"Kagura, how did you get here?"
Jiraiya was somewhat puzzled. He hadn't planned to involve Kagura in these troubles, as retrieving Orochimaru was a matter for him alone.
"Because I encountered a problem..."
Akihara Kagura raised his palm, and a Rasengan appeared in it. He voiced his concern, "I discovered that Wind Release Chakra can alter the form of the Rasengan, even enhancing its power, but I can't control it..."
"Now is not the time to discuss this!"
Jiraiya's forehead creased with lines of frustration. He hadn't expected that the reason his disciple used the Flying Thunder God Technique to come here was to ask about his training issues.
Could this disciple not grasp the situation...
What stood before them now were Orochimaru and a powerful puppeteer!
However, this disciple's strength was truly formidable. Having just arrived, he forced the puppeteer's true form out with a mere Dust Release attack!
"Jiraiya..."
Orochimaru stepped forward, looking up at the two atop the Gamabunta, and asked with a light chuckle, "Won't you introduce me? This child seems somewhat familiar!"
"You are... Orochimaru!"
Akihara Kagura watched Orochimaru, his gaze slightly changing as if seeing once again someone from his life who instilled fear in him: "It was you... back then... it was you... in that laboratory..."
"Correct."
Orochimaru smiled at Akihara Kagura, acknowledging their prearranged identity: "You remember me, Akihara Kagura, the perfect creation born in my laboratory. I didn't expect you to become Jiraiya's disciple..."
Orochimaru looked at Akihara Kagura with a somewhat chilly smile: "If I had known earlier that you could awaken Wood Release, if I had known what you would achieve today, perhaps I shouldn't have let you go..."
"Orochimaru!"
Jiraiya shouted sternly at his old friend, perhaps seeing his disciple's fear of the old friend, and stood in front of his disciple.
"Teacher Jiraiya."
Akihara Kagura pushed aside his teacher's body, softly saying, "This is something I would have to face sooner or later. Perhaps I have been ready to confront it for a long time. I am no longer that child from the laboratory forced to undergo all those experiments…"
Akihara Kagura stared intently at Orochimaru, slowly extending his palm: "If Orochimaru is my nightmare, then I should have overcome him long ago... Teacher Jiraiya, leave Orochimaru to me!"
After saying this, Akihara Kagura charged towards Orochimaru!
"Eh, no!"
Jiraiya's face changed dramatically.
If this disciple truly fears Orochimaru, how could he be allowed to confront Orochimaru? What if Orochimaru kills him with a scheme?
And if this disciple really wants to break free from the dark shadow of Orochimaru, what if he accidentally kills Orochimaru?
Jiraiya's feelings were extremely complicated at that moment, because he knew how strong this disciple really was, and also how cunning Orochimaru could be. It was hard to determine the outcome of a fight between these two, as either could potentially kill the other...
"Now it's two against two."
Orochimaru turned to glance at Sasori of the Red Sand, and with a light laugh said, "I'll deal with that troublesome child, you go tie up Jiraiya..."
"Agreed."
Sasori of the Red Sand, forced into his true form by Akihara Kagura's Dust Release, nodded his head in agreement to Orochimaru's proposal, knowing that Kagura's Dust Release was a strong counter to him.
"It's better to be clear from the start."
As Orochimaru prepared to confront Akihara Kagura, he said, "It's nearly impossible for the two of us to win, that child is just afraid of me, but his real strength is very strong..."
"I understand."
Sasori of the Red Sand nodded, controlling the Third Kazekage puppet to face Jiraiya.
"Bunta!"
Jiraiya clasped his hands together, looking intently at the red-haired Sasori of the Red Sand, and discussed with his partner in a deep voice, "We need to deal with this guy quickly, to avoid any problems on Kagura's side..."
"Understood!"
Gamabunta drew his short sword!
Meanwhile!
Akihara Kagura was already battling with Orochimaru!
The two unexpectedly chose to confront each other with the most straightforward and unadorned physical techniques!
"Not bad…"
Orochimaru originally thought he would be forced to face Jiraiya and didn't know when he would have the opportunity to communicate privately with Akihara Kagura. Unexpectedly, that child Kagura took the excuse of the laboratory matters and rushed towards him eagerly!
After exchanging blows with Akihara Kagura, Orochimaru felt that this little guy had intentionally held back!
Because Orochimaru witnessed Akihara Kagura's combat strength, he understood that Kagura's physical technique was not excellent, yet his strength was astonishingly powerful!
