The Word "Genius" No Longer Applies

A heavy roar rang in Orochimaru's ears.

"Die..."

The smile on Orochimaru's lips infuriated Miya. He threw a powerful punch, and Orochimaru, his head tilted, flew backward with a wicked grin.

This time, Orochimaru had a pretty clear understanding of Miya's strength.

"Crack, crunch."

Under Miya's gaze, Orochimaru, who had undergone Soft Body Modification, simply gave his neck a gentle twist and set it straight.

"Quite capable, aren't you, Miya?"

Orochimaru really was hard to kill.

Looking at Orochimaru as though nothing had happened, Miya sighed helplessly. He had no idea what technique Orochimaru had used, but after taking so many of his punches, Orochimaru showed no sign of injury apart from looking a little worse for wear.

"Next, it's my turn..."

Before he had finished speaking, Orochimaru launched an attack.

"Multiple Hidden Shadow Snake Hands."

"Hiss~ Hiss~ Hiss~~"

Although this was the second time Orochimaru had used the Ninjutsu in front of Miya, its power was clearly on a different level from before.

Dozens of venomous snakes opened their blood-red maws, their fangs glinting with an eerie-colored light.

Without a doubt, all these snakes carried deadly venom.

Orochimaru was now displaying strength infinitely close to Kage Level. He was treating Miya as an opponent on his own level and wanted to see where Miya's limits lay.

Miya's hair stood on end as he watched the dozens of venomous snakes pounce at him.

Rasengan in both hands.

Bang, bang, bang.

Miya swung his hands repeatedly, using the Rasengan's spinning, crushing force to blast the dozens of biting snakes into chunks as though they were soft jelly. The pieces fell limply to the ground.

"Lord Orochimaru, are you trying to kill me?"

The Rasengan in Miya's hands vanished. He looked at Orochimaru and spoke in a low voice.

This was no ordinary test anymore. One mistake could cost him his life.

"Kill you?"

Orochimaru's lips twitched, and his snake pupils narrowed to slits.

Orochimaru had long since memorized Miya's records, but once they started fighting, the difference was enormous.

Even he, Orochimaru, didn't know how strong his own disciple was. How could he possibly guide him?

That had led Orochimaru to change his approach to testing Miya's strength. He would force Miya's potential to its limits.

As long as Miya didn't die, he could save him.

If he died, then he died...

Besides, he had already taken a beating twice. He would pay Miya back once.

That wasn't too much, was it?

He, Orochimaru, was a ninja with a temper too.

Whoosh.

Orochimaru threw a Shuriken at Miya, leaving an afterimage as it hurtled toward him at a terrifying speed.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique."

Swish, swish, swish...

The Shuriken speeding through the air split from one into two, then two into four, until there were hundreds. They rained down with whistling sounds, leaving trails of afterimages.

"Hm?"

A sharp light flashed in Miya's eyes, and the azure glow around him flared brilliantly.

Clink, clink, clink...

Orochimaru, who had been preparing to continue his attack, froze when he saw the hundreds of Shuriken fall around Miya.

"What?"

The defensive power of the Atomic Chakra Armor revealed itself for the first time.

Orochimaru looked at Miya in surprise. Defensive ability of this level was rare in the Shinobi World.

Miya crossed his arms in front of him and stood motionless like a deeply rooted old pine, letting the Shuriken that blocked off every avenue of movement strike his body.

But the Shuriken couldn't even penetrate the Atomic Chakra Armor covering Miya's body and bounced to the ground.

They had done Miya no harm whatsoever.

"A child who just graduated already possesses such powerful defensive Ninjutsu."

"And with that Rasengan from earlier..."

"The word 'genius' no longer applies to you!"

"Miya."

With the Rasengan for offense, the Atomic Chakra Armor for defense, and his powerful Nintaijutsu, Miya had few shortcomings in Orochimaru's eyes.

For he knew that Miya's skill in Genjutsu was equally outstanding.

"Then let me see just how outstanding you really are!"

Orochimaru, excited at finding such prey, seemed unwilling to stop until he had thoroughly analyzed everything about Miya.

Orochimaru flashed forward with his hands together, closing in on Miya's right side and drawing his attention.

Swish.

Orochimaru's true body appeared on Miya's left, a Ninja Blade now in his hand.

The Kusanagi Sword thrust straight forward.

"Let's use the sharp Kusanagi Sword to test just how strong your defense is..."

Whoosh.

Overload Mode, activate!

Didn't Orochimaru want to see Miya's strength at its limit?

Miya granted his wish.

In Overload Mode, Miya moved faster than Orochimaru's eyes could track, vanishing from his sight before the Kusanagi Sword could reach him.

"Atomic Rasengan."

Above Orochimaru's head, Miya, his Atomic Chakra Armor surging around him, held a Rasengan in his hand and slammed it down hard on Orochimaru's head.

Orochimaru wanted his life, so Miya no longer held back.

His first move was a killing blow.

Rumble...

In an instant, Miya drove Orochimaru face-first into the ground by the head, and then nearly half his body and the earth beneath it vanished.

Only a hand remained, gripping the Kusanagi Sword.

At that moment, heaven and earth seemed to fall silent, leaving only the heavy breathing of Miya, who had deactivated Overload Mode.

When Miya appeared above his head, Orochimaru felt as though a ferocious beast had locked onto him. His body paused instinctively, and his heart tightened.

Then...

Orochimaru felt a heavy blow to his head.

After quite a while, Miya caught his breath and picked up the Kusanagi Sword Orochimaru had left behind. Then he looked at the greater part of the corpse on the ground and asked calmly and seriously:

"Lord Orochimaru, how much longer are you going to hide?"

As soon as Miya finished speaking, Orochimaru's sinister laughter came from the remains of his corpse.

"Hehehe..."

Splat...

Then Orochimaru, completely unharmed and covered in slime, crawled out of the split corpse.

Shedding.

Yes, not rebirth!

"Lord Orochimaru, you used that disgusting Ninjutsu again."

Miya voiced his disgust with a perfectly serious expression.

Orochimaru, standing before Miya again, was in poor condition. Extremely poor would have been a better description.

Thanks to the Shedding Technique, his injuries weren't too severe, but he had used up a little too much Chakra.

Miya's last move had not been so easy to defend against.

If he hadn't reacted quickly enough, unleashed his original Kage Level strength, and possessed enough life-saving Ninjutsu, he would have died at Miya's hands.

"You nearly killed me just now."

"Miya!"

Miya looked Orochimaru straight in the eye and asked very seriously:

"Then are we continuing?"

"Lord Orochimaru!"