Is Lord Orochimaru a monster?
The other two Anbu Ninja were even more shocked after hearing the white-robed Anbu Ninja's words, but because Lord Orochimaru was someone they knew, their fear lessened somewhat.
"Since you were able to identify me from my voice, I can't let you live!"
Orochimaru's hoarse voice carried a murderous intent. The Eight Branches Technique was his trump card and his secret; at least for now, he had no intention of letting the world know that he possessed such an ability.
Click!
As Orochimaru's voice rang out, the eight-colored dark clouds hanging overhead suddenly crackled with lightning and thunder, as if they could control the weather. This made the surrounding space extremely chaotic, and a powerful sense of oppression enveloped the three Anbu Ninja, causing their fear to reach its peak when faced with such a situation.
A clap of thunder followed.
The eight snake heads quickly opened their blood-red maws and charged directly at the three Anbu Ninja.
After warming up with Araki, the eight heads of the White Phosphorus Snake became even faster.
Just like the problem Araki encountered, Orochimaru also had the Eight Branches Technique as a Orochimaru. And as with any trump card, there's always a situation where one's mastery of it is not very strong.
Because there isn't enough time to try out many of the trump cards; there's only a theoretical possibility of learning them, and a clearer understanding is gained through continuous use.
Especially forbidden techniques like the Eight Branches Technique, which have a very strong backlash effect, are never used lightly unless one is certain of their power. Therefore, this was Orochimaru's first time officially using the Eight Branches Technique.
This has a similar effect to the Eight Gates.
When Might Guy faced Madara Uchiha, he opened the Eighth Gate of the Eight Gates Released Formation for the first time due to illness. This kind of terrifying technique usually doesn't have many opportunities to be used, so it can only be used when it is most necessary. Moreover, he almost never had any experience with it, which led to some unexpected problems at the time.
When Might Guy opened the Eight Gates, he also had a brief period of adjustment. At that time, his bones were broken, but the intense Chakra made him ignore it instantly and forcefully endure the excruciating pain of opening the Eight Gates Released Formation.
If he were given another chance to experiment, he would definitely be even more adept at it.
However, the Eight Gates Released Formation can only be opened once. Might Guy was able to survive by sheer luck, which is largely due to Naruto. If it were someone else, such as his father Might Duy, after using the Eight Gates Released Formation, the only outcome would have been death. They would have had no experience to draw upon.
Orochimaru is in the same boat now. After learning the Eight Branches Technique, he didn't have enough time to practice it, so he didn't have any special experience in controlling the White Phosphorus Snake.
That's why, at the very beginning, when he used those eight snake heads to frantically hunt Araki, he didn't have that particularly casual and effortless sense of control.
It wasn't until after using it a few times that I began to become more proficient.
When Araki first used the Deep Forest Emergence, he also had a similar feeling. He wasn't particularly proficient at it and needed some time to adapt and master the tricks of the trade.
Orochimaru had just fully mastered the use of the White Phosphorus Snake, achieving complete control over each of its eight heads. However, he was unable to break through the absurd Demon Face and Fangs's shield. This was originally a very good thing for him, but he suffered a certain degree of setback in the process.
But now that things have come to this...
Those three annoying, fly-like ANBU Anbu Ninja appeared before him.
This would allow him to perfectly test his Eight Branches Technique.
Almost instantly, the speed of these eight snake heads was like passing through layers of phantoms. In particular, the three Anbu Ninja were already soaked by the rain and even startled by the lightning bolts could not keep up with the speed of Orochimaru's snake heads.
" Earth Release - Earth Style Wall!"
At that very moment, the three Anbu Ninja telepathically connected, simultaneously forming hand Hand Seals that were identical in every single one, controlling their Chakra as they slammed them towards the ground.
At the same time, layers of soil surged up from the ground, forming a defensive layer above their heads.
"Is it that kind of tortoise shell again!"
Orochimaru looked at the scene before him and felt a surge of anger mixed with a hint of disdain.
He felt intense anger when facing Araki's Demon Face and Fangs shield, but he couldn't break through it. However, he paid no attention to the Earth Release Ninjutsu used by the three Anbu Ninja and didn't take it seriously at all.
In an instant.
The eight snake heads of the white phosphorus snake struck at the newly formed earth escape barrier together.
The overwhelming force instantly shattered the defenses.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As if they had been prepared all along, the three Anbu Ninja quickly leaped outwards the instant the terrifying eight snake heads shattered the Earth Release barrier.
However...
They dodged the eight snake heads, but what awaited them were eight enormous snake tails that blotted out the sky, sweeping towards them with terrifying force.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
A series of resounding thuds echoed as the three Anbu Ninja were sent flying back from different angles.