"I've wanted to meet you for a long time..."
As Akihara Kagura spoke, he placed a palm on Orochimaru's shoulder, turned his palm into a grip, and firmly grasped Orochimaru's shoulder, bringing their bodies involuntarily closer together.
"Hmph..."
Orochimaru smirked slightly, his lips didn't move at all, but a voice still reached Akihara Kagura's ears: "Let Jiraiya investigate the Akatsuki organization, and don't let that guy burn down my laboratory again!"
"I've wanted to do this for a long time!"
Akihara Kagura shouted lowly, punching Orochimaru and sending him flying, as if he had done something very satisfying!
[System Prompt]: [New work task (Orochimaru), have Jiraiya investigate the intelligence of the Akatsuki organization to prevent Orochimaru's laboratory from being burned down by Jiraiya again.]
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Orochimaru's body flew backwards with the momentum, but his smile still carried a sense of everything being under control, as he raised his hand to release a long snake: "Akihara Kagura, I remember you were most afraid of snakes when you were a child in the laboratory!"
"..."
Akihara Kagura frowned and instinctively avoided the long snake!
On the other hand,
Jiraiya and the Sasori of the Red Sand had already started fighting fiercely!
Even though the Sasori of the Red Sand was not easy to deal with, Jiraiya's heart was still focused on the battlefield between Akihara Kagura and Orochimaru. Suddenly hearing that his disciple still had a psychological shadow about snakes, he immediately became very anxious!
"Kagura, I'll take on Orochimaru!"
Jiraiya quickly proposed to swap their fighting opponents!
"Teacher Jiraiya..."
Akihara Kagura hesitated for a second, then lifted his head to glance at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru's mouth was still smiling, and his eyes trembled slightly, seemingly not caring about Jiraiya's trouble at all: "Worried about your little disciple, Jiraiya? When we trained together in the past, it seems you never won a single match, did you?"
"Training and real combat are not the same!"
Jiraiya's figure swiftly landed beside Akihara Kagura.
Gamabunta also landed behind Jiraiya in an instant, holding his smoking pipe and muttering, "Orochimaru, call out the Manda to stretch his muscles, why don't you?"
"Hmm hmm hmm… As you wish!"
Orochimaru quickly formed the hand seals for the Summoning Jutsu!
For the Three Legendary Sannin of Konoha, their summoning beasts are also a considerable force in battle!
Moreover, Orochimaru had long known how well Jiraiya and Gamabunta worked together, so he had to summon the Manda to contend with them!
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A large purple serpent lifted Orochimaru's body!
The moment this purple serpent appeared, it started muttering, "Hey, Orochimaru, if you want me to fight, prepare a hundred people for me first…"
The summoned creatures in this world all have different personalities.
Orochimaru's summoned beast, Manda, is somewhat evil and does not obey as well as the toads from Mount Myoboku.
Soon, this large purple serpent didn't have time to argue with Orochimaru about eating people anymore. The moment Gamabunta saw the Manda appear, he drew his short sword and leaped forward, clearly disregarding the predator-prey relationship!
"I'll go help Bunta."
Jiraiya then looked towards Akihara Kagura and then at the distant Sasori of the Red Sand: "Kagura, you handle that puppeteer. Be careful, he poses no threat to you…"
"Understood!"
Akihara Kagura directly charged towards the Sasori of the Red Sand.
Compared to dealing with Orochimaru, the Sasori of the Red Sand really posed no threat.
"Iron Sand Giant Spear!"
The Sasori of the Red Sand swiftly controlled the Third Kazekage, with iron sand transforming into black spears flying towards Akihara Kagura!
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Drizzle!"
The Sasori of the Red Sand did not stop his movements, once again controlling the Third Kazekage to release fine black needles!
A large tree grown from a vine already appeared in front of Akihara Kagura, blocking the countless incoming magnetic needles and spears!
"Could this be… Wood Release?"
The heart of the Sasori of the Red Sand sank, suddenly sensing the oddity.
If it were Dust Release, these ninjas had heard of it, even witnessed the power of Dust Release...
As for Wood Release...
Wasn't that a Kekkei Genkai that existed only in legends?
How should one deal with Wood Release?
While the Sasori of the Red Sand was still pondering, thick vines had already rapidly burrowed out from the ground, reaching for the direction of the Third Kazekage puppet!
The Sasori of the Red Sand still did not understand the significance of Wood Release, even controlling the puppet's arms to open their blades, seemingly attempting to cut through those thick vines!
However...
It was utterly futile!
