Reborn!

33: Falsehood

Orochimaru startled, swivelling around to glare at the boy who seemed to have seen through her Fushi Tensei technique.

The Snake Sannin did not even have the chance to probe for answers to the questions that just arose before Sasuke almost hit her with a basic Katon: Gōkyakū no Jutsu. The flames were a tad close, singeing her long locks and leaving a faint whiff of burnt hair in the air. She lacked the leisure to continue praising the skills of the three genin. As absurd as it sounded, she was feeling threatened by the trio's effortless cooperation and synergistic combination attacks.

Their seamless configuration and teamwork aside, these three were only genin-ranked shinobi -- fresh out of the Konoha Academy. They have neither shown exceptional talent during their days at the Academy nor received the tutelage of a powerful shinobi. It was not as if they were using new self-invented or contrived jutsu that Orochimaru could not recognise at first glance. Though this should have been to her advantage, their series of actions were ridiculously unpredictable. It was as if they were on the same channel, with a completely different wavelength from all regular shinobi.

"'Kura, now!" yelled Sasuke.

The only kunoichi of Team 7 leapt into action, needles glinting with a yellowish venom hurtling through the air towards Orochimaru from every perceivable angle.

She also casually punched the snake as she passed, knocking it back to whence it came at once.

"Hey, Human Sakura, why don't you summon that peacock? No matter what, he is a mythical summons. You'll get that snake summoner to kneel at once if you bring that guy out," Aoi piped up, inquisitive.

The spirit who resembled a child floated upside-down in the air, his face too close to hers for comfort. It was startling. Or, at least, it would have been if not for how accustomed she was to its presence. She was also the only one who could see it besides Naruto. And according to Naruto, who created this adorable creature, a spirit's form was not fixed. If it wanted, Aoi's appearance could become that of an adult, a girl or even an animal. Unfortunately, it was not prone to switching forms and liked to act cute with a little boy's face.

'Why don't you become more useful? You keep bragging about how amazing you are, but I've certainly never seen it,' Sakura thought snidely.

Aoi pouted, rolling around in midair as if it were a child throwing a tantrum. "Isn't that all because you are lacking? You're the human I serve, and I lack a corporeal form. If I wish to influence this realm, my power alone can't do anything. I'm manifesting here -- lesser spirits cannot even do that! You can't just treat me as a tool for searching the library!"

Sakura coughed, feeling a bit chagrined.

It did... seem to be her fault that Aoi was useless.

While Sakura was conversing with Aoi, her teammates were not slacking off. Sasuke and Naruto dove in, in the wake of the deadly rain of senbon, each of them wielding a bunch of kunais tagged with restriction seals. They managed to pin one on Orochimaru's bicep and another on her thigh, effectively pinning her in place with gravity restraints.

Unfortunately, Orochimaru was undaunted by her increased weight as gravity dragged her body down.

Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that she had a suitable countermeasure.

She dropped to the ground, lying flat, and another body was ejected from her throat. Naruto, noting her chakra levels, stated that she could not do it unlimitedly. This bizarre jutsu was very taxing on her chakra reserves.

Orochimaru sighed at the excellent senses of an Uzumaki, almost drooling. What a marvellous vessel. When he considered the incredible life force of a direct descendant, he only felt it more strongly. He lamented Minato's act of turning his son into a jinchūriki. If not for that, Uzumaki Naruto would have been the best choice for a vessel and one he would be able to use for a long time.