I am the new Hokage of Konoha.

As if peeling back a human skin, when Orochimaru stood in front of Yun Ting again, apart from being covered in disgusting slime, he was completely unharmed.

'Orochimaru-style Substitution Jutsu?'

It's a secret technique that's practically a bug, and also the most perfect substitution technique. However, like Orochimaru's series of secret techniques, it has a very disgusting characteristic.

Unexpectedly, this guy had already developed it by now. Yun Ting frowned as he looked at everything in front of him.

He found it difficult to understand the principle behind this technique. After all, he had just examined the dead body for a long time and found nothing else inside.

"How cautious you are, Fourth Hokage!"

At this moment, Orochimaru, who had returned to normal, spoke.

When he spoke of "the Fourth Hokage," his tone was no longer teasing, but rather extremely solemn.

"I didn't expect Yun Ting-kun's strength to improve so much after becoming Hokage. He truly lives up to his reputation as the Thousand Hands of the Forest, a lineage that has been passed down for a thousand years. I was arrogant before, but now it seems that if I don't commit myself to killing you with all my might, I might very well die here!"

Orochimaru, who had calculated everything for today but misjudged Senju Kumo-tei's strength, was now filled with a sense of crisis.

Without further hesitation, he slammed his hands on the ground and shouted sharply:

"Hidden Shadow Serpent Hands!"

In an instant, far more snakes than before were summoned, transforming into raging waves that surged toward the Cloud Court.

"To be honest, of all the animals, the one I hate the most is the snake!"

Frowning as he looked at everything before him, Yun Ting rapidly formed hand seals.

"Water Release·Water Crush Wave!"

Chakra was rapidly depleted, and a tornado-like, rapidly spinning stream of water, centered on Yun Ting, enveloped him from all sides like a waterfall.

One after another, venomous snakes attacked, but they were unable to break through the water curtain at all, and were even crushed instantly by the intense water pressure.

Yun Ting did not simply hold out.

Soon, under his control, the tornado of water around him rapidly expanded, engulfing a large area of ​​the surrounding venomous snakes.

Just as he was about to press his advantage, a large shadow suddenly appeared beneath him.

He subconsciously looked up and saw an incredibly thick snake descending from the sky, sweeping across him with its body, which was thicker than a person.

Boom!

The water curtain was crushed.

Yun Ting leaped several times in quick succession to dodge.

Just as he stopped, another snake, no smaller than the first one, suddenly darted out from behind him, its gaping maw snapping at him.

"You really think I'm afraid of you?!"

Yun Ting quickly turned and dodged past the giant snake. Then, he drew the Kusanagi sword he had just acquired and slashed fiercely at the snake's body beside him.

In an instant, foul-smelling snake blood splattered everywhere. The giant snake, which had been cleaved in two by a single sword strike, turned into a puff of white smoke amidst its mournful howls and was kicked back into Dragon Cave.

Only one large snake was killed, but hundreds and thousands more snakes rushed towards him afterward, including some of the large snakes that Yun Ting had previously killed.

Seeing this, Yun Ting put down the Kusanagi sword and formed hand seals again, saying:

"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"

A rapid jet of ultra-high pressure water shot out from Yun Ting's mouth, like an extremely sharp scalpel, easily tearing apart and shredding any snakes it encountered along the way, whether small or large, without any obstruction.

Soon, everything in front of them was cleaned up.

"Where's Orochimaru?" Yun Ting looked around to check.

"I'm here!"

Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded behind me.

Without a second thought, Yun Ting quickly turned around and threw a punch.

boom!

Orochimaru offered no resistance as Yun Ting struck him, but in the next second, his body suddenly deflated, and dozens of venomous snakes emerged from within.

However, unlike before, this time the venomous snake suddenly swelled up as it rushed towards Yun Ting.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of explosions rang out in front of Yun Ting.

When the smoke cleared, only a charred, half-broken log lay on the ground.

"Strange and unusual ninjutsu."

On the other side, Yun Ting reappeared unharmed, shaking his head as he looked at where he had been.

Not far away, Orochimaru rose from the ground and said with a sinister smile, "It seems I've been underestimated by the Hokage."

As he spoke, he carefully examined Yun Ting, trying to discern from the slightest clues how much chakra the latter still possessed.

"It's getting late."

At this moment, Yun Ting suddenly said this.

Orochimaru was slightly taken aback. In this situation, it seemed more appropriate for him, a rogue ninja, to say these words.

However, Yun Ting did not explain this. He turned his head and looked behind him, muttering to himself, "Judging by the time, the people I invited will be here soon. After all, the stage is already set up, how can we do without an audience?"

