Sakura Haruno is Usefull

"Eh?"

"What about me?"

Naruto looked at the unexpected intruder in front of him. The man had already sized up Sakura, Sasuke, and Karin, pointing at them one by one. Unable to hold back his curiosity, Naruto gestured toward himself and spoke.

"Heh, what an amusing brat," Orochimaru said, licking his lips with a slippery tongue as his golden snake-like eyes observed the four young ninjas in front of him.

Orochimaru could roughly guess Naruto's identity.

To be in the same squad as the Third Hokage's last apprentice, alongside the final Uchiha survivor, and to have Kakashi Hatake as their teacher...

Blond hair, blue eyes.

Naruto's identity was self-evident to Orochimaru. He had done his homework before coming here.

"So then..."

"What brings you to us, a bunch of 'genin'?"

"Senior Brother," Sakura interjected, stepping forward to shield Karin behind her. Her emerald eyes locked onto the man—or whatever he was—in front of them.

"Not bad, little girl, you're quite sharp."

Orochimaru cast an approving glance at Sakura before pulling out an Earth Scroll. Under the disgusted gazes of the four young ninjas, he swallowed it whole.

"Come now, let's start a game of scroll retrieval," Orochimaru declared, extending a hand toward them with a mocking smirk.

Sakura silently observed the scene, a feeling of revulsion bubbling up.

If she could avoid it, she'd rather not touch that saliva-drenched scroll.

Disgusting...

"Naruto, you—"

"Enough with the act!"

Sakura had barely begun instructing Naruto and Sasuke to retreat with Karin when a flash of yellow charged straight at Orochimaru!

Naruto was about to form hand seals when Orochimaru made his move, grabbing Naruto's wrist to interrupt his jutsu and delivering a powerful kick that sent the blonde flying!

Naruto's speed in charging was matched only by the speed with which he was sent hurtling back!

What a coward, using Kage-level strength to bully a genin and even interrupting their jutsu…

Sakura couldn't help but inwardly complain as she watched the scene unfold.

"Naruto, you and Sasuke take Karin and leave. I'll handle this," she said, stepping forward. Turning her head slightly, she glanced at Naruto, who was already scrambling back to his feet.

Orochimaru wasn't a brute-force type, and he hadn't taken things too seriously. With Naruto's resilience, that kick wasn't much of a problem.

"What?"

"Sakura, are you joking? There's no way we're leaving you alone!"

Naruto rose from the ground, staring at Sakura's back in disbelief.

"Naruto, you heard him earlier, didn't you?"

"He mentioned 'the Hokage's last disciple.' Like me, he's a student of the Third Hokage."

"A legend among ninjas, one of the Sannin—Orochimaru."

"And he's my senior."

Sakura pulled out a pair of black gloves from her ninja pouch, slipping them on as Orochimaru watched her with growing interest.

"Strength equal to the Hokage..."

Sasuke trembled, his voice unsteady as he gazed at the cold, bone-chilling man in front of him.

Naruto, too, couldn't stop himself from shaking.

"What?"

"So, this is a family matter, Naruto. You and Sasuke take Karin and leave," Sakura said without looking back.

"Oh?" Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. "I didn't expect this long-lost junior sister to recognize me as her senior. But do you really think you can sneak your teammates away from under my nose, little girl?"

Orochimaru's gaze sharpened, and an overwhelming aura erupted from him!

Killing intent as vast as an ocean engulfed the four of them!

This was the murderous aura Orochimaru had honed on the battlefields of the Ninja World War—a presence so oppressive it had driven him to madness in his pursuit of immortality.

"W-what is this?!"

Sasuke's body trembled under Orochimaru's pressure, his Sharingan activating instinctively.

This is what true strength looks like?

This is what it means to rival the Hokage?!

As a sensory-type ninja, Karin felt Orochimaru's immense chakra more acutely than anyone else. Hugging herself tightly, she shivered uncontrollably.

"D-damn it..."

Naruto clenched his teeth, glaring fiercely at Orochimaru. Despite the fear gripping his heart, he forced his trembling hands to form seals.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

But under Orochimaru's suffocating killing intent, which was almost like a genjutsu, Naruto could only produce three clones instead of the usual hundreds.

"Do you have what it takes?"

Sakura smirked as a thought crossed her mind.

"Let's see if Senior really lives up to his reputation."

What is monstrous strength?

Monstrous strength is power.

And power is explosive!

With a single step, Sakura's tremendous force shattered the ground beneath her feet! She shot toward Orochimaru like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.

Orochimaru's golden eyes narrowed sharply.

Tsunade!

For a moment, he saw an image of Tsunade in this young girl.

But now wasn't the time for idle thoughts.

As someone who had fought alongside Tsunade and Jiraiya as one of the Sannin, Orochimaru knew all too well the devastation of monstrous strength.

Boom!

Sakura's overwhelming force sent Orochimaru flying like a ragdoll, smashing through over ten massive trees!

"What are you standing there for? Run!"

Sakura glanced back at the stunned Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin before charging toward where Orochimaru had landed.

She hadn't expected that one punch to kill him—it was merely to force Orochimaru to use his chakra-draining body replacement technique.

"Interesting. I didn't think you could wield such a technique so effectively," Orochimaru muttered as he rose to his feet, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His previous amusement had vanished, replaced by a more serious gaze.

Sakura scanned the area quickly but saw no signs of Orochimaru's discarded skin. Disappointment flickered in her eyes.

"Pitiful girl," Orochimaru sneered. "Protecting your teammates even in your weakness. If you ran, you might actually survive."

"Wrong!" Sakura retorted, slicing a shallow wound on her arm and quickly forming seals.

"Weakness isn't the problem. Cowardice is."

"And luckily, I possess neither!"

"Summoning Jutsu: King Enma!"

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