Araki's eyes flashed with a cold light. He wasn't sure if he could truly kill Orochimaru now, nor did he know what kind of formidable power he could unleash with his current strength, but he had to take a gamble.
It's no longer a matter of concealing Wood Release.
Regardless of whether his Wood Release is revealed or not, Araki will always face the crucial question: once others recognize his potential, will they choose to nurture and help him, or will they choose to use him for experiments...?
Araki didn't know the choices of others, but he clearly saw Orochimaru's choice. This initial reaction is often what the other person most wants to do.
Therefore, he had to get rid of Orochimaru.
No matter the cost.
Otherwise, once his period of strengthening is over, Orochimaru's threat to him will increase dramatically. He can't hide under Tsunade's protection every day, nor can he lock himself in his house for more than two years like Nawaki, just to form a Yin Seal to save his life. These are all too unsuitable for Araki. The most fundamental solution to the problem is to deal with the person who caused the problem.
Therefore, Araki decided to take advantage of this opportunity to fight Orochimaru to the death. Even if he couldn't kill Orochimaru, he wanted to ensure that Orochimaru wouldn't be able to pose a threat to him for a long time to come, so that he could use this valuable time to improve his strength.
This is very important for Araki right now.
Thinking about this...
Araki leaped up, stepping onto a thick, growing log, and followed the emerald vines upwards toward the earth's crust, his expression turning serious.
From any perspective.
Orochimaru was the strongest opponent he had ever faced.
We must attach great importance to this.
On the other side.
Orochimaru was pressed against the ground by the wooden vines that had been piled up to the extreme and compressed all the space. His entire face became distorted and deformed under such friction.
This process lasted for several minutes.
However, for Orochimaru, this period of time felt like centuries. He felt incredibly difficult, and even his breathing was almost blocked. He couldn't lift his hands to Hand Seals, and he couldn't open his mouth to spit out snakes.
If his body hadn't been tough enough, he would probably have been turned into mincemeat under such pressure.
Bang!
Suddenly.
The ground broke open.
Orochimaru's body was squeezed out by the wooden vines, and like a new sprout breaking through the soil, it grew out and was bathed in sunlight.
At this very moment.
Orochimaru's body was still tightly bound by vines.
"Hahahaha, is this the power of Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi?!"
Orochimaru grinned maniacally, his narrow, snake-like eyes still gleaming with intense excitement and undisguised greed.
"That's so tempting!"
Orochimaru had already set his sights on possessing Araki's body. Both his research on Araki's cells and his still-developing Reincarnation Jutsu were incredibly tempting, making it impossible for him to suppress his desires.
Chapter 22 Araki VS Orochimaru! (Part 2)
At this moment, Orochimaru stared intently at the ground. He knew very well that Araki was below and would be coming out soon.
Orochimaru Araki. Although he didn't fully understand the boy, he was clear about Araki's strength. In his opinion, even if Araki's strength had improved to some extent after obtaining Hashirama Cells, the improvement wouldn't be too exaggerated.
Just like the vines that had just squeezed him up, they were very strong, flexible, and grew very fast—all excellent advantages. However, they had a fatal flaw in his eyes: Araki clearly couldn't control this power.
"Now is a great opportunity!"
Orochimaru stuck out his long tongue and licked the corner of his mouth, his snake eyes filled with greed. He couldn't wait to start studying Araki, which gave him an indescribable excitement. After all, he had been researching Hashirama Cells for a long time without any substantial progress, and it could be said that he had been stuck in a rut.
This discovery was incredibly tempting for Orochimaru, both from an academic research perspective and from the prospect of achieving immortality after acquiring Araki's cells. It filled him with immense excitement.
Bang!
At that very moment, the ground trembled violently, and vines burst forth from the earth, followed by the leaping out of the ground by Araki.
" Araki, is this how you treat your teacher?" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly, taking the initiative to launch a psychological attack, preparing to break down Araki's mental defenses first.
" Orochimaru-sensei," Araki said casually, uttering a statement that left Orochimaru completely baffled.
"Are you really determined to oppose me?" Orochimaru ignored Araki's previous words and moved on to the next topic.
" Orochimaru-sensei, you forced me into this. I don't want to be your enemy, but you want my life!" Araki's eyes turned cold. He understood that Orochimaru was stalling for time, thinking that he couldn't maintain this state for long. But in reality, his power came from the power contained in these Hashirama Cells. If he could stop and rest, he would not only not be weakened, but would also have room to recover. However, this was only temporary, but it could still be maintained for a few days without any problem.
"What a troublesome child! He has no respect for his teacher whatsoever. If I had known you were such an ungrateful wretch, I would have preferred not to take you as my disciple."
Orochimaru continued his psychological attacks; in battles of this caliber, mindset plays a crucial role.
While they were talking.
Orochimaru suddenly opened his mouth wide, his whole appearance was extremely exaggerated.
A snake suddenly poked its head out, and before it could fully crawl out of Orochimaru's body, it immediately opened its blood-red maw and spat out a Orochimaru covered in viscous liquid.
Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique!
Araki frowned as he stared at the scene before him, not trying to stop it, knowing he couldn't; there must be some kind of trap here.
After obtaining Hashirama Cells, Araki's mind worked much faster. He vaguely felt that he not only had Hashirama Cells in his heart, but also in his brain. Faced with this situation, his thoughts raced, and he immediately realized that Orochimaru must have a conspiracy, but he didn't know what the specific conspiracy was.
