"Morkel!"
After a brief pause, Mitarashi Anko suddenly shouted.
Morkel turned around, his eyes filled with confusion.
"Great job! We'll take it from here!" Anko praised before rushing toward Orochimaru with the surrounding examiners and Anbu.
Morkel was pleased to receive verbal praise from Anko, but his joy was short-lived when she added, "Also, you need to compensate for the forest you just destroyed~"
Morkel sighed in regret. He hadn't controlled the range of his attack properly.
"Wait!" Morkel suddenly remembered the three Kusanagi ninjas trapped inside the giant snake's belly. "That Fire Style just now... I hope I didn't cook them alive!"
Borrowing a knife from Anko, he swiftly cut open the snake's belly. Inside, the three Grass Ninjas were huddled together, protected by Water Style shields. Morkel pulled them out and checked their breathing.
"Fortunately, they're still alive," he muttered in relief.
Meanwhile, Sasuke and Naruto were mesmerized by the ongoing battle between Orochimaru and Anbu, exclaiming in amazement.
"How is Orochimaru so strong? He's fighting against so many Anbu alone and still has the upper hand!" Sasuke's eyes flickered with admiration.
As an Avenger, Sasuke had only one goal—revenge against Uchiha Itachi. For that, he needed strength.
"But his fighting style is disgusting!" Naruto commented, looking horrified. "He moves like a snake and even attacks with his tongue... Ugh!"
Morkel walked over and poked their shoulders. "Hey, stop staring! Orochimaru is dangerous. If he breaks free, he might bite you."
Naruto waved him off. "Come on, he's called Orochimaru, but he's not an actual snake. How could he—eh?!"
Naruto's pupils shrank as he realized something horrifying—Orochimaru had turned into a pile of mud!
"A fake?! Where's the real Orochimaru?!" Naruto shouted in panic.
Morkel felt a sudden gust of wind behind him and instinctively pulled Sasuke and Naruto forward.
Swoosh!
Just as they ducked, a long, stretching neck nearly grazed them. Morkel followed the extended neck and saw that it was connected to Orochimaru's body—he had launched a sneak attack!
Before Morkel could react, Orochimaru's head twisted and sank his teeth into Sasuke's shoulder!
Sasuke gasped as a strange power surged through his body, making him collapse in pain. Black markings spread from the bite wound.
Orochimaru's neck retracted, and he smirked. "Sasuke, I hope you can survive..."
Anko turned just in time to witness the scene. Her eyes widened in horror.
"Shadow Snake Hand!"
Snakes shot out from her sleeves, lunging at Orochimaru. But his body dissolved into mud, evading the attack with ease.
"You can't defeat me with techniques I taught you, Anko," Orochimaru sneered. "And don't interrupt the Chūnin Exams because of me, or I'll destroy all of Konoha."
With those chilling words, he melted into the ground and vanished.
Anko clenched her fists in frustration. "Damn it! He got away again!"
Naruto rushed to Sasuke. "Examiner! Help! Sasuke is dying!"
Anko hurried over, only to see Sasuke writhing in agony, his body covered in black lines.
Lifting his collar, she examined the mark on his shoulder. Her expression darkened. "This is the Heaven's Curse Seal."
"What does that mean?" Morkel asked anxiously.
Anko explained, "This curse seal is a result of Orochimaru's research on someone with a natural Sage Body. It's transferred through a snake bite. The survival rate is only one in ten."
Morkel frowned. "So Sasuke has a 90% chance of dying?"
"Yes. Whether he survives depends on his luck," Anko sighed. "Once bitten by Orochimaru, the mark cannot be removed."
"Is there any way to ease his pain or increase his chances of survival?" Morkel pressed.
"Only sealing techniques can suppress its power," Anko replied. "But whether that helps him survive... I don't know."
Morkel fell into deep thought. He had learned about sealing techniques at the Ninja Academy, but they weren't taught to outsiders. Most were clan secrets.
As Sasuke groaned in pain, an idea struck Morkel.
Taking a brush from his ninja tool bag, he began drawing seals.
Anko's eyes widened. "What are you doing?! A wrong seal could kill Sasuke! The art of sealing is too complex for a child like you!"
Morkel shrugged. "I'm not using Sasuke as a test subject."
With that, he stepped into the sealing formation and activated the technique on himself first.
The runes glowed and merged into his skin. A tree-shaped totem formed at the base of his spine.
Anko was stunned. "This kid... actually knows sealing techniques?! And ones I've never seen before!"
She glanced at Naruto. "Is Morkel from the Uzumaki Clan?"
Naruto shook his head. "I don't think so. He's an orphan like me. But hey, I'm from the Uzumaki Clan!"
"No family... then who taught him this?" Anko wondered aloud.
"He does have a teacher in Anbu," Naruto recalled.
Anko clapped her hands. "That explains it! Someone in Anbu must have taught him! Otherwise, how could he know such techniques?!"
Morkel, meanwhile, confirmed that his sealing technique worked. It sealed half of his chakra and reduced his pain sensitivity.
Without hesitation, he began drawing a similar seal for Sasuke.
A few minutes later, it was ready. He pushed Sasuke into the center and activated the technique.
"Pain Relief Sealing Technique!"
Dark markings flowed into Sasuke's body, gathering around the cursed seal and forming a tree-shaped pattern encircling the magatama.
The effect was immediate.
Sasuke, who had been wailing moments ago, suddenly quieted down. The curse marks faded away.
"Wow… that's incredible!" Anko gasped.
If she had this technique back then, she wouldn't have suffered so much!
She turned to Morkel, demanding, "Who taught you this?! This needs to be reported to the Hokage!"
Morkel nonchalantly wrote down the spell and handed it to her.
Anko studied it and was dumbfounded. "You even marked different variations for different scenarios?!"
"Yeah," Morkel said casually. "I just thought of it."
Anko felt her worldview shatter. He developed this in two minutes?!
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage examined the sealing technique, his hands shaking.
"Hokage-sama, you've asked me five times—yes, Morkel wrote this himself," Anko confirmed.
The Third Hokage took a long puff of his pipe. He knew Yamato was Morkel's Anbu teacher, but Yamato lacked this level of sealing expertise.
Realization struck him.
Morkel had developed this technique on his own.
"DEF…!" The Third Hokage inhaled sharply.
Morkel was full of surprises!
As he gazed at the intricate spell, he couldn't help but wonder: Is this child another genius on par with Orochimaru?
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