"Every time you think you've caught me, you've only caught my skin. The essence of the Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique is shedding skin to create a substitute!"
"For example, right now I am the original body..."
"But if you attack me, I can shed my skin and create a substitute at any time!"
"My true form is right in front of you, but you can never find it. That's why you can't defeat me!"
Orochimaru's face revealed a sinister smile. His research on Ninjutsu was extremely profound, especially the Ninjutsu specifically suited to him, which he had studied thoroughly and combined with his own advantages to make him extremely competitive.
"I see."
Araki's doubts were resolved at this moment. No wonder he had always clearly felt that he had grasped the original body, but in the end he became a substitute.
He wasn't mistaken.
What he grasped was the main body.
But once the original body has shed its skin, what it grasps is just that layer of snake skin, and is no longer the original body.
No wonder he had heard before that the Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique was the most powerful Substitution Technique; now it seems it truly is extraordinary.
"What a pity, you destroyed my lab. However, I don't just have one lab; it's just not in Konoha. The commotion here was too great, so I'll take you away for a while. Once I've thoroughly studied your cells, I'll bring you back. By then, Konoha will be ours, master and disciple." Orochimaru muttered to himself. He could already guess that after the three Anbu Ninja died, the Third would definitely bother him frequently.
"But I don't want to leave!"
Araki's indifferent voice suddenly rang out at this moment. After learning about Orochimaru's true form, a new plan immediately formed in his mind. It was risky, but there was no other way. Fortunately, he had green Chakra, and this time he placed all his hopes on green Chakra.
Buzz!
A green aura suddenly emanated from Araki's body, as if green flames were burning on him.
His heart immediately began to beat at an extremely fast rate.
Immediately afterwards.
Streams of green Chakra surged throughout his body, continuously repairing it and stopping the bleeding from the wounds. As the tissue at the wounds healed, the Kusanagi Sword piercing through his body was pushed outwards.
"This is the First..."
Orochimaru's eyes blazed with fanaticism. He could clearly sense that Araki's body was healing at a terrifying speed visible to the naked eye, which filled him with an indescribable sense of excitement.
The next moment.
Araki's body seemed to have lost its soul.
It remained motionless, completely coiled up by the python.
but.
Green Chakra continued to surge within Araki, activating a repair mode and sustaining Araki life.
From another perspective.
Araki's soul emerged from his body and floated directly outside, looking down at himself and Orochimaru with a graceful air.
He would never allow his physical body to separate from his soul in this state unless absolutely necessary, but fortunately, the presence of green Chakra provided some protection.
immediately.
Araki's soul looked towards Orochimaru.
He is now using the Spirit Transformation Technique Spirit Transformation Technique obtained from Dan Katō, which allows his soul to leave his body.
"Your body can infinitely replace others, but your soul can't shed its skin, can it? After all that exertion just now, you must be exhausted. Let's settle this once and for all!"
A ruthless glint flashed in Araki's eyes; he knew all too well what such a battle meant.
Only one of them can survive!
He would never have put himself in such a dangerous situation if he had no other choice, but now that there was no other way, he was already in danger.
Fortunately, he still has green Chakra.
He had previously won a battle of souls against Dan Katō, which gave him extra confidence!
Suddenly.
Araki's soul rushed directly into Orochimaru's body.
Chapter 28 Possessing Orochimaru (Part 2)
Spirit Transformation Technique!
Araki deliberately used the Spirit Transformation Technique!
Almost two years ago, Araki encountered Dan Katō, who had mastered the Spirit Transformation Technique. At that time, he was entangled by this technique for a long time and could not find any opportunity to break through.
I was once very distressed.
But...
Something he never expected happened.
With the help of green Chakra, Araki's soul power surged instantly, directly overwhelming Dan Katō, and even suppressing Dan Katō in terms of soul power, successfully devouring Dan Katō's soul, and thus mastering the Spirit Transformation Technique.
After mastering the Spirit Transformation Technique, Araki did some simple research but still felt that such a technique was too risky. He was unwilling to put himself in such a dangerous situation, so he didn't pay much attention to it.
I haven't used it much until now.
but...
The situation is different now.
Araki realized that with his current strength, dealing with Orochimaru would be extremely difficult. Even though he had mastered a certain level of Wood Release using Hashirama Cells and had even suppressed Orochimaru for a time, the difference in their basic strength made it impossible for him to kill Orochimaru.
The final straw that made him decide to use the Spirit Transformation Technique was Orochimaru's Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique.
That kind of abnormal Ninjutsu can actually make the user shed their skin, thus entering a state where they can use the Substitution Technique.
This is something no normal person could do.
At the same time, this incident made Araki realize that he could not defeat Orochimaru through physical attacks. As long as the Substitution Technique existed, Orochimaru could keep hiding his true form.
