"About half of my chakra has recovered!"
"As expected, improvements during battle are the most significant!"
Sasuke slowly opened his eyes, looking ahead.
Feeling the amount of chakra within his body, he noticed it hadn't fully recovered yet.
However, through the fight with Zabuza earlier, Sasuke realized that his chakra reserve had inexplicably increased by about one-fifth.
Moreover, his strength and speed had also noticeably improved.
Just one battle had brought such significant growth for him.
It seemed that besides training, he needed to engage in more combat to push himself further!
The improvements from fighting were simply too substantial.
"Kunai: sixteen remaining. Shuriken: twenty. One explosive tag. Steel wire."
"That guy's speed is incredible, and his strength is undoubtedly at the jonin level."
"Not just any jonin, but likely an elite jonin!"
"Taking him down won't be easy!"
Sasuke calmly analyzed the situation.
Chasing all the way here, aside from a few minutes spent resting midway, he had used every remaining second to rush forward at lightning speed.
This pace was already beyond that of an ordinary jonin.
Although not as terrifying as the speed of a true lightning flash, it was at least two-thirds as fast.
Yet, it had taken him this long to catch up, indicating how formidable the opponent's strength must be.
The possibility arose that the opponent might even surpass Kakashi-sensei!
Sasuke moved cautiously, suppressing his presence as much as possible.
After passing through a series of dense bushes,
he finally spotted a small open clearing.
This area had far fewer trees compared to the surrounding forest.
Only a few trees stood, barely two people tall.
Under the shade of a tree on the grassy ground, Tazuna was lying there.
There was no one else around.
The scene was an obvious trap.
And it wasn't just a trap it was blatantly obvious.
This made Sasuke even more alert.
What kind of confidence in one's own strength would make someone deliberately stop and set such an apparent trap, waiting for their enemy to arrive?
It was as if this guy wanted to lure someone over.
The act of capturing Tazuna didn't even seem to be the true goal.
For a brief moment, Sasuke was puzzled.
If the opponent was a ninja hired by Gato, there was no reason to take Tazuna alive.
Killing him would have completed the mission!
Without Tazuna to build the bridge, the Land of Waves would forever remain in Gato's grasp.
Why bother taking Tazuna away?
'Not good! This is bait meant to lure us here!'
The moment Sasuke realized this,
a shadow silently emerged behind him, and a hand reached toward his shoulder.
In that instant, even though Sasuke couldn't sense the opponent's presence,
his instincts screamed that danger was approaching.
In a hurried moment, Sasuke activated Lightning Flash at full speed.
His figure transformed into a streak of lightning, swiftly leaping away and landing directly in the clearing.
Turning back to look at his previous position, he saw, as expected, the opponent standing right where he had been moments ago.
Frowning, Sasuke quickly pulled a kunai from his pouch, his eyes locking onto the figure with precision.
The two tomoe in his Sharingan slowly rotated.
The opponent lifted their head, meeting Sasuke's gaze.
"What beautiful eyes!"
Could the opponent be after his Sharingan?
What a joke! In the original story, no ninja targeted Sasuke's Sharingan at this point!
Who on earth was this person...?
Suddenly, Sasuke noticed the opponent's body moving like a snake, twisting around a tree trunk and accelerating with a spin, landing directly in front of him.
Now Sasuke understood.
'This guy is... Orochimaru...'
Why would Orochimaru be here now? And did he kidnap Tazuna just to lure Sasuke into chasing him?
It didn't make any sense!
In the original storyline, Orochimaru didn't appear at this point!
Moreover, Sasuke and his team had only just left the village after accepting their mission. Orochimaru had no reason to come after him at this time.
Wasn't Orochimaru supposed to be busy preparing for the Leaf Destruction Plan?
How could he suddenly show up here?
Seeing Sasuke's pale expression, Orochimaru assumed the boy was frightened.
But Sasuke, snapping out of his thoughts, raised his kunai and fixed his gaze firmly on Orochimaru.
This was an incredibly bad situation.
His strength was leagues ahead, capable of crushing Sasuke effortlessly.
Defeating Orochimaru wasn't even something Sasuke could fathom.
Right now, the only option seemed to be escaping with Tazuna.
If Sasuke were alone, he could have already fled using Lightning Flash.
But with Tazuna still here, simply running away would only arouse Orochimaru's suspicion.
Finding Tazuna and then retreating without a fight would seem too out of place. Such an unusual move would likely make Orochimaru even more determined to pursue him.
However, staying to fight was also impossible there was no way Sasuke could defeat Orochimaru.
This was truly a life-or-death dilemma.
'Even if it's Orochimaru, I still have a chance!'
If Orochimaru was targeting his body, then there might be a way to maneuver.
But if Orochimaru only wanted his eyes, there was no escape just certain death.
Still, giving up without a fight wasn't Sasuke's style.
Reaching into his pouch, Sasuke pulled out another kunai with his left hand.
Seeing Sasuke's movements, Orochimaru smirked.
"Trying to fight me with kunai? How naive."
In his Sharingan mode, Sasuke's perception and control had improved significantly.
Though it was only kunai, Sasuke's technique was anything but ordinary.
In a flash, Sasuke's hands moved, throwing seven kunai at once.
For a brief moment, even Orochimaru froze.
The kunai Sasuke threw moved in unexpected arcs, leaving curved trajectories in the air.
In the next second, the kunai collided mid-air, changing their paths several times.
By now, the closest kunai was already less than two meters away from Orochimaru.
At this moment, even Orochimaru couldn't fully grasp the unpredictable trajectories of the kunai.
'What an exquisite throwing technique!'
But in the next second, Orochimaru quickly formed hand signs with both hands, completing them instantly.
"Wind Style: Gale Palm!"
A gust of sharp wind surged forth, deflecting all the kunai in midair.
With sheer power, Orochimaru neutralized Sasuke's attack.
In the very next instant, Sasuke appeared directly in front of Orochimaru.
Using the kunai as cover, Sasuke had closed the distance himself.
'Even if I die, I'll make sure to knock out a few of his teeth before I go!'
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