Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 367 Nami VS Orochimaru.

The edge of the barren mountain outside Ryūchi Cave.

At this point, Uchiha Sasuke and Yakushi Kabuto had finally arrived at this place after nearly two weeks.

"It's just ahead." Kabuto Yakushi swallowed a soldier's ration pill to replenish his strength after the long journey and said to Sasuke Uchiha beside him.

However, just as he finished speaking, a powerful burst of chakra suddenly erupted from the distant mountain. Immediately, the mountain forest was swept away as if by a hurricane, with earth, wood, and rocks flying everywhere and a large amount of dust rising up. Then, Orochimaru's figure shot out from the dust, quickly forming hand seals in the air, and opened his mouth to unleash a fire-style ninjutsu that turned into a fire bullet and fell into the dust.

Before Kabuto could figure out what was going on, a figure bursting with emerald green chakra charged towards the fireball, kicking it to pieces and rapidly chasing after Orochimaru. Soon, the two fell from the sky, and then, as if an earthquake was occurring on the mountain, fierce clashes erupted continuously.

"Lord Orochimaru is fighting off the enemy?!" Kabuto Yakushi finally realized what was happening, called out to Sasuke, and quickly rushed over to help.

At the same time, Orochimaru landed and slammed his hands on the ground, shouting, "Summoning Jutsu: Double Rashomon!"

With a bang, two large doors bearing hideous, demonic faces rose from the ground, blocking Orochimaru's path.

On the other side, Nami landed suddenly, her petite body seemingly possessing boundless power. The ground shattered upon her landing, and a surge of chakra erupted from her body. At this moment, she was using the power of the Eight Gates, and had already opened the fourth gate.

The raging chakra turned her skin crimson, and some parts of her skin even cracked, but she didn't care at all. Under the emerald green chakra, the phoenix's blue flames were also burning fiercely, constantly repairing her injuries.

Nami glanced at the two Rashomon gates, a glint of light flashing in her eyes. Instead of using her current incredible speed to bypass them, she slammed her arms down and roared, "Fifth Gate - Gate of Closure Opens!"

Before Orochimaru arrived, Nami had only opened the third gate and was about to open the fourth.

However, after Orochimaru gave Nami several pointers and learned about her situation, he immediately devised a new plan for Nami to train in the Eight Gates.

There's no need to follow the steps and reach the level described in the scroll before opening the next door. The training methods in the scroll are for guiding normal people. Nami, a special individual who doesn't have to worry about physical damage or death, doesn't need to follow the steps.

In Orochimaru's words, opening the Eight Gates is not difficult; the real challenge is how to survive after opening them. In other words, as long as one is not afraid of death, it is possible to force open the gates even without meeting the relevant requirements.

This forced opening of the door causes far more damage than normal training, but it allows for the rapid accumulation of relevant experience, making it perfect for someone like Nami who is fearless.

As a result, Nami progressed from opening the third gate to opening the fifth gate in just two weeks, a remarkably rapid advancement.

As soon as the Gate of Absolute opened, Nami's chakra surged again. Then, she exerted force with her feet, her figure shattering the ground as she crashed into the two Rashomon gates.

"Eight Gates Six Styles - Ultimate Technique - Six Kings Spear!" Nami's figure suddenly stopped in front of Rashomon, and the surging air wave she brought up directly lifted a layer of the surrounding ground. At the same time, she brought her arms together and punched forward.

Two fists slammed into Orochimaru's Rashomon gate in an instant. The incredibly sturdy Rashomon gate instantly deformed and twisted, with the front gate crashing into the back gate, and both gates were immediately sent flying.

Nami paid the price for this; her fists were covered in blood and flesh, and her finger bones were broken, clearly indicating that her body could not withstand the force of the recoil.

After all, she's not made of steel.

But it didn't matter. In the blink of an eye, the Phoenix's blue flames completely healed the injury on Nami's fist.

"Shave!" Nami shouted, her gaze fixed on Orochimaru.

She activated one of the Six Styles, the Shave Step, and with the support of the Eight Gates, the speed of her Shave Step was incredibly fast, as if she were teleporting, and she had already appeared in front of Orochimaru.

"Finger Gun - Empty!" Nami pointed a finger at Orochimaru's chest, showing no mercy whatsoever.

With a bang, Orochimaru was immediately pierced through the chest by Nami's finger, letting out a cry of pain. But then, his figure exploded into smoke, clearly a shadow clone technique, most likely released when Rashomon blocked Nami's view.

The next second, two hands suddenly emerged from beneath the ground, grabbing Nami's feet from the left and right, trying to pull her into the ground.

"Don't even think about it!" Nami reacted immediately, bending down and slamming her fist into the ground.

The surging power instantly pierced through the ground, then blasted out a cracked spider web that stretched for nearly a hundred meters. The two hands that had been gripping her ankles suddenly stiffened and became motionless.

However, before Nami could even catch her breath, a giant snake three meters thick burst out from underground and swallowed her whole in one gulp.

This is not a summoning technique from Ryuchi Cave, but rather Orochimaru's Snake School ninjutsu. The giant snake is a mimicry created by Orochimaru.

The giant serpent had just swallowed Nami when it exploded. Amidst a storm of blood and gore, Nami transformed into a phoenix, flapping her wings and radiating blue flames and emerald chakra, soaring into the sky.

