“Clang!
Clang!
Clang!” Dragging his two teammates out of the giant snake’s attack range, Muzan swiftly hurled several kunai.
The blades struck with sharp metallic rings, but only left a few pale scratches and scattered sparks across the serpent’s scales.
His attacks couldn’t penetrate its armor.
“This is going to be troublesome.” Using the Body Flicker Technique, he leapt onto a nearby tree.
From there, he could see the snake’s entire body.
Glancing at Anko and Mari, who were frozen in terror, he shouted, “Idiots!
If this keeps up, you’re really going to die!
Get up and support me!” A genin’s attacks wouldn’t do much against a giant snake, but before coming here, Anko had prepared several explosive tags.
Used at the right moment, they could turn the tide.
Muzan’s roar finally snapped the two back to reality.
Gritting her teeth, Anko stabbed her palm with a kunai.
The sharp pain forced her fear aside.
She refused to be dead weight!
“Mari, get up!” She grabbed Mari off the ground.
Judging by the situation, if they failed Orochimaru’s test, they really would die here.
“Muzan, leave the snake to us!” Anko made a bold decision.
She and Mari would distract the giant snake with themselves.
She knew perfectly well that, among the three of them, only Muzan had any chance of defeating it.
Standing atop the snake’s head, Orochimaru rarely smiled.
At the same moment, the giant snake attacked.
“Good!
Leave the snake to me!” With Anko keeping it occupied, Muzan wanted to see just how far his strength had grown.
“Fire Release: Dragon Flame Jutsu!” Even though it was only a C-rank technique, the sheer volume of Muzan’s chakra gave it remarkable power.
After all, during the Fourth Great Ninja War, Madara had turned an ordinary C-rank Fire Release into something that rivaled an A-rank technique.
The true strength of a jutsu ultimately depended on the chakra behind it.
A stream of flames tore through the morning mist and slammed into the giant snake.
Compared to the serpent’s enormous body, however, the attack was still far too small.
To force out Muzan’s full potential, Orochimaru had deliberately summoned one of the stronger giant snakes.
Even an elite chunin would struggle against it.
“Without mastering more powerful ninjutsu, C-rank techniques alone will never defeat this snake.” Orochimaru’s voice echoed from above.
It was less a warning than a reminder.
Mindlessly throwing ninjutsu around would only end with the snake swallowing them whole.
“That isn’t necessarily true, Orochimaru-sama!” “Hm?” Watching Muzan’s hand movement, Orochimaru couldn’t hide his surprise.
He recognized that stance immediately.
No wonder Tsunade had asked him to take this child as a student.
He had inherited part of her fighting style.
“Monster Strength!” Combined with Muzan’s precise chakra control, chakra gathered into his fist before exploding outward with overwhelming force.
His punch smashed directly into the giant snake.
It was far more effective than the Dragon Flame Jutsu.
The scales shattered instantly, blood seeped from the cracks, and for the first time, the snake actually felt pain.
“Hisssss!” The agitated snake had remained obedient under Orochimaru’s pressure.
But the instant Orochimaru saw Muzan use Monster Strength, he disappeared from the battlefield with the Body Flicker Technique.
Now, with no one suppressing it, the serpent’s savage instincts exploded forth.
Opening its massive jaws, it lunged at the troublesome little human.
“Boom!” Facing the incoming bite, Muzan remained perfectly calm.
His hands blurred through seals as the earth beneath them trembled.
“Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!” A thick earth wall, complete with the familiar dog-faced carving, burst from the ground, blocking the serpent’s attack and forcing it to go around.
Muzan glanced toward his teammates.
Blood still dripped from Anko’s injured hand, while Mari’s face was pale as he struggled just to remain standing beside her.
“I’ll need your cooperation next.” “Monster Strength can injure it, but it isn’t enough to kill it.” “The snake’s greatest strengths are its scales and massive body.
But it has one fatal weakness.” “There are places its scales don’t cover.” “If we shove an explosive tag inside there, it’ll deal far more damage than you’d expect.” Anko’s face instantly turned bright red.
Seeing Muzan calmly explaining his plan, she suddenly wondered if he had some strange hobby.
No wonder Kakashi was so proficient with the Thousand Years of Death…
So this was where he’d learned it from!
“You pervert!” “…Why are you calling me a pervert?” Muzan was completely baffled.
He just wanted to shove the explosive tag into the snake’s mouth.
Since when was feeding someone fireworks considered perverted?
“Quit messing around!
This is our only chance.” “The snake’s mouth is one of its few real weak points.” The moment Anko heard the word “mouth,” her face became even redder.
Keeping her head down, she couldn’t even look at Muzan anymore.
So…
I’d misunderstood…
Ugh!
This is all Kakashi’s fault for corrupting my thoughts!
Taking the explosive tag, Muzan waited until cracks spread across the earth wall.
Then he immediately used the Substitution Technique, swapping places with a nearby tree branch.
The giant snake burst through the collapsing wall, its attention immediately locking onto Anko and Mari.
“Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!” A miniature fireball burst from Anko’s mouth.
It struck the giant snake without even leaving a scorch mark.
But it successfully irritated it.
One provocation after another.
Did it have no dignity as a giant snake?
“Boom!” The serpent whipped its tail.
Its enormous body flattened an entire stretch of forest with a single sweep.
Yet it completely failed to notice the one who had actually wounded it.
Muzan was already on its back.
He wedged a kunai into the gap between its scales, anchoring himself so he wouldn’t be thrown off.
Compared to the snake’s colossal body, his movements were no more noticeable than an ant crawling across someone’s skin.
The snake naturally ignored him.
With its attention focused on Mari, Muzan finally had his opening.
Before long, he reached the top of its head.
Only then did the serpent sense something was wrong.
A tiny insect had somehow climbed onto its head.
It violently slammed its head into the ground, trying to throw Muzan off.
“Noticing now?” “Too late!” “Monster Strength!” His fist was small.
Its power was anything but.
The scales on the snake’s head shattered beneath the blow, peeling apart from the impact.
Muzan’s title as Konoha’s Hammer King wasn’t for show.
Every punch landed with crushing force.
The snake flew into a furious rage, but Muzan remained tightly wedged between the gaps in its scales.
The giant serpent repeatedly smashed its head into the ground with its jaws wide open, completely unaware that Muzan was quietly crawling along its body toward its mouth.
“Is Muzan actually going to pull this off?” “Please!
Just let me leave the Forest of Death already!” Below, his teammates anxiously watched the battle unfolding atop the serpent’s head.
At the final moment, Muzan leaped into the air.
The explosive tag attached to a kunai flew straight into the snake’s open mouth.
“Boom!” Flames erupted directly from inside the giant snake’s mouth.
The scent of roasted meat filled the air.
The explosion stunned the beast, but Muzan wasn’t out of danger either.
The instant he landed, the unconscious giant snake came crashing down toward him.