Chapter 194:
Confronted with Orochimaru's sudden appearance, the Kumo ninja were momentarily paralyzed with shock.
They couldn't comprehend how he had managed to materialize in front of them so swiftly. A teleportation jutsu? Impossible. No teleportation jutsu could cover that distance or happen that fast.
Instinctively, the leader tightened his grip on the kunai, aiming to press it into Kushina's neck. But to his horror, he realized he couldn't move. His limbs felt like they were encased in iron; even a simple twitch of a finger was impossible.
"Paralysis Jutsu?" he thought, eyes wide with disbelief.
How could this be happening?
But there was no time for answers. Orochimaru's hand was already on the Kumo ninja's wrist, wrenching it away from Kushina and, in a fluid motion, guiding the kunai against the man's own throat.
A thin line of blood sprayed into the night as the Kumo ninja's strength ebbed away, and darkness claimed him.
Orochimaru, with his honed instincts from years on the battlefield, had become a master of swift, lethal efficiency.
The other two Kumo ninjas, shaken from their stunned paralysis, leaped back to create distance between themselves and this unexpected threat.