Amidst the shattered flesh and blood, Orochimaru's hand emerged from the severed snake head, quickly crawling out unharmed, covered in slime.

This is the Orochi-ryu Substitution Technique.

Without lingering in the air, Nami quickly landed back on the ground, this time much lighter. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she looked at Orochimaru and asked, "Are you alright?"

The slime on Orochimaru's body seemed to evaporate quickly upon contact with air, drying out in no time. He smiled and said, "It's nothing, it just took a little chakra."

"Then I'll continue," Nami said, taking a lunge position with her hands in a palm print, one in front of the other.

And this stance is clearly the posture of the Flowing Water Shattering Rock Fist!

Clearly, after choosing to specialize in physical combat, Nami focused her attention on the Six Powers, the Eight Gates, Haki, and the martial arts master Bane.

She learned the Water Stream Rock Smash Fist and the Whirlwind Steel Slice Fist from Bane, but she was only at the very beginning of both.

Just as Nami was about to make her move, she suddenly seemed to sense something and glanced towards the dense forest beside her. At the same time, Orochimaru also seemed to notice something, looked in that direction, and then realized what was going on, saying, "Wait."

However, before he could finish speaking, a sudden, violent barrage of shuriken and kunai attacks erupted from the dense forest, completely engulfing the area where Nami was located.

Then, Kabuto Yakushi burst out of the dense forest, his hand forming the final hand seal as he shouted, "Lord Orochimaru, I'm here to help you! Water Release: Thousand Raindrops!"

Kabuto suddenly spat out a large amount of fine rain, like a thousand needles, completely enveloping Nami, who was already covered by shuriken and kunai.

"Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist!" Nami did not dodge. Her eyes became serious, and her arms began to move rapidly, creating air currents that quickly deflected the kunai, shuriken, and water needles that were being shot at her.

However, it was clear that she was not skilled enough in executing this move, and there were still some flaws left in her execution.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

Two shuriken flashed through the gap she had exposed and stabbed her hard in the shoulder. This triggered a chain reaction, making Nami's movements even more chaotic. Then, a series of crackling sounds followed as more than a dozen kunai, shuriken, and Kabuto's Water Needles pierced Nami, leaving her covered in thorns and looking like a hedgehog—a truly gruesome sight.

Not far away, Orochimaru covered his eyes, shaking his head and saying, "Knowing you're not skilled enough, why use this method to defend? Even using Iron Body and Haki would be better."

"Lord Orochimaru, are you alright?" Kabuto Yakushi did not immediately join Orochimaru. Instead, he flanked the woman from the side, staring intently at her, who appeared to be severely injured but had not yet collapsed. Kabuto asked anxiously.

"Alright, you've misunderstood. She's not an enemy," Orochimaru said, shaking his head and waving his hand.

Yakushi Kabuto paused for a moment, "Huh?"

Not an enemy?

Did I do something wrong? His skillful maneuver left the opponent in this terrible state; he must be seriously injured, if not dead.

However, just as Kabuto was surprised by this, Nami pulled the kunai out of its eye socket and threw it on the ground, saying, "Isn't it precisely because you're not skilled at it that you need to use it? In Bane's words, practice makes perfect. If you want to become stronger, you have to learn to take a beating first."

Blue flames ignited on Nami's blinded left eye. As soon as Nami finished speaking, her eye was completely restored. Then, while talking to Orochimaru, she slowly pulled out the ninja tools stuck to her body, leaving Kabuto Yakushi stunned.

What kind of bloodline limit is this?!

Immortality?

At the same time, Sasuke Uchiha emerged from the dense forest, looking at Nami with a look of astonishment, clearly shocked.

"Is he one of your subordinates?" Nami asked Kabuto.

Orochimaru nodded and said, "That's right, his name is Kabuto Yakushi."

After saying that, Orochimaru introduced Kabuto and Sasuke, saying, "This is Nami, the wife of the Spirit Lord."

"The Spirit Lord's wife?" A look of surprise flashed in Yakushi Kabuto's eyes.

Nami, with her cheerful personality, didn't seem to mind Kabuto's previous misunderstanding. She flashed a bright, carefree smile and greeted him, "Nice to meet you! I'm Nami the Phoenix!"

We know that the Spirit Lord is a true dragon, and judging from what just happened, he must also be a being of noble blood, right? Phoenix, no wonder.

After saying that, Nami looked at Orochimaru and said, "It seems you have things to do. I'll go practice the Eight Gates myself. Come find me when you have time."

As soon as she finished speaking, blue flames ignited on Nami's body, and she transformed into a phoenix, flapping her wings and taking off into the air, quickly disappearing into the mountains and forests.

Seeing this, Kabuto swallowed hard and said, "I thought this was some kind of beast-mimicking ninjutsu."

"Don't worry, Nami has a good personality and never holds grudges," Orochimaru said calmly. Then, he looked at Sasuke, who still seemed somewhat shocked, and grinned wickedly. "Sasuke-kun, it's been a long time. It seems you made the right choice."

Sasuke Uchiha then withdrew his gaze from the gradually dissipating blue flames and looked at Orochimaru, saying softly, "Orochimaru, what do you want from me?"

"Hehehe," Orochimaru chuckled coldly, then said, "Not long ago, I did have some designs on you, but now that I've seen a wider world, I'm not so interested in you anymore, so you don't need to be so wary."

(End of this chapter)