"Orochimaru-sama…"
Kabuto, who had just recovered from Furen's Ice Release, approached cautiously, his voice carrying a hint of retreat. At this moment, Orochimaru's soul had been partially sealed, leaving him unable to form hand signs or even walk. He had all his skills, but no way to use them.
Facing Tsunade, whose strength rivaled his own, and Furen, who was also quite powerful, they were no longer a match. Although there were still the four members of the Sound Four behind them, their abilities were not enough to turn the tide of the battle.
The three toads from Mount Myoboku and Tsunade's slug were clearly not going to give Orochimaru any breathing room. After discarding the skin Manda had shed, they all launched attacks simultaneously.
Orochimaru showed his trademark eerie smile, completely unperturbed. He borrowed Kabuto's hands once again and performed a summoning technique.
Kabuto, with Orochimaru's blood on his hands, slammed his palms onto the ground.
"Triple Rashomon!"
Three massive gates immediately shot up in front of Orochimaru, each gate adorned with a terrifying, grotesque face. The Triple Rashomon is a three-layered ultimate defense, with a unique structure and miasma that absorbs all attacks.
As soon as the gates appeared, a strange wave of energy rippled out like a genjutsu, affecting larger creatures more intensely. The three toads from Mount Myoboku all frowned, dropping their weapons and covering their ears, while the slug split into numerous smaller slugs, unable to maintain its form.
Besides its defensive capabilities, the Triple Rashomon also had the ability to shake the spirit of others. In previous battles where Rashomon had appeared, the opponents were tailed beasts, which have strong resistance to genjutsu, so this effect hadn't been evident.
Under the influence of the Triple Rashomon, the giant summoning beasts from the three sacred lands all vanished in puffs of smoke.
Tsunade landed on the ground, her gaze filled with caution as she looked at Orochimaru. There was no denying Orochimaru's immense strength—despite having his hands sealed and being unable to perform jutsu, he had still managed to put up such a defense.
As Tsunade prepared to use her monstrous strength to physically break through the massive Triple Rashomon, Furen stepped in front of her, extending his arm to block her.
Tsunade looked at Furen, about to tell him that this was a defense he couldn't possibly break, when he spoke.
"I recently obtained some tailed beast meat in the Land of Waterfalls…"
Furen's voice gradually faded, and his skin began to peel away, followed by a violent, ominous aura radiating from his body. In a final burst of energy, a figure covered in black and red appeared, with four insect-like wings sprouting from its back.
Tailed Beast Form: Seven Tails, Version 2.
Tsunade's eyes widened in shock, and her gaze was filled with astonishment as she looked at Furen, who had transformed into the Seven Tails.
"You're… a jinchuriki?"
After uttering the question, Tsunade quickly realized something was off. The Nine Tails jinchuriki, Naruto, was still in Konoha, and Furen's transformation wasn't into the Nine Tails. Recalling what Furen had said about the Land of Waterfalls, Tsunade realized that he must have obtained something special that allowed him to transform into a tailed beast.
"The real question now is whether or not Furen is still conscious in this form," Tsunade thought warily as she watched him. Without reaching some sort of agreement with the tailed beast, a jinchuriki in this state would lose control and go on a rampage.
Under Tsunade's watchful eyes, Furen, in his Seven Tails form, opened his mouth and said, "Lady Tsunade."
Hearing him speak and realizing that he hadn't lost himself to the tailed beast, Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief. Dealing with Orochimaru alone was already challenging enough—if an out-of-control Furen in his tailed beast form had been added to the mix, the situation would have spiraled out of control.
"You're not a jinchuriki… How did you turn into a tailed beast?" Tsunade asked Furen.
"I got some of the Seven Tails' flesh. After eating it, I gained the ability to transform into this form," Furen, in his tailed beast form, said as he stretched his body and then opened his mouth towards Orochimaru's Triple Rashomon.
Hearing this, Tsunade remembered the story of Kinkaku and Ginkaku from the Hidden Cloud Village, who had killed the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. After being swallowed by the Nine Tails, they ate its flesh inside its belly and later gained the ability to partially transform into the Nine Tails.
She hadn't expected that, after all these years, Furen would have a similar opportunity, obtaining the power of the Seven Tails.
Watching this scene unfold, Orochimaru's eyes filled with even more anticipation as he observed Furen's transformation.
"What a delightful surprise…" Orochimaru licked his lips. In his mind, Furen's body had now become a prime candidate for his Living Corpse Reincarnation technique.
As Furen opened his mouth, a black ball began to condense, as the Yin and Yang chakra around him continued to gather.
Tailed Beast Bomb.
Back when Naruto lost control and entered Four Tails mode, he had used a Tailed Beast Bomb to destroy Orochimaru's Triple Rashomon.
Now, Furen wanted to test whether the Tailed Beast Bomb of the Seven Tails in Version 2 form could do the same—could it blast through the Triple Rashomon, and how did the strength of the Seven Tails compare to the Nine Tails?
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T/N:
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