“Let’s go!” Nawaki let out a loud roar and charged towards Orochimaru first, forming hand signs while running, his mouth puffed out.
Orochimaru threw a Kunai towards Nawaki.
But a cloud of insects flew out, blocking the Kunai, and then counter-attacked Orochimaru.
Orochimaru shifted his body to the right, dodging the entanglement of the insect cloud.
At that instant, Nawaki shot out three water needles towards Orochimaru.
This was the only Ninjutsu he was confident could keep up with Orochimaru’s speed.
Nawaki’s timing for the ambush was perfect, and the chosen Ninjutsu was highly targeted.
Orochimaru swiftly drew a second Kunai and flicked it forward.
Clang!
He deflected the three water needles that were almost upon him.
However, a faint sense of threat lingered in Orochimaru’s mind.
His gaze flickered, and he saw a dozen shuriken shooting towards him from all directions.
Ryosuke had seized the opportunity and launched a dozen Shuriken, encircling Orochimaru.
“Nice continuous ambush, but it’s not enough.” Orochimaru even had the leisure to critique their attacks.
He twisted his body, as flexible as a snake, causing all the Shuriken to miss him and embed themselves in the grass.
Of course, Ryosuke didn’t think a few Shuriken could take down an Elite Jonin.
After throwing the Shuriken, he had already formed hand signs and exhaled a fireball towards Orochimaru.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
This Ninjutsu is a standard for the Uchiha Clan, very useful, but also very common.
Against Orochimaru, it was clearly a bit lacking.
Orochimaru quickly formed hand signs and opened his mouth to unleash a powerful gust of wind that struck the fireball, causing it to explode.
The fireball burst, splitting into four fragments that scattered outwards.
However, the flames, which should have dissipated, defied logic by remaining condensed.
Even more bizarrely, the flames didn’t follow the wind, instead lunging towards Orochimaru.
The four fragments of flame descended from the sky, rushing towards Orochimaru.
“A two-stage attack?” Orochimaru was surprised.
A seemingly ordinary Great Fireball Technique could have a hidden two-stage attack.
There must be some trick to it, how interesting.
Taking advantage of the moment the flames lunged at him, he glanced at Ryosuke.
As his gaze landed on Ryosuke’s face, he saw a One Tomoe Sharingan amidst a crimson glow.
That crimson glow magnified, becoming a fiery red sky.
An enormous red moon hung in the sky, coldly observing him.
Genjutsu!
Orochimaru showed no panic, examining the Genjutsu space with great interest.
He clicked his tongue in wonder, inadvertently revealing a twisted expression.
“This is the Genjutsu Ryosuke created…
It’s really good.” Orochimaru formed a hand sign and broke free from the Genjutsu.
His mind returned to the real world, and he immediately noticed flames coiling around his body, burning fiercely.
“A good attack.” Orochimaru showed no concern for the raging flames on him.
His pale face bore no trace of pain, remaining utterly indifferent.
What’s going on?
Is he not afraid of fire?
Whether it was the thick-skinned Nawaki, the meticulous Shibi, or Ryosuke with his Sharingan open, all three furrowed their brows, nervously watching Orochimaru.
The fire burned, yet the person on fire remained calm, completely unresponsive.
Suddenly, Orochimaru opened his mouth wide, and a slippery object slithered out.
Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique!
This Substitution Technique uses an external body as a substitute and allows the user to transfer out of their mouth without needing to form hand signs, a perverse Ninjutsu akin to a snake shedding its skin.
Rustle, rustle…
The raging flames instantly incinerated the substitute Orochimaru had discarded, turning it into charred ashes, and the flames subsequently extinguished.
A damp Orochimaru shook his long hair and extended his tongue to lick his lips.
He flicked his right hand and a snake flew out from his wide sleeve.
The snake lunged into the ashes and bit onto a fallen bell, and then retracted, returning the bell to Orochimaru’s hand.
Orochimaru hung the bell on his waist, just about to say something, when Nawaki launched an attack first.
