The shuriken flew past Orochimaru, and under the light, several thin silver wires shimmered.
Steel wire?
"That's... the Windmill Triple Blades with Sharingan?"
Orochimaru paused for a moment and recognized the technique, but Sasuke had already locked all the shuriken in place.
Then he grabbed parts of the wire with both his mouth and hands, and gave a strong pull.
The tree bark and branches were instantly scratched by the tightening wires. In a flash of silver, Orochimaru was yanked off the ground and slammed hard into the tree behind him.
The wires wrapped tightly around him. It looked like if Sasuke pulled just a little harder, Orochimaru's head might get ripped right off.
Not bad—so young, yet already this good at using the Sharingan.
No wonder he's Itachi's brother. Still not as strong, but with that kind of potential, he might have a shot.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. Even though he seemed to be losing, his face showed no panic at all.
He was caught.
It felt too easy, which made Sasuke uneasy.
But this move was already the best he could do.
Whether it was the timing, or trapping the enemy in the wires—this was the peak of what he could pull off with Sharingan for now.
Sasuke pressed his lips together. The wires were tied to kunai that were stuck into the ground.
Only a few wires were still in his mouth. Sasuke didn't stop—his hands moved quickly to form hand signs.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
Flames burst out, following the wires connected to the kunai on the ground and the ones in Sasuke's mouth, rushing straight toward Orochimaru.
The fire shot up like blazing dragons crawling along the wires.
In a flash, Orochimaru, trapped in the middle, was surrounded by flames. A loud boom followed.
"Aaaahhh—!!"
The tree behind Orochimaru was blown apart by the fire and the blast. Pieces of it rained down.
The sound of burning wood was mixed with sharp, painful screams. Sasuke couldn't see clearly through the fire.
But judging from the sound, it seemed like it was over.
Maybe he'd just imagined Orochimaru to be scarier than he really was.
Sasuke let go of the wire in his mouth and lowered his head, finally letting out a long breath.
"...Crap!"
He had just started to relax when he suddenly remembered—Naruto had been thrown, and was probably about to crash to the ground by now.
Sasuke's head snapped up. Before he could move, something suddenly flew straight at him.
What the hell!?
The forehead protector that used to belong to a Grass Village ninja had changed into one from the Sound Village.
The face was burned and wrinkled like a dried-up mask.
The skin around the right eye had been burned away by the fire, exposing the purple eye shadow underneath. A narrow, golden eye stared at Sasuke with wild excitement.
Orochimaru had already broken free from the wires and was standing there. His neck had stretched several times its normal length, like something out of a horror story.
His neck stretched toward Sasuke in a freakishly flexible and twisted way.
Too fast! There's no way to dodge!?
Sasuke had just used a huge amount of chakra and was completely worn out.
He tried to move to the side, but with his body this tired, it was more like dragging himself.
The terrifying face in front of him looked like a demon mask, flashing two pale, sharp fangs as it lunged.
Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut.
*Clang—!!*
A sharp sound rang out, and Sasuke was suddenly yanked to the side, pulled away just in time to dodge the flying head.
"Who!?"
Who could've helped them at this moment? His teacher? Anbu? Some other jonin?
Sasuke quickly opened his eyes and looked to the side—when he saw the face of the person holding him, his eyes widened in shock.
A Kirigakure headband.
Kimimaro bent his knees slightly, crouched low, and held a pale bone sword behind him, blocking Orochimaru's mouth.
"Someone will take your place."
He didn't bother explaining. Instead, he grabbed Sasuke and threw him toward the base of the tree.
It was the first time Sasuke had ever been tossed like garbage by someone his age.
Orochimaru's eyes twitched in frustration, but Kimimaro's throw was so quick and clean that he didn't get another chance to attack.
········ ·······
If Orochimaru stretched his head forward now, that kid would definitely slash him with that sword.
And that sword...
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. It didn't feel like a normal blade at all.
A regular katana would snap if you bent it hard enough.
But this one was much tougher. It didn't feel like sharpened metal—it was something else.
Although he was puzzled, since he didn't know what he was dealing with, Orochimaru quickly pulled his head back and stood on a tree branch not far from Kimimaro.
"You really know how to order people around! That big fire dragon of yours almost roasted me alive!"
Sasuke, who had been falling fast, was suddenly grabbed by the collar and lifted onto a nearby branch.
Up on the branch, Naruto was lying there unconscious, while Sakura sat beside him, looking worried.
Sasuke turned his head and saw Suigetsu relaxing his puffed-up arm like a balloon letting out air.
Suigetsu was grumbling to himself, shaking out his arm as he complained.
"What are you staring at, red-eyed kid? Got a problem or something?"
Suigetsu seemed to notice something and looked smugly at Sasuke.
His face practically screamed, "I caught you just now, so you better get on your knees and say thanks."
"…Why are you guys here?"
Sasuke had figured it out—Suigetsu's role in the group was pretty much the same as Naruto's. He wasn't going to argue with him.
He's just a kid, after all.
"Hey, don't change the subject… We just happened to be nearby, okay? But seriously, you guys made such a mess over here!"
"We thought we'd show up to see some epic battle or something, but turns out it was just you getting wrecked. Kinda sad, really."
Suigetsu clearly wanted more thanks, but Sasuke had already shifted the topic.
Still, even as Suigetsu explained while waving his arms around, Sasuke could hear the mocking tone hidden in his words.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow and looked seriously at the relaxed Hozuki Suigetsu.
"I don't know what you guys think of that guy, but you better keep your teammates away from him. The smart move is to run."
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