"Izayoi!!"
Seeing the sudden appearance of Izayoi, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto both showed expressions of wild joy, as if they had found a savior.
Especially Uchiha Sasuke, who felt an inexplicable sense of security in his heart.
"I didn't expect you guys to be so unlucky, to be targeted by this guy."
Izayoi pulled Naruto and Sasuke out of the swamp, tossing them back onto the ground.
Uchiha Sasuke quickly grasped the key point and asked, "Izayoi, do you know who this guy is?"
"I didn't know before; I only sensed his chakra, which is not something a Genin could possess."
Izayoi looked at Orochimaru, who was slowly standing up with his head restored, and said, "But now, his identity is clear as day. He is one of the legendary Three Sannin and also an S-rank rogue ninja from the Leaf Village… Orochimaru."
"It's him!"
Uchiha Sasuke's pupils constricted, his gaze incredulous as he looked at Orochimaru. "A historical figure from the books, why is he here?"
"I don't know, but he's clearly targeting you. There must be something about you that he desires."
"Is it for the Sharingan?" Uchiha Sasuke connected the dots, his expression serious. "Izayoi, what should we do next?"
The implication was clear: I'll follow your lead, should we fight or flee?
"Escaping from a strong opponent like this is not a simple task."
"The only thing we can do now is to buy time until help arrives."
Izayoi looked at Uchiha Sasuke and smiled. "Do you still have the ability to fight?"
"Of course." Uchiha Sasuke smirked.
"And I'm here too! I can keep fighting!" Uzumaki Naruto emphasized his presence.
Izayoi grinned and said, "In that case, let's experience the power of a legendary ninja!"
"Heh…"
At that moment, Orochimaru was also sizing up Izayoi, praising him, "I didn't expect that among this generation, besides the Uchiha heir and that little brat, there's such an outstanding youth. The Leaf Village truly is a cradle of geniuses."
"However, I don't have time to play ninja games with you now."
With that, Orochimaru activated his Snake Style Body Flicker Technique and charged toward Izayoi and the others.
As Izayoi had said, he was pressed for time and needed to plant the Heavenly Curse Mark on Uchiha Sasuke before the rescue team arrived.
However, Orochimaru, focused solely on Uchiha Sasuke, clearly did not anticipate that a monster had emerged from this new generation.
Just as his figure shot out, Izayoi's silhouette vanished from the trio ahead.
Like teleportation, Izayoi appeared right in front of Orochimaru, holding a kunai that crackled with arcs of electricity, thrusting it toward Orochimaru's head.
This scene made Orochimaru's pupils constrict.
A familiar movement style, but the speed was even more astonishing than Uchiha Sasuke's.
At the same time, Orochimaru quickly opened his mouth to spit out a blade, extending it to break Izayoi's kunai and attempting to pierce Izayoi's neck.
This response was unprecedented; without prior knowledge, one might have been caught off guard.
However, just as the blade severed the kunai, Izayoi's figure vanished again.
What appeared before Orochimaru was Uchiha Sasuke leaping into the air, exhaling a flame that rapidly transformed into a gigantic fire dragon.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
With a chakra level far surpassing that of the original story, Uchiha Sasuke, under Izayoi's training, preferred and excelled at using the Great Dragon Fire Technique over the Great Fireball Technique.
As the fire dragon soared toward him, Orochimaru did not dodge or evade, allowing the dragon to engulf him.
Within the flames, Orochimaru's body transformed into a puddle of liquid.
"This is… Earth Substitute!"
Uchiha Sasuke's expression changed mid-air, and upon landing, he fixed his gaze on the ground, his Sharingan spinning wildly, fearing that Orochimaru might emerge from the earth again as before.
Whoosh—at that moment, a sound of slicing air rang out.
A massive python shot out from behind a fallen tree, opening its gaping maw, attempting to swallow Uchiha Sasuke whole.
Uchiha Sasuke smirked disdainfully, then vanished, reappearing beneath the python, kicking its head and violently snapping its jaws shut.
But the next second, Uchiha Sasuke's expression shifted in shock.
The python's belly suddenly burst open, and a figure emerged, extending its hand and transforming into a swarm of snakes.
"Hidden Shadow Many Snake Hands!"
This surprise attack caught Uchiha Sasuke completely off guard.
Having just executed Shadow Dance Leaf, he hadn't yet retracted his technique and could only watch helplessly as the swarm of snakes prepared to bind him.
At that moment, the voice that filled him with a sense of security rang out again.
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique."
Izayoi and the transparent white wind blade appeared almost out of nowhere.
The razor-sharp wind blade not only instantly severed the swarm of snakes but also split the massive python in two.
"Again, it's you, little brat!"
Seeing Izayoi once more thwart his attempt to plant the curse mark, Orochimaru's mood instantly soured.
Just as he prepared to teach Izayoi a lesson, his expression changed slightly.
Izayoi, having just unleashed a wind blade, retracted his hand into his sleeve and suddenly exhaled a burst of flames, engulfing Orochimaru, who had just emerged from the python's belly and hadn't had time to use the substitution technique or Earth Release.
"Ahhh…"
Orochimaru let out a wretched scream as he was consumed by the flames.
Izayoi pressed the attack, leaping several meters into the air.
"Sasuke, get back!"
Izayoi called out, then raised both hands, a blue energy sphere instantly appearing between them, rapidly inflating like a balloon.
Uchiha Sasuke quickly used Body Flicker Technique to disappear.
When he reappeared, he was beside Uzumaki Naruto, who was staring in awe at the performance of Izayoi and Uchiha Sasuke.
Before he could pull Uzumaki Naruto behind a tree for cover, Izayoi's voice reached his ears.
"Gaia Energy Cannon!"
Turning to look, he saw Izayoi holding a massive energy sphere spinning at high speed.
This energy sphere was blue on the outside and white on the inside, but in the next second, the white was replaced by orange-red, and the entire energy sphere transformed into a large fireball.
Its size was comparable to the Great Fireball, yet it contained an unfathomable amount of energy, far surpassing that of the Great Fireball.
With a shout, Izayoi hurled the orange-red energy sphere downward.
Boom———
A deafening explosion echoed throughout half of the Death Forest.
The Special Jonin and Jonin who had intervened in this exam, even the Anbu, saw a massive fire whirlwind raging above the forest, towering higher than the trees.
"What a terrifying Fire Release! Is it a composite ninjutsu enhanced by Wind Release?"
Even an all-round Jonin who had mastered at least two nature transformations was taken aback by this scene.
"First, a wide-area Wind Release, then this level of Fire Release. Could it be… someone is fighting Orochimaru?"
Considering this possibility, some ninjas' expressions changed again.
If that's the case, does it mean that this year's Chunin Exams has a monster?
(End of Chapter)