Chapter 85 : First Battle Orochimaru
The next day, Riku disappeared from the group.
Sakura was the first to wake up, and when she saw that Riku was no longer beside her, a sense of loss settled in her heart.
"Why did Riku leave without saying anything? He must’ve been upset by what Naruto and Sasuke said yesterday..."
She felt a pang of guilt.
With Riku’s strength, even if other teams didn’t actively seek them out, he would have no trouble finding others. But it seemed like Riku had no intention of doing so.
After leaving his teammates behind, Riku headed to the far side of the Forest of Death, in a direction completely opposite from Sasuke and the others.
The Third Hokage, who had been observing the participants, smiled and said, "It seems he understands that this Chūnin Exam isn’t meant for him."
Kakashi, Asuma, and the others standing nearby nodded in agreement.
Kakashi spoke calmly, "He knows this exam is a test for Sasuke and the others. For him, it has no real meaning."
Asuma chuckled. "So that’s the talented kid from your team? He really is fast. Impressive."
Kurenai nodded slightly. "Yes. In my team, even Hinata seems to be... quite taken with him."
Guy grinned. "I don’t think any of the Genin here could pose a threat to Riku—except maybe Gaara."
Guy had already sensed how dangerous Gaara was.
Gaara’s strength was already at the level of an elite Chūnin, perhaps even close to Jōnin. But no matter how powerful Gaara was, Guy knew he still couldn’t match Riku—though he didn’t say that out loud.
Asuma, Kurenai, Anko, and even the Third Hokage didn’t fully understand just how strong Riku had become.
Only a handful of those involved in Riku’s previous missions knew the truth. And now, with his mastery of numerous Forbidden Techniques, significant advancement in Wood Style, and his control over the Flying Thunder God Technique, his current power was far beyond what most could imagine.
Even their guesses about his power had a high baseline—at minimum, Kage-level.
And not just any Kage. Some suspected he might already rival the Third Hokage in his prime.
Hiruzen nodded thoughtfully. "Gaara is strange. But as the son of the Fourth Kazekage, it’s not surprising that he’s strong and talented. After all, the Fourth Kazekage possessed the Magnet Release kekkei genkai."
"In terms of talent, all three of his children are exceptionally gifted."
The Hokage actually held a high opinion of Gaara and his siblings.
At this point in time, the three Sand Siblings had strength equal to Chūnin-level, and Gaara himself was easily at Jōnin-level.
Anko’s eyes flickered with interest as she stared at the image of Riku in the crystal ball.
But after a brief moment, the Third Hokage ended the viewing—maintaining the Telescope Technique consumed a great deal of chakra, and even Hiruzen wasn’t keen on using up his reserves like this.
Of course, if he were spying on the women’s bathhouse, he might’ve had a little more motivation.
After the technique faded, Riku stood up.
Previously, when the Third Hokage had been watching him, Riku had been sitting quietly near a small fire, warming himself.
Because of his presence, most teams that sensed him from a distance fled immediately. No one dared provoke him.
As a result, Riku had become the most relaxed person in the entire exam.
He spent the whole day sitting quietly in the forest—meditating.
His physical and spiritual power had been growing steadily.
His current physique had reached the level of Kushina Uzumaki—perhaps even surpassing it.
Kushina was one of the strongest physical representations of the Uzumaki Clan’s vitality since Mito Uzumaki.
And now, Riku’s spiritual power had reached a level beyond Kage-level.
His chakra reserves had already exceeded even Naruto’s—including the half of Kurama’s chakra Naruto possessed.
After a full day of meditation, Riku remained in the forest for another night.
On the third day, he suddenly sensed a battle in the distance—about five kilometers away.
After scanning the situation with precision, Riku smirked. "So it’s him. Interesting. Looks like Orochimaru has already made his move on Sasuke."
No sooner had he finished speaking than he vanished in a flash of lightning.
This was his Lightning Body Flicker Technique—vastly superior to the traditional Body Flicker in both speed and duration. And unlike the standard technique, it could cover extremely long distances—up to five kilometers in an instant.
Within seconds, Riku arrived at the site of the battle.
He stood silently on a large tree branch, watching from several meters away.
There, Anko was preparing to sacrifice herself in a suicidal attempt to take down Orochimaru.
Riku gave a slight smile. "So naive... Don’t you know your own teacher? Did you really think you could drag him down with you?"
In a blink, Riku disappeared from the treetop.
The next instant, he reappeared beside Anko—and drove his fist directly into Orochimaru’s face.
Crack—
BOOM—
Orochimaru’s body burst apart into a muddy clone.
Behind him, the giant tree—more than two meters thick—was reduced to sawdust from the force of Riku’s punch.
A second later, Riku felt the oncoming chakra of another attack.
"Wind Style: Wind Blade Jutsu!"
The wind blades slashed toward him with deadly speed.
Without hesitation, Riku scooped Anko into his arms and vanished in another bolt of lightning.
BOOM—
The wind blades carved deep gouges into the earth where they had stood just moments ago.
Orochimaru reappeared more than ten meters away, unharmed.
Still holding Anko close, Riku formed a one-handed hand seal and unleashed another jutsu.
"Fire Style: Great Flame Bullet!"
BOOM—
A massive fireball, nearly two meters in diameter, surged forth with explosive force, engulfing Orochimaru before he had a chance to escape.
As the fire roared and scorched the clearing, Anko clutched Riku’s arm tightly.
"...Why are you here?" she asked, her voice unsteady.
The flames had incinerated everything where Orochimaru had stood. But in his place now was only a hardened patch of earth.
"A substitution clone... as expected of one of the Sannin. He’s on a completely different level from ordinary shinobi."
Even when the power of two ninjutsu is the same, a Jōnin can change the entire outcome by using it at the right moment.
That’s the difference experience makes.
The gap between a Chūnin and a Jōnin was massive—and the gulf between a Jōnin and a Kage even more so. But a Sannin was in a league of their own.
Orochimaru’s talent lay primarily in research, but that didn’t mean he lacked combat prowess.
Tsunade, Jiraiya—they were all Sannin, all Kages.
Even though Orochimaru’s focus wasn’t on direct fighting, his battle instincts and techniques far surpassed those of most Jōnin.
And with decades of experience behind him, he was on a level few could challenge.
When Orochimaru had defected from the village, Kakashi had once thought that his own Jōnin-level skills might be enough to stop him.
But reality had proven otherwise.
Orochimaru didn’t even need to attack.
He had merely stared at Kakashi—and Kakashi had been frozen in fear, completely unable to move.
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