"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands."
Orochimaru's long tongue suddenly transformed into a massive, mottled snake, carrying a foul, bloody wind as it lunged ferociously at Naoki Senju.
Naoki Senju pushed lightly off his toes and leaped a great step backward, unleashing the Ninjutsu he had already prepared.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave."
The torrent collided violently with the giant snake, but the deadlock did not last long before one mottled snake after another emerged from its mouth, swiftly surrounding Naoki Senju.
After using Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, Orochimaru did not pursue him. Instead, he stood where he was and admired Naoki Senju's response, unable to contain his excitement as he said:
"That little bit of ability won't be enough, Naoki Senju. Show me your mettle!"
Naoki Senju did not slow down in the slightest after unleashing his Ninjutsu. He dodged several attacking snakes and continued to put distance between them. Hearing Orochimaru's somewhat crazed shout, he immediately felt deeply troubled. Attracting too much attention from a freak like Orochimaru was no good thing.
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave."
A towering wave over ten meters high formed in the blink of an eye. Several thick, mottled snakes were instantly swept away to who knew where, and the vast training ground was submerged in an instant. Because the training ground lay in a low-lying area surrounded by mountains on all sides, resembling a basin, it even became a small lake.
Orochimaru stood on the water, his body swaying with the pounding waves, but his eyes remained fixed on Naoki Senju at the very crest.
"What an astonishing amount of chakra, and such Water Release. I've only seen Water Release like this from that Tailless Tailed Beast in the Akatsuki. So this is the Senju Clan that inherited Wood Release. What an eye-opener."
Orochimaru licked his pale lips with his long, scarlet tongue. In a rare display, he grew somewhat more serious, his hands forming hand seals at tremendous speed.
"Water Release: Water Heavens Convergence."
Before Orochimaru could finish his hand seals, a sphere of water suddenly rose beneath his feet and restrained him. He tried to break free, but it did not budge.
Water Prison Technique? No, there's no sustained physical contact. An interesting Ninjutsu. Orochimaru looked expectantly at Naoki Senju, guessing what his next move would be.
And Naoki Senju did not "disappoint" Orochimaru's expectations as he completed the final seal.
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave."
The high-speed cutting stream sliced both the water sphere and Orochimaru inside it in two. Bright red blood instantly stained a patch of water.
Hidden out of sight, Tsunade's small mouth fell slightly open, her pupils contracting. Had Orochimaru really died just like that? Surely not. With his strength, he could not possibly die so easily.
As Tsunade expected, Orochimaru was indeed alive, but what happened next nearly made Shizune cry out. Orochimaru's bisected body transformed into a thick python, and Orochimaru forced its jaws apart with both hands, crawling out little by little through the snake's mouth, which opened to 180 degrees.
Freshly emerged, Orochimaru was covered in an unknown white slime that made for an unpleasant sight. Yet Orochimaru himself seemed completely unbothered and even had the leisure to offer praise:
"That makes the second technique. You're quite proficient with Water Release Ninjutsu. However, I'll be getting serious now, too."
Naoki Senju did not dare let his guard down at all. Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave had consumed no small amount of chakra, and he did not have much left now. But to restrict Orochimaru's snake Ninjutsu, he had had no choice but to expend a large amount of chakra on a large-scale Water Release Ninjutsu.
"Water Release: Water Heavens Convergence."
A water sphere rose beneath Orochimaru's feet once more, seeking to interrupt his hand seals, but this sneak attack missed. Orochimaru's feet transformed into a snake's tail, sending ripples across the water as he avoided the Ninjutsu and lunged toward Naoki Senju.
"Ninja Art: Hidden Snake Hell."
Orochimaru also finished the hand seals for his Ninjutsu. At first, nothing changed, but then snakes of all different sizes began surfacing from underwater. Within mere seconds, the "lake" Naoki Senju had created with his large-scale Water Release Ninjutsu became a "sea of snakes."
At the edge of the training ground, Tsunade led Shizune away from the "sea of snakes," her expression grave. Both the bizarre Substitution Technique Orochimaru had just used and the wide-ranging Summoning Technique he was using now were new Ninjutsu he had never used before. In other words, even though they were all Sannin, Orochimaru was gradually surpassing the others. This gave Tsunade a sense of urgency she had not felt in a long time.
Inside the training ground, Naoki Senju looked at the densely packed sea of snakes. Not only was he utterly disgusted, but he had also been forced away from his last remaining foothold. After he hacked two venomous snakes trying to coil around him to death with a kunai, even more surrounded him.
After dispatching several venomous snakes around him, the surrounded Naoki Senju seized the precious opening and leaped into the air. Fighting in the sea of snakes put him at a severe disadvantage.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Limbs."
Orochimaru, with a human torso and a snake's tail, appeared behind Naoki Senju from who knew where. Several thumb-thick snakes emerged from his sleeves and sprang toward Naoki Senju's limbs.
Caught off guard, Naoki Senju had several small snakes slip into the gaps in his clothing. They then accurately located his joints and coiled tightly around them.
"Naoki-kun, it seems your Taijutsu still needs more training."
"Does it?"
Bound so tightly that he could not move, Naoki Senju smiled as his scheme succeeded. Several wooden branches and vines then reached out to coil around Orochimaru, but with his legs transformed into a snake's tail, Orochimaru was far more agile than usual and narrowly avoided the Wood Clone's restraints.
"Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs."
A sharp wooden spike appeared in Naoki Senju's hand. Without the slightest hesitation, he hurled it at Orochimaru, followed by a second, a third...
Orochimaru swayed his snake's tail, twisting and dodging, but in the end, he could not evade them all. One of the wooden cutting spikes pierced his body. Just as Naoki Senju thought Orochimaru was about to use his giant snake substitution again, the impaled Orochimaru turned into a puddle of earth.
"An Earth Clone. Damn it, I've been tricked!"
Standing atop a tree's crown, Naoki Senju dodged to the side without hesitation. The next moment, an extraordinarily massive snake rose from below and swallowed the entire enormous tree. Had Naoki Senju hesitated for even a moment, he would certainly have met the same fate.
A powerful rush of air came from his left. Naoki Senju instinctively raised his arm to block and was instantly sent flying by a heavy blow. He did not stop until he crashed through a thick, enormous tree.
Orochimaru stood where he was, shaking his arm, his long, scarlet tongue flicking freely as his low, resonant voice rang out:
"Naoki-kun, you've earned two Ninjutsu now. Do you still want to continue?"
"Cough, cough."
Naoki Senju struggled to rise from beneath the tree. The arm Orochimaru had struck was already covered in bruises, and his back, which had hit the enormous tree, was beginning to redden and swell. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth without concern. This was the price he had paid for underestimating his opponent.
"Of course I do!"