Starting with Wood Release, he survives in Konoha Hospital and becomes a big shot.

The instant the Pain Mask switched on, Orochimaru immediately felt a strange power surge into his body.

This power is indescribable, because it was also Orochimaru's first time wearing the Pain Mask, and his most direct feeling was that he had become stronger.

"My vitality has increased, and the strength of my chakra has also improved. At the same time, a mysterious power has appeared in my chakra!" Orochimaru immediately commented in his mind.

Not far away, Yagura Karatachi, who had been watching Orochimaru's every move, also frowned.

He keenly noticed that the ninja he had fought several times seemed somewhat different.

He had already determined during the battle that this ninja must be very famous in the ninja world, because he could see that this person would pause briefly when using ninjutsu during the battle. This phenomenon was likely due to the person being unable to use his signature ninjutsu that he was proficient in.

He had been trying to deduce the identity of the giant gate from the clues revealed in the battle. Once he knew the identity of this person, the predicament he was facing could be easily solved.

But this situation changed in an instant.

His aura is different!

A chilling, fierce, and evil feeling washed over him, making Yagura Karatachi momentarily feel that the ninja he was fighting was no longer the same one from before.

"You're very strong, but it's time to end this!"

Orochimaru said in a cold voice.

Having been suppressed by Yagura Karatachi for so long, he was really annoyed. It wasn't like he couldn't beat him. If he could use snake-type ninjutsu, then Yagura Karatachi would definitely be the one being suppressed. Now, with the help of the Pain Mask, he could finally let this ninja from the Land of Water see his power.

"It's time to end this!"

Yagura also replied coldly.

The next moment, the two began to form hand seals and unleash ninjutsu at the same time. This time, they seemed to care about what kind of ninjutsu the other was using, and instead focused on unleashing their own ninjutsu.

"Water Release: Water Mirror Technique!"

Yagura Karatachi finished his hand seals first, and a water mirror materialized in front of him.

This was clearly not an offensive ninjutsu, nor even a defensive one. Everyone who saw this was stunned, completely unaware of what the ninjutsu Yagura was using was for.

On the other side, Orochimaru had also finished his hand seals, but the ninjutsu he used was not a powerful, high-level ninjutsu; it was just a C-rank ninjutsu.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

------------

Chapter 173 The Horror of the Pain Mask

"Huh? Why did Jumen only use a C-rank ninjutsu? That shouldn't be the case..."

Zabuza frowned as he watched the battle in the distance.

At this moment, he was already immersed in the battle between Yagura and Orochimaru, ignoring Yakusei Kiku beside him.

For a talented ninja, it's not just about mastering ninjutsu; they also possess exceptional learning abilities. Facing the clash between two powerful figures, Zabuza had already disregarded the outcome; he was learning! Learning how to fight, how to use ninjutsu, and how to react in real situations. This battle was a veritable feast for him.

Yao Xingji glanced at Zabuza beside him and nodded to himself. This guy was worth training.

"Although C-rank ninjutsu isn't powerful enough, it still depends on the timing and the objective. Ju Men's reaction was quite good," Yao Xingji commented.

Leaving aside the water mirror of Yagura, which Yao Xingji has never seen, he naturally cannot comment on it.

However, Orochimaru's choice of Wind Release: Great Breakthrough was something Yakusei hadn't expected.

After only a moment's thought, Yao Xingji realized why Orochimaru did this and admired Orochimaru's quick thinking.

This ninjutsu was specifically designed for the Pain Mask.

Based on Orochimaru's previous description of the Pain Mask, he knew that the mask triggered a powerful effect by hitting the enemy with ninjutsu.

Now, what kind of ninjutsu can better trigger the Pain Mask?

The answer is Wind Release!

A ninjutsu that can cover the entire battlefield in an instant, and is impossible to completely evade.

Furthermore, the choice of power level for Wind Release ninjutsu is also very important.

If it's too strong, the Hidden Mist ninjas will use ninjutsu to defend, but the power of the Wind Release: Great Breakthrough ninjutsu is limited, especially at a distance. Even if the Hidden Mist ninjas face the attack, they will most likely just dodge slightly and not defend, which gives Orochimaru the opportunity to trigger the Pain Mask effect.

Everything was the perfect calculation.

But at that moment, an unexpected event occurred.

As soon as Yao Xingji finished speaking, his gaze suddenly sharpened as he looked at the water mirror in front of Yagura Gouju.

A ripple emanated from the water mirror, and the next moment, a figure identical to the giant gate emerged from it, simultaneously beginning to form hand seals to unleash Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.

"This ninjutsu..." Yao Xingji's heart stirred slightly, and he became very interested in this strange ninjutsu.

Call ~

A fierce wind howled past, and Orochimaru's Wind Release ninjutsu, which was released first, was now raging across the entire battlefield.

Faced with the swift wind, most of the Hidden Mist ninjas merely dodged symbolically. They were all watching the competition in the arena, and no one cared about the little bit of wind that had escaped.

But the next moment, the ninja who was the first to come into contact with the gale suddenly changed his expression.

"Ah ah ah..."

