Boom!
A puff of white smoke rose in front of Sakura Haruno—not large, but ominous. Orochimaru's jutsu had been completed!
He was now crouched low on the ground, his body nearly pressed to the forest floor. His mouth, as if boneless, stretched open unnaturally wide, and from its dark depths, countless small snakes with flickering tongues came slithering out in a writhing tide!
In the blink of an eye, the ground had transformed into a wriggling sea of serpents!
"Orochimaru…"
As the smoke cleared, a towering figure stood in front of the surging mass of snakes.
White hair. Long tail. Armor-clad.
The Monkey King—Enma!
"It was a mistake for Hiruzen not to kill you back then."
Enma's eyes locked on Orochimaru as he slowly spoke, his voice grim.
"Enma-sama!" Sakura called out immediately. Without hesitation, she leapt onto the Monkey King's massive form.
With perfect coordination, Enma reached up and caught her, then launched her high into the air toward the thick branches of a nearby tree.
He then nimbly climbed up the trunk with powerful limbs, joining her high above the serpent-covered ground.
"This time, Orochimaru… your end has come!" Enma declared coldly, arms folded as he glared down at the snake-like man who had now risen to his feet.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at the sight of the monkey above him.
So… the old man had passed Enma onto this little girl?
Favoritism. How disgusting…
Suddenly, the swarm of snakes below opened their mouths in unison—each one revealing a cold, glimmering blade within. The weapons shot upward, racing toward Sakura with lethal intent!
The moment they brushed against the tree branches, the limbs snapped apart like brittle twigs under incredible force. The blades were lethally sharp!
Sakura reacted instantly. From her tool pouch, she drew a single shuriken and formed a rapid one-handed seal.
The shuriken grew—massively!
"Go to hell!"
Fueled by monstrous strength and a fierce shout, the giant shuriken hurtled straight into the oncoming serpent blades!
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
The moment she threw it, Sakura's seals completed—splitting the shuriken into two, then four, then eight—doubling with every instant!
In a flash, the entire sky was covered with massive spinning blades!
The sheer momentum of the monster-strength throw, combined with the mass multiplication of the Shadow Clone Jutsu, completely annihilated the incoming snake tide like a hurricane of steel!
It was as if a battlefield had been razed by heavy artillery!
Serpent corpses and blood splattered across the forest floor, dyeing the earth a terrifying crimson red.
"Enma-sama!"
"On it!"
Sakura leapt high again into the air, and Enma responded in perfect sync, jumping toward her.
"Adamantine Staff: Transform!"
With a flash, Enma transformed into a gleaming golden staff—the Nyoi-Bo, the Adamantine Staff!
Sakura caught it mid-air and immediately charged toward Orochimaru with it in hand!
"Tch."
Orochimaru clicked his tongue in annoyance. The scene he least wanted to see had become reality. He opened his mouth wide, and from his throat, a snake's head burst forth. That snake's mouth opened too—and inside it, a glint of icy steel.
The Kusanagi Blade.
Orochimaru gripped the hilt, and even before the snake fully slithered back down his throat, he charged forward with sword in hand to meet Sakura head-on!
"Sakura, he's wielding the Kusanagi Blade," Enma's voice echoed from within the staff. "Even I feel pain when facing that weapon."
Sakura didn't reply.
With both hands gripping the unyielding golden staff, she brought it crashing down toward Orochimaru's head.
The staff howled through the air, generating a piercing whistle. Orochimaru barely dodged aside in time.
This girl had monster strength… and now with the Monkey King's staff on top of that? If she actually landed a blow, he might really die today.
BOOM!
The staff slammed into the ground.
The entire forest floor split apart, cracks racing outward like a spiderweb.
It was like a localized earthquake had erupted!
The ground beneath Sakura's feet completely shattered, pulverized to dust under the force of her strike!
Orochimaru's eye twitched uncontrollably.
Had he not heard years ago that Hiruzen took in a new apprentice, he might've thought this girl was Tsunade's illegitimate daughter.
Their fighting styles were just too similar.
Though Orochimaru was shocked by the sheer might behind Sakura's attacks, his reactions never faltered. With expert precision, he thrust his blade directly at her throat!
Orochimaru was still Orochimaru. No matter how overwhelming Sakura's offense seemed, her combat experience was still too shallow.
She may have spent four years in ANBU—but that could never match half a lifetime of bloodshed on the battlefield.
Sakura was a genius? Sure. But Orochimaru wasn't?
The gleaming blade sliced through the Konoha forehead protector that dangled from her neck—then came straight for her slender throat.
In the moment of crisis, Sakura turned her head just enough to dodge the fatal point.
And at the same time, she swung the Adamantine Staff toward Orochimaru's skull!
She didn't care if the blade nicked her—as long as he got a fractured skull, Orochimaru wouldn't be able to cast any fancy Snake-Body Substitution Jutsu.
Orochimaru bent backward into an almost impossible arch—an iron-bridge dodge, narrowly evading the swing. But even as he ducked, he twisted his wrist—bringing the blade up and slashing across Sakura's face!
Smack!
The pink-haired girl crashed downward.
Her palm struck the ground to keep her balance, and she pointed the staff at the still-falling Orochimaru.
"Enma—Extend!"
Orochimaru's pupils shrank in shock!
The staff extended like lightning, slamming into his chest!
Then—BOOM!
An explosion of dust erupted, nearly blanketing the entire Forest of Death in a massive plume of debris!
All the Genin participants from the second exam instinctively turned toward the shockwave!
The weaker ones quickly backed away. But those with confidence in their strength began making their way toward the source of the chaos.
They wanted to see what kind of monster was responsible for this destruction.
Orochimaru's body was launched by the force of the extended staff, smashing into the outer wall of the Forest of Death.
Before he could even gasp for air, a large, muscular hand extended from the staff and grabbed his throat with crushing force!
"Orochimaru… today is the day you die!"
"You'll die at the hands of Hiruzen Sarutobi's final disciple!"
Enma's voice growled with killing intent, echoing through the staff.
Orochimaru's face twisted in pain, but before he could even speak, the staff began retracting rapidly!
And waiting at the other end—was Sakura, now fully prepared.
A thin trail of blood trickled from her cheek, sliced open by the Kusanagi. Her forehead protector was gone, revealing a cascade of wild pink hair flowing around her face.
"Damn it…"
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed at the cold, relentless gaze of the girl wielding the Adamantine Staff.
She wasn't done yet.
Suddenly, Orochimaru opened his mouth wide—wider than humanly possible.
And then—a pair of arms stretched out from inside his throat!
What the hell? Was this even anatomically possible?!
Sakura didn't have time to be shocked. Orochimaru's entire upper body was now emerging from his own mouth!
He seized the Kusanagi Blade once again, his lower body transforming into a massive snake tail, which slithered rapidly toward her by riding the still-retracting staff!
He was going to turn his own body into a living projectile!
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(End of Chapter)