From Danmachi to God of Ninja

Chapter 81: Chapter 81

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, the shinobi left behind finally began discussing what had just happened.

"That just now... was Wood Release, right? It was definitely Wood Release, right?" Hyūga Takashi said, his expression excited.

"So he’s that Kiriya? A descendant of the Senju clan?"

"No way! He used to be a terrible Ninja. I could’ve beaten him with one hand."

"Keep your voice down. Didn’t you see what just happened? He’s already someone who can exchange moves with Lord Orochimaru."

"I never thought that kind of sudden explosive growth actually happened in real life. He looks exactly like the protagonist from some third-rate heroic legend."

For a while, everyone talked intensely about Kiriya’s sudden leap in strength.

A considerable number of the shinobi were extremely excited.

After all, this was the legendary Wood Release, the power of the God of Shinobi himself.

Now that it had reappeared in a later-generation shinobi of Konoha, what else could this be but heaven blessing the village?

So, in the hearts of those who regarded Senju Hashirama as a kind of totem, Kiriya had already been accepted as one of their own.

As for the earlier clash with Orochimaru...

Could that even be called a clash?

That was clearly Orochimaru guiding the younger generation and testing the strength of a promising ninja.

Besides, young geniuses were proud and rebellious. It was normal for them to be unconvinced by older veterans.

It was not a big deal.

Yes.

In the minds of these people who placed Konoha’s interests above all else, that was exactly how their logic worked.

Another portion of the shinobi, however, had more complicated feelings.

In their minds, Kiriya’s previous image as a lazy, unreliable dead last had left far too deep an impression.

Now that Kiriya had shed his old self completely and could even fight with a shinobi like one of the Sannin, that massive contrast was enough to shake their hearts.

It felt like they had eaten ten pounds of lemons in one sitting.

Some of them even had a dark little thought.

They hoped Kiriya would lose against Orochimaru and get taught a harsh lesson.

Among everyone present, the one whose mood was swinging the hardest was Sarutobi Asuma.

After all, he had just exposed quite a lot of Kiriya’s old dirt right in front of him, practically shaking out all of Kiriya’s embarrassing history.

Now that Kiriya was this strong, Asuma could forget about having peaceful days in the future.

"This is killing me. If you were that strong, couldn’t you have said so earlier? If you had told me, would I have opened my big mouth like that?"

Sarutobi Asuma touched his swollen face and felt deeply depressed.

Guy, Ebisu, and Genma watched from the side and could barely hold back their laughter.

Hyūga Hizashi, meanwhile, looked in the direction the two had left, unable to shake the worry in his heart.

Perhaps to others, Kiriya awakening Wood Release as a descendant of the Senju clan was a once-in-a-lifetime miracle, the kind of impossible black swan event that made ancestral graves smoke with blessing.

But Hizashi was different.

His elder brother was the clan head of one of Konoha’s top noble clans, the Hyūga clan.

Through that connection, Hizashi knew many things ordinary people did not.

When he connected those details with Kiriya’s attitude toward Orochimaru earlier, he could naturally guess what kind of danger and price lay behind Kiriya obtaining that power.

How could he not worry?

’Kiriya! Orochimaru! We’re facing powerful enemies right now, so please don’t go too far.’

Hyūga Hizashi prayed silently in his heart while helping the other jōnin maintain order.

...

While that group of shinobi discussed everything heatedly, in a valley ten kilometers away, Orochimaru and Kiriya stood facing each other.

Orochimaru’s vertical pupils locked tightly onto Kiriya, like an artist staring at his most perfect masterpiece

His face was filled with obsession.

"Subarashii! Truly wonderful."

He spread his arms, speaking in an almost excited, theatrical chant.

"I never expected two kekkei genkai to truly fuse so perfectly within your body. How... How fascinating. I find myself wanting you more and more."

Faced with that damp, cold gaze, Kiriya’s expression remained solemn.

"Is that all you have to say for your last words?"

"Heh. Those eyes... Have you come prepared to kill me?"

Under Kiriya’s gaze, which was filled with killing intent, Orochimaru showed not the slightest anger. Instead, his expectation only grew stronger.

"Good. Then let me see how far you can—"

Before he could finish speaking, he froze.

Because Kiriya had vanished from his field of vision.

Immediately afterward, Orochimaru felt a chill at his neck.

His vision spun, and in the blur, he vaguely saw a headless corpse standing nearby, along with Kiriya’s cold face beside it.

"What an impatient child."

Orochimaru murmured softly.

Then the entire body exploded.

Boom!

With a thunderous blast, heat and shockwaves swallowed the area, leaving a huge crater in the ground.

Orochimaru had long anticipated that Kiriya would launch a surprise attack, so he had prepared a substitute and explosive tags in advance to welcome him.

Naturally, Kiriya would not be caught by such a small trick.

With a light tap of his toes, his body shot backward and left the explosion range.

"Hidden Shadow Snakes Hand!"

From the shadow beneath a nearby tree, several pythons suddenly burst out.

Their bodies twisted and crossed in midair, constantly changing direction as they lunged to bite down on him.

Swish, swish, swish!

Kiriya did not move his feet. The sword in his hand swept out in brilliant flashes, shredding every python into torn chunks of flesh.

Immediately, the thick smell of blood mixed with a faint, sickly sweetness rushed into his nose.

"Hm? This smell... poison?"

Kiriya sensed something was wrong and immediately held his breath.

Strength burst through his legs as he leapt out of the blood mist’s range and landed beneath a large tree.

Whoosh!

The moment he arrived, before he could fully steady himself, a black shadow dropped from above.

It was Orochimaru.

At some point, a long sword had appeared in his hand.

He thrust repeatedly toward Kiriya’s vital points, forcing Kiriya to keep raising his sword to block.

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

Orochimaru was not a master who specialized solely in swordsmanship, but after years of campaigns and countless powerful enemies slain by his hand, his sword skill was still quite accomplished.

His fierce assault was sharp and strange, and for a brief moment, he actually suppressed Kiriya.

Because there was something worth learning from Orochimaru’s swordsmanship, Kiriya deliberately activated his Sharingan and began copying the Orochimaru-style sword techniques.

Unexpectedly, that action made Orochimaru even more excited.

His expression was like that of a fanatical otaku seeing his goddess lift the hem of her skirt!

He had seen other Uchiha use the Sharingan in the village, but Kiriya’s eyes were different.

They did not have the cold, bloody red of an ordinary Sharingan.

Instead, they were wine-red, carrying a unique warmth to it.

What was the principle behind it?

What kind of effects would this Sharingan have?

Question after question circled through Orochimaru’s mind, leaving his heart so itchy it felt as if dozens of cats were clawing at it.

And because of that moment of excitement, a gap appeared in his attack.

Clang!

Kiriya parried Orochimaru’s thrust, turned, and slammed a palm heavily into Orochimaru’s chest, sending him flying backward.

Orochimaru crashed into a boulder so hard that the stone caved inward.