Sealing Jutsu Sensei

Silence—

After the explosion, the dense forest fell into complete stillness…

All the spectators were utterly dumbfounded by Asuma and his group's flashy transformation, unsure how to react.

"So… so cool…"

Little Anko, who had been peeking from the treehouse window, finally came to this conclusion after much internal conflict.

As for how much of this conclusion was influenced by her gratitude toward her saviours, that remains unknown.

However, after reaching this conclusion, it seemed like her inner balance was tipped, and Anko's eyes started sparkling. The more she looked, the cooler she found the battle suits worn by Obito and the others! Poor girl, completely unaware that her sense of aesthetics had already begun to warp...

And the mysterious figure hiding in the shadows...

Well, actually, it was none other than Orochimaru lying in wait.

He, too, was left in a daze after witnessing Asuma's group's transformation.

It was hard for him to determine whether these kids had a skewed sense of aesthetics or if he had fallen behind the times.

Why do kids nowadays even fight in such vivid ways?

After regaining his composure, Orochimaru once again smiled with interest.

He recalled how his teacher had mentioned that Asuma had recently joined Natsuhiko's Sealing Jutsu Research Group and was making significant progress, which had eased his teacher's concerns quite a bit.

Combining this with the light effects and explosions, which were likely created using projection techniques, it wasn't tricky for Orochimaru to deduce that the strange swords and outfits were Natsuhiko's creations.

The question now was, were these merely toys that Natsuhiko made for the kids…?

Recalling the peculiar Earth Flow Wall that Asuma and another child had used earlier, Orochimaru couldn't help but lick his lips with his long tongue, his golden pupils glowing with curiosity.

Interesting...

Initially, this trial was meant to test how Anko would react in a life-or-death situation.

However, after Asuma and the other two kids intervened, the trial had lost its meaning.

Adding to this, the Ten-Headed Serpent seemed to be getting out of control, so Orochimaru had initially intended to call off the trial.

But now…

Out of curiosity about Natsuhiko's new invention, he decided to continue observing from the shadows.

"Let me see how far these three academy students can go with Natsuhiko's inventions…"

Orochimaru murmured to himself with a meaningful smile while discreetly glancing at an empty tree branch nearby.

Meanwhile, the giant snake known as the Ten-Headed Serpent was also in a state of bewilderment—though no one could tell just by looking.

In fact, it had already reached a position not far from Asuma's group earlier, but their overly flashy transformation had left it so stunned that it hesitated to attack…

But once their dramatic roll call ended, and the multicoloured effects vanished, the Ten-Headed Serpent finally realised that in the end, these were just three human brats in strange clothes.

"Right, Orochimaru only said not to harm the purple-haired one, but he didn't say anything about these three…"

Having found a loophole, the serpent began drooling, its saliva sizzling on the ground.

Its desire for food soon outweighed its fear of the unknown.

"So, which one should I start with?"

The serpent's two large, lantern-like eyes scanned the three humans, who were staring back up at it.

Big eyes stared down at small eyes.

"Ugh, this is too much trouble!"

"Since I can't decide, I might as well swallow them all at once!"

Unable to resist its instincts any longer, the Ten-Headed Serpent abandoned all thought, opened its enormous mouth, and lunged at the three!

Finally, it's here!

The trio, who had already discussed how to respond to the serpent's attack, found themselves momentarily unsure if they should alter their plan when the serpent stood still, merely watching them.

But now, seeing it begin its attack, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's coming! Stick to the plan!" Obito reminded them.

"Hey, hey, why are you the one giving orders, Obito?" Asuma complained. "Remember, I'm the captain here."

Ebisu could barely resist the urge to roll his eyes, feeling both tense and exasperated.

How could these two still argue about such things in a situation like this? What are their hearts made of?

By now, the giant serpent had already smashed through several trees in its path, and the three quickly got serious.

They raised their swords again, each embedding a yellow shuriken into the guard of their swords, channelling their chakra through the hilt.

As their chakra flowed into the swords, the yellow shuriken began to spin rapidly on their own.

And just as the giant serpent was about to swallow them whole, they simultaneously stabbed their swords into the ground, shouting:

"Shuriken Ninjutsu: Earth Style - Triple Earth Flow Wall Technique!"

Suddenly, one, two, and then three earth walls rose from the ground in front of them, directly blocking the serpent's attack!

Boom!

