AN: The story is past the Uchiha Massacre Arc. Check out my Patreon to find out what Toshiro changed.
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"Shadow Possesion!"
Looking down, Orochimaru noticed the shadow linking him to his opponent, now fully aware of the jutsu used against him.
But he remained unfazed.
He was no ordinary ninja; with a serpent-like tail and a third arm, he had more than one way to counterattack.
While most would be immobilized by the shadow possession jutsu, Orochimaru could still use his snake tail for movement and his third arm to strike.
Opening his jaw wide, he extended his long tongue once more, brandishing the kusanagi as it lunged toward Toshiro.
If Toshiro wanted to restrain his movements with the shadow possession jutsu, his clone wouldn't be able to maintain his Ghost-like state and would have to face the sharp edge of the Kusanagi.
Yikes!
Seeing the Kusanagi thrusting toward him, Toshiro's clone felt a pang of frustration. Orochimaru was proving to be a tricky opponent. Anyone else caught in the shadow possession jutsu cast by him would have been immobilized, but this maniac not only resisted but counterattacked with remarkable speed.
With no other choice, the clone released its hold on Orochimaru. Fortunately, it had managed to buy enough time—the main body had already dispatched Orochimaru's other shadow clone.
"It's over!"
"Seal: Heavenly Binding Seal!"
Toshiro pressed his left hand against Orochimaru, and as he spoke, a web of black runes spread over Orochimaru's body, enveloping him in a dark, binding net of seals.
At last, Toshiro felt a sense of relief. This troublesome opponent was finally subdued.
Orochimaru… he really was insidiously persistent.
**After some time**
In the borderlands of the Land of Earth, a sparse forest lay scarred from battle. The charred ground was littered with bloodstains and cratered with impact marks. Nearby trees, splintered and still smoldering, spoke of the fierce clash that had taken place.
"So, this is the Uchiha's Mangekyou Sharingan?"
One hand resting on a chakra-formed skeletal structure, Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with excitement as he took in the scene before him, filled with greedy fascination.
Boom!
A heavy, muffled sound echoed as a massive skeletal arm formed from chakra surged forward with unstoppable force, slamming into Orochimaru.
As the dust settled, Toshiro's tense expression emerged alongside Orochimaru's figure, his face twisted in awe.
"What mesmerizing power! But… it still falls short compared to the Rinnegan."
Less than ten meters away from Toshiro, Orochimaru's figure emerged once more from the ground. His gaze fixed on Toshiro, who was encased in Susano'o, and a contemplative glint appeared in his eyes.
Compared to Toshiro's Mangekyou Sharingan, Pain's Rinnegan had undoubtedly felt more overpowering. Yet, the chakra in Toshiro's eyes appeared more vibrant, almost as though it pulsed with greater intensity.
"Ah, senpai… you continue to surprise me!"
Encircled by a layer of orange-red chakra, Toshiro looked at the contemplative Orochimaru, unable to suppress a small smirk.
At his feet lay hollowed out skin—Orochimaru's latest shedding. Its lifeless face, mouth wide open, seemed to mock Toshiro, as if silently ridiculing him for thinking Orochimaru could be defeated so easily.
Moments earlier, Toshiro had used the Heavenly Binding Seal, watching the intricate web of black markings envelop Orochimaru's body, convinced he'd finally subdued him. He allowed himself a brief moment of relief.
But Orochimaru, ever unpredictable, was far from finished.
Just as Toshiro began to retrieve his clone and secure his loot, an unsettling sight emerged—a pair of pallid, slime-coated hands pushed their way out from Orochimaru's mouth, as if eager or desperate not to miss the opportunity. The hands braced against his jaws, prying his mouth wide open to reveal yet another form lurking within.
Before Toshiro could react, Orochimaru's new form launched toward him with terrifying speed, catching him entirely off guard.
At that moment, a surge of chakra gathered in Orochimaru's hand, forming a new sealing technique aimed straight at Toshiro.
Just as Toshiro turned to face him, he caught a glimpse of a snake-like shadow reflected in his clone's eyes—a split-second warning that, thanks to his keen eyesight and sharp perception, alerted him to Orochimaru's approach. Without that, he might not have realized the attack until Orochimaru was already upon him.
