The Sakura Legend

Orochimaru slowly advanced towards Sakura.

Sakura watched Orochimaru draw closer, her heart pounding with anxiety. This was one of the Sannin! She'd even foregone her Hardening Technique in preparation for a sneak attack.

Just as Orochimaru was within two meters of her…

"I absolutely won't allow it, Sakura-chan!" Naruto's eyes blazed with fury as he positioned himself between them.

Seeing Naruto step in front of her, Sakura's overwhelming tension eased slightly.

"So, it seems negotiations have broken down," Orochimaru observed, his original intent not being the scroll. Seeing Naruto interfere, he was more than happy to start the fight directly. "I'll just have to take it myself."

"Naruto, get back!"

Sakura had no other choice. Whether her sneak attack succeeded or not, she had to try. She put away the scroll, stepped forward, pushing Naruto aside, and focused her chakra into a water blade, slicing towards Orochimaru.

The water blade struck Orochimaru directly, cutting him clean in half horizontally. But Sakura felt no joy. Orochimaru wasn't so easily killed; he was someone who survived all the way to the end of the series through sheer strength.

As expected, the bisected Orochimaru turned into mud. A Mud Clone.

"Sasuke, be careful! This enemy is no joke," Sakura said, immediately leaping to Sasuke's side, providing close protection. Naruto was one thing, but Orochimaru wouldn't bother with him.

"Sakura, do you know who this person is?" Sasuke asked.

Although Naruto had interrupted her handing over the scroll, Sasuke had observed Sakura's attack. She had planned a sneak attack from the start. This meant that even knowing the enemy was dangerous, Sakura still chose a sneak attack. The implication was that their opponent's goal wasn't the scroll, but something else entirely.

"Orochimaru. That person is Orochimaru," Sakura told Sasuke, simultaneously maximizing her sensory abilities.

Orochimaru's location was currently unknown. Sakura hoped that by revealing his name, she might provoke him into exposing a flaw. And indeed, she detected a subtle chakra fluctuation beneath the ground behind Sasuke.

"Behind you! Sasuke, get ready!" Sakura turned, leaping up and slamming her fist into the ground. The earth caved in, and a figure leaped upwards from the crater. "Now! Do it!" Sakura shouted.

Sasuke threw shuriken towards Orochimaru, but they weren't aimed directly at him. Instead, they flew past him.

"Sasuke, could you at least try to aim?" Naruto yelled from the sidelines, annoyed that Sasuke's shuriken hadn't hit their target.

Sasuke didn't reply, his hands continuing to move. The two shuriken curved around from behind Orochimaru, circling him several times. Orochimaru was tightly bound by the wires attached to the shuriken.

"Manipulating Windmill Triple Blades! And it's not over yet!" Sasuke formed hand seals: Snake—Dragon—Rabbit—Tiger.

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!"

A fiery dragon erupted from Sasuke's mouth, following the wires and engulfing Orochimaru. The Sannin was instantly surrounded by flames.

Sakura saw that Orochimaru was restrained, showing no signs of breaking free, nor did he turn into a mud clone. She guessed that this was likely his real body. Without hesitation, she fired a Water Bullet laced with a potent poison towards him.

Orochimaru didn't dodge, allowing the water bullet to strike him. Within moments, the poison from the water bullet spread throughout his body, his pale complexion turning a ghastly black.

This entire sequence of actions, though seemingly complex, had taken place in the blink of an eye. Orochimaru had been completely on the defensive, taking every attack head-on. Sakura felt a surge of unreality.

This was Orochimaru. He wouldn't be defeated so easily. Sakura activated her Strength of a Hundred Seal, her eyes fixed on Orochimaru with utmost caution. The previous Cherry Blossom Impact, water blade, and water bullet had depleted most of her remaining chakra. Against Orochimaru, no amount of preparation was excessive.

As she suspected, Orochimaru's face only remained black for a moment before returning to its normal pallor. The Fire Style jutsu hadn't significantly harmed him either. After breaking free from the wires, Orochimaru took two steps forward, stopping directly in front of Sakura, and then stood completely still.

"…Who is your teacher, brat?" Orochimaru asked, his serpentine eyes fixated on Sakura.

Goosebumps rose on Sakura's skin under his gaze. "It's Tsunade-sama," she replied. Seeing a thoughtful expression flicker across Orochimaru's face, Sakura instantly launched another water blade attack, slicing towards him.

But this time, Orochimaru didn't remain stationary. He vanished from Sakura's sight in an instant. Immediately feeling a surge of danger, Sakura formed hand seals, instantly casting Water Encampment Wall, enveloping Sasuke within it. She then used a massive amount of chakra to make the water wall spin irregularly, firing water arrows from its surface.

This technique bore a superficial resemblance to the Hyuga clan's Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven, but with added offensive capabilities. Sakura had been inspired by her encounter with the Rain ninja. Without the Strength of a Hundred Seal and Sakura's exceptional chakra control as a foundation, completing this technique would be incredibly difficult. First, a huge amount of chakra was needed to power the water sphere's rotation, and then exceptional chakra control was required to fire the water arrows from its surface.

Because Sakura's chakra control was excellent, she could quickly master ninjutsu as long as she had a new approach. However, chakra was a barrier. It wasn't that the creators of those ninjutsu didn't know about these applications; it was that when they created ninjutsu, they considered its cost-effectiveness and ease of mastery. Further development depended on the individual's training focus.

When the water sphere stopped spinning, Orochimaru reappeared ten meters behind Sasuke.

"Hehehe… don't be so hasty, brat," Orochimaru said to Sakura.

Sakura noticed a slight ripple in the fabric of Orochimaru's left pant leg. She immediately leaped to the side, but she was a fraction of a second too late. Several white snakes burst from the ground, binding Sakura tightly.

"Damn it, Orochimaru! The ANBU will be here soon! If you don't leave now, you'll lose your chance!" Sakura, her movements restricted by the snakes, resorted to threats.

"Of course I'll leave. But before I go, there's one thing I haven't finished." Orochimaru made no attempt to hide his gaze as he looked past Sakura at Sasuke. "Your teacher is one of the Sannin, just like me. You should be aware of my strength. Until I've finished what I need to do, you'll just have to watch obediently."

"Sakura-chan, are you okay? I'll get rid of these snakes!" Naruto rushed forward, kunai in hand.

"Don't worry about me! Go protect Sasuke! Orochimaru's target is Sasuke!" Sakura yelled at Naruto.

"Sasuke!!!" Naruto instantly charged towards Sasuke.

Just then, Orochimaru used his Soft Physique Modification to stretch his neck towards Sasuke. Sasuke immediately jumped away, and Naruto arrived just in time, kicking at Orochimaru.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" The area was instantly filled with Narutos.

"It seems I'll have to deal with you first," Orochimaru said, looking at the surrounding Narutos.

He had initially thought that only Sakura, with her lineage from Tsunade, would be troublesome. His plan was to restrain her first, then place the curse mark on Sasuke. In Orochimaru's eyes, Sasuke and Naruto were nothing more than lambs to the slaughter; he didn't consider them a threat at all.

Meanwhile, Sakura tried to break free from the snakes binding her. It was proving difficult. The snakes were incredibly resilient, likely specifically designed for restraining enemies. That meant she'd have to unleash a massive burst of chakra…

Watching the shadow clones being continuously destroyed and Sasuke constantly dodging, Sakura silently focused, drawing a massive amount of chakra from her Yin Seal…

"Release!!!"