Chapter 111

However, that guy Orochimaru ran pretty fast.

The headless corpse suddenly turned into a puddle of mud — it was Orochimaru's Doton Kage Bunshin (Earth Style: Shadow Clone).

Luckily, Natsuki instantly locked onto Orochimaru's position again. His eyes, full of killing intent, were so icy they could almost flay Orochimaru alive from a distance.

Orochimaru let out a chilling laugh.

"Natsuki, you arrived just in time! If you were one second late, you'd be collecting your girlfriend's corpse!"

Natsuki was furious, but he didn't lose his composure. He clapped his hands, and in a flash, Ma Dō Senren (Demonic Blade: Thousand Edge) was summoned from his left hand. Yet he didn't rush to attack — instead, he turned and looked at Tenten.

Tenten's eyes lit up with joy.

"Natsuki, you finally came! Don't worry, I'm okay. Neji and Lee were protecting me the whole time!"

Lee weakly gave a thumbs up.

"Natsuki, I've fulfilled my promise to you, right?"

Though it was Neji's first time doing so, he also raised his thumb.

"Tenten's unharmed, so rest assured."

"Mm, thank you."

Natsuki sincerely thanked them.

"Leave the rest to me. Tenten, get them out of here. Don't get caught up in the fight."

Tenten didn't dare delay. She quickly helped Lee and Neji retreat.

Natsuki turned back to Orochimaru, his tone icy cold.

"Orochimaru, thought of your last words yet?"

Orochimaru sneered.

"You really think you can kill me?"

Natsuki nodded.

"Tenten and the others won't leave me behind. So I must defeat you. Perfect. Today, I'll go all out and show you, one of the so-called Sannin, what I'm truly capable of!"

"Then come!"

Orochimaru shouted, taking the initiative to charge forward.

Natsuki vanished with Raiton Shunshin (Lightning Style: Flicker), reappearing at Orochimaru's side. His Kirekizu no Tachi (Crackblade) slashed toward Orochimaru's head.

Having suffered before, Orochimaru didn't block with the Kusanagi Sword but twisted his body to evade. He countered with Sen'ei Jashu (Hidden Shadow Snake Hands), but Natsuki reversed his grip and severed all the snakes with a single swing.

The two clashed fiercely — swords met blades, but Natsuki's Ma Dō Senren (Demonic Blade: Thousand Edge) ignored defense, changing length at will, splitting and reuniting freely. With precise chakra control and Hatake-ryū Kenjutsu (Hatake-style Swordsmanship), he was clearly dominating.

"Scatter!"

With a flick, Natsuki shattered the Thousand Edge's blade.

Thousands of shards enveloped Orochimaru, instantly turning the snake into a pincushion. Then, by channeling chakra back into the hilt, Natsuki recalled all the fragments and reformed the Kirekizu no Tachi.

Everyone behind was stunned, amazed by the battle style of Ma Dō Senren.

Even Sasuke's eyes carried envy.

"Ma Dō Senren… What a blade."

Tenten proudly added,

"Natsuki designed that sword himself! He nearly drove the master blacksmith bald making it. If my family wasn't rich, we wouldn't have dared to make such a weapon!"

So money again! Truly, wealth makes anything possible.

Sasuke silently noted it in his heart. He wasn't exactly well-off himself — he couldn't even afford ten thousand explosive tags.

Ever since the Uchiha clan was exterminated, their assets had mysteriously vanished. Some said Itachi took them, others claimed the Konoha higher-ups seized them. Sasuke had been too focused on revenge to care at the time.

But now, he realized…

That was the Uchiha clan's legacy.

How could he have overlooked it?

If he hadn't, maybe he wouldn't be broke now.

Meanwhile, Orochimaru once again used Hebi Kawarimi no Jutsu (Snake Substitution Technique), slithering out of his own mouth.

Looking grim, he quickly formed hand seals.

"You're a tough opponent. Looks like I'll need help. Kuchiyose no Jutsu! (Summoning Technique!)"

BOOM!

A massive purple serpent appeared.

"Again, Orochimaru? You're bothering me? This time, no less than a hundred humans for food!"

Standing atop the serpent's head, Orochimaru laughed.

"Small matter. Manda, help me deal with this guy first."

Manda! He actually summoned Manda!

Natsuki's expression didn't change. He rapidly formed hand seals with his left hand, then raised it above his head.

A two-meter-wide water disk spun furiously in his palm. It crackled ominously, as if it could slice through the heavens.

Manda opened its bloody maw to strike — but Natsuki hurled the disk straight at it.

"Suiton: Suiensatsu!" (Water Style: Water Disk Slash)

Zzzz!

The spinning water blade shrieked through the air and landed on Manda's head.

In the next second, a sound like scissors slicing cloth rang out — the disk cut from head to tail.

Manda was split in two on the spot!

Dead on the spot!

Poor Manda — in the original story, it was blown up by Sasuke. Now it was even worse, bisected into snake jerky by Natsuki's one move, without even getting the chance to retreat to Ryūchi Cave.

BOOM!

The giant snake's two halves slammed into the ground.

Orochimaru jumped down immediately, his face dark for the first time.

"Heh… Seems I underestimated you. You've already mastered the fusion of chakra shape transformation and nature transformation. That Suiensatsu... it could probably cleave a mountain."

The onlookers were even more stunned — even Tenten didn't seem to know.

Shape transformation? Nature transformation?

They didn't understand, but they did see that Suiensatsu was powerful — that terrifying purple serpent had been sliced in an instant, and even Orochimaru was rattled.

Natsuki was truly incredible.

Natsuki chuckled.

"If I don't show some real skills, how can I protect my future wife? Orochimaru — today is your day to die!"

With that, he charged forward again.

Orochimaru didn't want to keep fighting in close quarters. He drove the Kusanagi Sword into the ground and quickly formed seals.

"Fūton: Daitoppa!" (Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!)

BOOM!

A blast of wind shot from his mouth, aiming to blow Natsuki away. But with Raiton Shunshin, Natsuki evaded easily and reappeared right beside him.

Orochimaru immediately used Sen'ei Ta Jashu (Multiple Hidden Shadow Snake Hands), launching a serpent from his chest to bind Natsuki, but it was cut apart by the Raiken (Lightning Blade), forcing Orochimaru to retreat.

"Sen'ei Jashu!"

"Fūton: Kamikiri!" (Wind Style: Wind Cutter!)

"Doton: Doryūdan!" (Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!)

Orochimaru truly knew a wide range of jutsu, and they were all stronger than usual. A lesser shinobi would've been crushed already.

But Natsuki was no ordinary shinobi.

Facing the intense barrage, he used Raiton Shunshin to evade effortlessly, completely unscathed.

In between dodging, he even found time to form a one-handed seal.

"Doton: Shōten Tenten Ōdama Koma!" (Earth Style: Soaring Spinning Giant Top!)

A giant spinning top formed from earth shot out of the ground and soared into the sky before slamming down toward Orochimaru — blasting open a massive hole in the terrain.

But Orochimaru dodged, and tried a sneak attack by extending the Kusanagi Sword — only for Natsuki to parry it.

Their fierce exchange continued in a blur.

The battle was so intense, one could hardly keep up.

Yet for those able to follow — it was clear.

Orochimaru was being thoroughly suppressed by Natsuki!

(End of Chapter)

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