Fighting

THANKS FOR WHO GIVEN THIS BOOK A POWER STONE

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Boom!

A puff of smoke rose in front of Sakura as Orochimaru completed his technique.

He lay sprawled on the ground, his jaw unhinging grotesquely as countless snakes slithered out, their tongues flickering. In mere moments, the area transformed into a sea of serpents.

"Orochimaru..."

When the smoke cleared, a towering figure appeared at the forefront of the snake swarm.

White fur, a long tail, and armor-like hide — it was the Monkey King, Enma.

"Not killing you back then, Orochimaru, was Sarutobi's greatest mistake," the monkey stated coldly, gazing at the man casting the spell.

"Enma-sama!"

Sakura immediately called out, leaping onto the enormous figure. With perfect timing, Enma flung her high into the air. Sakura soared toward the branches of a nearby tree, and the Monkey King swiftly followed, climbing effortlessly.

"Your end is near, Orochimaru!" Enma declared, arms crossed, staring down at the man.

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed as he looked up at the imposing monkey.

So, the old man entrusted even this guy to her? How biased...

Meanwhile, the countless snakes below opened their mouths, revealing razor-sharp blades within. They slithered up the trees, heading straight for Sakura. The branches that came into contact with the blades snapped instantly, their sharpness terrifying.

Sakura quickly retrieved a shuriken from her pouch. With a single hand sign, the weapon grew massive.

"Die!"

With monstrous strength and a cry of fury, Sakura hurled the enlarged shuriken at the oncoming snake swarm.

"Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!"

As the shuriken flew, it multiplied rapidly: one became two, two became four, four became eight, and so on. In the blink of an eye, the sky was filled with giant shurikens.

The devastating combination of her raw strength and shadow replication annihilated the snake horde in an instant.

The ground below was left looking like it had been plowed by artillery fire, littered with snake carcasses and stained red with their blood.

"Enma-sama!"

"Understood!"

Sakura leaped into the air once more. The Monkey King lunged toward her, transforming mid-air into his adamantine staff form and landing firmly in her grasp.

Now armed with the unbreakable staff, Sakura charged straight at Orochimaru.

"Oh?"

Seeing the charging kunoichi, Orochimaru's mouth opened wide, and from within emerged a snake head that spat out a gleaming blade — the legendary Kusanagi Sword.

Gripping the sword before the snake could retreat, Orochimaru met Sakura head-on.

"Sakura, he's using the Kusanagi Sword," Enma's voice echoed from the staff. "Even I would find it difficult to contend with that weapon."

Sakura didn't reply, bringing the adamantine staff down in a crushing arc toward Orochimaru.

The staff cut through the air with a deafening whistle. Orochimaru narrowly dodged, realizing the combined force of Sakura's monstrous strength and Enma's indestructibility.

If that had hit, I might've actually died here, Orochimaru thought grimly.

The staff smashed into the ground, causing a seismic rupture. The earth split apart, radiating outward in a catastrophic wave.

For a moment, Orochimaru's face twitched.

She... she's terrifyingly similar to Tsunade.

Shaking off his shock, Orochimaru retaliated with a swift thrust of the Kusanagi Sword aimed at Sakura's throat.

Even with all her power, Sakura's combat experience paled in comparison to Orochimaru's. Decades of war and battle had honed him into a master strategist.

The blade grazed Sakura's neck, slicing through her forehead protector and leaving a shallow cut before she twisted to avoid a fatal blow.

With a shout, she swung the staff in a desperate counterattack aimed at Orochimaru's head.

If I crush his skull, he can't use his substitution technique!

Orochimaru bent backward into a perfect bridge, evading the strike. He then twisted the blade to slash at her face.

Bang!

Sakura fell back, bracing herself with one hand on the ground. She pointed the staff at Orochimaru, who had barely regained his balance.

"Enma, extend!"

The staff shot forward like lightning, striking Orochimaru square in the chest.

A thunderous explosion echoed across the Forest of Death, sending shockwaves that caught the attention of every participant in the second stage of the Chūnin Exams.

Weak competitors instinctively retreated, while the confident ones moved closer to investigate.

Orochimaru was flung into the forest's outer wall. Before he could recover, a massive hand emerged from the staff, gripping his throat tightly.

"Orochimaru, today is the day you die!" Enma's voice was filled with unrelenting fury.

Struggling against the grip, Orochimaru gasped for air. But before he could respond, the staff retracted, pulling him toward a determined Sakura.

Her face, now streaked with blood from the earlier slash, was framed by her loose pink hair, which had fallen free when her forehead protector was severed.

"Damn it..."

Orochimaru's eyes glinted with malice as he opened his mouth unnaturally wide.

From within, a pair of arms emerged, pulling the rest of his body out like a snake shedding its skin.

Sakura barely had time to process what she was seeing before Orochimaru, his lower body now transformed into a snake's tail, lunged toward her along the retracting staff.

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