Nawaki cupped his hands around his mouth and spewed a torrent of water.
Water Release: Wild Water Wave!
As Tsunade’s younger brother, he knew how formidable Orochimaru was.
In some ways, he was even more troublesome than Tsunade, so he attacked without hesitation.
Since he couldn’t possibly defeat Orochimaru, he might as well go all out with a furious assault.
Orochimaru charged towards the water wave, treading on the water like a surfer, rushing forward.
What?!
Nawaki was also greatly surprised.
This wasn’t children playing make-believe, it was a real, powerful water impact.
The fact that he could ride the water and move against the current was simply outrageous.
As Orochimaru approached, he raised his right hand, and with a series of “whoosh, whoosh, whoosh” sounds, a dozen or so snakes burst out from his sleeve, lunging towards Nawaki.
Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!
Orochimaru’s unique Ninjutsu, capable of offense, defense, and entanglement, with many ingenious uses.
Nawaki squatted down as a fireball, about a meter in diameter, shot out, heading towards the snake swarm.
“Idiot Ryosuke, the fireball isn’t big enough!” Nawaki howled.
Ryosuke, who had just used Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, did not retort.
His One Tomoe Sharingan reflected the firelight, appearing full of confidence.
In that instant, the already airborne fireball suddenly expanded, as if it had been doused with several tons of gasoline, inflating into a super fireball about fifteen meters in diameter.
Rumble!
The dozen or so snakes instantly melted away and the fireball continued to move towards Orochimaru.
“As expected of a genius of the Uchiha Clan.” Orochimaru formed a hand sign and slammed his hand onto the ground.
Rumble!
A two-meter-thick, ten-meter-high earthen wall rose from the grass in front of him, blocking the fireball.
Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!
Boom!
Chunks of earth rained down, crashing onto the surroundings.
It took a full few dozen seconds for the flames to subside, leaving behind a scorched patch of land.
Nawaki quickly scrambled up, seeing the charred earth extending outwards, only to be suddenly intercepted.
Beyond that point, the grass was perfectly intact, and Orochimaru stood on it, completely unharmed.
“Tch, it was useless after all.” Nawaki was quite unwilling, clenching his fists.
Ryosuke deactivated his Sharingan and said with a smile, “No, quite the opposite.
We succeeded.” “Succeeded?” Nawaki didn’t understand.
Orochimaru squeezed a faint smile onto his pale face.
“I was careless, wasn’t I?
You got me.” “What do you mean?” Nawaki looked bewildered.
He looked at Orochimaru and only then noticed that the bell on his waist was gone.
He pointed at Orochimaru, shouting, “The bell…
the bell is gone!” Just then, a swarm of insects flew down from the sky and landed in Shibi’s palm.
They scattered, revealing the bell they had enveloped.
Nawaki suddenly understood.
He and Ryosuke had launched a frontal assault on Orochimaru, distracting him, while Shibi had commanded inconspicuous insects to steal the bell.
“Yay!
We succeeded!” Nawaki waved his arms and cheered excitedly.
Orochimaru looked at Ryosuke and said, “What you used just now wasn’t the Great Fireball Technique, was it?” Ryosuke shrugged, vaguely saying, “It’s an advanced version of the Great Fireball Technique.” The reason the fireball had grown so large was entirely due to his newly acquired eye—Blaze!
It can generate fire by focusing one’s gaze.
If you don’t like something, just point at it, and it will catch fire.
It’s an arsonist’s favorite eye, bar none.
The reason the fireball had grown so large earlier was because Ryosuke had stared at it intently for several seconds, continuously using Blaze.
Therefore, he couldn’t reveal the truth and could only claim it was an improved version of the Great Fireball Technique.
Orochimaru didn’t mind and changed the subject, “Let’s go.
To celebrate your official graduation, I’ll treat everyone to barbecue.” “Yay!” The three of them quickly caught up with Orochimaru and headed to the village’s barbecue restaurant, where they ordered over a dozen plates of meat and celebrated heartily.