Seeing Orochimaru shed his disguise as Shinzō Kozdera from the Hidden Grass Village, revealing his true form, Sasuke, carried on Naruto's back, asked coldly, "The Cursed Seal on my shoulder—that was your doing, wasn't it? You were the one in the cave that day?"
Orochimaru smirked. "Indeed!"
Sasuke demanded loudly, "Why?!"
Orochimaru slowly spread his arms. "Because you are one of the few remaining precious Uchiha, and because you possess the Mangekyo Sharingan."
"So, your relentless pursuit is for my Sharingan!" Sasuke's expression darkened, and he sneered, "Too bad it's already exhausted its dojutsu power. Even if you take it, it's useless."
Orochimaru clearly wanted more than just Sasuke's Sharingan, but he didn't correct him, merely curling his lips slightly.
Seeing Orochimaru's undisguised obsession with Sasuke, Naruto erupted in anger. "You actually want to steal Sasuke's eyes? What a disgusting guy!"
"Kid, that's the essence of the shinobi world!" Orochimaru chuckled, his gaze shifting to scan Haku, Karin, Ryuzetsu, and Chino, who had just arrived in a hurry.
Sasuke had already lost his combat ability, and Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, wasn't a concern to him. The ones he truly wary of were Haku, Karin, Ryuzetsu, and Chino.
Unlike others, Orochimaru had an uncanny instinct for spotting exceptional talent. Whether it was Kabuto, Kimimaro, or Jugo, he had been the first to recognize their potential.
In the original timeline, Karin and Suigetsu had also been recruited by him.
So, by instinct, Orochimaru realized that the four kids he hadn't paid much attention to before—Haku, Karin, Ryuzetsu, and Chino—had become the final obstacles to claiming Sasuke.
"He's Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin, alongside Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama!" Haku paused, then continued, "He's a powerhouse capable of challenging the Five Kage. Everyone, be extremely careful!"
"That strong!?" Ryuzetsu froze, muttering, "This isn't something we can handle just by being careful!"
Once, the Five Kage were figures she could only look up to.
Now, facing a top-tier shinobi capable of matching them was, frankly, a bit overwhelming for her.
Chino, however, remained composed.
Having faced the Hidden Leaf's First and Second Hokage, the title of "Sannin" no longer intimidated her.
"Heh!"
Orochimaru smirked.
The atmosphere grew heavier, the tension of an imminent battle palpable! Naruto swallowed nervously. Learning that their opponent was a powerhouse on par with Jiraiya made even his carefree nature feel uneasy.
Then, Orochimaru moved.
With a flicker, his entire figure vanished from sight, only to reappear the next instant right in front of Naruto.
"So fast!"
Naruto and Sasuke exclaimed in unison.
Bang.
Before Naruto could react, Orochimaru's fist slammed into his stomach, sending his entire body airborne.
Bang bang.
Two more punches followed, striking Naruto's cheeks squarely, leaving him dazed and disoriented.
Having undergone Jiraiya's training, Naruto was no longer the class's dead-last. His ninjutsu and taijutsu had improved significantly.
Yet against Orochimaru's full-force assault, he had no ability to resist.
As for Sakura, standing nearby, she was frozen in a daze, as if she'd forgotten how to scream!
"Damn it!"
Sasuke, thrown to the ground from Naruto's back, was both shocked and furious.
But after relentless battles, his dojutsu power was depleted, his body ravaged by the Cursed Seal, and even his remaining chakra had been drained by Shinji's Wazunagi earlier. No matter how angry or unwilling he was, he couldn't intervene.
After kicking Naruto away, Orochimaru reached out with his right hand toward the fallen Sasuke.
Swish swish swish.
Instantly, several long snakes shot out from Orochimaru's right sleeve, tightly binding Sasuke's limbs and yanking him toward their master.
"Let me go!"
Sasuke struggled weakly, his neck and limbs ensnared by the snakes.
As Sasuke was pulled closer, the curve of Orochimaru's smirk grew wider!
Swish.
In that split second, a slender blood blade sliced through the air, severing the snakes from Orochimaru's sleeve in one clean cut!
At the same time, countless fireballs rained down on Orochimaru from all directions.
Clearly, after Orochimaru made his move, Ryuzetsu and Chino, under explicit orders from Shinji, acted without hesitation.
Chino's blood blade cut through the snakes binding Sasuke, while Ryuzetsu unleashed her Fire Release to cover her.
"Hmph!"
Orochimaru let out a soft grunt, his figure flickering as he instantly appeared before Chino.
At some point, he had drawn a long sword and swung it down at her without hesitation.
Chino hurriedly raised her blood blade to parry, but with a clang, her blade was sliced apart.
"!?"
Chino's eyes widened.
Her blood blade, formed by the dojutsu power of her Ketsuryugan, could cut through metal and jade without exaggeration—yet Orochimaru's sword had shattered it.
As Orochimaru's blade was about to strike Chino, Haku, activating his Swift ability, appeared at her side in an instant, conjuring an ice mirror to block the descending sword.
Crack.
Orochimaru's sword struck the ice mirror, shattering it instantly!
But in the brief one or two breaths it took to break the mirror, Haku grabbed Chino and barely pulled her out of the sword's range.
Swish.
Blood sprayed!
Though they narrowly escaped death by the blade, both Chino and Haku were wounded by Orochimaru's sword edge.
At that moment, Ryuzetsu's Fire Release struck again, forcing Orochimaru to retreat.
Having survived the ordeal, Chino clutched her bleeding shoulder, while Haku glanced at the gash across his abdomen, his face pale.
"What a sharp divine weapon!"
Haku's heart raced with lingering fear.
Chino's blood blade, formed by her Ketsuryugan, and Haku's ice mirror, crafted with his Ice Release, were like paper before Orochimaru's sword.
Dodging the Fire Release, Orochimaru leaped into the air, his hands swiftly completing seals as he opened his mouth wide. "Ten Thousand Snakes Formation!"
In an instant, countless snakes poured from his mouth, quickly flooding the entire battlefield!
Ryuzetsu's scalp tingled at the sight.
Karin rushed to Sasuke and Sakura, grabbing one in each hand and fleeing outward. As for Naruto, a durable Jinchuriki and not Orochimaru's target, she left him behind.