"What do you mean?"

Orochimaru suddenly felt uneasy, as if he had overlooked something important.

This feeling is very unpleasant.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Wood Release: Advent of the World of Trees

Yun Ting smiled and then politely asked, "What do you think Orochimaru-sensei believes I have to rely on to dare to pursue you alone?"

"You think too highly of yourself? No! Your performance just now, Yun Ting-jun, has already solidified your status as Hokage."

As one of the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru knew that panicking wouldn't solve anything. He had already calmed down, regained his usual composure, and even had time to seriously consider the issue of the Cloud Court.

"The person who can quickly seize my weakness and use it to set up a plan, actually targeting the third generation of teachers, perfectly grasping their psychological reactions, and achieving a decisive blow, is certainly not the kind of person who gets carried away at the last moment."

"Yun Ting-jun, after learning that the Third Master had let me go, you were not content with the end. Instead, you wanted to add to your gains by capturing me. You relied on only one thing... that you were confident that you could defeat me!"

As he deduced the final result, Orochimaru's pupils suddenly contracted, his face filled with surprise.

Having fought this far, he doesn't think Yun Ting is a reckless person.

But he couldn't understand why the other party was so confident when the two had never fought before.

Especially now that they know each other inside and out, the other party not only shows no intention of backing down, but also expresses their intentions even more recklessly.

What exactly gave him such confidence?

Orochimaru was very puzzled.

Yun Ting, however, saw that the time was almost up and that it was not too early to make a move.

So, he finally couldn't suppress his eagerness any longer and explained, "I suppose Orochimaru-senpai is curious about what I'm relying on. To thank you for your reply earlier, and since it's about time, I won't hide it anymore."

As Yun Ting spoke, he clasped his hands together in prayer.

"What I rely on is the talent that the Senju of the Forest is most proud of! It is the ability that the First Hokage, the God of Shinobi, used to sweep away everything! It is the number one bloodline limit recognized in the shinobi world!"

"Wood Release: Advent of the World of Trees!"

The moment Yun Ting finished speaking, in Orochimaru's undisguised horrified gaze, countless trees in all directions, centered on the former, were instantly uprooted from the ground and began to grow rapidly.

Soon, a vast forest replaced the grassland and appeared before Orochimaru.

"It really is Wood Release?" Orochimaru stared at the scene before him in utter shock.

He never expected that Senju Kumo-tei would be able to awaken Wood Release.

Keep in mind that the latter is already twenty years old. Logically speaking, if he hadn't awakened his bloodline limit before, then the chance of him doing so would be infinitely close to zero.

Just like Tsunade.

As the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju and a direct descendant of the purest Senju clan, she had the best chance of awakening Wood Release, but unfortunately, she couldn't, so she had no choice but to give up.

However, who could have imagined that Senju Kumo-tei, who was not related to Hashirama by blood, would awaken Wood Release at this age without anyone noticing?

No wonder the other party dared to come alone and was confident of defeating him.

Orochimaru, who had studied Hashirama's cells, naturally also had some understanding of Wood Release, a bloodline limit that once swept across the ninja world.

He even collaborated with Danzo on Wood Release human experiments, and proudly gave birth to a Wood Release test subject with an extremely small probability that could not be repeated, who has survived to this day.

It was precisely because of this understanding that he was even more wary of Wood Release.

In particular, the one currently using Wood Release is not the Wood Release experimental subject that Danzo named "Kou," but a real Senju person.

The former demonstrates a flawed version of Wood Release's power.

The latter, however, is 100%!

Orochimaru's face showed an unprecedented solemnity.

He had no time to think anymore, as Yun Ting's Tree World Descent had already rapidly spread to his side.

Bang!Bang!Bang!Bang!

As if an earthquake were occurring beneath Orochimaru's feet, trees began to spring up from the ground in a frenzy.

Even as he retreated, the latter remained relentlessly close.

Soon, he had nowhere to hide.

"Hidden Shadow Serpent Hands!"

Orochimaru swiftly slammed his hand on the ground, and an astonishing number of venomous snakes surged out, attacking the trees that were rushing in from all directions.

Useless.

Faced with the wave of venomous snakes, the trees unleashed by Wood Release suddenly pierced out in even greater numbers.

Soon, the venomous snakes were strangled to death with almost no chance of resistance. Even the many giant snakes that Orochimaru summoned later did not escape this fate. After struggling for a few moments, they turned into fertilizer to nourish the trees.

"Although I expected it, it's still ridiculously strong!"