However, Ōnoki was not foolish. He quickly realized his disadvantageous position and immediately formulated a countermeasure.
His hands flashed through hand signs, and chakra surged!
Earth Release: Rock Fist Technique!
A section of the arena ground suddenly shattered and floated up. At a visible speed, it fractured into pieces, which adhered to Ōnoki's right hand, extending all the way up his forearm. The entire limb was encased in hard, thick rock. The right hand became several times larger, the stone-encased arm constantly flexing, looking immensely powerful.
He swung his arm, using the rock fist to grab at the five poisonous pythons attacking from Orochimaru.
The rock-encased right hand looked bulky and heavy, but its speed was neither sluggish nor slow. He swiftly snatched two of the pythons, gripped them tightly in the stone hand, and squeezed. The heads of the two pythons were violently crushed, splattering crimson blood onto the ground.
Orochimaru gave a wicked laugh. Hidden Shadow Many Snake Hands!
From his left sleeve, over a dozen mottled great snakes shot out. Under Orochimaru's mental control, they instantly merged mid-flight to form a large, millstone-sized, mottled snake hand. With a rush of wind, it slammed down heavily toward Ōnoki's head.
Ōnoki, confident in the brute strength of his Rock Fist, was unafraid. He raised his Rock Fist and slammed it fiercely into the giant snake hand.
Orochimaru's gaze sharpened, and the mental control over the snake hand intensified. The force and momentum of the descending strike grew noticeably stronger.
Boom—
The mottled snake hand and the Rock Fist collided violently in the air.
Ōnoki's short body was slammed down, sinking almost halfway into the earth. Orochimaru's snake hand also disintegrated, with no less than half the snakes being destroyed.
Recalling the snakes, Orochimaru seized the moment as Ōnoki struggled to stand, quickly weaving hand signs with both hands!
Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!
Awrrooo—
A massive, fiery dragon head emerged in the space in front of Orochimaru. Its wide-open mouth suddenly spat out a highly condensed, scorching-hot, crimson fireball. Though this fireball was several times smaller than a Great Fireball, being only the size of a barrel, its speed was dramatically increased, and its destructive power was intensely concentrated.
In just one breath, it left a fiery red tail as it arrived before Ōnoki.
Ōnoki dared not take the hit head-on. His hands also flashed through a change of hand signs, and he slammed them heavily onto the ground!
Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!
More than a dozen rock spikes, the thickness of a man's thigh, shot up from the ground in front of Ōnoki. They crisscrossed and intersected, forming a solid defensive wall composed of earth spikes.
Orochimaru saw Ōnoki's response and inwardly praised it. The activation speed of the Earth Flow Spears was much faster than other Earth Release defensive Ninjutsu, and Ōnoki's clever application of the technique was also impressive.
Boom—
The fireball struck the spikes. Its power was ultimately limited, and it dissipated completely just as it smashed through the last few spikes, failing to inflict any damage on Ōnoki.
Ōnoki, however, was daring. After launching the Earth Flow Spears, he didn't wait to see if the jutsu could block Orochimaru's fireball. Instead, he stood brazenly behind the spike defense wall and began weaving another set of hand signs, demonstrating immense confidence in his own strength.
Immediately after, Ōnoki launched a fierce counterattack!
Earth Release: Earth Golem Technique!
Amidst the rumbling, earth-shaking vibrations, the ten-meter-tall rock giant roared majestically into being on the battlefield.
Even seeing the Earth Golem Technique for the second time, the Konoha spectators were still amazed by the terror and power of the ten-meter behemoth.
Its flowerbed-sized rock hands, its room-sized massive head, and its enormous bulk, which obscured half the arena, all clearly and memorably conveyed the horrific power of the jutsu. The audience began to worry about Orochimaru's plight.
The towering rock giant, seemingly displeased with Orochimaru's tiny presence at its feet, lifted its giant foot under Ōnoki's command and stomped down toward Orochimaru.
Orochimaru was unfazed by the powerful Earth Golem. He took several quick steps, easily dodging the giant's attack. Then, with a burst of chakra from the soles of his feet, he vaulted onto the massive body of the Earth Golem.
Ōnoki was confused by Orochimaru's movement and subconsciously directed the Golem to swing its rock hands, trying to grab Orochimaru, who was scurrying across its body like a louse.
Orochimaru sneered. Although the rock giant was huge and terrifyingly powerful, its attacks were, in turn, slow and clumsy.
For the astonishingly fast Orochimaru, constantly leaping and maneuvering across the Golem's body, easily dodging the rock hands' attacks was child's play.
Of course, Orochimaru hadn't climbed onto the Golem's body merely to better dodge attacks.
Backed by rich combat experience and enhanced by his powerful spiritual energy, Orochimaru found the Golem's few vulnerable joints in just a few breaths.
Surging chakra poured wildly into his two fists. Using the exquisite technique of the Monster Strength Ninjutsu, he slammed down heavily onto the rock giant's joints.
Bang—
A loud explosion echoed on the Earth Golem's body.
With the first punch, the entire Golem stiffened momentarily, like a great snake whose vital point had been seized. Its already slow and clumsy movements became mechanical, like a robot without oil. Ōnoki tried desperately to control it, but he couldn't change the situation.
Orochimaru seized the opportunity, rapidly leaping to several other joints and unleashing several more violent punches.
Bang! Bang! Bang!—
Five more joints exploded in quick succession. The entire ten-meter-tall rock giant instantly became motionless, like a machine that had run out of power.
Orochimaru leaped with full force, the air whistling past his ears, and delivered a heavy Heavenly Foot kick to the giant Golem's room-sized head, striking its jaw.
Following a loud crash, a "Crunch, crunch, crunch—" sound of rock shattering was heard. Spiderweb-like cracks had clearly appeared around the Golem's neck.
Orochimaru flipped and landed on one of the Earth Golem's massive hands. He drew back and then launched himself like a cannonball toward the Golem's head. The immense chakra condensed in his two fists even formed a distinct phenomenon of two pale-blue chakra spheres outside his hands.
He then drove his chakra-wrapped fists forward in rapid succession, hitting it ten times. He literally punched the room-sized Golem head completely off its body. It smashed onto the arena floor with a loud "Thud—."
This entire sequence of Monster Strength Taijutsu combos, relying on Orochimaru's transcendent speed and powerful physical fortitude, was completed in just three breaths of time.
Ōnoki could only watch as the ten-meter-tall rock giant collapsed with a great crash and a cloud of smoke and dust.
🗒️NOTE:
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