Listening to the shrill whistling of the wind.
Before the person even arrived, the strong wind pressed down first.
Orochimaru widened his eyes, enduring the wind, and formed hand seals rapidly with both hands.
"Summoning Jutsu: Triple Rashomon!" (Kuchiyose: Sanjū Rashōmon)
Three huge gates appeared in front of Orochimaru instantly with continuous Boom! Boom! Boom! sounds.
Then, Might Duy kicked the huge gates.
Accompanied by Boom! Boom! Boom! three consecutive sounds, the three gates were breached simultaneously.
They didn't even last a second.
Under Might Duy's flying kick, everything was instantly shattered.
Facing the oncoming flying kick, Orochimaru had no time to make any moves. Just as he crossed his hands to form seals...
He was instantly kicked into countless splashes of blood foam by Might Duy.
BOOM!!
The ground was kicked into a huge crater by Might Duy.
Might Duy half-knelt on the ground, panting heavily. The green chakra on his body dissipated, and the Eight Gates Released Formation could no longer be maintained.
Orochimaru's figure drilled out of the ground. The Kusanagi Sword in his hand was placed on Might Duy's neck. With just a slight movement, Might Duy's head could be cut off.
"Duy-kun, you lose."
Orochimaru licked his lips. If he had been hit by that strike just now, he really would have died.
Looking at the bearded Might Duy.
What a terrifying man.
He didn't expect that as a contemporary, Duy hadn't fallen far behind them.
"Sorry, Jonin Orochimaru."
Might Duy scratched his head awkwardly. "For now, I can only open up to the Sixth Gate."
"I heard it just now." Orochimaru retracted the sword in his hand, looking at Might Duy with a smile. "The Eight Gates Released Formation you mentioned, it refers to the body's Eight Gates, right?"
The body's Eight Gates were no secret to the researcher Orochimaru. Many of his potential-unlocking researches were based on the Eight Gates.
But he never expected there would be such a crude method of opening the Eight Gates like Duy's.
"Yes. To fight Jonin Orochimaru, I felt I needed to open the Eighth Gate to use that strike. But the Eighth Gate is only to be opened for the sake of protection."
After all, once opened, life entered a countdown.
Orochimaru stared blankly at Might Duy, but internally, he was screaming.
Did you fucking want to kill me!!?
Even with Orochimaru's good temper, he couldn't help but curse, only suppressing the roar in his heart with a smile.
That kick just now was enough for him. According to the amplification of the opponent opening the Eight Gates...
If he opened the Seventh Gate, Orochimaru would be completely outmatched.
Open the Eighth Gate!?
Did he want to see how I die?
Looking at the serious-faced Might Duy.
Orochimaru just felt panic in his heart.
This guy... is so terrifying! In every sense!
If he hadn't used the Body Replacement Technique in time to hide underground just now, relying solely on himself to take that hit, he would have been dead for sure.
This was a spar! Not a life-and-death struggle!
Even his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, couldn't take that kick!
"Jonin Orochimaru, can I join?"
Might Duy asked uneasily.
Seeing Orochimaru's face suddenly darken, he became even more uneasy.
Was his strength really not enough?
"Call me Orochimaru. No need to be so distant." Orochimaru responded faintly. "From now on, you will move with me. I will report your transfer to Lord Hokage."
Ninja transfers within the village weren't something he could just take away at will. They required the Hokage's transfer order.
But at this time, Konoha wouldn't block ninja transfers.
"Thank you, Jonin Orochi..." Seeing Orochimaru glare at him, Might Duy quickly corrected himself: "Orochimaru."
It turned out Jonin Orochimaru wasn't as heartless as other ninjas said.
Orochimaru looked expressionlessly at those stunned ninjas, many of whom had their mouths open and couldn't close them for a long time.
Looking again at the happy Might Duy.
He sighed inexplicably in his heart.
This man has absolutely no idea how strong he is.
Jin-kun is really good at discovering talents.
The ninja unit rushing towards the Rain battlefield began to march.
Orochimaru led the way at the front.
All ninjas leaped quickly through the trees.
Passersby could only see black shadows flashing past, mistakenly thinking they had startled a flock of birds.
Ninja marches wouldn't attract others' attention, and their mobility was unquestionable.
Might Duy followed at the very rear of the team. This was Orochimaru's active arrangement.
In front of him was the Jonin named Lan.
Lan's figure slowed a beat, leaping alongside Might Duy.
"You shouldn't participate in the war."
Lan's voice was a bit low.
Even knowing that Might Duy's strength far exceeded his own, he still didn't want Duy to enter the battlefield.
"Lan-kun..."
"If you go to the battlefield, what about your wife and child!"
Lan interrupted Might Duy. Without waiting for Duy to retort, he slowly spoke his thoughts.
"Duy, do you know? I always mocked you, belittled you, looked down on you, but I also always envied you."
He was also a contemporary of Orochimaru's class, but he had always been a member of Class C. Growing from being considered cannon fodder to a Jonin, who knew how much effort he had put in?
He sacrificed all his time just to increase his strength and improve his status.
This was the sorrow of civilian ninjas.
He had even given up the idea of marrying and having children, perhaps waiting for the day he died in some corner for the village.
He had that resolve.
It was just that he knew very well this wasn't the life he wanted.
"You are living the life I hoped for. You could have lived your whole life peacefully, accompanied by your wife and son, without needing to take risks, without needing to fight to the death."
"Carrying our expectations, wouldn't it be good to just live peacefully like that?"
Although Might Duy was a "trash," many who had experienced the battlefield pinned their thoughts of a peaceful life on Might Duy.
Seeing the strength Might Duy displayed, many people also changed their minds.
But Lan didn't.
You already have the life I dream of. Why walk into this scarlet vortex?
"Lan-kun."
Might Duy smiled at Lan and gave him a thumbs up.
"I want to protect you guys too!"
Lan's lips moved twice, but in the end, he couldn't say anything. He could only bury his head and rush forward.
Perhaps this was why everyone pinned their hopes on Might Duy.
He was much simpler than most people in the village.
The rapidly advancing ninja unit stopped as Orochimaru raised his hand.
Everyone's gaze was fixed on the distant forest.
There.
Figures emerged from the forest one by one.
The forehead protectors they wore bore the symbol of Sunagakure.
"Sand Ninjas." Orochimaru stared deathly at the middle-aged man in the center of these Sand ninjas.
"Ebizo."
A troublesome character had appeared.
What happened on Sakumo Hatake's side?