Chapter 214: Orochimaru's Death? Headshotting the Slippery Snake
Looking at the sudden appearance of Itachi Uchiha, Orochimaru's face turned grim.
He knew very well that he was in a genjutsu.
In the past, being directly pinned by Itachi's eyes and rendered almost completely helpless was the shame of Orochimaru's life. However, this did not mean that he was unskilled in genjutsu. In fact, he was one of the few ninja in the world with a Genjutsu stat of 10.
Unfortunately for him, just like Hiruzen and Kurenai, his genjutsu was at the limit for a mortal.
The reason Itachi was a 10 was only because the rating system maxed out at 10.
So, as Orochimaru looked at the Itachi before him, watching his spinning Sharingan, there was no fear in his heart, only anger. He realized that the mysterious person had come again, attacking him with this low-level genjutsu, and he had actually fallen for it.
What did this mean?
It meant that a genjutsu user, whose skill was no weaker than Itachi's—at least on the same level as his own—was deliberately toying with him. When had he, the great Sannin Orochimaru, ever been treated like this? No matter who his opponent was, they had to go all out. This was the respect a powerhouse deserved.
Therefore, the chakra within his body was no longer hidden. A surging killing intent emanated from him, and he forcibly used his chakra flow to break the genjutsu.
The next second, he would attack without mercy. As for the Konoha Crush plot, he could just let Rasa lead the charge later.
But after he tore apart the image of Itachi with his chakra, Itachi did not disappear. Instead, he reappeared before his eyes. His previous attack had been like striking the water; Itachi was just the moon in the water, and would not disappear because of it.
Orochimaru was slightly stunned. This isn't the Hell Viewing Technique?
He immediately raised his guard. While using his chakra to assault the genjutsu again, he began to try and form hand seals to counter it. To his relief, he could move this time. The opponent hadn't pinned him in place, making him unable to even form seals, like Itachi had.
But what he couldn't understand was that after he formed the seals and shattered the illusion with his chakra, the illusion reappeared even faster.
This time, Itachi even moved.
"Foolish Orochimaru. Do you still not understand the situation? You've lost."
How is this possible! This is absolutely impossible!
A vicious light gleamed in his snake-like pupils. He bit his own tongue, wanting to use the pain to dispel the genjutsu.
This move indeed worked. Itachi disappeared.
But then, dense swarms of Itachis appeared all around him, dozens of Sharingan staring at him, spinning and spinning.
At this point, Orochimaru realized something was wrong.
The genjutsu in front of him did indeed resemble the Hell Viewing Technique, but it was continuous, an upgraded and modified version that could ignore a ninja's attempts to dispel it.
I see!
A light of excitement flashed in his pupils.
He had once vowed to learn every ninjutsu in the world. Although eternal life was now his priority, seeing a new ninjutsu still excited him.
Then, let's test the quality of this jutsu.
He could still form hand seals, and he could try to fight back. Counter-genjutsu, large-scale attacks, substitution jutsu, summoning... he still had many methods he could use. He just didn't know how many the opponent could handle.
Just as he was attempting to use Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change to counter the genjutsu, Anko Mitarashi made her move.
"Anko! What are you standing there for? Attack!"
Akiyama Makoto's voice entered her ears. She looked at Orochimaru, who was trembling like a leaf, his hands trying to form seals but unable to do anything. Only then did she realize that Orochimaru was being controlled by him.
Although she didn't know how he was doing it, she knew that this was a perfect opportunity to kill him.
She flew at Orochimaru, her kunai piercing straight through his heart.
But that wasn't enough. She took out a Fragmentation Kunai, stuffed it into his mouth, plunged it through to the back of his head, and then detonated it.
She then leaped back, and, ignoring the intense pain in her hands, performed a ninjutsu.
Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!
A searing line of fire shot directly at Orochimaru, igniting his entire body. With a boom, the kunai exploded, blowing his head to smithereens.