But this did not stop Araki from becoming wary of Orochimaru.
The most obvious reason is that Orochimaru emerged from underground before him, because Araki was busy absorbing Hashirama Cells underground, so his appearance was a little later than normal.
During this process, Orochimaru was bound by the vines, but they did not completely restrain him.
Judging from Orochimaru's behavior just now, it's clear that he could easily get rid of these vines, and there was no need to wait until he appeared to spit out the snakes!
After seeing Araki use Orochimaru Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique, Araki knew perfectly well that Orochimaru must be here, with some kind of backup plan in mind.
Therefore, Araki chose to stand still and observe the situation. To some extent, although he obtained Hashirama Cells and temporarily gained great strength, the gap between him and Orochimaru was not only in strength, but also in combat experience.
Orochimaru is a genuine Jonin Konoha, holding the title of one of the Konoha Sannin. He is also a disciple of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hiruzen Sarutobi. He held his own against the combined attacks of Jiraiya and Tsunade, and possesses a multitude of schemes and tricks. He often acts unpredictably, and even when sealed away, he can be resurrected...
Araki knows Orochimaru too well. Although Orochimaru doesn't have the strength he has in the later anime, and will develop many forbidden techniques that could change the future, it doesn't mean Araki will let his guard down.
Under Araki's watchful gaze, Orochimaru opened his mouth wide and spat out another snake, which in turn spat out a sword.
Orochimaru gripped the sword tightly and then swiftly slashed at the vines that were entwining the other one of him.
With a flash of sword light, all the vines snapped.
Orochimaru also broke free.
Are you stunned?
Orochimaru landed on the ground and looked at Araki not far ahead. The snake that he had just spat out of his mouth, and Orochimaru that the snake had spat out, both turned into blue smoke and disappeared.
They were all body doubles after all.
The Orochimaru who was bound was indeed his true form.
While Orochimaru was staring at Araki, Araki was also observing Orochimaru. He saw it, but I still did it. I probably understood Orochimaru's way of doing things, which was a mix of truth and pretense.
I can't think about that anymore!
Araki considered many battle plans at this moment, but none of them could allow him to defeat Orochimaru without any problems or suspense.
Since that's the case...
Then all I can do is stop thinking about anything.
Fight as hard as you can.
Since Araki arrived in the ninja world, he has never fought with all his might. He always keeps a trump card up his sleeve and never releases all his abilities until the very last moment.
But now, facing Orochimaru, he could no longer conceal his strength. He had to unleash all his trump cards to have any chance of winning this battle.
In an instant.
Araki began to think quickly.
For him, the current task is to consolidate all the power at his disposal. However, the time he has accumulated in the ninja world is far too short. Although he has been here for more than five years, he has been working hard to improve his Chakra.
He hadn't expected to face Orochimaru so soon.
Almost everything he did, except for the poison, was preparation for accumulating strength. He didn't have particularly strong combat abilities; strictly speaking, he was just medical-nin with more physical strength. Although he had some Explosive Tag on him, it was obviously unrealistic to try to kill him with those.
so...
Araki came to this conclusion after a quick thought.
If one wants to successfully kill Orochimaru here, one must rely on Wood Release Ninjutsu; the rudimentary skills he possesses are simply insufficient.
After all, he was only a Genin, and he had just become one. Although he might Genin, it was only because he had a stronger foundation.
In other words, he has more Chakra than other people his age, and his body is not stronger than theirs, but that's all. These are completely insignificant in front of Orochimaru.
Not to mention, in terms of Ninjutsu and combat experience, Araki was completely defeated by Orochimaru.
If it weren't for the situation just now, he would never have easily become an enemy of Orochimaru if he had no other choice.
Now we have no choice but to fight a desperate battle!
While preparing for battle, Araki also considered a backup plan: if all else failed, he could leave Konoha and become a rogue missing-nin, which would be better than waiting to die.
Even if Tsunade and others in the village might have high hopes for him, as long as Orochimaru keeps an eye on him, he will feel a very strong sense of unease. It's like not being afraid of a thief stealing, but being afraid of a thief eyeing you.
Orochimaru even dared to kill the Third.
Araki was well aware of this.
So no matter how much Orochimaru assured him that he wouldn't attack him, after experiencing the look in Orochimaru's eyes at that moment, Araki no longer dared to trust Orochimaru. He couldn't risk his life.
At this moment, Araki had mentally prepared himself for the remaining tasks. If he could use the power of Hashirama Cells to defeat Orochimaru, that would be the best outcome. However, if it ultimately proved ineffective, he would rather leave Konoha and face other dangers than live under Orochimaru's constant watchful eye, as that would be far too perilous.
Snap!
Araki's expression instantly turned serious. Suddenly, he clapped his hands together, and terrifying waves of Chakra once again emanated from his body.
At this moment, green Chakra was rapidly fluctuating within his body, constantly surging with powerful life force, giving him a very good feeling. However, as time went by, he gradually began to calm down, unlike at the beginning when his whole body became swaying as his strength increased.
Araki once again made the exact same hand seals as before. This was the strongest Wood Release Ninjutsu he could currently use. Lower-level techniques were of no real significance to Orochimaru, and as for higher-level Wood Release Ninjutsu, not only did he not know them at the moment, but even if he did, he wouldn't be able to fully utilize them given his current abilities.
" Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
A faint green light flickered in Araki's dark pupils, Chakra green Chakra surged from his feet to the ground, instantly causing the ground to rumble.