"I thought you'd wait until I killed everyone before showing yourself."
Orochimaru, standing atop Manda's head, wore a smile.
He had sensed Hanzo hiding earlier.
Whatever ambush Hanzo had planned, the moment he appeared, it had already failed.
"Enough nonsense!!"
Hanzo's face contorted with rage, astonished that his subordinates had been utterly crushed by Orochimaru alone.
This Orochimaru is far too powerful!
"Today, Orochimaru, you must die here."
The Land of Rain couldn't withstand someone as strong as Orochimaru, and no other shinobi village wanted to see another White Fang rise.
Hanzo gripped his scythe.
His salamander, having understood his intent, rushed forward with great speed, quickly closing the distance with Manda, and swiped at his head.
"Thud!"
A dull sound echoed as Manda, enraged, turned to bite the salamander's claw.
But the salamander had already opened its massive mouth, aiming at Manda.
A dense cloud of poison spewed out.
Dokugiri (Poison Mist)!
Caught off guard, Manda inhaled the thick poison, making him dizzy and disoriented.
By the time Manda realized, Orochimaru had already disappeared from his head.
Orochimaru suddenly descended from above the salamander, his Kusanagi sword slicing toward Hanzo.
Hanzo quickly raised his scythe, blocking the downward strike.
"Clang!"
A sharp sound rang out as Hanzo forcefully pushed back, causing Orochimaru to flip mid-air and land on the ground.
With a forceful step, Orochimaru charged toward Hanzo with even greater speed.
Hanzo, unwilling to back down, rushed toward Orochimaru as well.
The two clashed fiercely atop the salamander.
The sound of metal striking metal echoed repeatedly.
The salamander, uninterested in the battle on its back, focused on killing Manda.
Taking advantage of Manda's weakened state due to the poison, the salamander bit down on him, tearing off a large chunk.
But Manda didn't cry out in pain. In fact, his body stiffened, and where the bite had been, there was no blood—just an empty hollow.
Hībi no Jutsu (Shed Skin Technique)!
Manda's head suddenly emerged from the ground, ramming into the salamander's belly with great force, sending it flying.
Both Hanzo and Orochimaru clung tightly to the salamander to maintain their balance.
However, as the salamander tumbled through the air, its back slammed hard into the ground, crushing both Hanzo and Orochimaru beneath it.
"Boom!!"
A loud crash echoed.
Manda, seizing the opportunity, quickly slithered toward the salamander, coiling tightly around it, restricting its movements.
As Manda tightened his grip, the salamander began to struggle desperately.
Sensing the salamander's immense strength, Manda opened his mouth, preparing to end its life.
But just at the critical moment...
"Katon: Kibaku Enjin!" (Fire Style: Explosive Flame Formation!)
Countless explosive tags appeared on the ground, swiftly crawling up Manda's body.
Manda was confused—Hanzo's summon was still present, after all.
This attack would damage both of their summons.
Explosive tags don't distinguish friend from foe.
"Boom!!"
A deafening explosion erupted.
While a few explosive tags wouldn't affect Manda much, when there were enough, even he couldn't withstand the blast.
Just before Manda was blown away, the place he had coiled around suddenly turned into smoke.
The salamander vanished in an instant.
Leaving Manda to bear the full brunt of the explosion alone.
Scorched and blackened, Manda collapsed to the ground.
Hanzo, who had been battling Orochimaru on the ground, repelled him with a swing of his scythe, then pressed his hand to the ground.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu" (Summoning Technique).
A cloud of smoke rose up.
The massive salamander reappeared beneath Hanzo's feet, though its body bore numerous scorch marks.
It was clear the explosion had injured it.
The ground beneath Orochimaru suddenly rose, and the burnt form of Manda emerged.
Far away, the collapsed body of Manda revealed itself to be nothing more than a discarded skin.
Without exchanging any further words, Hanzo and Orochimaru resumed their fight.
The two colossal summons continued their fierce battle.
The Kusanagi clashed once again with the scythe.
"Mugen Daija! Sen'ei Jashu!" (Infinite Snakes! Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!)
Several large white snakes shot out from Orochimaru's sleeve.
Hanzo, not using a water clone to dodge, instead threw the chain attached to his scythe, quickly entangling all the snakes.
He knew well that Orochimaru's snakes could absorb chakra.
With a powerful tug, he crushed all the white snakes.
The two separated once again, landing on the ground.
The loud crash of the giant summons echoed around them.
As Orochimaru landed, he began forming hand seals.
"Manda no Jin!" (Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes!) Orochimaru opened his mouth, and a flood of snakes poured out, surging toward Hanzo.
Hanzo's eyes locked onto the white snakes among them.
He opened his mouth.
"Dokugiri" (Poison Mist).
A purple mist spread from his mouth.
This poison was produced entirely from within his body and required little chakra.
The mist collided with the snake horde.
All the snakes fell to the poison, except for the rare white snakes.
But before the white snakes could reach Hanzo, they were sliced apart by his scythe.
Hanzo then hurled his scythe at Orochimaru, who was still forming hand seals in the distance. Orochimaru blocked it with the Kusanagi, momentarily interrupting his jutsu.
He quickly switched to forming one-handed seals.
"Doton: Doryū Taiga!" (Earth Style: Earth Flow River!)
The ground beneath Hanzo turned to liquid, flowing like a river.
In the next moment...
Hanzo's body dissolved into a pool of water and reappeared behind Orochimaru.
"Kenjutsu! Iai-giri!" (Sword Technique! Iai Slash!)
In an instant, Hanzo pierced Orochimaru's body—he was also a master of kenjutsu.
Orochimaru's body split in two, the cut edges turning purple from the poison's effects.
But Orochimaru's upper half opened its mouth, and two hands emerged from within.
Soon after, a completely unharmed Orochimaru crawled out.
"Fujihō: Kai! Mugen Daija!" (Immortality Technique: Modification! Infinite Snakes!)
Two small white snakes appeared in Orochimaru's hands.
He poured his chakra into them, and they rapidly grew to the size of Manda. One of the massive snakes lunged at Hanzo.
Hanzo swiftly used the Mizubunshin no Jutsu (Water Clone Technique) to retreat.
But the price was that the giant white snake continued to expand.
"Such a powerful jutsu."
The enormous white snake charged straight at Hanzo.
At that moment, Hanzo seemed to give up resistance, standing still as the snake was about to swallow him whole.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, and he swiftly retreated.
The next moment...
"Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu!" (Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique).
A massive transparent cube enveloped the infinite white snake.
The inside filled with blinding white light.
In an instant, the giant snake vanished.
Orochimaru, standing in the distance, saw his new opponent.
His expression darkened.
"Ōnoki."
(End of Chapter)
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