Chinya was sent flying by Orochimaru, who criticized him for poor improvisation during battle and for missing numerous opportunities.
To better observe Orochimaru's movements, Chinya activated his Sharingan and fixed his eyes on Orochimaru.
Orochimaru charged forward with a kunai straight toward Chinya.
[Thunder Breathing Third Form – Gathering of the Storm!]
Taking the initiative, Chinya spun rapidly around Orochimaru, leaving behind wavy blue lightning along his path.
However, he quickly realized something was off.
After Orochimaru's body touched the wavy blue lightning, his figure gradually turned earth-colored and finally crumbled into a pile of mud.
Chinya was deeply shocked.
Earth Replacement (Doton: Kawarimi)? When did he make the hand sign?!
I was watching him the entire time.
Suddenly, he stiffened, guessing when Orochimaru had made the seal.
During Orochimaru's critique, he hadn't kept his eyes on him constantly.
All of a sudden,
A pair of hands grabbed Chinya's ankle.
Looking down, Chinya felt a chill run through him.
Orochimaru was underground and pulling him down.
Chinya reacted immediately.
[Thunder Breathing, Second Form: Paddy Soul!]
He unleashed a rapid sequence of lightning-fast slashes that tore through the earth beneath him.
But it didn't force Orochimaru out; instead, the figure vanished beneath the surface.
Now free, Chinya stood firmly in place, bracing himself.
Wherever Orochimaru was hiding now was unknown. Rather than actively searching and risking giving away his position, it was better to defend and counterattack.
Fighting Orochimaru, even if he was holding back—no, more like going easy beyond measure—still gave Chinya immense pressure.
In a battle against such a powerful opponent, winning wasn't even worth thinking about. What Chinya needed now was to identify his weaknesses during combat, absorb every bit of experience from this fight, and put it to use.
Suddenly, Orochimaru's voice echoed from all directions, making it impossible for Chinya to pinpoint its source.
[Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes!]
Countless snakes appeared around Chinya, surrounding him as they moved closer.
Chinya tightened his grip on the katana.
Once again, he activated Gathering of the Storm, dashing at high speed and leaving wavy trails of lightning in his wake. The surging energy fried every snake caught in his path.
While moving swiftly, Chinya also carefully observed the surroundings with his Sharingan, attempting to locate Orochimaru.
Finally, at the back end of the snake swarm on his right side, he spotted Orochimaru standing there with arms crossed, observing him.
Chinya suddenly slammed on the brakes and stopped on the spot.
Chinya exhaled sharply and poured all his chakra into the blade. The blue lightning surged brighter, crackling louder with each passing moment.
[Thunder Breathing's Fifth Form – Heat Thunder Realm!]
With full force, Chinya swung a mighty slash through the air.
A blazing, lightning-shaped blade shot from the katana and headed straight toward Orochimaru.
Seeing the incoming bolt of lightning, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, quickly using Shifting Body Technique to escape the attack's range.
The Heat Thunder Realm struck a giant tree.
The ancient tree was instantly shattered, its timber igniting into roaring flames from the intense heat, while residual lightning blasted a crater into the ground.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly as he observed the power of Chinya's [Heat Thunder Realm].
This technique's might surpassed the combined strength of all previous attacks Chinya had used earlier.
And its speed was just as impressive.
However... judging by the chakra consumption, it must have cost quite a lot.
Chinya placed one hand on his thigh, panting heavily.
Although his chakra reserves had grown significantly—according to the System, now reaching about three-fifths that of Kakashi with his Sharingan active—the amount consumed by [Thunder Breathing's Fifth Form – Heat Thunder Realm] still left Chinya struggling. At most, he could probably unleash it normally only three or four times.
Additionally, the [Heat Thunder Realm] had one unique characteristic: the more chakra invested, the greater its power output.
Just now, Chinya had intentionally increased his chakra output during the attack.
Since Orochimaru had been observing him from outside the snake swarm provided an opportunity, Chinya didn't hesitate to channel extra chakra into the technique, elevating both the speed and power of [Heat Thunder Realm].
Though Chinya had seized an opportunity, his current strength wasn't enough to fully capitalize on it, allowing Orochimaru to escape using the Shifting Body Technique.
Orochimaru slowly stepped forward, looking at Chinya as he asked, "Have you already reached your limit?"
Chinya couldn't read anything from Orochimaru's expression, unable to tell whether he met the standard.
Taking a deep breath, Chinya straightened his posture again. "I still have chakra remaining, though I can probably use only one final move!"
"Is that so? I'll be waiting."
This time, Orochimaru didn't move first but stood firmly in place, watching Chinya prepare his next strike.
Sheathing his katana, Chinya slightly crouched his body.
Seeing this starting stance, Orochimaru expressed surprise. "This is the form of your Thunder Breathing's First Form, right? You should know this technique has considerable openings—it won't work against me."
Crackling electricity surged around Chinya's arms and legs as he replied, "No, this move is different."
"Oh? Then I shall look forward to seeing it."
Orochimaru felt genuinely curious about what technique Chinya would unleash next.
He had studied in detail the Full Sword Forms of Thunder Breathing that Chinya contributed to Konoha.
It could indeed be considered an exceptional form of Nin-Taijutsu.
Among the seven sword forms, only the Thunder Flash of Thunder Breathing's First Form adopted such a posture.
Moreover, since Chinya submitted the complete set of Thunder Breathing Sword Techniques, several Lightning Release ninjas had learned them.
Yet the sensation and effect when Chinya performed it differed completely from those who had learned the same techniques.
Not even considering raw power, those Lightning Release users were no lower than Chunin rank.
In terms of sheer speed, they couldn't compare with Chinya's current level.
Originally, Sarutobi Hiruzen rated the first five forms of Thunder Breathing no higher than B-rank.
But through this fight, Orochimaru realized these initial five forms, when executed by Chinya, had elevated to A-rank capability.
Especially [Thunder Breathing's Fifth Form – Heat Thunder Realm].
It was definitely worthy of an A-rank classification without question.
Orochimaru certainly didn't believe his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi—the one honored as the "Professor of Ninjutsu"—could have misjudged someone.
In other words, either Chinya was a genius at using Lightning Release, or he was exceptionally compatible with this particular style of Nin-Taijutsu, or else the set of ninjutsu he had contributed had been deliberately downplayed.
Orochimaru fixed his gaze on Chinya, trying to understand how this technique differed when its opening move looked just like Thunder Flash.
[Thunder Breathing, First Form: Lightning Flash...]
Chinya shot forward toward Orochimaru.
Orochimaru frowned slightly—wasn't this still just the First Form: Lightning Flash?
As Orochimaru used the Shifting Body Technique to dodge, Chinya's Sharingan kept him in sight without letting go.
[Sixfold Slash!]
Chinya kicked off the tree trunks, pivoting mid-air and lunging toward Orochimaru again with a slash.
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