In that instant, Toshiro's first instinct was to call forth Susano'o, his most powerful defence, to shield himself. He knew that any quick, hand-sign-free ninjutsu would likely be countered by Orochimaru's sealing technique.
"I didn't expect you, Senpai, to handle my sealing jutsu in such an unpredictable way!"
"Well, a lesson was learned!"
Toshiro stared at the discarded snakeskin on the ground, feeling a pang of frustration. Orochimaru had actually cast a sealing technique onto his own shed skin, cleverly reversing Toshiro's Heavenly Binding Seal. Then, by shedding his skin, Orochimaru had "removed" both seals from his body and sprung a surprise attack on Toshiro.
The move had truly caught him off guard.
"Too bad," Orochimaru murmured, licking his lips as his eyes gleamed with excitement, "that in the end, you blocked it with Susano'o."
From a distance, Toshiro could see Orochimaru's eager gaze, his intentions disturbingly clear.
Swallowing nervously, a thought ran through his mind: it was time to put some distance between himself and Orochimaru.
Seeing Orochimaru's expression, Toshiro could tell he was preparing to unleash a powerful technique. Staying in place would mean getting caught in the crossfire.
"It seems, Senpai, that you're still eager to continue?" Toshiro muttered with a sigh, feeling the weight of the situation. Was Orochimaru really considering the Eight-Headed Serpent jutsu? Toshiro recognized the formidable power of that jutsu, nearly on par with an ordinary Susano'o, but he knew there was no reason to let things escalate to that level.
"Are you sure this is the right place for such a battle?" he asked, taking the Kusanagi sword his clone handed him and giving it a casual swing. "If we keep going, it won't be a simple skirmish. Besides, I noticed that some of your allies seem quite interested in our fight," he added, glancing at Orochimaru with a calm expression.
From what Toshiro knew of Orochimaru's Eight-Headed Serpent Jutsu, it was nearly impervious to physical attacks and could even regenerate almost endlessly. Continuing a drawn-out battle would likely end in his favor, but he wasn't confident he could fully take Orochimaru down.
Moreover, such an intense fight would drain a substantial amount of his eye power—a costly risk given that his Mangekyo Sharingan was still maturing and hadn't yet evolved into the Eternal Mangekyo. For now, he preferred to avoid that kind of unnecessary consumption.
He also sensed several hidden presences observing them, one of which seemed all too familiar.
"Companions, I see," Orochimaru muttered, ready to continue but pausing as Toshiro's words caught his attention. His golden, serpentine eyes shifted, and he glanced toward Kabuto, who was watching from a distance.
He knew that the "companion" Toshiro referred to wasn't Kabuto. That left only one possibility—the mysterious Akatsuki operative, Zetsu.
"How disappointing," Orochimaru murmured. Though he couldn't sense Zetsu's presence directly, he trusted Toshiro wasn't bluffing about something so crucial.
"Why didn't they go all out?" whispered a voice nearby. About eight or nine hundred meters from the battle, hidden in a patch of ordinary grass, a head with half-black and half-white features observed the confrontation with keen interest. Watching from the shadows, White Zetsu's voice echoed with impatience as he watched Orochimaru and Toshiro pull back from an all-out clash, leaving him yearning for a more intense battle.
"I'm not sure," Black Zetsu's hoarse, unsettling voice replied, cutting through the quiet.
"Have they noticed us?" White Zetsu asked, his tone laced with concern.
"Unlikely," Black Zetsu said after a careful assessment of Orochimaru and Toshiro's movements. Neither of them seemed to have shown any indication of noticing their presence. "Their focus hasn't shifted."
"Ah, what a shame! I was hoping to see Uchiha Toshiro's full power, the extent of his Mangekyō Sharingan," White Zetsu sighed. "And Orochimaru, that crafty one—what other cards might he have up his sleeve?"
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AN: The story is past the Uchiha Massacre Arc. Check out my Patreon to find out what Toshiro changed.
Check out my P@treon For +60 extra chapters starting at 5$.
Thank You For your Support!!
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