"It's just a Mud Clone—an Earth Clone technique used by high-level ninja!"
Sakura and the others stared at the puddle of mud on the ground, their hearts sinking. The enemy who had kept them busy for so long—who they'd finally managed to take down with a surprise attack—was just a Mud Clone! That hit all three of them hard—it showed just how powerful Kage-level ninjas really were. Those who had survived war were definitely no ordinary foes.
"I've made my decision. Originally I only planned to give Sasuke a small gift, but now I'll give each of you one too."
As Orochimaru spoke, Sakura and her companions felt a tremor rising from beneath their feet. Cracks began forming under them.
Naruto shouted, "There's something below! Get out of the way!"
Even as he called out, Sakura and Sasuke had already leaped away. As the trio hung midair, a massive snake burst from the earth, its enormous mouth opening wide as it lunged hungrily toward them.
[Water Release: Water Blast Jutsu]
A torrent of water []spewed from Sakura's mouth, crashing into the giant serpent's head and slamming its car-sized skull sideways onto the ground.
"I don't have much time left to play around with you. Sasuke—you'll be the first to receive my gift!"
Standing on the ground beside the snake's body, Orochimaru wore a wild grin. As he finished speaking, his neck suddenly stretched forward, two fang-like teeth appearing in his mouth. His entire head shot straight toward Sasuke's neck.
"Damn it!"
Eyes wide, Sasuke tried to twist away, but in midair there was nothing he could do. All he could do was watch helplessly as Orochimaru came closer and closer.
Whoosh!
A long blade suddenly flew through the air, piercing Orochimaru's neck before pinning him to a tree. Instantly, his movement stopped dead, and he could only watch as Sasuke slipped from his grasp.
"You dare interfere with my gift to Sasuke? You're asking for death!"
The part of Orochimaru's body below his impaled head quickly shriveled up like paper, blood dripping from the wound on his neck. But Orochimaru seemed oblivious to the pain. His eyes burned with killing intent directed at Sakura. Although he admired both Sakura's and Naruto's talent, what he truly desired was Sasuke's Sharingan. Just when he was about to implant the Cursed Seal, Sakura had ruined everything at the last moment. In that moment, Orochimaru's heart burned with pure, cold fury.
Chapter 176: Naruto's Blood, Raging Sakura [Continued]
The portion of Orochimaru's body below his pinned head rapidly withered until it looked like nothing more than a sheet of parchment. Then, from within his mouth, a pale white hand emerged.
"So this is the Snake Shedding Jutsu?"
Sakura shuddered slightly—it was genuinely a disgusting sight. Worse still was the slime covering Orochimaru's body; it was almost unbearable.
[Wind Release: Great Vacuum Cannon]
Immediately after completing the Snake Shedding Jutsu, Orochimaru launched his attack. A massive ball of Wind Release chakra hurtled toward Sakura like lightning, tearing apart grass and trees along its path.
Sakura wasn't foolish enough to stand there and take Orochimaru's ninjutsu attack head-on. She immediately pushed off the ground lightly with the tips of her toes, swiftly jumping sideways.
However, at that very moment, Sakura noticed the sly, triumphant grin on Orochimaru's face. Her heart sank. Before she could process it, a thunderous sound erupted from behind her.
"Puchi."
The sound of a sword piercing through flesh echoed, as warm blood splattered out, landing on Sakura's cheek.
"Sakura, are you okay? Wow…"
Naruto tightly gripped the tip of the blade protruding from his left chest. As soon as he finished speaking, he couldn't help but spit out a large mouthful of blood.
Behind Naruto, a small white snake crawled out from the severed snake head lying on the ground. The Sword of Kusanagi that pierced through Naruto was spat out directly from the mouth of this tiny white snake.
That attack had originally been aimed at Sakura. Controlled by Orochimaru, the small white snake—hidden inside the severed snake's head—had summoned the Sword of Kusanagi for a sudden strike against an unsuspecting Sakura. However, at the crucial moment, Naruto arrived just in time, ramming into Sakura and pushing her aside. As a result, he himself was impaled straight through the chest by the Sword of Kusanagi right at the location of his heart.
"Naruto…"
Sasuke rushed over and slashed the small white snake controlling the Sword of Kusanagi, killing it instantly. Seeing Naruto, who now lay critically wounded with a gaping hole through his heart, Sasuke's eyes subtly shifted as the three tomoe patterns within them seemed to start merging together.
"What a truly admirable bond… sacrificing one's life willingly for the sake of comrades, is that it?!"
Orochimaru sneered repeatedly, though beneath that smirk lingered a faint trace of sorrow. There was once a time when the Konoha Sannin had felt the same. Back then, during battle, Jiraiya was severely injured. Surrounded by nearly a hundred ninja from Iwagakure, he and Tsunade had stayed by his side instead of fleeing alone. Yet, through countless reincarnations, those feelings had nearly faded away entirely.
"Orochimaru, you're asking for death!"
Sakura wiped blood from her face, feeling its warmth give way to icy coldness, as her hands trembled slightly. Just moments ago, Naruto had known perfectly well that shoving her aside would mean being pierced straight through his heart—but he did it without hesitation, without even a flicker of doubt.
A deep red glow surfaced in Sakura's eyes, as if molten liquid had filled them. Her once emerald-green pupils, beautiful like precious jade gems, had turned deep crimson. An overwhelming pressure radiated from her body. In the sky, thick clouds gathered rapidly, completely blotting out the sun in mere moments. A light breeze picked up, gradually growing stronger until it became violent gusts of wind. Leaves whirled violently in the roaring wind, as a suffocating, terrifying energy surged outward, engulfing all of Konoha in an instant.
On the streets of Konoha, laughter and chatter abruptly gave way to expressions of sheer horror. This suffocating, ominous pressure was far more terrifying than anything experienced during the Nine-Tails incident years ago—an unease so immense that even the terror of the Nine-Tails paled in comparison to merely a fraction of what they were experiencing now.
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