No wonder he was known among Konoha's veteran ninjas as a monster in human skin.
Hyuga Soushu had heard or read about Orochimaru's Manda Rashō technique before, but no illustration or written description could compare to the real experience—it sent real chills down his spine.
Even though the active skill of his Hunger Hydra had eliminated a portion of the summoned snakes, there were still so many left that they formed a writhing wall of poisonous snakes launching rapidly toward him!
Frankly speaking, although these low-chakra creatures posed little actual threat to a durable close-range fighter like Hyuga Soushu, they were undeniably disgusting—kind of like how natto is technically edible but makes most people recoil in disgust. (Natto is a fermented Japanese food often disliked for its strong smell and texture.)
Moreover, with Orochimaru's cruel nature, he wouldn't think twice about hiding some underhanded tricks among these otherwise normal-looking summoned snakes. He might have mixed in certain special-type snakes, or even disguised his own body or clones among the snake ranks for a surprise attack. Knowing Orochimaru's reputation, he definitely would do something like this.
Therefore, Hyuga Soushu chose to leap backward temporarily to avoid being swallowed by the snake horde.
Sure enough, the moment Soushu pushed off the ground and jumped back, from the snake wall hundreds of slightly larger poisonous snakes shot out like arrows from all directions toward him!
"Really disgusting!"
With no choice, Soushu swung his Torch Pole rapidly, transforming the heavy weapon into an impenetrable barrier of hammering force. Combined with visual enhancement and predictive judgment granted by his Byakugan, he smashed every attacking snake into pulp!
"Opportunity has come!"
Behind the wall of snakes, Orochimaru closed his left eye. Although he couldn't directly see Hyuga Soushu through the mass of writhing bodies, a triumphant, almost smug grin spread across his face—as if his trap had just succeeded!
[Kū no Tachi!]
As Orochimaru raised his fingers, one seemingly ordinary snake suddenly opened its mouth wide, spitting out a long sword sharp enough to split the air itself.
And as soon as that blade emerged, it grew rapidly in length, aiming straight for Soushu's right arm.
"Clang!"
In an emergency move, Soushu quickly shifted his Torch Pole sideways upward, deflecting the incoming blade.
Because this motion had been so sudden, he hadn't had time to angle his pole properly away from the edge of the sword. The sharp edge consequently left a noticeable gash on the Torch Pole's surface!
Although Soushu had noticed earlier movements from Orochimaru's discarded Sword of Kusanagi through his Byakugan, during the chaos of snake attacks he hadn't dared focus too much attention elsewhere—just kept watch over whether the sword had moved.
Yet what he hadn't anticipated was that the Sword of Kusanagi, previously bouncing lifelessly on the ground, would suddenly vanish and reappear within a snake's mouth!
Orochimaru had truly made an art form out of combining weapon summoning and sealing techniques!
But this wasn't over yet!
The Sword of Kusanagi - Sky Cut, wielded by Orochimaru, had a unique advantage — it could float and strike enemies without being physically held. Although Orochimaru had to focus his mental energy to control it, this allowed for harassment and even surprise fatal strikes.
Combined with the Sword of Kusanagi's inherent traits of extreme sharpness, sturdiness, and near-indestructibility, even these harassing sword attacks required careful handling by Hyuga Soushu. Otherwise, his Torch Pole could easily be shattered upon impact.
Adding to this were three shadow clones deliberately created by Orochimaru, continuously harassing with ninjutsu. This placed Soushu at overwhelming odds — one against five!
Moreover, Orochimaru's fighting style was particularly effective against straightforward ninja like Hyuga Soushu.
Compared to the battle against Elder Chiyo of Sunagakure, where he had allies and puppets posed little threat, Soushu now found himself at a disadvantage, unable to unleash a powerful burst.
After all, Orochimaru had too many life-saving tricks. Without being able to accurately locate his true body, Soushu was unwilling to waste the precious opportunities to unleash his [Ultimate Techniques].
As such, facing the triple pressure of toxic snakes crawling from below, shadow clone ninjutsu attacks from the middle, and the Sword of Kusanagi darting silently through the air from above, Soushu was forced into complete defense.
Though he relied on his extremely fast torch movements to kill the snakes, deflect the ninjutsu attacks, and knock away the sword strikes, plus the active and passive abilities of [Hunger Hydra] efficiently eliminated lesser threats, Soushu temporarily found himself unable to counterattack.
And if this continued, sooner or later, Soushu would exhaust his strength and fall defeated.
"Huh!"
Inside the Hokage Office, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi gleefully took a puff from his pipe, exhaling a concentrated plume of smoke resembling blade energy.
Delicious!
This was the strongest feeling in Third Hokage Sarutobi's heart at the moment!
Watching through the Crystal Ball as Jonin Soushu, the contender for Commander of the Northern Border Defense Force, got beaten repeatedly, to Sarutobi, it felt like savoring a cooling sip of plum juice on a sweltering summer day — deeply refreshing.
The accumulated resentment from multiple failed schemes against Soushu had now largely dissipated.
Although as village leader, having such biased thoughts was inappropriate, who could truly keep their emotions perfectly balanced all the time?
"Orochimaru has made tremendous progress!"
In a corner, Danzo also rarely showed a delighted expression, looking as relieved as someone finally relieving a month-long constipation.
Of course, it was unfortunate they couldn't take action against Hyuga Soushu yet, or it would surely disrupt the fragile peace maintained among the Ninja Clans through political compromises, potentially leading to defeat in external warfare.
For those who once held absolute power and now increasingly faced instability, defeat — especially in foreign wars — was absolutely unacceptable!
Unlike when he ascended to Hokage during the First Great Ninja World War under crisis circumstances, The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi now enjoys a firmly established position. At that time, even though he was doubted by the village's old-school elders, he managed to unite everyone with the support of Mito Uzumaki, one of the original founders, and led them to victory in the war. From then on, his rule steadily grew stronger until it became deeply rooted and flourishing.
However, centralization of power has not only resulted in concentrated authority but also growing opposition factions eager to carve out their share of influence. It was obvious that The Third Hokage showed clear favoritism—though this was unavoidable, after all, rewarding contributors was necessary!
As a result, accumulated dissatisfaction within the village eventually reached a boiling point, leading nearly all ninja clans to shift toward opposing sides. Even one of the village's core foundations—the commoner ninja faction—had part of its support drawn away by Sakumo Hatake, whose rise seemed almost unstoppable.
Therefore, although the faction directly loyal to the Hokage remains intact, its potential for growth and expansion has already been completely divided up. What lies ahead is a zero-sum game.
Among overseas ninja forces, Sakumo Hatake alone commands an entire region, basking in prestige and glory; while the three promising pupils personally mentored by the Hokage oversee the Land of Rain's garrison force—they performed satisfactorily, if not brilliantly, yet overall stability has been maintained.
As for the Northern Border Defense Force commanded by Soushu Hyuga, along with the Eastern Coastal Defense Garrison now reorganized under the Hyuga Clan's leadership, these positions served as safety valves redirecting internal clan tensions outward.
Still, the Third Hokage planned to make Soushu Hyuga a pawn he could maneuver to his advantage.
That's why Orochimaru returned.
That's why Orochimaru challenged Soushu Hyuga.
And based on how things were unfolding, Orochimaru was really showing off an impressive performance.
Although his initial moves contained minor flaws, he quickly identified Soushu Hyuga's blind spots and applied effective countermeasures—truly living up to his title as the greatest pupil of the Professor of Ninjutsu!
The Third Hokage felt very satisfied. He loaded another bowlful of tobacco into his pipe, then calmly leaned back, puffing on his pipe with a composed smile.
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