"Well, I didn't expect this."
Orochimaru's face turned serious as he looked at the figure floating in the sky.
The short old man stared at Orochimaru, expressionless.
"I didn't think Iwagakure would ally with Amegakure."
Not long ago, the two villages had been fighting each other.
And even if they formed an alliance, why would the Tsuchikage himself appear on the battlefield?
Wasn't he afraid of being surrounded and killed?
A Kage is always a prime target in war.
But then again, the man could fly.
That solved a lot of problems.
"Konoha has grown too powerful," Ōnoki said as he slowly descended from the sky.
It had taken a lot of deliberation to make this decision.
The strength of Konoha was evident to everyone.
The Sakumo alone could hold off an entire village, and Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, all of whom had grown strong, were also not to be underestimated.
Not to mention the two who gave him the most trouble: Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō.
If he could take any one of them in isolation, he could defeat them.
But together, those two were no weaklings.
Just counting the notable ones, there were already six prominent names.
And who knew how many others there might be?
For instance, the Green Beast—if he weren't limited to taijutsu, he'd be a troublesome opponent too.
But even with just taijutsu, he was still a threat.
The current war was tipping in Konoha's favor.
If Konoha was allowed to continue like this...
Ōnoki couldn't see any hope of defeating them.
It was better to sever one of their fingers first.
"Orochimaru's gone," Hanzo said from the side.
"I know. Kill Orochimaru, and you'll get what you want."
Ōnoki snorted, but then noticed that the figure of Orochimaru before him was nothing more than a shed skin.
"Using Doton (Earth Style) in front of me? You're too inexperienced!"
"Doton: Chidōkaku!" (Earth Style: Moving Earth Core)
A massive square block of earth rose from the ground, trapping Orochimaru inside.
Ōnoki extended both hands.
A transparent cube appeared, glowing with white light inside.
"Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu!" (Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique)
The cube rapidly expanded into a rectangular prism, enveloping both Orochimaru and the block of earth.
Before the light within could fully intensify...
Orochimaru opened his mouth, and a new version of himself flew out, narrowly escaping the explosion within the prism.
"Dust Release, huh?"
Orochimaru stood firm, aware of the devastating disintegration effect of the Dust Release, which had even obliterated his Mugen Daija (Infinite Snake).
The legendary Kekkei Tōta.
Orochimaru clasped his hands together.
Facing both Ōnoki and Hanzo at once was still beyond his current strength.
In the distance, Manda vanished in a puff of smoke with a "pop."
"Have you given up resisting, Orochimaru?" Ōnoki asked, floating in front of him. He had to admit, the young man before him was indeed a formidable opponent.
It would be better if he didn't resist, though.
"Not at all." Suddenly, white light erupted from Orochimaru's body.
"Facing someone like you, Manda is useless."
Manda couldn't withstand such a powerful Dust Release.
At this point, Hanzo stood atop his salamander, and the two of them confronted Orochimaru together.
Ōnoki made the first move.
Ōnoki's figure emerged from the ground behind Orochimaru, aiming both hands at him.
"Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu!"
A square barrier instantly enveloped Orochimaru.
But just as the disintegrating power inside was about to erase everything...
Orochimaru's body suddenly swelled, quickly shattering the cube from within.
"Kinjutsu: Fujihō! Yamata no Jutsu!" (Forbidden Technique: Immortality Technique! Eight Branches Technique)
Orochimaru transformed into a massive being with eight heads and eight tails.
"What is this?!"
Hanzo stared in disbelief at the enormous figure before him.
The colossal form towered nearly a hundred meters tall.
If Orochimaru had used this technique from the beginning, could they have even stood a chance against him?
"Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu!"
Ōnoki immediately launched his attack.
Size didn't matter to him.
The cube quickly expanded, engulfing the entire Yamata no Orochi (Eight-Headed Serpent).
However, one of the massive snake heads bit into the cube, causing a gap to appear.
The transparent cube began to distort.
The snake head that had bitten the cube absorbed the distorted energy into its mouth.
Another snake head opened its mouth, spewing violent flames at Ōnoki.
Meanwhile, several other snake heads unleashed torrents of sand and wind toward Hanzo, forcing him to retreat repeatedly.
"Doton: Gōremu no Jutsu!" (Earth Style: Golem Technique)
Ōnoki summoned a massive rock golem to defend against the flames, but they had no effect on the sturdy golem.
Then, another snake head turned, releasing a fierce bolt of lightning from its mouth.
Unlike the flames, the lightning instantly shattered the rock golem's body, forcing Ōnoki to retreat quickly.
But the lightning continued to chase him relentlessly.
Ōnoki glanced over at Hanzo, who was still being forced to retreat under the onslaught of wind and sand.
"Useless!"
And this man dared to call himself the Demi-God of the Shinobi World.
Hanzo was indeed in a tough spot. The wind and sand spewed by the snake heads were on par with large-scale A-rank jutsu.
He was just a ninja from a small village; his arsenal of jutsu was limited. How could he possibly defend against this?
He was strong because he usually faced regular-sized shinobi.
Not gigantic monsters.
The salamander, too, was too afraid to advance.
Ōnoki refocused his attention, allowing the lightning to envelop him. When the lightning finally stopped, Ōnoki's figure had disappeared.
On the back of the Yamata no Orochi...
Ōnoki reappeared, extending his hand toward the massive serpent.
"Doton: Kajūgan no Jutsu!" (Earth Style: Added Weight Rock Technique)
The body of the Yamata no Orochi began to harden into stone, albeit slowly.
"Doton: Chōkajūgan no Jutsu!" (Earth Style: Super Added Weight Rock Technique)
The serpent's body rapidly became heavier, forcing it to collapse to the ground.
At that moment, Hanzo rushed forward, slashing at one of the serpent heads with his scythe.
The massive head flew off.
Meanwhile, Hanzo's salamander bit into another head.
"Move! You're in the way!" Ōnoki roared.
Though Hanzo was annoyed, he quickly backed off, pulling his salamander away as well.
"Jinton: Kengen Hakuri no Jutsu!" (Dust Release: Limit Separation Technique)
A massive white cube enveloped the Yamata no Orochi.
This was an enhanced version of the Dust Release.
As the white light inside exploded...
When everything had cleared...
The Yamata no Orochi had completely vanished.
"Did we do it?!" Hanzo appeared below Ōnoki.
"Not yet."
Ōnoki looked toward the distant ground.
Orochimaru was crawling out of the earth.
"With a body that large, it just made me an easier target."
Orochimaru had thought he could hold out a little longer.
But alas.
"Truly impressive, Tsuchikage."
Orochimaru praised him.
Ōnoki stared coldly at Orochimaru.
"Has the information already leaked?"
Orochimaru licked his lips with a snake-like tongue.
"Just as a precaution."
Two figures appeared behind Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru, looks like you've been beaten pretty badly."
"Shut up! Help me finish them off first!!"
(End of Chapter)
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