Sixth Company!
Chi Yu was sent flying by Orochimaru's strike. The Sannin, eyes narrowed with curiosity rather than malice, commented coolly,
"Your adaptability is lacking. You've already missed several openings."
Gritting his teeth, Chi Yu rose to his feet.
To analyze Orochimaru's movements more precisely, he activated his Sharingan—the tomoe spinning sharply into focus.
Orochimaru lunged, kunai in hand, moving with characteristic fluid menace.
"Thunder Breathing · Third Form: Gathering Mosquitoes into Thunder!"
Chi Yu didn't retreat. Instead, he darted forward, tracing a rapid spiral around Orochimaru, streaking arcs of crackling blue lightning behind him.
But something felt wrong.
The moment Orochimaru's form intersected the trail of lightning, it lost shape, crumbling into loose, earthen sludge.
Chi Yu's eyes widened.
Earth Style: Substitution?!
"When did he form the seals?" he thought, alarmed.
"I was watching him the whole time…"
And then it hit him.
During Orochimaru's lecture—when Chi Yu's attention had flickered from Orochimaru's hands to his eyes.
Suddenly—
Hands shot out of the ground and clamped onto Chi Yu's ankle.
He looked down.
Orochimaru was emerging from beneath the earth, his pale face twisted in anticipation as he tried to drag Chi Yu below.
Reacting instinctively:
"Thunder Breathing · Second Form: Rice Spirit!"
Chi Yu's katana exploded with lightning as he launched a five-strike combo, carving through the ground in jagged, thunderous arcs.
But Orochimaru vanished once more—sinking deeper underground.
Chi Yu leapt back, maintaining his stance, his Sharingan darting around.
Orochimaru could be anywhere.
Searching recklessly would leave him vulnerable. Defense and counterattack—that was the move.
Even holding back, Orochimaru's presence was suffocating. The pressure never relented.
Chi Yu knew he couldn't win this fight.
But winning wasn't the point.
He was here to learn—to find the cracks in his technique and widen them into strengths.
Then Orochimaru's voice echoed from all directions, warping around the battlefield.
"Myriad Snake Net Formation."
From every direction, snakes slithered in—twisting, hissing, coiling.
Chi Yu tightened his grip on his katana.
"Thunder Breathing · Third Form: Gathering Mosquitoes into Thunder!"
Once again, he blurred into motion, lightning sparking along his path, frying the snakes that crossed his trail.
Even while moving, he scanned with his Sharingan, alert for any flicker of Orochimaru's presence.
Then—he saw him.
At the edge of the snake swarm, arms crossed, Orochimaru stood watching with amusement.
Chi Yu halted abruptly.
He exhaled, chakra surging as he gathered it in his limbs and blade. The katana glowed—no, blazed—blue lightning arcing madly around it.
"Thunder Breathing · Fifth Form: Heat Lightning World!"
He slashed through the air.
A searing arc of white-blue lightning surged forward, humming with oppressive heat.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. Without hesitation, he vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.
The Heat Lightning World struck a massive tree—splintering it with a boom. Flames erupted from the trunk, and a smoldering crater remained in the earth.
Watching from a branch, Orochimaru's eyes gleamed.
The technique's power dwarfed everything Chi Yu had displayed earlier.
But... he could tell the chakra cost was immense.
Chi Yu was hunched slightly, supporting himself with one hand on his thigh, breathing raggedly.
Despite having three-fifths of Kakashi's chakra—by the system's estimation—Heat Lightning World still drained him heavily. At best, he could manage three or four uses in a prolonged battle.
The technique scaled with chakra input. And earlier, he'd poured in more than usual—seizing that fleeting moment when Orochimaru had exposed himself.
It had worked... sort of.
But not enough.
Orochimaru simply dodged it.
Now, Orochimaru walked toward him, smiling faintly.
"Is that your limit?"
Chi Yu couldn't read him—his tone betrayed nothing.
He stood tall again, forcing strength back into his posture.
"I've got chakra left. Enough for one last move."
"Is that so? Then show me."
Orochimaru didn't move. He waited.
Chi Yu slowly sheathed his katana. His stance lowered—knees bent, shoulder angled forward, right hand near the hilt.
Orochimaru's eyes twitched.
"This stance… the First Form of Thunder Breathing? Thunderclap and Flash?"
He scoffed lightly.
"You should know—it's too linear. It won't work on me."
Chi Yu's lips curled into a faint grin, his limbs now radiating lightning.
"No… this version is different."
"Oh? Then I'm very curious."
Orochimaru had read the scrolls. He was familiar with the complete Thunder Breathing forms Chi Yu had submitted to Konoha.
In theory, they were taijutsu-enhanced Lightning Release techniques.
A promising hybrid style.
But what Chi Yu did with them wasn't something others could replicate.
Even among Chūnin and elite Lightning Release users who tried to emulate the forms, none could match Chi Yu's speed—or control.
Initially, Hiruzen Sarutobi had graded the first five forms as B-rank techniques.
But Orochimaru had just seen something different.
Heat Lightning World? Easily A-rank.
So what was this now?
The stance was First Form. But Chi Yu claimed it had evolved.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, intent on capturing every movement.
"Thunder Breathing · First Form: Thunderclap and Flash—"
Chi Yu vanished in a thunderous burst of speed.
Orochimaru's instincts kicked in. He used Body Flicker to dodge.
But—
"Sixfold!"
Chi Yu struck the tree trunk, using it to shift direction mid-air—zigzagging with dizzying velocity.
He reappeared in Orochimaru's blind spot and slashed.