Naruto: Eating Kaido's Azure Dragon Devil Fruit-Chapter 249 Petrification and Orochimaru

Akimichi Torifu walked over, dragging his somewhat weary body. He looked at Sora, whose aura was slowly calming down but whose dragon scales, dragon tail, and other features had not yet fully receded. His eyes were filled with amazement and a trace of complexity.

"Green Snake... no, perhaps I should call you ’Azure Dragon’ now."

Akimichi Torifu’s voice was tired, yet very solemn.

"For today’s battle, you deserve the foremost credit. If you had not blocked the Third Raikage head-on and created the opportunity to severely wound Killer B, the consequences would have been unthinkable. I will report your merits truthfully to the Third Hokage-sama."

His words were equivalent to official recognition of the title "Azure Dragon" and Sora’s decisive role in this battle.

A golden flash of light, and Namikaze Minato also appeared nearby. He looked at Sora, his eyes showing pure appreciation and goodwill.

"Astonishing strength and response, Green Snake... no, Azure Dragon. I am very glad Konoha has a powerful shinobi like you."

His attitude was as gentle and sincere as ever, carrying the unique charm of the "Yellow Flash".

However, Sora had no time to enjoy this glory of victory and the praise of his comrades at this moment.

Beneath the Azure Dragon mask, beads of cold sweat had broken out on his forehead.

The backlash from forcibly drawing a large amount of Dragon Vein chakra was beginning to erupt violently.

The natural energy was like a wild beast out of control, rampaging through his body. Wherever it passed, cellular activity was sharply stripped away. A cold, stiff feeling was spreading from his limbs throughout his body.

Beneath his skin, those gray petrification patterns flickered faintly, even beginning to spread toward his face.

’Damn, I overdid it this time. The petrification is faster than expected.’

Sora cursed inwardly. He had to find a quiet place immediately and focus all his efforts on resolving it.

"Torifu-sama, Minato-senpai, you praise me too much. My consumption is too great. I need to return immediately to meditate and recuperate. Please forgive me for not being able to stay longer."

After speaking in a hoarse and urgent voice, Sora did not wait for the two to respond and rushed toward the direction of the Konoha camp at an extremely fast speed.

His "eager" manner of leaving, in the eyes of Akimichi Torifu and Namikaze Minato, was naturally a normal reaction after exhausting himself in a fierce battle. Both of them understood.

They even thought more highly of him. Not claiming credit, not restless, a calm temperament. He was a good Konoha shinobi.

But in another pair of snake-like pupils, it became a perfect opportunity.

Orochimaru stood in the shadows not far away, his golden vertical pupils fixed on Sora’s retreating figure, his tongue unconsciously licking his lips.

That gaze was filled with burning greed, an uncontrollable possessiveness, and a trace of deep apprehension.

"He blocked the Third Raikage’s Two-Finger Hellstab... that form... that strange weapon transformed from a summon... and that terrifying chakra burst at the end, far exceeding his usual performance. Natural energy, was it?"

Orochimaru’s mind rapidly replayed every detail of the previous battle. The desire in his heart grew like wild grass.

"A perfect specimen... no, a treasure surpassing perfection. The secrets on his body are even more than I imagined."

The apprehension was because the strength Sora displayed was already enough to threaten him.

But the greed, because Sora was now clearly in a "poor state", wildly overwhelmed the apprehension.

"Such intense consumption, plus the petrification backlash from natural energy... This is his weakest moment."

A dangerous thought formed in Orochimaru’s mind.

The battlefield was crowded with eyes. It wasn’t a good place to act. But now, Sora was returning to the camp alone... it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Although he himself had just fought against Muchi and others, and his consumption was not small, he was confident that with his methods and resources, dealing with a Sora at the end of his strength was enough. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Desire ultimately completely took the upper hand.

Orochimaru’s figure silently slipped into the shadows, pursuing the direction Sora had left.

...

Konoha Main Camp, inside Sora’s personal tent.

