Chapter 53: The Serpent in the Forest
Hearing Naruto's words, Sasuke and little Sakura froze for a moment and stopped.
Soon, they spotted the figure in front of them.
Sasuke immediately wanted to rush up and deal with that person.
Just as Sasuke was about to make his move, Naruto stopped him. He shook his head and said lightly:
"Sasuke, don't be impulsive. This opponent isn't easy."
Sasuke was taken aback.
Seeing Naruto's serious expression, Sasuke realized that the enemy in front of them really wasn't as easy to deal with as the random thugs they had encountered earlier.
There weren't many people who could make Naruto this serious.
Sasuke looked at the person in front of him again, this time with full attention.
Naruto squinted his eyes, looking at the familiar face in front of him—wearing a forehead protector from Kusagakure. A slender man with a sickly build.
Seeing that familiar appearance, Naruto was almost certain who it was.
That person was one of Konoha's famous Sannin. And the only S-rank missing-nin among the Sannin—Orochimaru.
A dangerous individual who loved conducting ninjutsu research.
Naruto hadn't seen Orochimaru appear before, but he had already guessed that Orochimaru might be lurking in the Forest of Death.
He hadn't expected his guess to come true so quickly.
Orochimaru had appeared this fast.
On their very first day in the Forest of Death, they had already run into Orochimaru.
As one of the Konoha Sannin, an S-rank missing-nin, and a fanatical researcher of all kinds of forbidden techniques, Orochimaru was undeniably powerful and extremely dangerous.
So when Naruto saw him, he didn't take the situation lightly.
On the other side.
Orochimaru stood on the large tree, looking at the long-awaited prey that had appeared. He stared at Naruto and the other two, squinting his eyes with a strange smile on his face. He licked the corner of his mouth in a bloodthirsty manner.
The next moment—
Orochimaru's figure suddenly vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already standing right in front of Naruto and Sasuke.
His terrifying speed—like a ghost—made Sasuke and little Sakura freeze for a moment.
It was the first time they had ever seen such speed. Even faster than Kakashi.
Before they could react, a massive surge of chakra erupted from Orochimaru's body.
An extremely terrifying killing intent radiated from his chakra, attacking Sasuke and Naruto in an instant.
The horrifying killing intent filled the area, sweeping over Naruto and Sasuke.
Feeling the biting cold and intense terror of that killing intent, Sasuke and little Sakura shuddered.
This killing intent was simply too terrifying. Like blood-soaked ghosts emerging from hell. Sasuke and little Sakura felt the threat and fear of death.
Under Orochimaru's overwhelming pressure, Sasuke and little Sakura even began to see hallucinations of being killed by him.
"Th-this is impossible!"
Little Sakura took a few trembling steps backward, as if feeling she couldn't possibly fight the enemy in front of her.
Sasuke clenched his teeth, desperately resisting the killing intent and pressure.
Refusing to give in, Sasuke even activated his Sharingan in this confrontation with the killer intent.
As his crimson Sharingan appeared and its tomoe slowly spun, the intense killing intent was immediately offset by a significant amount. Sasuke's pressure eased considerably.
Sasuke took a deep breath and looked at Orochimaru even more intensely.
At that moment, Sasuke and little Sakura finally understood.
Why Naruto had said this enemy wasn't easy.
This was the first time in their lives they had seen such strong and terrifying killing intent.
Even Zabuza hadn't been this terrifying. His killing intent hadn't been so strong that it made them see illusions of being killed.
And the pressure—it was several times more terrifying than Zabuza.
After Orochimaru appeared, his eyes burned with a bewitching light as he looked at the three of them with a bloodthirsty gaze.
Seeing that Sasuke was able to resist his killing intent, Orochimaru was slightly surprised. But soon, the surprise in his eyes turned into a strong interest in his prey, as if he wanted to see what Sasuke would do next.
Naruto also nodded after seeing Sasuke's performance.
It seemed that after rapidly improving his strength under Naruto's guidance, Sasuke would no longer be intimidated by Orochimaru.
As for Orochimaru's killing intent when it reached Naruto—he simply waved his hand, and the killing intent dispersed. It couldn't get anywhere near his body or affect him at all.
Orochimaru licked the corner of his mouth, looked at Sasuke with interest, and said in a strange voice:
"Interesting. Sasuke-kun. I've been waiting for you here for a long time."
When Sasuke heard Orochimaru call out his name, he froze for a moment and frowned. He looked at Orochimaru suspiciously and asked:
"How do you know my name? Who are you?"
Orochimaru grinned, looking at Sasuke with bloodthirsty delight, and said:
"How could I not know you? You are my carefully selected vessel, Sasuke."
Orochimaru's strange demeanor made Sasuke frown.
"Sasuke. Let me see how much you've grown. Haha." Orochimaru smiled strangely.
After speaking, suddenly—Orochimaru's body moved like a strange serpent demon. His neck stretched out abruptly, his mouth opened to reveal his fangs, and he lunged at Sasuke horribly.
At the same time, a terrifying giant serpent—commanded at some unknown point—came rushing out of the forest. The snake was terrifying and fierce, lunging straight at Naruto.
On the other side, little Sakura had already been frightened by Orochimaru's killing intent. She had lost her fighting spirit and collapsed to the side, able only to watch this scene in horror.
"Sasuke! Naruto! Be careful!" Little Sakura yelled in worry and panic.
The terrifying serpent charged at Naruto, while Orochimaru himself attacked Sasuke.
It seemed Orochimaru wanted to fight Sasuke alone—to see Sasuke's potential.