Naruto: The Clanless Prince

Sora was blasted away by Orochimaru, who commented on his lack of adaptability and the missed opportunities during their encounter.

Determined to observe Orochimaru's movements better, Sora activated his Sharingan and fixed his gaze on Orochimaru.

Orochimaru, now holding a kunai, rushed straight toward Sora.

"Breath of Thunder·Three Types·Gathering Mosquitoes into Thunder!"

Sora took the initiative and began spinning around Orochimaru at high speed, leaving trails of blue lightning in his path.

But Sora quickly noticed something was wrong.

As Orochimaru's body touched the arcs of blue lightning, it began turning to earth and eventually crumbled into a mound of soil.

Sora's eyes widened in shock.

Earth Substitution?!

When had Orochimaru formed the seal?

Despite staring at him, Sora realized Orochimaru must have formed the seal while commenting earlier, during a moment when his attention had faltered.

Suddenly, hands emerged from the ground and grabbed Sora's ankles.

Looking down, Sora felt a chill. Orochimaru had emerged from underground and was trying to drag him beneath the surface.

Reacting instantly, Sora called out:

"Breath of Thunder·Two Types·Rice Soul!"

Sora unleashed five lightning-shaped strikes in rapid succession, cutting through the ground and creating a gap.

But Orochimaru vanished underground once more instead of being forced out.

Sora stood his ground, waiting. Without knowing Orochimaru's location, searching recklessly would only expose his vulnerabilities. Defence and counterattacks were his best options.

Even though Orochimaru was holding back—no, letting him live—the sheer pressure of the battle was overwhelming, making Sora tense with nerves.

In a fight against such a formidable opponent, Sora knew winning was out of the question. His goal was to identify his weaknesses, gain valuable combat experience, and learn from the encounter.

Orochimaru's voice echoed from all directions, making it impossible for Sora to pinpoint his location.

"The Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes!"

A massive swarm of snakes appeared, encircling Sora and closing in on him.

Sora tightened his grip on his sword.

"Breath of Thunder·Three Types·Gathering Swarm into Thunder!"

Once again, Chiba used Gathering Swarm into Thunder, moving at high speed and leaving arcs of lightning along his path, electrocuting the advancing snakes.

While dashing through the snakes, Sora utilized his Sharingan to scan the surroundings, searching for Orochimaru's position.

Finally, Sora spotted him at the rear of the snake swarm on the right, observing with his arms folded.

Sora abruptly stopped in place.

Exhaling deeply, he focused his chakra. The blue lightning surrounding his sword grew brighter and louder, crackling fiercely.

"Breath of Thunder·Shape of Five·Heat World Thunder!"

With all his might, Sora swung his sword, releasing a barrage of lightning-infused slashes from his tachi, targeting Orochimaru directly.

Orochimaru saw the lightning released by Sora, his eyes narrowing as he used the Body Flicker Technique to evade the range of the Heat World Thunder.

The Heat World Thunderstruck a massive tree.

The tree shattered instantly, the intense heat igniting it into a blazing inferno, while residual lightning left a deep crater in the ground.

Orochimaru's narrowed eyes reflected his thoughts as he observed the power of Sora's Heat World Thunder.

The power of this move surpassed the combined force of Sora's earlier techniques, and its speed was impressive.

However, he noted a critical weakness—the significant chakra consumption.

Sora was now leaning on one thigh, breathing heavily.

Although Sora's chakra reserves had grown considerably, currently equating to about three-fifths of Kakashi's chakra in his Sharingan state, the chakra consumption of the Thunder Breath's Shape of Five, Heat World Thunder was taxing. At best, Sora could use it three or four times in a normal state.

Moreover, the power of the Heat World Thunder was directly proportional to the chakra output, and Sora had deliberately increased the chakra for his last strike.

He had seized an opportunity when Orochimaru was exposed, observing him from outside the snake group, and had poured his chakra into maximizing the technique's speed and power.

Yet, despite finding an opening, Sora's strength wasn't enough to capitalize on it fully, allowing Orochimaru to escape with the Body Flicker Technique.

Orochimaru approached with his usual calm demeanour, his voice carrying a faint hint of amusement. "Are you finished here?"

Sora, still catching his breath, couldn't gauge from Orochimaru's expression whether he had succeeded or failed.

Taking a deep breath, Sora straightened up. "I still have chakra left. I can use one final move."

"Really? Then I'll wait."

This time, Orochimaru refrained from attacking, choosing instead to stand still, his curiosity piqued by Sora's declaration.

Sora returned his sword to its sheath, adjusting his stance into a slight crouch.

Seeing the familiar posture, Orochimaru raised a brow. "Isn't this the same opening stance as your Thunderbolt Flash? Surely you realize the weaknesses of that move—against me, it's useless."

Wrapping his arms and legs in flickering lightning, Sora responded confidently, "No, this move is different."

"Oh? Then show me."

Orochimaru's interest deepened. He had thoroughly reviewed the Breath of Thunder sword style Sora had contributed to Konoha. As ninjutsu, it was remarkably effective.

Yet, within its seven forms, only the Shape of One, Thunderbolt Flash, carried this particular stance.

Even though some Lightning Style shinobi had learned the Breath of Thunder, none matched the speed or impact Sora demonstrated.

In terms of skill, even the weakest of those shinobi ranked as Chūnin. However, their execution of Breath of Thunder fell far short of Sora's current speed and precision.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, with his sharp judgment, had initially classified the first five forms of Breath of Thunder as B-rank.

Yet from this fight, Orochimaru saw that in Sora's hands, these techniques could easily qualify as A-rank.

Especially the Shape of Five, Heat World Thunder, which undoubtedly reached A-rank in power and execution.

Orochimaru couldn't help but wonder if Sora was either a natural genius with Lightning Style, uniquely suited for this ninjutsu or if the techniques he contributed to Konoha still concealed some secrets.

Fixing his piercing gaze on Sora, Orochimaru waited for this supposed difference in technique.

"Breath of Thunder·Shape of One·Thunderbolt Flash..."

Sora exploded forward in a burst of speed, dashing toward Orochimaru like a streak of lightning.

Orochimaru frowned. Isn't this still Thunderbolt Flash?

He prepared to use the Body Flicker Technique to evade once more, but then Sora's Sharingan locked onto him.

"Sixth Company!"

Sora pivoted, stepping onto a tree trunk with both feet and using it to change the direction of his attack mid-flight.

Lightning blazed as he adjusted his trajectory, slashing toward Orochimaru again with renewed ferocity.

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