Orochimaru recognized the technique, his gaze greedy as it fixed on Sasuke's three-tomoe Sharingan.
"Subarashii! Subarashii, Sasuke-kun! Those eyes are beautiful! And you've even mastered Shisui's Body Flicker technique—you're truly a genius! I want your body more than ever!"
His stare was sickening, but Sasuke showed no reaction.
He and his afterimages lunged forward in turn, forcing Orochimaru to parry with the Kusanagi Sword.
But with no use of his hands, Orochimaru was far less agile. Even when he saw Sasuke's attacks coming, his movements lagged—often striking an afterimage only to be wounded by Sasuke's real blade.
Dozens of exchanges later, Orochimaru's body was already covered in wounds.
Yet the snake still laughed. "Heh heh heh… Subarashii! This body—I'll make it mine!"
With a sudden surge, he darted toward the Sasuke in front of him—only for it to dissolve into an afterimage. Without slowing, he rushed straight at Sakura. As for Sai, who should have been near her, he had vanished who-knew-where.
"Sakura, look out!" Kakashi shouted in warning.
But Sakura was frozen in fear. As Orochimaru closed in, her instincts screamed danger, her legs refusing to move. She could only watch as he reached for her.
Most likely, Orochimaru didn't care about appearances—he meant to take her hostage. That was nothing to him; taking ten girls hostage wouldn't faze him.
"Sakura!"
Sasuke's low shout came from behind. In a flash, he was at Orochimaru's back, ready to strike—
—but Orochimaru suddenly whirled, his body transforming into a massive white-scaled serpent, coiling tightly around Sasuke in an instant.
It was a feint, pure sounding east to strike west.
Kakashi rushed in, but the serpent's tail lashed out, sending him flying.
It was the first time Orochimaru had revealed his white-scaled serpent form, and right now it was his only viable option. With his hands crippled, he couldn't rely on ninjutsu or taijutsu—defeating Sasuke was difficult enough, especially with Kakashi in the mix.
Now, with his feint, he had successfully ensnared Sasuke. Perhaps there was still a chance to win—maybe even to take Sasuke away, since the boy still bore the Cursed Seal.
Orochimaru wasted no time, directly stimulating the Cursed Seal's power. Even with the Evil Sealing Method suppressing it, the seal flared violently, sending waves of pain through Sasuke, forcing a scream from his lips.
Sasuke tried to work the sealing technique himself, but wrapped tightly as he was, his hands couldn't move.
Sakura could only watch helplessly, listening to his cries.
Right now, she couldn't even protect the person she liked—she had even drawn Orochimaru's attention, endangering Sasuke. Her uselessness weighed heavily on her.
At that moment, the white-scaled serpent suddenly stiffened, releasing Sasuke.
From the far end of the corridor, four figures emerged.
At their head was a young woman holding a sketchboard and brush—Kurama Yakumo, the girl who could turn illusions into reality!
Her face was set in focus as she sketched a large spike on her board, driving it into the serpent's seven-inch vital point. The moment her jutsu activated, a massive real spike appeared, slamming into Orochimaru's weak spot and wrenching a scream from him.
"Ahhh! What… what is this power?! Genjutsu? No… this is real!"
Orochimaru's mind reeled. His incomplete soul had no defense against such high-level illusions given tangible form.
Yamashiro Aoba stood protectively by Yakumo, while Rinya escorted Megumi forward to drag both Sakura and Sasuke to safety. Kakashi hurried over to regroup.
"That was close," Kakashi admitted, sweat on his brow.
"Kakashi, what happened?" Aoba asked in confusion.
"Bad luck. I had Natsuki searching for Orochimaru first, but somehow I ran into him before Natsuki did. Sasuke was holding his own at first—since Orochimaru couldn't use his hands—but then Orochimaru provoked his Cursed Seal and turned into that serpent…"
Kakashi could only sigh at his own misjudgment. He shouldn't have strayed so far from Sakura, and with Sai gone, Orochimaru had seized the chance.
If Aoba's squad hadn't arrived, Sasuke might have been in real danger.
Sasuke, now free, activated the Evil Sealing Method to calm the raging curse. The pain ebbed, leaving him pale.
"Thank you," he said, looking at Yakumo. "You're Kurama Yakumo, right? You're amazing."
Yakumo flushed shyly but smiled. "I'm just glad you're all right, Sasuke-kun. My tricks are nothing compared to your skill."
Sasuke met her eyes seriously. "No need to be modest—you really are impressive. Among kunoichi, aside from Tenten, only you are this strong. Girls should be strong."
Yakumo's blush deepened—this was the first time a handsome boy had praised her like that.
Sakura's eyes widened, her guard rising.
Girls should be strong?
Did that mean Sasuke had never looked her way because she was too weak?
Thinking about it, it made sense—her top written scores at the academy meant little now. As a shinobi, she was average at best; even Naruto outshone her. Sasuke and Naruto might bicker constantly, but Sasuke clearly respected Naruto's strength.
As for her—she was just the decorative "flower" of Team 7, noticed only by Naruto. Sasuke had never respected her, because she was too weak to contribute—and might even drag them down.
Just like moments ago, all she had done was freeze. Even when Sasuke was entangled, she hadn't drawn a kunai to stab the serpent. Compared to Yakumo, who had arrived and instantly pinned Orochimaru down, she was utterly useless.
Yakumo was gentle and beautiful, her figure graceful—superior to Sakura in every way.
Sakura's thoughts darkened.
Suddenly, the white-scaled serpent's body trembled violently. With a sudden motion, it shed its skin and broke free from the spike, surging down the corridor at high speed.
Yakumo tried to strike again, but Orochimaru had already fled—
—only for a scream to erupt from up ahead. Moments later, a massive serpent head came flying back, crashing to the ground, eyes lifeless.
The serpent's body was dragged forward by a lone figure.
It was Natsuki.
"Yo! Everyone okay?" he called casually.
(End of Chapter)
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