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Next to him, Muji was also gasping heavily, sitting limp on the ground, unable to calm down for a long time. The people nearby, hearing his words and recalling the overwhelming presence they felt from Aizen earlier, all shared the same thought in their hearts.
Could Konoha truly escape tonight's crisis while facing such an enemy?
No one knew the answer to this question.
For now, the only relief seemed to be that Aizen appeared uninterested in them, and they were fortunate enough not to have acted rashly.
Otherwise, they might not have survived.
In the distance, Aizen's group continued their approach toward Konoha Village.
At this moment, Aizen softly spoke.
"Saki, go to the Hyūga clan's gathering place and find Shohei. He should have completed his mission by now."
As he said this, a glint flashed in Aizen's eyes, and he continued, "In the upcoming battle, I don't wish to see them buried alongside the rest."
Upon hearing Aizen's words, Saki nodded respectfully. His pale eyes softened, and he quietly said, "Thank you for your grace, Lord Aizen."
Aizen smiled slightly and waved his hand gently, and Saki's figure instantly vanished.
After all, no one wishes to be alone in this world, do they?
After Saki left, Aizen looked ahead at the near distance to Konoha Village, his gaze flickering with a complex emotion that was deeply buried in his eyes, returning to calmness.
"Let's go."
With his calm words, the group slowly stepped into Konoha.
---
Inside Konoha Village.
"Boom——"
A violent crash echoed through Konoha as two colossal monsters collided with each other like mountains.
"Crash——"
Shukaku, covered in violet runes, was slammed to the ground. His massive body crushed countless houses, leaving destruction in its wake.
In front of him, a giant purple serpent glared coldly at him with icy snake eyes, its thick and sturdy tail swaying gently. It had taken advantage of the moment of impact to knock Shukaku down with a sweeping tail strike.
"Hmph, the power of a Tailed Beast isn't much after all. Orochimaru, looks like you'll need to add more to Lord Manda's meal. The original 200 corpses won't be enough!"
Manda sneered disdainfully at the fallen Shukaku, speaking with arrogance.
Orochimaru, standing atop Manda, remained calm and didn't respond.
At that moment, a sudden "bang" erupted.
The debris that had buried Shukaku suddenly shot into the air before crashing into other houses, sending a cloud of dust into the sky. Shukaku pushed himself off the ground in a furious leap, his red-yellow eyes fixed angrily on Manda.
At this moment, Shukaku's raccoon-like face twisted with rage as he glared at Manda, his pupils narrowing to needle points, roaring:
"A mere creature not even worthy of being called a mythical beast dares to strike at me! Excellent!!"
Shukaku's fury was unmistakable, and even those unfamiliar with the situation could sense his seething anger.
As his words fell, the ground beneath him transformed into a massive sea of quicksand. Hundreds of meters of land turned into a lifeless desert.
Dust and sand stirred menacingly in the air as if driven by some unseen force, making the scene even more terrifying!
Manda noticed this and grew cold-eyed, no longer speaking, as the two monsters' auras clashed fiercely.
"You worm, die!" Shukaku bellowed, writhing his massive body in rage.
As his words rang out, several enormous sand tendrils, each ten meters thick, shot toward Manda from the quicksand beneath him.
"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"
The terrifying sound of the sand cutting through the air was truly frightening.
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"
Despite Manda twisting his massive body to evade, he couldn't completely dodge. After being struck by the first tendril, more came crashing down on him. Countless tons of sand rained down, pinning Manda to the ground, rendering him almost immobile.
"Curse it, this guy's sand is so troublesome. Orochimaru, think of something!!" Manda's voice was hoarse and stifled, all arrogance gone.
Orochimaru remained indifferent, though a cold gleam flashed in his eyes.
'So, this is the power of a Tailed Beast. If this is the One-Tail, what kind of strength does the Nine-Tails in Konoha possess? How powerful must the First Hokage have been to easily subdue the Nine-Tails?'
For some reason, Orochimaru's thoughts drifted back to the words Aizen once spoke to him.
"Konoha holds you back, Orochimaru. You and I are alike. Leave Konoha, and I will help you find the path you were meant to follow, giving you what you seek."
At that moment, a loud noise snapped Orochimaru out of his thoughts.
In front of him and Manda, Shukaku's enormous mouth opened wide, a massive, pulsating ball of air forming inside it.
"Bang!"
With a powerful slap to his backside, the white energy orb shot toward the immobile Manda.
"Wind Release: Air Bullet!"
A simple Wind Release technique.
However, when released by Shukaku, this otherwise C-rank technique unleashed terrifying power.
The fierce, howling winds and the rapid torrent of air flowing out of the sphere showed just how powerful it was!
Feeling the immense pressure of the oncoming wind, Manda's snake eyes narrowed sharply, and he shouted:
"Do something, Orochimaru!!"
Orochimaru's face was serious as he quickly formed hand signs and then pressed his hands firmly on Manda's head.
"Summoning: Triple Rashomon!"
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"
With Orochimaru's hoarse voice, three towering gates, each tens of meters tall, erupted from the ground in front of him and Manda.
Each gate was carved with terrifying demonic faces, resembling the gates of hell. At their corners hung large bells, like those used to summon spirits.
"Bang——"
With a terrifying crash, the Air Bullet smashed into the first gate.
The first gate quickly shattered, followed by the second after a brief resistance.
However, the Air Bullet's power was significantly weakened, and by the time it reached the third gate, it was completely blocked.
Orochimaru and Manda both watched the scene with lingering fear.
Manda suddenly thrashed violently.
"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"
The sand tendrils restraining him were torn apart. Orochimaru spoke in a low voice:
"Manda, take me to that guy's head. If we don't deal with the Jinchūriki, this won't end well!"
Hearing this, Manda reluctantly replied hoarsely:
"I'll take you there, but after that, I'm leaving. You stay here on your own!"
Orochimaru nodded lightly.
Meanwhile, Shukaku, displeased that his attack had no effect, showed a very human-like expression of anger and spoke in a deep voice:
"Another worm. You damned pests, how dare you all stand in my way!"
Just as he was about to make his move, his beastly yellow eyes suddenly contracted.
After a brief pause, Shukaku sniffed the air sharply with his black nose.
Suddenly, his expression twisted into a rage, and he turned his head in the direction of part of Konoha, shouting in a fury:
"This scent... There's no mistake!! It's that guy from back then!! Damn it, I will kill the one who dared to humiliate me!!"