Sora sat cross-legged on the simple bed, having already canceled the half-beast transformation form and returned to his normal human shape.

But his condition at this moment was extremely bad.

The surface of his skin was covered with gray, rock-like crack patterns. Especially on his hands and neck, they had even begun to lose sensation, becoming stiff and cold.

The enormous natural energy rampaged inside his body, fiercely clashing with his own chakra and the power of the Azure Dragon Fruit, attempting to completely assimilate his body into lifeless stone.

"Hoo... haa..."

Sora exerted all his strength to operate the vast vitality brought by the Azure Dragon Fruit. A stream of life energy full of vigor slowly flowed through the stiffened meridians. Wherever it passed, the petrification trend was bit by bit suppressed and resolved. The stiff parts regained a trace of softness and sensation.

The effect was there, but the speed was far from matching the speed of the natural energy erosion.

’I used too much Dragon Vein chakra this time... At this rate, it will take at least half a day to completely resolve the petrification, and I can’t use chakra during this period...’

Sora felt heavy-hearted. This time, to test his limits, he had used all his trump cards, and the aftereffects were far greater than before.

However, just as he was fully focused on resisting the petrification backlash, with most of his mind turned inward.

A cold, sticky, snake-like killing intent locked onto the inside of the tent without any warning.

In the next second, the shadows in the tent twisted as if alive. Several ferocious poisonous snakes shot out, aiming directly at the vital points all over Sora’s body.

At the same time, a pale figure appeared behind Sora. A hand covered in purple chakra, containing a powerful poison, silently pressed toward his back, toward his heart.

"Sora-kun, your body is mine."

Orochimaru. He had indeed come.

Sora’s tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open. There was no surprise in them, only a chilling mockery.

"I’ve been waiting for you, Orochimaru."

Poof. Poof. Poof. Poof.

Four puffs of white smoke instantly exploded within the tent.

Four shadow clones identical to Sora instantly appeared.

One of the shadow clones immediately formed hand seals, pressing its hands behind the original body’s back. A chakra barrier instantly spread out, neutralizing the force of that poisonous palm. But the shadow clone also instantly dispersed, showing the sharpness of Orochimaru’s sneak attack.

The other three shadow clones, the instant they appeared, simultaneously erupted.

"Azure Dragon Form. Half-Beast Transformation."

Boom.

Although not as astonishing as the original body’s full eruption, the three shadow clones simultaneously undergoing half-beast transformation, their powerful dragon pressure and chakra instantly filled the entire narrow tent.

They concentrated all their power into their fists covered in dragon scales, unleashing the most pure. Super Strength.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Three dragon fists, like three cannonballs, from three different angles, smashed fiercely toward the Orochimaru who had just appeared.

"What?"

Orochimaru’s golden snake pupils abruptly contracted, a look of shock appearing on his face.

He never expected that Sora, in such a "weak" state, could instantly create four shadow clones.

And these four shadow clones could still maintain such strong combat power and reaction speed.

Shouldn’t he be focusing all his efforts on resisting the backlash, unable to attend to anything else.

Actually, Orochimaru was completely overthinking. Sora had long since created shadow clones waiting for him. Moreover, Sora had never changed. He had always been a player who prioritized "steadiness", keeping half of ten parts of strength in reserve.

Even if four shadow clones couldn’t deal with Orochimaru, Sora could directly activate the complete Azure Dragon form. Under the that even more vast vitality, he could ignore the petrification reaction.

But that was not necessary now.

In haste, Orochimaru could only abandon pursuit. His body twisted bizarrely, barely and dangerously dodging two dragon fists, while crossing his arms to block the third fist.

Boom.

Orochimaru felt his arms go numb. He was smashed backward, crashing through the tent, landing somewhat awkwardly on the open ground outside.

He raised his head, looking at Sora who slowly walked out from the damaged tent, his face still pale but his eyes cold as knives. And the three ferocious, fierce half-beast transformed shadow clones protecting in front of him.

Orochimaru’s heart sank.

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