In the next moment, the serpent's massive jaws collided with the first earth wall, shattering it to pieces!

Boom! Boom!

A series of loud crashes followed as debris scattered and dust rose into the air.

Just like before, these earth walls were no match for the serpent's charge and were smashed one after another! Even with Obito's additional wall, the delay it caused was less than a second.

As the serpent broke through the walls, it noticed the panicked movements of the three human children, and a hint of mockery flashed in its eyes.

Without further thought, it opened its mouth wide and swallowed them whole!

…

Having quickly devoured its prey, the Ten-Headed Serpent raised its upper body high, its eyes showing a human-like expression of confusion.

Why did it feel like… it hadn't eaten anything at all? Even though the three brats were small, there should still have been some texture, right? Had it eaten too fast in its eagerness? What a pity—it should have asked Uncle Manda about the proper way to eat human brats. Such a waste of good food…

While the Ten-Headed Serpent was lost in thought, it didn't notice that the three tiny creatures it thought it had swallowed were now sneaking around near its grounded body…

In fact, the so-called "brats" it believed it had eaten were merely their projections.

As part of their plan, the three earth walls and their projections had served only as bait to draw the serpent's attention.

—Much like a matador's red cloth…

While the serpent had been crashing into the earth's walls like a raging bull, the three had already quietly slipped away.

Now that they had reached the serpent's body, they nodded to each other, channelling chakra into their swords and driving them into the ground.

The yellow shuriken began spinning again…

"Shuriken Ninjutsu: Earth Style - Pitfall Technique," they whispered in unison.

In the next moment, the ground beneath the serpent's body began to collapse, sinking rapidly. Under the combined effort of the three, a sizable pit formed, and the giant serpent lost its balance and tumbled in.

Hiss! What's going on?

Still savouring the thought of its recent meal, ready to boast about it later, the Ten-Headed Serpent let out a surprised hiss as it was caught off guard by the sudden shift.

Turning its head, it realised that the three brats, whom it thought was in its stomach, were actually beneath it!

Despicable humans!

By now, it was clear that they had deceived it!

With a roar of fury, the ten-headed snake began to wriggle and struggle violently, attempting to break free.

The pit created by the combined efforts of the three was not small compared to its size, but it was still insufficient to completely subdue the snake. It seemed as if the snake would soon break out!

However, the three had already anticipated this, and their strategy was far from over!

Suddenly, Obito and Ebisu leapt into the air and simultaneously pressed the buttons on their battle suit belts, thrusting their hips forward.

*Pshhh! Pshhh...*

Thick, cloudy white slime sprayed from their belts, pouring into the pit!

"Shuriken Ninja Tool: Slime Launcher!"

Before the giant snake could react, the slime had already solidified quickly, making the creature's struggle even more difficult.

"Now, Asuma!"

The two shouted as they landed.

"Got it, watch me!"

Not far away, Asuma, who had been holding his breath and concentrating, responded. He then embedded a red shuriken into the guard of his ninja blade.

With the infusion of Fire Release chakra, the red shuriken began to spin rapidly, emitting a buzzing sound.

In the next moment, a flame burst forth from the base of the blade, and soon the entire sword was ablaze.

What was even more surprising was that the once ordinary flames had turned into a strange purple colour.

"Shuriken Ninja Art: Fire Release – Dark Sweep!"

Asuma shouted and slashed his ninja blade upward from below!

The burning blade scraped along the ground, and the purple flames followed its path, racing toward the pit and landing on the white slime Obito and Ebisu had just sprayed.

The flames flashed and seemed to be extinguished by the slime...

However, in the very next instant, all of the slime ignited violently!!

*Boom!*

The entire pit instantly turned into a sea of purple fire.

At the same time, the giant snake's agonised screech echoed throughout the forest...

...

Although his summoned beast had been severely injured, Orochimaru, who had been observing from a distance, remained utterly unfazed. In fact, he even revealed a satisfied smile.

While Natsuhiko's invention was crucial in allowing these mere ninja school students to torment the ten-headed snake like this, their execution was also commendable.

It seems that Natsuhiko's ability to select and train students is quite impressive.

After silently praising Natsuhiko in his mind, Orochimaru turned his attention to the trio's ninja swords.

As expected, the swords in their hands were not mere toys for changing clothes...

(End of Chapter)

The battle with Kakuzu concludes!

What is the outcome?

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