Boom!
With a thunderous explosion, the sword in Kaede Kitahara's hand cut straight down in front of Orochimaru.
"Ah!"
A scream rang out as Orochimaru was split cleanly in two, and the air seemed to burst apart.
"Is it over?"
Sakura Haruno stared at everything, dumbfounded.
Kaede Kitahara looked at the scene before him, his expression still cold. He had to admit, this was simply how the ninja world worked. Ninja still had the bodies of ordinary people, or rather, bodies that were not that much stronger than ordinary people's.
If Orochimaru took a slash like that, the result would not be much different from an ordinary Jonin taking the same strike.
But Kaede knew this was not Orochimaru's real body. The instant his blade hit, he had felt that something was wrong. Sure enough, the body that had been split in two before him directly transformed into two pieces of shed snakeskin.
Orochimaru-Style Body Replacement Technique!
Unlike an ordinary Body Replacement Technique, Orochimaru's version was more impressive and far more realistic. It could even deceive Uchiha Itachi, who possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Of course, the price was also much greater. It consumed far more Chakra than an ordinary Body Replacement Technique.
At that critical instant, Orochimaru had used the Orochimaru-Style Body Replacement Technique to avoid the fatal blow.
"He escaped?"
Kaede Kitahara narrowed his eyes and looked around. Inwardly, he could not help sighing. Orochimaru truly lived up to being the hardest person to kill, someone who was even alive and well by the time of Boruto.
Deep in the distant forest, Orochimaru's sticky real body was fleeing at high speed, having nearly been split to death by Kaede Kitahara's slash.
If that sword strike from Kaede Kitahara just now had truly landed, this body would undoubtedly have died. Although Orochimaru still had other backup measures, if he used them now, he would completely lose the chance to carry out the Konoha Crush Plan.
So he did not choose to clash head-on with Kaede Kitahara.
Only now did he finally understand why Kaede Kitahara had been able to deal with Gaara and the One-Tail Shukaku so easily. It had not been luck. It had been pure suppression through strength.
A Tailed Beast still in a Jinchuriki state could only display fairly limited strength when unprepared, especially when Sunagakure's seal was so crude.
It could not even let Gaara draw on the One-Tail Shukaku's Chakra.
"He should be gone. Don't worry!"
Kaede Kitahara turned and spoke to Uzumaki Naruto and Sakura Haruno.
"Is it really okay?"
Sakura Haruno asked, "That was too terrifying. One of the Legendary Sannin? Who is that?"
Sakura did not understand these things. The Ninja Academy did not teach them either. Usually, unless you were a ninja with clan inheritance, you would only know bits and pieces.
And as it happened, Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto were the only two among the Twelve Rookies who had no family they could rely on.
Strictly speaking, Uzumaki Naruto did not count. It was just that now, because of Namikaze Minato's death, the connections and resources that should have belonged to him and his family had all been deliberately separated from him by the Third Hokage.
As for Sakura, she was a pure Civilian Ninja. Naturally, no one had ever mentioned the so-called Legendary Sannin of Konoha to her.
"The Legendary Sannin of Konoha were three powerful Konoha shinobi. They were once major figures who could stand on equal footing with the Kage of other villages. Later, all three of them left Konoha one after another. One of them defected, and that's Orochimaru." Kaede Kitahara gave her a brief explanation.
"Stronger than Kakashi-sensei?"
Sakura asked in shock.
"If it were the old Kakashi-senpai, he should have been far behind Orochimaru. Even taking Orochimaru down with him would have been impossible. But now, he should be able to put up a fight," Kaede Kitahara said.
Both Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto were stunned. They did not know how strong the current Hatake Kakashi had become, but they had personally seen how strong the old Hatake Kakashi was. Back when they had just graduated, the three of them working together had not been able to do anything to a single Shadow Clone Jutsu of his.
That was how ridiculous the gap in strength had been.
Yet now, she was being told that even Hatake Kakashi at that level would have been unable to take Orochimaru down with him.
At last, she had a faint impression of how powerful the Legendary Sannin were.
"Sasuke should stay unconscious for a while. You two watch over him first. Don't let anything happen to him," Kaede Kitahara said.
"Kitahara-senpai, you're not going to help Sasuke?"
Sakura quickly asked.
"This is a Chunin Exams selection test. If I help you, you'll only be disqualified. I appeared here because Orochimaru infiltrated the Forest of Death," Kaede Kitahara said. "But you can relax. Orochimaru's goal was only to plant that Cursed Seal on Sasuke. Now that his mission is complete, he won't come back. But you'll have to get through the next trial yourselves. He said it earlier too. Three Sound Ninja from Otogakure under his control will come looking for trouble. Before Sasuke wakes up, the two of you will have to protect him."
"Kitahara-senpai, but Orochimaru said Sasuke only has a one-in-ten chance of surviving."
Sakura spoke nervously. Clearly, she truly cared about Sasuke.
"Don't worry. He was talking about ordinary people. Sasuke isn't ordinary. For an ordinary person, the survival rate might only be one in ten. For him, it shouldn't be much of a problem."
