Chapter 159: Swimmers Drown, The Deciding Moment
On the horizon, a clump of dark clouds piled up, drifted, and spread across the sky covering up the bright moon. The huge shadows shrouded the forest below, adding a hazy filter to the picture. Perhaps, it was because of the approaching dawn, the forest was filled with faint mist, and water droplets hung on the grass blades.
Amid it, there were hints of fresh smells of grass and mud, which blew directly against the face. To others, it would be a very refreshing feeling but it made Orochimaru frown. He felt the weather was unusual. The mist was fine. Due to the high humidity in the forest, it was expected to get misty before dawn. But Orochimaru felt a strong wind blowing against his face.
How could there be mist when the wind was blowing? At this moment, the wind and mist coexisted. This unusual phenomenon was very disturbing.
Coo, coo, coo, coo…
Hiss, hiss…
Rumble…
Aoo…
The whistling sounds of the wind, the birds and insects’ cries, the beasts’ roars, and the muffled sound of thunder gave the impression of an orchestra in the forest. But Orochimaru found it chaotic and was irritated. At this moment, his eyes were slightly blurred, and he couldn’t tell the atmosphere around him.
The strong wind mixed with the moisture of the mist blew against his body, and soon, his clothes were damp. Although he was fleeing for his life, he felt something was wrong. He had no time to delve deeper into it but he couldn’t stop his intuitive alarms.
The whistling sound of the wind slowly became stronger, and it felt painful as it blew against his body. The towering trees in the forest were swaying violently under the wind. Some smaller trees were broken or uprooted. The wind blew through the forest, making harsh sounds like endless wailing, giving people a chill.
Orochimaru felt that the resistance he was facing while running was becoming stronger. The mist ahead was growing thicker, making it harder to see.
Suddenly, his snake eyes shrank. At this moment, he felt an instinctual warning that would only appear in a life-or-death moment. He immediately stopped, wanting to dodge.
However, he didn’t know why his body seemed to have become sluggish. In an instant, three flashes lit up from different directions, and in the blink of an eye, everything seemed to have returned to its original state. The mist was still so thick that people couldn’t see clearly.
Orochimaru didn’t even see who was coming. It seemed that the scene just now was an illusion.
However…
Puff… Orochimaru was horrified to discover that his hand that was holding the Kusanagi Sword was cut off, and the severed hand fell into the mist along with the sword. Blood sprayed wildly, dyeing the mist around him bloody.
“Who is it!” Orochimaru paled in an instant. He shouted out but didn’t dare to act rashly.
“Orochimaru-sama, your junior brother has come to send you on your way.” In the dense mist where nothing could be seen, Tonan’s voice came from all directions. It seemed to be far away, yet close at hand.
Orochimaru covered the wound on his right shoulder. His forehead was covered with sweat but he pretended to be calm, “It’s you, Tonan-kun.” In his heart, he didn’t believe it would be so easy to get away from here. Suddenly, his eyes shrank, and exclaimed, “Impossible, how can I be poisoned… when was it?”
Tonan’s voice resounded in the mist again. “Orochimaru-sama, you are a master of poison. I know that ordinary poison will be useless against you. But there are some, which I think even you won’t be able to beat. Haven’t you noticed anything after running in the mist for so long?”
Tonan’s voice seemed ethereal, reverberating throughout the forest, making Orochimaru’s mood chaotic. It also made him feel fear, a feeling he had lost for a long time. When he heard Tonan’s words, he was stunned but he came to his senses.
“Orchids… but this isn’t the season for them.”
“Yes, I sprinkled orchid pollen here, and in the previous two areas, I sprinkled the Golden Snake Herb fine powder and the Drifting Oil Fruit. Consuming these three separately is not toxic but after inhaling them in a short time, they will mix and turn into a special neurotoxin that dulls the nerves.”
Orochimaru reached into his ninja bag but his face became uglier. He had fled in a hurry and had no time to take antidotes. “There is such a poison.”
Tonan’s voice continued to come from all directions, “Orochimaru-sama, blind research is no good. You need to be down-to-earth and read more roadside books. This formula is in the Konoha Bookstore. You can buy a complete set for three hundred Ryo. The smell of these three things is too strong. Ninjas would subconsciously become vigilant after smelling them. But you must know these things, so you don’t become vigilant against them. There is a saying, it is often a good swimmer who drowns.”
Orochimaru secretly circulated his chakra. The severed arm was nothing to him. As long as Tonan made a move, he was ready to spit out his entire self from the mouth. Perhaps, it would have an unexpected result.
“It’s a very good way of poisoning. The move you used just now to cut off my arm must be Kiri’s Silent Killing Technique.”
“Yes, I was planning to use this technique to send you on your way.”
Orochimaru’s snake eyes looked around, and he solemnly asked, “Do you think you can kill me?”
In the mist, Tonan’s laughter sounded crisp. “Why don’t you use your big moves? The bigger, the better. Then Sarutobi-sensei will rush over as quickly as possible. The mist is so thick, I’m afraid he will get lost.”
Another white light flashed after he spoke. Orochimaru narrowly dodged it, but a few strands of his hair were cut off. This time, he finally saw Tonan.
Tonan was holding the Kusanagi Sword, and staring at him indifferently. The three-tomoe Sharingan was spinning rapidly in his scarlet eyes. Time stood still at this moment and intense ocular power invaded Orochimaru’s mind.
This was the combined ocular power of over a dozen three-tomoe Sharingan. Even if Orochimaru’s spirit wasn’t injured, he wouldn’t be able to endure it. But now, when he was not only seriously injured but also affected by the neurotoxin, his plight was not looking good.
Genjutsu was broadly divided into two types, offensive and supplementary. Generally speaking, offensive genjutsu would happen in an instant, destroying the opponent’s spirit with various illusionary experiences. This genjutsu relied on the spiritual energy of the two fighting sides. Most of the results of this genjutsu were the collapse of the weak and the winner getting weaker.
The supplementary genjutsu was similar to the hypnotic eye, which could affect the judgment or control of the opponent. The disadvantage of this genjutsu was that it could only be used to abuse inexperienced people. If the opponent was an expert, he could instantly get out of it as soon as he realized he was trapped.
As for the advantage, the caster could attack the opponent before the opponent gets out of the illusion. At present, Tonan was using this genjutsu. In a battle between experts, an instant could decide the victor. As long as Orochimaru had no time to release the Eight-Headed Serpent, the struggle would be over.