The piercing screams echoed throughout the battlefield, one after another. None of the Hidden Mist ninjas escaped the baptism of this whirlwind, collapsing to the ground and wailing. For a moment, it was like hell...

"What……"

Just when Yagura thought he was going to win the battle, this sudden scene made his expression change drastically.

He didn't even know what had happened or why so many people were wailing at the same time.

After all, without witnessing the power of the Pain Mask, no one could connect the reactions of the Hidden Mist Village members with Orochimaru's Wind Release ninjutsu.

"This...this is..."

Zabuza's body trembled almost immediately upon seeing the changes in the scene.

He recalled the terrifying scene from before, the extreme pain he felt after being hit by the Medicine Star Illusion Technique.

But isn't this a ninjutsu that only the ninja codenamed Ziwei beside him can perform? Why can that giant gate also do it?

Zabuza was completely baffled.

Orochimaru, who had unleashed this ninjutsu, stared wide-eyed at the scene before him.

"This...is this the power of the Pain Mask? The Star Lord actually has such a powerful weapon!" Orochimaru had high expectations for the Pain Mask, but he never expected that its effect would completely exceed his expectations.

He thought the effect would diminish as the number of people hit decreased, but he didn't expect that everyone would experience the same effect.

Almost instantly, all the ninjas attacked on the battlefield lost their fighting ability.

"what……"

Suddenly, Yagura Karatachi, who was inspecting the battlefield, had his knees buckle and almost knelt on the ground.

Intense pain surged through his entire body, leaving his mind almost blank for a moment.

"It's his Wind Release technique, but there's something wrong with it!!!"

Yagura finally understood the root of the Hidden Mist ninjas' wailing, and he himself finally experienced what it meant to be worse than dead.

terrible!

The extreme pain made him think he was dead for a moment, and he even had the urge to commit suicide.

At the same time as the pain struck, everyone was injured. Regardless of whether the person was directly attacked by the wind jutsu, as long as they suffered even a little damage in the wind, it was enough to trigger the percentage damage of the Pain Mask.

boom!

At that moment, Yagura completed the hand seals for the Giant Gate technique copied from the Water Mirror Technique, and finally released Wind Release: Great Breakthrough. A terrifying gale swept out, completely neutralizing the power of Orochimaru's subsequent ninjutsu.

Pain comes quickly, but it goes quickly too.

Two seconds later, the tormenting effect of the Pain Mask disappeared, and the excruciating pain on all the Hidden Mist ninjas almost completely vanished.

The wailing stopped abruptly, and everyone collapsed to the ground, their bodies completely soaked in cold sweat.

Those two seconds were like a trip to hell for them.

"Resolve this as soon as possible. The effect of the Pain Mask will diminish with each use, and it won't be as effective in the future." Yao Xingji's voice appeared in Orochimaru's mind.

The Pain Mask's effect is to inflict damage equal to the current life value. In other words, the first time it's most effective, and the effect gradually weakens until it has almost no effect. This is the Pain Mask's biggest drawback.

Otherwise, given the mechanism of the Pain Mask triggering on a group, as long as the ninjutsu range is large enough, the brief period of pain that renders the user unable to fight could easily secure victory in a major battle, which would be far too overpowered.

Orochimaru, who was pondering how to use the Pain Mask to win, immediately had a glint in his eyes upon hearing this.

"As expected, there are limitations, otherwise this treasure would be too overpowered! With its current effects, it's already comparable to the Six Paths Treasures," Orochimaru thought to himself.

With this thought in mind, Orochimaru looked at Yagura Karatachi, who was not far away, and at another version of himself who had emerged from the water mirror.

------------

Chapter 174 Attention from All Sides

"Can it copy opponents, even ninjutsu? This Mizukage is interesting." Orochimaru subconsciously wanted to stick out his tongue and lick his lips, but suddenly remembered that he was currently the Giant Gate of the Yao Tian Organization, so he gave up.

"Who exactly are you people? Why are you trying to capture the Three-Tails?"

Yagura, his face grim, stared at Orochimaru, his chest heaving violently.

The extreme pain left him with lingering fear; he never wanted to experience that feeling again in his life.

"We, the Yaotian Organization, do not need to explain our actions to you," Orochimaru sneered.

In fact, he didn't know why Yao Tian wanted to capture the Three-Tailed Fox. He had originally just wanted to stay out of it, but he was tricked by Yao Xingji.

Yagura clenched his fists, hesitated for a moment, and then launched another attack.

He had already used his trump card, the Water Mirror Technique, so he didn't believe he couldn't win. However, he had to be extremely careful from now on and absolutely could not be attacked by his opponent's ninjutsu again.

"I'd like to see what's so special about this Water Mirror Technique." As Orochimaru finished speaking, his hands rapidly formed hand seals.

Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!

This time, Orochimaru used Fire Release ninjutsu.

Yagura Karatachi does not possess fire-style chakra, so he cannot use fire-style ninjutsu. Orochimaru's actions were partly offensive, but also aimed at seeing if the copy of himself created by the Water Mirror Technique could overcome the user's own chakra attribute limitations and directly copy his fire-style ninjutsu.

Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!