"How interesting... this is a strange kind of power. The Taijutsu of the Senju clan — it can unleash powerful blasts of air through mere movement. Are you really an orphan of the Senju clan?"
At this moment, Orochimaru finally grew completely serious.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
However, Orochimaru moved in the wrong direction...
The Darkness Technique had severely limited his vision.
In Orochimaru's eyes, everything was pitch-black — he couldn't see a thing and could only rely on his instincts.
And then... Orochimaru's instincts betrayed him.
Several ferocious snakes shot out wildly from his sleeves, lashing out at empty air.
Only then did Orochimaru realize he had underestimated his opponent.
He had already suffered quite a few injuries earlier and originally planned to quickly suppress Haru, capture him, and bring him back to the lab for detailed research — hoping to uncover the secrets of the Senju bloodline.
He hadn't expected Haru to be so slippery.
Under the cold moonlight, the ground appeared pale and shimmering, but in Orochimaru's vision, everything remained pure black — so dark even his own fingers were invisible.
At that moment, a sharp wind roared behind Orochimaru's head.
"Behind me?"
Orochimaru immediately ducked his head — but a grimace twisted across his face.
His back hurt!
He bent down too quickly!
Fresh blood oozed from the wound.
"Not good!"
Orochimaru immediately realized something bad was about to happen.
"Substitution!"
Bang! Bang!
But even the Substitution Jutsu failed.
Haru's first strike hit the dummy substitution.
By the second strike, Orochimaru could already feel the fierce wind of Haru's fist brushing against his face.
"Instant Technique!"
Orochimaru hurriedly retreated, sighing inwardly.
Such talent at such a young age... truly a genius.
His sense of timing, positioning — everything was executed with such precision.
Just through pure hand-to-hand combat, Haru had managed to push him back.
It didn't feel like fighting a normal ninja at all.
While Orochimaru wasn't particularly skilled in taijutsu compared to some, as a shadow-level shinobi like the Third Tsuchikage, even an average jōnin couldn't compare to him physically.
And yet, against this boy — a kid who had only just awakened his bloodline — Orochimaru found himself completely suppressed.
The sheer ferocity of those consecutive attacks just now...
One punch alone would have likely crushed an ordinary jōnin.
Takayama Haru couldn't believe it — Orochimaru had actually retreated?
Was this really the legendary Sannin of Konoha?
A bit disappointing.
Though Orochimaru was clearly stronger than someone like Minato Namikaze at the same stage, it wasn't by much.
Orochimaru's performance left Haru feeling a little let down.
"Come on, let's go another round!"
Haru didn't feel like he'd had enough yet.
"?!"
Orochimaru was furious.
Originally, because of his injuries, he hadn't fought with full force — using only about thirty percent of his strength to avoid making too much noise.
But now — this brat actually thought he was easy to bully?
"Kusanagi Sword..."
Orochimaru lowered his head and drew the Kusanagi Sword straight from his mouth.
"Stop!"
Suddenly — a massive Vajra Staff crashed down from the sky!
Boom!
It smashed between Haru and Orochimaru, forcibly separating the two.
Orochimaru was sent flying again, crashing hard into the ground, coughing up a huge mouthful of blood.
At the same time, the Darkness Technique was disrupted.
Orochimaru's vision returned, and the moment he saw the Vajra Staff, he immediately sheathed the Kusanagi Sword.
From the sky, Hiruzen Sarutobi — the Third Hokage — landed, retracting the Vajra Staff.
He immediately looked toward Haru.
"Haru, are you okay—"
Before he could even finish his sentence, he noticed something strange.
He turned to look — and there was Orochimaru, collapsed on the ground.
"What happened here?"
Hiruzen frowned deeply.
Orochimaru was coughing up blood?
Clearly, Haru wasn't ordinary.
Takayama Haru pointed at the staff and said innocently,
"Lord Third, it was your Vajra Staff that smashed him."
"Huh?"
Was it me?
Orochimaru, blood trickling from his lips, smiled and said,
"Sensei, it's nothing. I just heard someone suddenly awakened the Senju clan's bloodline limit... I got curious and wanted to test him out."
"You fool!" Hiruzen glared at him furiously.
"Orochimaru, instead of reporting this immediately, you ran here to test him out on your own?!"
"You're reckless!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was genuinely furious.
Not long ago, Lady Mito had insisted on bringing Haru back into the Uzumaki Clan's care.
If anything happened to Haru, how could he ever explain it to her?
Hiruzen had been patient with Orochimaru before, but this time — without permission, Orochimaru had directly acted.
It made Hiruzen furious beyond words.
Orochimaru — once his most promising student, the one he thought would inherit his position — had done something so reckless.
"Haru, I'll make sure you get a satisfactory explanation about all this tomorrow!"
With that, Hiruzen scooped up Orochimaru and quickly left.
Takayama Haru watched Hiruzen leave and thought to himself:
Was this some secret trial arranged by the Third Hokage?
It didn't seem likely.
Although the old man was soft-hearted, he wouldn't stoop to setting up something like this.
More likely, Orochimaru had simply gotten curious about him.
But Haru didn't care either way.
His strength was increasing every single day.
At this rate, within a year, he would fully fuse with the character card of Hashirama Senju — completely inheriting Hashirama's legendary power!
Besides, Orochimaru had been dragged away by Hiruzen, and wouldn't be causing trouble for him anytime soon.
Once Haru's strength grew another level, it would be him seeking out Orochimaru — to "ask" for some experience in mastering Impure World Reincarnation!