Orochimaru's dark-golden pupils took in the entire situation and battle lines.
He licked his lips, filled with excitement. The rich scent of blood and the aura of slaughter in the air made him feel as if he was back in his previous life, back to being the cruel warlord and uncrowned king of that era. He felt a sense of freedom and control, like a fish in water!
The battle was currently divided into small fields of varying sizes. Some were one-sided, dominated by Konoha; some were fierce situations where the Suna ninja had the upper hand; and even more were bloody, protracted tug-of-war battles where blood was exchanged for blood and life for life!
Using his strange, special ninja footwork, Orochimaru took small, swift steps. He eyed a spot where a fierce tug-of-war was taking place between the rogue ninja. He smiled wickedly, crouching down. Like a swiftly winding black python, he charged into the enemy's rogue ninja group.
Lightly hooking two sharp kunai from his ninja tool pouch, Orochimaru looked at the group of rogue ninja and smiled faintly with disdain before plunging into the enemy crowd.
Dozens of rogue ninja on the Suna side only saw a black shadow flash past. Immediately after, continuous screams rang out around them!
"Ah! Ah! Ah!—"
Desperate cries before death echoed throughout the crowd.
Orochimaru's handsome face wore a wicked smile. A hint of excited ecstasy and obsession flowed from his dark-golden snake eyes. He executed the sinister and vicious double-kunai technique to the fullest, constantly carving paths of death marked by blood and life through vital spots like the back of the heart, the neck, the back of the head, and the spine!
Pshh! Pshh!— The sound of metal piercing flesh rang out continuously. A crimson flower seemed to bloom suddenly on the flat ground. Blood, still warm and steaming, constantly sprayed out and splashed onto the ground.
In the blink of an eye, Orochimaru had harvested over ten lives before quietly vanishing.
The Suna side, having lost over ten rogue ninja, saw the scales of strength instantly flip. They were immediately slaughtered one-sidedly by the Konoha rogue ninja, who grinned in triumph!
His dark-golden eyes then zeroed in on another disadvantaged skirmish: six Suna Genin and four Suna Chūnin had cornered a junior member of the Uchiha Clan and a junior member of the Hyūga Clan in a fierce assault.
These were, after all, juniors from the two great Konoha clans. The Hyūga junior, about fifteen or sixteen years old, employed the Hyūga Gentle Fist with immense proficiency. It was clear he had practiced tens of thousands of times. He continuously delivered waves of fist energy, roughly a meter long, that encircled half of the attacking Suna ninja within the range of his technique.
The Uchiha junior was also a young genius. He looked a year or two younger than the Hyūga junior, but his blood-red Sharingan had clearly activated two tomoe. His continuous, devastating Fire Release ninjutsu firmly held back the other half of the Suna ninja.
However, as time passed, both of their chakra and stamina were rapidly consumed. The various Suna ninjutsu and the rain of ninja tools flying around continued to keep the assault intense!
Gradually, the two juniors from the Konoha clans began to gasp for breath. Their stamina was failing, and it seemed they were about to be defeated and killed.
Orochimaru recognized these two Konoha ninja. They were the youngest among the family juniors brought along by the Uchiha and Hyūga clans for experience. Their names were Uchiha Fugaku and Hyūga Norichika. Now, it seemed they might actually be the strongest among this group of family juniors.
Seeing the danger they were in, Orochimaru suddenly kicked off the ground, accelerating into a faint afterimage. He rushed in like a whirlwind.
His two sharp kunai launched a fierce, continuous attack against a Suna Chūnin, flowing like the Yangtze River. The sound of clashing metal, "Cling, clang, clang—" constantly echoed.
However, although this ordinary Chūnin was from the Land of Wind's major nation, the Suna Village, he was leagues away from Orochimaru in terms of kunai technique.
The two kunai transformed into small, venomous snakes, pressing the Chūnin back with rapid attacks. Panic quickly flashed in the retreating Chūnin's eyes. In a moment of carelessness, Orochimaru seized an opening.
One kunai deftly deflected and neutralized the Chūnin's kunai. The other, like a venomous snake shooting out lightning fast, suddenly opened its deadly fangs and fiercely stabbed into the Chūnin's heart, spraying blood.
After instantly killing one person, Orochimaru's movement didn't stop. He turned and released the two kunai, sending them flying toward a group of Suna Genin.
He completed a set of hand seals in the space of a breath!
Kunai Shadow Clone Jutsu!
The two sharp kunai split into four, four into eight... In a flash, over ten kunai shot toward the Genin.
Pshh! Pshh!—
The dull sound of metal entering flesh rang out. Several Genin screamed tragically before being killed.
Then, using his left foot as an axis, Orochimaru spun rapidly on the spot. While his turn created a blast of strong wind, he simultaneously unleashed another ninjutsu with a roar.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
A powerful gust of wind suddenly surged up from the ground. Within the jutsu, Orochimaru had incorporated some of the insights he had gained from the Vacuum Kamaitachi Killing Array.
Within the strong gust of wind, over ten faint-yellow Yellow Sand Wind Blades, each half a meter long, condensed. While their length and power could not compare to the blades in the Vacuum Kamaitachi Killing Array, they were numerous and awe-inspiring!
The ten-plus Yellow Sand Wind Blades hummed with a "Buzz, buzz, buzz—" sound in the strong gust of wind, roaring toward the remaining two Suna Chūnin and Genin.
The Suna ninja retreated in terror under the might of the Yellow Sand Wind Blades!
Seizing the opportunity created by Orochimaru, Uchiha Fugaku and Hyūga Norichika exchanged a glance and attacked together. The two-tomoe Sharingan spun wildly. High-temperature Great Fireballs surged out of Fugaku's mouth, blasting directly toward the Suna ninja's retreat path.
With Yellow Sand Wind Blades in front and blazing fireballs behind, in a few blinks, several Suna Genin who couldn't dodge were cut and burned to death, and one Chūnin was severely wounded.
Immediately after, Hyūga Norichika rushed to the front of the Suna ninja, executing the Gentle Fist. With a special starting stance, the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms roared out like a machine gun. The remaining two Chūnin instantly had their chakra sealed and died violently!
The remaining Genin instantly became scattered chickens and dogs, easily handled by Uchiha Fugaku and Hyūga Norichika, and were not worth mentioning!
With the fight resolved, Orochimaru once again darted into the crowd. He was like a venomous snake slithering across the battlefield, appearing only in the most relaxed and weakest areas of the enemy to deliver a fatal blow. He was sometimes visible, sometimes hidden, like an elusive Grim Reaper. Every time he swung his scythe, he harvested several lives!
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