Those who can become Anbu Directly Under the Hokage are all very strong. If they were to encounter Orochimaru in his normal form, they would still have a certain degree of fighting ability, and might even be able to escape.
However, what they encountered was White Phosphorus Snake that had been created by using the Eight Branches Technique.
Furthermore, Orochimaru had just mastered the method of controlling his body.
Furthermore, the intense humiliation he suffered at the hands of that Demon Face and Fangs shield left Orochimaru with a deep sense of displeasure, which he then vented on the three Anbu Ninja.
They were very close to each other.
Under the oppressive presence of such a terrifying body, almost everyone felt a strong sense of unease. They were facing snake heads that resembled small mountains, and terrifying rain was pouring down from the clouds, giving everyone a feeling of near despair.
At that very moment.
Eight snake heads opened their mouths wide, their gaping maws, filled with a foul stench, resembling bottomless abysses, starkly displayed before everyone.
"It's over!"
The three Anbu Ninja present all had the same thought: facing a monster that was not even in the same league as them, the despair they felt had consumed their reason, making them feel as if they were about to die here.
This is megalophobia!
Many people feel an instinctive fear when faced with monsters that are much larger than normal.
Under such fear, they are unable to exert their original strength, and even their movements become distorted. This is a biological instinct, and no matter how strong one's acquired awareness is, such emotions will still arise.
At this moment, when facing the attack of the White Phosphorus Snake, these three Anbu Ninja were almost all in a state of slow reaction. It seemed that all the Ninjutsu they had mastered was completely ineffective in the face of such great terror.
Araki witnessed this entire scene through the eyes of the Demon Face and Fangs, but he showed absolutely no intention of stepping forward to help.
Under such circumstances, he himself was struggling to protect himself, let alone the fact that he wasn't a saint and didn't possess such noble ideals.
In truth, he hoped that these three Anbu Ninja could maintain a stalemate with Orochimaru for a while longer.
This would not only buy him more time and wear down Orochimaru, but also allow him to probe Orochimaru's true strength.
but...
Judging from the postures of the three people...
Although their facial expressions weren't visible, it was clear they were terrified by the enormous Eight-Headed Serpent, the shock preventing them from unleashing their full power.
Seeing this, Araki understood that the battle between these three Anbu Ninja was over.
They couldn't possibly go back alive.
Because those three Anbu Ninja saw the Wood Release Ninjutsu.
Such intelligence, if passed back, would be extremely disadvantageous to Orochimaru.
Within the Wood Locking Wall Jutsu.
Araki sat cross-legged on the ground with his eyes closed.
He seemed to be multitasking.
While looking at the scenery outside, he searched for the memories brought by absorbing the Hashirama Cells.
Just as he noticed the situation outside, a strange feeling suddenly arose in his mind, and he seemed to understand why so many ninjas died in the village during the Nine-Tails' Attack.
The strength of those ninjas who died was partly the reason.
Another reason is that when faced with such terrifying giant monsters, their inner fear and timidity prevented them from unleashing their full power before they were defeated.
Through the vision of the Demon Face and Fangs, Araki observed the situation before him: the eight snake heads, their gaping maws wide open, were rapidly tearing at the three Anbu Ninja.
In an instant.
Three Anbu Ninja were covered by eight snake heads.
The images inside are no longer visible.
However, one could vaguely see splattered blood.
Buzz!
Suddenly.
Araki's body trembled slightly.
Streams of green Chakra surged rapidly from his heart, flowing straight into his brain.
Immediately afterwards.
A scene from his memory appeared in his field of vision.
"This..."
Araki's eyes were tightly closed, absorbed in the scene, and subtle changes were taking place on him.
Chapter 26 Seizing the Orochimaru (Part 1)
At this very moment.
A strange feeling arose in Araki's mind.
Some of the images he saw in the flashback memories brought back by the intermediate cells.
My whole being was bursting with inspiration.
In the scene, enormous hands are pressing down on the Nine-Tails. It's worth mentioning that the massive Tailed Beast is being held down so firmly by those giant hands that it can't even move.
When this scene appeared before Araki, he saw it from a different perspective. In this situation, he seemed to merge into it, becoming a part of it.
In an instant.
Araki's mind raced as he thought.
He had seen this kind of scene before in the Naruto anime, but now it was a completely different perspective for him.
Now, in addition to the first-person perspective and memories, he is experiencing many more feelings that he didn't have before.
When Araki first obtained the Hashirama Cells, he only had a few images at the time. Through those images, he made a certain connection and thus mastered the Deep Forest Emergence.
However, at that time, he could only use the Deep Forest Emergence. He had no experience at all. It was as if the method of using it suddenly appeared in his mind. He still needed to accumulate some experience and then use that experience to become more and more proficient in using this Ninjutsu.