At first, Araki thought the Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique was like the puppeteers of Sunagakure, who could place their own body inside a puppet and control other puppets to act as their own in the open. This way, if their outward appearance was attacked, their true body could emerge from the puppet. He thought Orochimaru used this method, leaving his true body inside a snake. However, he didn't expect that Orochimaru didn't need to do this at all.
Each Orochimaru can be his original form, but when faced with danger, he can quickly shed his skin, essentially possessing a life-saving sword with no cooldown.
This made Araki realize that if he continued to fight Orochimaru in this way, he would only end up wasting his Chakra. It would be better to take advantage of his abundant green Chakra and launch a counterattack using the Spirit Transformation Technique.
It only took a moment.
Araki made his judgment and decision, and without further hesitation, immediately carried it out.
After performing the Spirit Transformation Technique, Araki's soul left his body, allowing him to see himself entangled by a python from a third-party perspective, as well as Orochimaru with cold glint in his eyes.
"Um?"
Just then, a hint of doubt flickered in Orochimaru's dim, yellowish snake eyes. He then raised his head slightly and looked up at the air diagonally above him, as if he had seen Araki's soul and sensed something.
Orochimaru's gaze instantly sent a chill through Araki's soul.
The other party noticed!
Araki had this feeling in his heart; he was certain that the soul could not be seen, and he had never seen Dan Katō's soul before.
However, the soul can be sensed; after all, he had sensed Dan Katō's soul before.
Not to mention someone like Orochimaru!
Orochimaru himself had a deep understanding of the soul, which is why he sealed his soul in the Juinjutsu. As long as his soul existed even slightly, he could be resurrected at any time. He also developed the Living Corpse Reincarnation Technique, which allows the soul to possess other people's bodies, and he further improved upon the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu of the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju.
" Spirit Transformation Technique?"
Orochimaru's voice rang out again, tinged with doubt. He had met Dan Katō before and sensed the Spirit Transformation Technique from the latter, but his tone still carried doubt, indicating his skepticism about such matters.
Araki's soul form's gaze became much more serious. Since Orochimaru knew about the Spirit Transformation Technique, many things would become more difficult. Orochimaru must have made preparations, and perhaps this process wouldn't be so smooth.
Buzz!
Araki's soul suddenly collided with Orochimaru's body, immediately causing strong fluctuations to emanate from Orochimaru's body.
In an instant.
Both Araki and Orochimaru entered another dimension, and the entire environment and atmosphere underwent drastic changes.
What place is this?
Orochimaru stood with his hands behind his back, looking around at the surroundings with a mixture of curiosity and doubt in his eyes. He had never seen a place like this before.
At this moment, they stood on the roof of a building. The wind was strong, and the sky above was blue with white clouds. The building was very tall, and there were many similar buildings around them with windows that looked like mirrors. In the streets and alleys below, various horns and noises rose and fell, and people wearing all kinds of clothes hurried by in the city.
This environment was brought by Araki.
The caster of the Spirit Transformation Technique can choose the final battle location.
Araki didn't deliberately think about any special places; his mind just wandered slightly, and he thought of the city and tall buildings from before he transmigrated.
That level of modern civilization is something that can't be seen in the ninja world anytime soon, which makes him feel a little nostalgic. So when he uses the Spirit Transformation Technique, he can't help but think of skyscrapers.
"This is the future."
Araki's calm voice rang out, and as he finished speaking, his entire body shimmered with a verdant light.
Immediately afterwards, these rays of light shone into the sky, turning the azure sky green, instantly making this modern city environment eerie and unsettling. It seemed that the city, which had been normal just moments before, had turned into the apocalypse in the blink of an eye.
This change came very suddenly, yet it all happened in the blink of an eye.
"Who are you?!"
Orochimaru's soul had been perfectly normal just moments before, but upon seeing the green light emanating from Araki's body, his narrow, yellowish snake eyes flashed with intense shock, and even a hint of fear.
" Orochimaru-sensei, don't you recognize me? I'm Araki!"
A hint of doubt flashed in Araki's eyes, but he concealed it well. At this moment, he did not rashly launch an attack on Orochimaru. However, since Orochimaru was a soul form and could no longer shed his skin, he took this opportunity to control the green Chakra and gather it throughout his body so that he could face Orochimaru in a better form.
The battle that follows will be a battle of souls!
It's not just about victory or defeat, it's about life and death!
This was absolutely the most dangerous battle Araki had ever experienced since he transmigrated to the ninja world; he had never been this tense at any time before.
"You, you, you..."
Orochimaru's snake eyes flashed with an even more terrifying light. His gaze was fixed on Araki, or more accurately, on what was behind Araki, as if he had seen something terrifying.
only...
Araki completely ignored Orochimaru's gaze.