat swept through his entire body. He felt as though every pore had opened, desperately releasing heat.
Inside his body, rich Chakra began to surge endlessly.
"This Chili Pepper really is a divine item for increasing Chakra!"
He sighed inwardly, unable to help feeling a trace of regret. Then he leaped forward and roared at Orochimaru.
"Stop right there!"
He swung his arm wide and slammed a heavy punch into the snake's head.
A hole was instantly punched through the giant snake's head. It soon stopped moving, then vanished with a sharp burst of air.
Sasuke flipped through the air and landed on the ground.
Looking at him now,
his face was bright red, and wisps of white steam escaped with every breath.
His two double-tomoe Sharingan continuously emitted a chilling gleam.
Orochimaru froze, then was overwhelmed with delight.
He had never imagined that a mere genin could unleash such combat power.
If he captured Sasuke and brought him back as an experiment, he would definitely be an excellent choice.
Even if Sasuke did not become an experiment, keeping him as a vessel for his next reincarnation would still be quite good!
Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!
While Orochimaru was fantasizing about the future, Sasuke rapidly formed hand seals and spat out a massive fireball.
Orochimaru chuckled softly. He could break such a ninjutsu without any effort.
Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!
More than a dozen small fireballs shot from Sasuke's mouth once again.
With the Chili Pepper's boost, he felt as though his Chakra would never run out.
He unleashed two ninjutsu in succession.
Greed flashed in Orochimaru's eyes. He was growing increasingly fond of this body.
"Idiot, are you all right?"
Taking advantage of the opening created by the Fire Style techniques, Sasuke turned his head and nervously asked as he looked at Naruto, whose lower body was buried in the dirt.
Naruto crawled out of the mound, shook his head, and patted the dust from his body as he complained.
"Damn it, that giant snake was way too strong. Luckily, I'm not dead yet!"
"If you're not dead, then hurry up and help!" Sasuke shouted, throwing out two shuriken.
Naruto let out a light breath and lunged forward. "Sunflower - Acupoint Sealing Technique!"
As Naruto drew closer, Orochimaru's lips curled faintly upward.
"The same move? Do you think I'll get hit by it a second time?"
Then Orochimaru suddenly leaped up and flew directly over Naruto's head.
Although the Sunflower - Acupoint Sealing Technique had an effect that could not be dodged, it still required him to make contact with his opponent.
Orochimaru had deliberately kept his distance. Naruto's attack missed, causing him to stumble forward.
"My target today is Sasuke. I'll spare your life for now!" Without looking back, Orochimaru rushed straight toward Sasuke.
At the same time, Sasuke had already formed another set of hand seals. "Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!"
Orochimaru neither dodged nor defended, merely murmuring softly.
"Heh heh, a mere genin has used three ninjutsu in a row. His Chakra must be nearly exhausted by now!"
Yet to his surprise, before the Dragon Fire Technique had even faded, Sasuke's voice rang out for the fourth time from nearby.
"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
Orochimaru was shocked, his steps slowing slightly.
Was this really a genin?
For a genin to cast two ninjutsu in succession was already unusual.
Casting three was something one might not see in years.
But that brat in front of him had cast four in a row!
He began to doubt his entire life as a snake.
Naruto caught that instant of hesitation and rapidly formed hand seals.
"Wood Style: Thousand Years of Impalement Technique!"
With a furious shout, more than a dozen wooden stakes descended from the sky, firmly trapping Orochimaru within them.
Sasuke's Great Dragon Fire Technique arrived at that exact moment, wrapping Orochimaru's body in flames.
"Impossible! Besides the First Hokage, how could anyone else use Wood Style?! How could a genin cast four ninjutsu in a row?! Impossible!"
As he screamed, tiny cracks suddenly appeared in the soil beneath his feet.
A smooth, polished wooden hand shot out with lightning speed, its two fingers raised.
Pfft!
A muffled sound filled with exquisite agony rang out.
Trapped between the flames and wooden stakes, Orochimaru let out a despairing roar.
Then, a pale white snake shot into the air from the center of the flames and opened its huge jaws to bite Sasuke.
Sasuke gave a fierce shake, sending the white snake into the grass, where it vanished in the blink of an eye.
"Sasuke, are you okay?" Naruto ran over anxiously.
Sasuke bared his teeth and covered the wound on his neck. "I'm fine. It just hurts a little. I'll be okay in a while!"
Unfortunately, the Chili Pepper's enhancement wore off at that exact moment, and the side effects began to hit in waves.
Sasuke stuck out his tongue and kept sucking in cold air.
It felt as though two hedgehogs were fighting inside his mouth, the stinging pain never stopping.
"You call this hurting a little?! Boss, you turtle-headed bastard, you tricked me!"
He let out a heart-rending scream, his vision went black, and he fell backward.
Inside the little shop, Wu Di was watching the people in front of him scratch their lottery tickets when he suddenly sneezed.
Looking at the bright sunshine outside, he muttered in confusion.
"That's strange. The weather hasn't changed, so why did I sneeze?"
Before you continue