Kaede Kitahara did not take this issue to heart. Whether it was the power of Uchiha Sasuke's own bloodline or the power of Indra's Chakra hidden within his body, both were enough to digest this Cursed Seal that might have been fatal to an ordinary person.
Kaede Kitahara did not stay behind to act as Team 7's bodyguard. The Chunin Exams were still continuing.
A moment later, Kaede Kitahara received a message from the Third Hokage through his radio headset, telling him to head to the Central Tower.
To his surprise, when he arrived inside the tower, examinees had already made it there.
It was none other than Gaara from Sunagakure.
"What is going on with that Genin from Sunagakure? There isn't a single trace of battle on him."
A Chunin was shocked by how clean and tidy Gaara looked. He did not seem like someone who had gone through a major battle at all.
And his arrival speed was unbelievably fast. It was almost as if, after obtaining the scroll, he had immediately headed straight for the Central Tower.
Kaede Kitahara naturally understood. With Gaara's strength and his special Sand Jutsu, reaching the Central Tower without injury was effortless.
But very soon, Kaede received more news. The Proctor of this exam, Anko Mitarashi, had encountered Orochimaru in the Forest of Death after Orochimaru had just retreated from Kaede Kitahara. Anko had been defeated by Orochimaru.
Even the Cursed Seal on her neck had been triggered by Orochimaru. Now she had entered a violent outbreak phase.
The gathered ninja, including the Anbu, were all helpless.
"For a Cursed Seal like this, we need to notify the Sealing Corps."
Yuhi Kurenai, who had arrived first, looked at the Cursed Seal Orochimaru had left on Anko's neck and spoke quickly.
Fuinjutsu was a type of Ninjutsu that only a very small number of people in the Shinobi World could handle properly.
"Let me do it."
Kaede Kitahara stepped forward and said, "I happen to know the Evil Sealing Method. I can seal her Cursed Seal."
Kaede Kitahara did not explain why he knew the Evil Sealing Method, and everyone else tactfully refrained from asking. A ninja's intelligence was always extremely private. Even ninja from the same village could not casually ask about it.
Kaede Kitahara stepped forward and directly performed the Evil Sealing Method. In only a short while, he suppressed the Cursed Seal on Anko's body. Compared with Hatake Kakashi sealing the Cursed Seal on Uchiha Sasuke in the original story, this was much easier.
"Thank you."
Anko spoke weakly. Because of the Cursed Seal's outbreak, she had spent a great deal of Chakra holding on.
"No need," Kaede Kitahara said with a nod.
Before long, several Jonin, including the Third Hokage, as well as an Anbu squad, had already arrived inside the Central Tower.
"You're saying the two of you were the only ones who encountered Orochimaru?"
The Third Hokage spoke.
"Yes. Orochimaru's target should be Uchiha Sasuke. Although I don't know exactly what he wants to do, he put a great deal of effort into Uchiha Sasuke," Anko said weakly.
She remembered the conversation she had with Orochimaru earlier. Orochimaru had clearly warned her not to stop the Chunin Exams. Otherwise, he would make Konoha pay the price.
"Yes. When I encountered Orochimaru, he had just found Team 7," Kaede Kitahara said. "He also left a Cursed Seal on Sasuke. I think he has taken a liking to Sasuke."
After hearing the two of them, the Third Hokage fell silent for a moment. Then he said, "You fought him. How did he feel?"
"As expected of one of the Legendary Sannin," Kaede Kitahara said.
What he meant, of course, was Orochimaru's ability to escape. After only one move, Orochimaru immediately used Earth Release and fled far away, running absurdly fast. He was practically a snake escape artist.
But in the Third Hokage's ears, it became something else. Orochimaru's strength was just as formidable as the legends said, and Kaede was no match for him.
Only Hatake Kakashi raised his head and glanced at Kaede Kitahara, as if he somewhat understood what Kaede would write in his diary.
"If Orochimaru wants to play, then we'll play along with him!" the Third Hokage said. "The Chunin Exams will continue."
The Third Hokage had never intended to stop the Chunin Exams anyway. After all, they had prepared for this exam for a long time. It was not only a Chunin selection, but also an arms race and a military exercise.
"For the next few days, stay here and wait for the examinees to gather. If Orochimaru wants to cause trouble here, then I will stay here and keep him company."
After the Third Hokage finished speaking, he dismissed everyone and let them return to their own duties.
At the top of the Central Tower, moonlight fell across the railing. Kaede Kitahara sat cross-legged against it, took out his diary, and began recording.
[Auntie Snake really lives up to being the best runner and hardest person to kill in the entire Naruto world. Even in Boruto, one of the Sannin is dead and another is old, yet he's still alive and well. He can even show the ninja of the new era a little of the intimidation that belongs to the old generation of powerhouses.
Anyone else would have been unable to escape that sword. Only he could do it. The second he sensed something was wrong, he ran. No wonder he managed to stay alive and well even while being hunted by the Akatsuki Organization.]