Even so, she did not stop her assault, but continued to burn his body until only a skeleton remained. Only then did she stop, her face pale, swaying as if she were about to fall from the tree.
He quickly rushed up and caught her. The moment Orochimaru's head had been blown apart, he had already stopped his output. He had just been testing the quality of his Formless Wave. As expected of an S+-rank genjutsu he had developed himself, it could even suppress Orochimaru.
And that was the result of him not even going all out. The Formless Wave wasn't limited to D-rank genjutsu. In theory, any genjutsu he could understand and cast, he could release continuously.
However, he had also discovered a small problem. Against an opponent like Orochimaru, who had high genjutsu resistance and could instantly break low- and mid-level illusions, he had to continuously cast the Formless Wave. This was equivalent to the Yamanaka clan controlling an opponent with their spiritual power; both sides had entered a clash of wills.
But this was only a small problem. There were many ways to solve it, such as using the Mind-Mirror Image or a shadow clone.
With this experimental result, he was even more confident in his own strength.
In the past, with the Yin Seal, he could ensure that he would be very difficult to kill.
Then, with the Flying Thunder God, he could ensure that he had an escape route and would not be caught.
Now, with the Formless Wave, he could hold his own against any enemy.
But at this time, he also realized his own problem: his attack power seemed a bit weak. This wasn't a problem before, as most people would just be on a path to death after being controlled by his genjutsu. But his future targets were all Orochimaru-level, or even higher-level "gods." Offensive ninjutsu had to be put on the agenda.
Wood Style or Sage Mode... which one should I start with?
"Is he... dead?"
Anko lay in his arms, her hand gripping his wrist tightly, her eyes filled with both joy and unease.
He didn't answer directly, but used the Mystical Palm Technique to heal her.
Only after she had recovered a bit did he say, "Is a Sannin like Orochimaru so easy to kill?"
Anko bit her lip and didn't answer. Instead, she jumped down from the tree and approached the "corpse."
She summoned a snake and had it flip the body over.
Sure enough, there was a snake hole underneath. It was clear that Orochimaru had shed his skin and slipped away in snake form.
This result was not beyond his expectations. This was the Slippery Snake, after all. Never mind his head being blown to bits; even if his entire body was pulverized and sealed, this guy could still be resurrected from her Cursed Seal of Heaven. This level of resurrection was, in fact, on a similar level to the continuous reincarnation of Asura's and Indra's chakra.
Even worse, he could retain his own will. This showed that he had already inserted himself into the operating system of the ninja world and become a bug. Unless a Six Paths-level character sealed him in the future, he could probably live on, immortal, forever.
Anko looked at the snake hole and was silent for a long time. Then, she suddenly burst out laughing.
He came to her side, took her hand, and watched her laugh, then cry. Finally, she threw herself into his arms.
"Little brother, take me home... and love me."
"Alright."
He smiled faintly, picked her up, and went to his own large bathhouse. Without even taking off their clothes, they jumped in.
She was like a blazing fire, as if she wanted to vent all the emotions that had been pent up in her heart, and then fill herself with his love.
After the sun had set, Anko floated on the surface of the water and said with satisfaction, "That was refreshing. Thank you, my dear."
He glanced at the Cursed Seal of Heaven on her shoulder. "What do you plan to do next? Report this to the Hokage?"
"What do you think?"
In the past, she would not have discussed this kind of thing with him. She had felt he was not strong enough, and that he only wanted to be a civilian. But now, just seeing that he could briefly suppress Orochimaru, and with his Flying Thunder God Technique, she felt that she was probably not even his match. In addition, he had already conquered her in body and mind. She naturally left this kind of big decision to him.
"Let's tell the truth. Tell the Third Hokage you found Orochimaru's trail, but you couldn't beat him and he got away. As for what happens next, it's not something we can control, is it?"
Anko nodded and swam to his side, bringing her shoulder close. "You must have been curious about what's on my shoulder, right? It's about time I told you."
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