Chapter 98: Orochimaru vs Jiraiya

"THAT GIRL POSSESSES WOOD RELEASE!!"

Onoki's yell broke the shock and stupor and silence of the Kage Booth as he understood the implications of such a thing.

The legacy of Hashirama was thought to be finished by the Shinobi World, with everyone being glad that they would not have to deal with a second coming of the God of Shinobi since neither his child nor his clan members showed any signs of awakening the ability.

This was viewed as a positive by the rest of the world as they would not have to worry about such a massive threat being pointed at them and they could instead even the level of power between themselves and Konoha.

But now, this calm and peace was broken by Tsunade using her Kekkei Genkai.

However, Hiruzen sat with a smile on his and showed no signs of anxiety or scare on him.

'While I would have liked if Tsunade had directly told me of her decision that she would use her Wood Release, her using it now is the best decision she could have made. With the Second Great Shinobi World War being on the horizon as the tensions increase on the borders, her doing this will cause everyone to be cautious for a few years and will make them less likely to easily start the war. While we may have to increase the Village's defense incase of assassinations, this is a great trade off.' Hiruzen thought to himself as he glanced to survey the emotions of the other Kage.

The Tsuchikage showed notable shock and some slight amount of anxiety at the news while he also stared at the Hokage with a look of questioning.

The Raikage looked notably impressed and instead of fear, he seemed to show a look that carried a slight semblance of respect.

The Kazekage, on the other hand, seemed ready to interrogate the Hokage as he stared a hole through him.

Hiruzen simply sighed before he spoke "If anyone has any questions, we can have a discussion about them in my office. For now, can we finish the Exams?"

The other Kage all silently agree as they turned their attention back to the arena as the shinobi were finishing up the repairs.

Tsunade returned to her section and was swarmed with questions by her friends which ranged from "Why didn't you tell us you could use Wood Release?" to "How long could you use it for?" to even "How strong are you with it."

She could only answer the questions with responses like her being told to keep it a secret or her not knowing since she only used it when training it and not in combat.

However, these questions came to an end as the start of the next match finally began.

"The final match of the Semifinals shall be Jiraiya vs Orochimaru!!"

Tsunade watched on with extreme attention as she truly wished to see which of the her teammates would join her in the finals.

"Are you ready Maru?" Jiraiya asked to which Orochimaru just nodded.

"BEGIN!!"

Orochimaru started the battle in a style unlike his usual self as his arms turned into serpents that he sent towards Jiraiya.

Jiraiya jumped out of the way upon seeing the attack coming towards him and used the momentum to send himself towards Orochimaru.

The two began to engage in a battle of Taijutsu, one that Jiraiya was winning due to him using his newfound style of that he learned from the Toads while Orochimaru was being pressed back by it.

However, this changed as Orochimaru found an opening and took advantage of it immediately as he cut Jiraiya with a kunai.

Jiraiya saw the attack cause some slight damage but ignored it as he continued his onslaught on Orochimaru and began to weave signs.

"Water Style: Great Water Dragon Technique!!"

Orochimaru saw this attack coming and decided to meet it with a Jutsu of his own.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough"

A dragon made of water met with a powerful gust of wind and created and monstrous explosion as the two both evened each other out.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru both stood across from each other and seemed intent of finishing their battle to the end.

However, just as the two were about to take the battle to the next stage. Jiraiya felt himself weakening and fell to one knee.

'W-What's happening?' Jiraiya questioned in his head as he struggled to even circulate his chakra and his body began to feel as if it was out of his control.

"You've been hit with a poison that disables your Tenketsu points while also silently influencing your nerves so that they don't work as your brain wishes by sending the nerves somewhere else. I learned it during my training, though it wouldn't be of any use to Tsunade due to her detoxification skills. Therefore, you were the best choice to use it on. Now, I'm afraid the winner of this battle is me." Orochimaru said, with him turning towards the examiner when he said the last part.

The examiner nodded and spoke

"The winner of this battle is Orochimaru!!"

The crowd erupted into cheers once more as the Medical Ninja rushed in to help detoxify Jiraiya's body and take him to the back while the others entered to fix any damage.

The examiner then continued "There will be a small break to allow all three of the Final competitors to rest."

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