'What happened!'
'Why is his skin so hard?!'
'It wasn't this hard before!'
'Is this also why he didn't get poisoned?'
'Did my snake fail to bite him?!'
In an instant, Orochimaru's thoughts raced.
'Massive Fire Release Ninjutsu, super high-speed movement, extreme evasion, and now this skin so hard it can't even be bitten through...'
'All sorts of bizarre Ninjutsu. Is this guy really a Shinobi?!'
Orochimaru's face was extremely ugly.
But he also knew that he had no chance left to obtain Takumi's body now.
No other way.
His teeth are broken, how can he plant the Cursed Seal?
It's better to go back and get his teeth fixed first!
"I'll be back!"
Orochimaru left these words, his speech slurred from his missing teeth, as he fled in panic.
'Damn, what the hell is he?'
Takumi breathed a sigh of relief.
'This Orochimaru really had a lot of shady techniques.'
'Luckily, the venomous snake only bit me. If it had slithered up my pant leg and into my body, I might not have been able to resist so easily.'
After relaxing, he went to detoxify Sasuke and Sakura.
"Sasuke, bear with it. I'll squeeze the poison out for you."
"Alright, the toxin has been drained. No need to worry for now."
Turning to the other side…
"Sakura, you're more deeply poisoned. Let me suck the poison out for you."
Saying this, Takumi carried Sakura to a nearby patch of grass and began detoxification.
However, Takumi didn't know that in the shadows, several pairs of eyes were closely watching him.
Their disguise was superb, not daring to reveal the slightest hint of killing intent or similar aura.
"Holy crap! A Konoha's Genin is this strong?! How are we supposed to assassinate him? We'd be the ones getting assassinated, right?!"
"Raikage-sama's orders must be carried out, but how do we kill this guy? Even if we all attack together, it probably wouldn't be enough for him to handle, right?"
"Attack my ass! Even a strong Shinobi like Orochimaru couldn't defeat him. Wouldn't we just be delivering ourselves as a meal?! I think quickly reporting this Genin's intel back is the right move!"
"This kid feels even stronger than Killer B-sama! And he's so young? Is he even human? Could he be a Biju in disguise?"
"Anyway, absolutely do not reveal any presence. If you don't want to die!"
A group of secretly infiltrated Kumogakure's Shinobi held their breath.
Originally, they were sent by Yondaime Raikage to cause trouble in Konoha.
Wasn't Konoha acting all high and mighty?
They even invited so many villages to this Chunin Exams…
So Yondaime Raikage decided to get serious and secretly sent a few people to chop down a few of their Genin!
The primary target was naturally this so-called genius, Takumi!
However, these assassins, disguised and lurking in the Forest of Death, had been waiting for an opportunity to strike.
But what they didn't expect was Orochimaru showing up halfway.
And after watching the entire fight between Takumi and Orochimaru, they deeply understood that they were going to fail the mission assigned by Yondaime Raikage.
'This Takumi even drove Orochimaru away. If we went up against him, wouldn't we just be offering ourselves up?'
'Did Raikage-sama even properly investigate the target's background?!'
'This is clearly a cheater!'
The few men quietly crouched in the grass, not daring to move a muscle.
Only after Takumi left with Sasuke and the other two did they finally let out a huge sigh of relief.
Then they looked at each other, falling into an awkward silence.
After a long while, a seemingly younger Kumogakure's Shinobi broke the awkwardness.
"What do we do now?"
"What do we do? Report the situation here to Raikage-sama. I believe Raikage-sama will understand the severity."
"But... if we do that, our mission fails. Will we be punished when we return?"
"Getting punished back home might not mean death, but facing that kid means certain death! Which one do you choose?"
"Then... let's go back..."
…
Because the Chunin Exams had officially started, Konoha appeared exceptionally bustling.
It was, after all, one of Konoha's major annual events.
To demonstrate the hospitality of the host, the people of Konoha were naturally very enthusiastic.
The streets were filled with the sound of bustling crowds, with countless vendors and pedestrians coming and going.
It looked extremely lively.
But at this moment, there was one place that seemed completely opposite to the liveliness on the streets, appearing very quiet.
And this place was the lodging area for the various Shinobi Villages.
Aside from the Land of Earth and Land of Water, who were genuinely here for the exam, all the other invited villages had ulterior motives!
And at this time, in the room assigned to Otogakure.
The Sound Four and Kabuto were sitting in the room, waiting for news.
As for whose news…
Naturally, it was Orochimaru's.
"Orochimaru-sama is a bit slow... Could he have los..."
Bam!
Tayuya punched Jirobo on the head, looking fiercely at him: "What were you about to say just now? That's Orochimaru-sama!"
"Right. With Orochimaru-sama's strength, isn't dealing with a brat like that a piece of cake?" Kidomaru said with a playful smile, but his eyes were full of respect for Orochimaru.
"No one can question Orochimaru-sama's power. Jirobo, you must receive severe punishment for this." Sakon said with a sinister smile.
"S-sorry." Jirobo held his head, looking wronged.
"I'm truly despicable! How dare I question Orochimaru-sama!"
"I'll ask Orochimaru-sama to punish me when we get back!"
The Sound Four's current strength was entirely due to Orochimaru.
So from the bottom of their hearts, they held immense respect for Orochimaru.
This respect had even reached a pathological degree. Even if Orochimaru demanded their lives right now, they would not hesitate.
Kabuto sat steadily to the side.
His eyes, hidden behind his reflective glasses, couldn't help but roll at the four.
He silently lamented, 'What do these fools know?'
'Although Orochimaru-sama is strong, he might not necessarily be able to subdue Takumi.'
Kabuto is a multi-sided spy, so collecting intelligence was his job.
Although he wouldn't claim to know everything, he had a clear understanding of part of Takumi's strength.
Especially the feat of fighting Akatsuki's members and winning without injury was enough to make no one dare underestimate him.
'However, although Takumi was strong, the one who took action was Orochimaru-sama.'
'It should be fine, right?'
Kabuto's heart wavered uncertainly.
But there was no other way, and they could only wait.