The blades on the arms of the Third Kazekage puppet got stuck on the vines, quickly getting wrapped around and squeezed into pieces, with numerous parts scattering all over the ground!
"You kid..."
The Sasori of the Red Sand quickly controlled the chakra threads, collecting the fragments of his precious artwork to repair them later.
What the Sasori of the Red Sand did not notice, however, was that among the pieces he collected, one bore the mark of the Flying Thunder God Technique on a leaf.
The next moment!
The figure of Akihara Kagura appeared instantly beside the Sasori of the Red Sand!
A Rasengan hit the chest of the Sasori of the Red Sand, instantly sending the puppet master flying, with a mark of the Flying Thunder God Technique also left on the Sasori of the Red Sand's chest!
"How can it be so fast!"
The Sasori of the Red Sand had never anticipated Akihara Kagura's speed to be so fast.
Without hesitation, the Sasori of the Red Sand quickly took out a scroll, raising his hand to release a dense group of puppets!
"Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets!"
Hundreds of puppets dressed in red cloaks gathered around the Sasori of the Red Sand!
"That useless thing! Can't even defeat Akihara Kagura!"
Orochimaru and Jiraiya were fighting with ease, and after seeing this scene, cursed the Sasori of the Red Sand under their breath, loudly reminding, "That's the Flying Thunder God Technique, quickly check your chest, you've been marked by Akihara Kagura. Once marked, no amount of puppets can protect you!"
"..."
The Sasori of the Red Sand saw the leaf mark that appeared on his chest, recalling the legend of the Golden Flash of the ninja world!
This brat... could actually use the Flying Thunder God Technique?
Without hesitation, the Sasori of the Red Sand fiercely grabbed his heart and threw it on the ground!
This puppet master, hailing from the Sand Village, had long been mad for his puppet art, transforming himself completely into a human puppet. His heart was a bizarre cylinder, covered in strange, tentacle-like blood vessels!
As long as the heart had no issues...
Everything else about the body could be discarded!
Sasori of the Red Sand directly abandoned the body marked by the Flying Thunder God Technique, and that bizarre cylindrical heart quickly implanted itself into a new puppet!
This act could not save Sasori of the Red Sand from his downfall.
Vines swiftly emerged from the ground, binding the puppets and crushing them into pieces!
"Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes!"
Orochimaru could only go to save his teammate.
Because Konan had been suspicious of him, it was essential to bring Sasori of the Red Sand back at this time.
Moreover, Orochimaru had already achieved his goal this time, having Akatsuki chase after Jiraiya with the help of Akihara Kagura, causing trouble for the Akatsuki and conveniently pushing the blame for revealing the Akatsuki's troubles onto the greedy Sasori of the Red Sand.
Countless dense snakes burst forth!
These snakes, like a sea of snakes, instantly submerged the vines, causing Akihara Kagura to retreat in shock!
Orochimaru took this opportunity to sneak close to Sasori of the Red Sand, thinking he had captured Sasori's body, and quickly dived into a snake's belly with Sasori, disappearing from sight with the cover of the snake swarm!
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Jiraiya landed in front of Akihara Kagura and exhaled a burst of flames towards the snake swarm!
Countless snakes were burned to ashes by the flames, but neither Orochimaru's nor Sasori of the Red Sand's figures were seen, and even their traces had vanished.
After seeing Orochimaru escape, Manda, who had been fighting alongside Gamabunta, grumbled and dissolved into a puff of smoke and disappeared.
"..."
Akihara Kagura stood still, as if frightened by the snake swarm.
"Kagura, are you okay?"
Jiraiya squatted in front of his disciple, softly comforting, "It's okay, don't be afraid. The fight is over, and there's nothing to fear from Orochimaru..."
"I'm fine."
Akihara Kagura furrowed his brows and shook his head, "Let's go back and rest for now, Teacher Jiraiya..."
"Alright, how about I take you for a pear juice?"
Jiraiya suggested his disciple's favorite drink.
"Okay."
Akihara Kagura slowly nodded.
As Jiraiya and Akihara Kagura left, Akihara Kagura's fingers slightly moved, making a hand sign.
The battlefield fell silent.
A cylindrical heart with blood vessels rolled and crawled around, as if searching for something.
Just then, White Zetzu Awakened slowly emerged from underground, reaching out to grab the cylindrical heart with blood vessels.
Yes.
Orochimaru had saved the wrong person.
Orochimaru had rescued only a puppet, not the real body of Sasori of the Red Sand.