Orochimaru’s disdain for the group wasn’t mispced.

  They were, after all, a ragtag bunch:

  A Nara jōnin whose ability paled in parison to Kakashi and whose injured arm rendered him almost iive.

  Two genin with no unique skills or hy abilities.

  And a in whose powers, though fluctuating and promising, had yet to demonstrate the capacity to surpass a jōnin prehensively.

  Why would one of the legendary Sannin take them seriously?

  "Shh—"

  Orochimaru’s bde effortlessly dissipated the shadow e, a satisfied smile spreading across his face. Leaning on his katana, he spoke with a soft, almost teasing tone:

  "Have you prepared your teiques yet? Will you trol hair? Wield ice release? Or perhaps jure iron inside your oppos' bodies?"

  [He knows everything…]

  Link dismissed his summoand, Catch the Rainbow. His heart sank. He had gambled oand Summoning Teique but hadn’t pulled anything worthwhile in the past four attempts.

  Silver Bracelet: Nearly useless in direbat.

  Dragon’s Dream: Effective only with esoterig shui knowledge, and bat was hardly the time for such things.

  Death Thirteen: Invincible in dreams but irrelevant here.

  Catch the Rainbow: Required rain to fun, leaving it powerless in this arid ndscape.

  [The stand pool is too vast to rely on summoning something useful mid-battle. I ’t waste chakra on such odds anymore.]

  Determined, Link shifted his mi.

  [Time for a straightforward fight.]

  Releasing another shadow e, he tinued weaving seals. Even without a stand, his transformed state granted him enough physical prowess to hold his own against Orochimaru. While his speed and reflexes fell short, he was fident in his ability to engage in close bat, especially since Orochimaru’s manipution of the Kusanagi sword required chakra-based ninjutsu.

  Even if Orochimaru’s genjutsu struck, Link had Headhueique as a ter, and his shadow es could mitigate damage.

  "Hold on tight!"

  The Mountain Drake fpped its wings, suddenly rising dozens of meters. The sharp ast pinned Iris and Ami against its scales, their bodies straining uhe pressure. As the dragon stabilized, it turned and began flying toward the Land of Fire at full speed.

  The r winds buffeted the group. Even Nara Ensui’s blood-soaked clothes began to freeze in the high-altitude cold.

  Orochimaru, standing below, released his grip on the Kusanagi sword.

  Taking a step forward, he smirked. "Is it that you ’t unleash your teique? Or perhaps you need more chakra and time? Or..."

  His vertical slit eyes gleamed with malice. "Could it be you don’t even have full trol over your powers?"

  Suddenly, his figure blurred.

  "Thud!"

  Ensui, despite his heightened vigince, fell victim to a suddesu. He froze momentarily before being kicked with devastating force, his body hurtling through the air.

  It was a dispy of sheer dominan adult effortlessly overwhelming a child.

  "Swish!"

  The moment Ensui was struck, Lied instinctively, halting his seals. His body transformed, his entire form being a myriad of bdes. The transformation was so intricate that even individual body parts morphed with precision, resembling a peacock’s fan of razor-sharp feathers.

  Orochimaru barely evaded the attack, the edge of Link’s bdes grazing his robes. His neck extended grotesquely, bending at an unnatural angle as he luo bite Link’s head.

  "Whoosh!"

  Link’s right arm reverted to normal. His fiips glowed with blue-white chakra fmes inscribed with the kanji for Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth.

  Without hesitation, he aimed his glowing hand at Orochimaru’s cheek.

  Just before the two could exge blows, Orochimaru’s neck recoiled, retreating into his body with unnatural fluidity.

  Ign the ws of iia, his body reset itself, creating a disorienting sight.

  "Is that the Five Elements Seal? No… it’s different," Orochimaru muttered, his smile fading for the first time.

  The instinct honed from tless battles warned him to avoid direct tact. Despite his modified body, something about that seal felt ily dangerous.

  [A shame…]

  Link maintained a calm expression as he swallowed another soldier pill. He didn’t dare unother reckless attack. His speed aion time were no match for Orochimaru, and any misstep could prove fatal.

  The dragon’s ast had been strategic, creating a battleground in the skies where rge-scale ninjutsu would be impractical. If Orochimaru used such teiques here, it would endanger Link but also himself.

  Link’s seemingly aimless summoning of stands had been a calcuted feint to gauge Orochimaru’s iions.

  Was he after a corpse for experimentation? Or did he want to capture Link alive?

  The gamble was clear: Orochimaru’s recklessness.

  In the manga, Orochimaru often relied on his modified body to tank damage—taking Naruto’s punches or willingly enduring Sasuke’s fmes. If Orochimaru let his guard down and took a hit from the Five Elements Seal, Link and Ensui might gain the upper hand.

  Unfortunately, Orochimaru’s instincts proved too sharp.

  "Step."

  Ensui staggered bato the dragon, clutg his injuries. The cold winds whipped through his disheveled hair as he regained his footing.

  "That’s a dangerous teique," Orochimaru murmured, his tone ced with intrigue. His eyes glinted with predatreed. "You’re being more fasating by the sed, Link-kun."

  Iris and Ami g to the dragon’s back, barely able to move. The altitude and speed were too much for their untrained bodies, leaving them vulnerable.

  [One more minute… not enough time to reach the Land of Fire before my transformation ends.]

  Ign Orochimaru’s predataze, Link calmly calcuted his move. Orochimaru seemed to have deduced his limits: his chakra reserves and inability to maintain his transformed state for long.

  The Sannin showed nency, clearly willing to wait Link out.

  With his earth-based teiques rendered iive in the sky, his options were limited. The Kusanagi sword, still cirg ominously, hadn’t even been redeployed.

  [I’m trapped. Like a bug ensnared in a web, the more I struggle, the tighter it gets.]

  Link made a decision.

  "No point in holding onto false hopes."

  "Whoosh!"

  The dragon suddenly dove toward the ground.

  "A desperate struggle?" Orochimaru smirked, his voice dripping with mockery.

  Bleam