"Come on, I'll kill you two, then continue forward. It's all the same choice!"

Orochimaru sneered coldly, extending his arm as several giant snakes emerged from his sleeve, their mouths wide open, rushing with a bloodthirsty stance towards Sarutobi Ryu and Sarutobi Linko not far away.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, huh? Such a boring probe."

Sarutobi Ryu drew the Chakra Blade from his back, and in an instant, a scorching aura wrapped around the blade, slicing through several snakes charging at him, cleaving them in two.

The cuts on the fallen snakes on the ground immediately ignited, burning them into black charcoal.

Seizing this opportunity, Orochimaru retreated backwards and quickly formed a seal with his hands.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

Originally just an ordinary C-Class Jutsu, but in the hands of Orochimaru, the user expelled a ferocious gale from his mouth, sweeping across a patch of trees.

In the storm, both Sarutobi Ryu and Sarutobi Linko had to gather Chakra at their feet to firmly anchor themselves to the ground, preventing themselves from being blown away by the storm.

At this moment, a huge shadow covered the moon in the sky, darkness descended upon them.

Sarutobi Ryu and Sarutobi Linko looked up to see an enormous, spotted giant snake.

The length of this spotted giant snake was about ten meters long, tearing open a bloody maw capable of swallowing an adult, lunging down towards the two.

The snake's biting speed was fast, a loud boom echoed.

The giant snake shredded the ground with its massive jaws.

However, Sarutobi Ryu and Sarutobi Linko were nowhere to be found.

The snake realized this, its golden bloodthirsty vertical pupils fixed on a tree where Sarutobi Linko, wearing a mask, stood on a branch, looking down at it.

Orochimaru darted his body, leaving a speeding shadow on the ground, swiftly moving to the tree where Sarutobi Linko was, wrapping his supple body around the tree to climb up and attack Sarutobi Linko.

Sarutobi Linko's eyes remained unperturbed; perhaps for the average ninja, encountering such a massive beast would indeed be a huge hassle.

But for a Jonin of her level, it was merely a pet-grade Summoning Beast.

Probably just a pet casually retrieved from Ryuchi Cave, or possibly an artificially modified snake species.

As the giant snake entangled Sarutobi Linko, Orochimaru focused his attention on Sarutobi Ryu.

It's quite troublesome to deal with both of them at once; separating one to tackle would be much easier.

With this thought in mind, Sarutobi Ryu was also wielding his fiercely aura-infused Chakra Blade, swiftly striking towards Orochimaru.

Before he could approach Orochimaru, a thick gray python swiftly flew out from Orochimaru's sleeve, transforming into a shadow attacking Sarutobi Ryu.

Sarutobi Ryu remained unflustered, altering the trajectory of the Chakra Blade's swing with precision, and with his right hand, sliced off the head of the gray python.

Simultaneously, his left hand formed a seal, unleashing a Ninja Technique at extremely close range:

"Fire Style: Flame Burst!"

A thunderous roar!

A terrifying explosion of flames instantly engulfed a large area of trees and land, transforming the surroundings into an environment filled with scorching temperatures.

Orochimaru rolled on the ground in a disheveled manner, showing burn marks scorched by the flames on his body.

In contrast, Sarutobi Ryu stood there, unscathed despite the proximity, his eyes sharp and murderous as he stared at Orochimaru.

"Haha, your blade is really interesting."

Orochimaru paid no mind to his minor injuries, instead, he gazed with interest at the Chakra Blade in Sarutobi Ryu's hand.

Upon closer inspection, when the Flame Burst indiscriminately attacked Sarutobi Ryu, the blade absorbed all of the approaching explosive flames.

In Orochimaru's view, this Chakra Blade might be quite costly.

Not only does it possess excellent Chakra Attribute adhesion capability, but it can also absorb jutsu with nature transformation, making it quite suitable for such an environment.

Sarutobi Ryu remained silent; although he gained a minor advantage, he continued to exercise caution with Orochimaru.

This person in front of him was a monster forged from brutal battles and bloodshed; such tricks would only cause him minor injuries and could only be used once.

Using it again would only be a pointless waste of Chakra.

The next battle still demands full effort.

Suddenly, Sarutobi Ryu's eyes glared from beneath his mask, his feet pushed off the ground, initiating another charge at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru gracefully dodged, the Chakra Blade infused with Fire Attribute Chakra was dangerous, even a slight touch would inflict burns.

Sarutobi Ryu pressed forward relentlessly, refusing to give Orochimaru any opportunity to catch his breath or rest, knowing their mission was to stall, waiting for other Anbu reinforcements to arrive and capture Orochimaru.

Taking down a ninja of Orochimaru's level with just two people is highly unrealistic.

Orochimaru of course understood this, but he showed no trace of impatience on his face.

Even if surrounded by numerous Anbu, he was confident in his ability to escape safely.

Suddenly, a bright blue lightning flashed through the forest, silently approaching Orochimaru from behind, delivering a thunderous strike on Orochimaru's back without hesitation.

The one who launched the surprise attack on Orochimaru was Kakashi.

But he didn't believe his sneak attack would easily succeed.

Indeed, as if he had eyes on his back, Orochimaru's body flickered in place, vanishing from the sight of Sarutobi Ryu and Kakashi.

Orochimaru moved like a slippery snake; whether from a frontal assault or a rear ambush, none could inflict a fatal injury on him.