White smoke billowed and dispersed, and the colossal figures from the Three Great Sage Lands towered on the scene, casting enormous shadows outside Uzushiogakure.
"The situation is critical, Katsuyu. I need you to work with Jiraiya and Bunta to defeat the enemy before us!" Tsunade declared solemnly.
Katsuyu was a division from the body of the Slug Sage, the progenitor of Shikkotsu Forest. Pure white in color with blue markings on her back, her main body was as huge as an island. With Tsunade's current strength, she could only summon less than one-tenth of the Slug Sage's main body.
As a division of the Slug Sage, Katsuyu also possessed the ability to divide. Her natural energy contained powerful Yang Release chakra and abundant vitality. Not only could she heal injured people on a large scale, but each division could also share vision, transmit real-time information, and conduct long-range chakra transmission.
"That's...Maboroshi?"
As soon as Katsuyu appeared, she recognized the identity of the scarlet giant serpent due to her extensive experience.
"Who is Maboroshi?" Tsunade's heart stirred, immediately requesting confirmation.
"He is a serpent with reverse scales from deep within the most violent serpent nest in Ryūchi Cave. He is powerful, but extremely violent, and even the snakes in Ryūchi Cave hate him," Katsuyu said. Her two huge antennae twitched slightly, "Tsunade-sama, his venom can petrify all living things, so we must be cautious."
Although its appearance was terrifying, its voice was unexpectedly gentle, quiet, and elegant, like a clear spring flowing through a mountain stream.
Jiraiya's expression was solemn as he listened as well.
After Katsuyu finished telling about Maboroshi, Tsunade and Jiraiya exchanged glances, and years of tacit understanding allowed them to quickly determine their battle strategy.
On the other side, unlike the tension of the two, Orochimaru stood with his arms folded on top of Maboroshi, his tone even somewhat relaxed:
"Facing the legacy of both Mount Myōboku and Shikkotsu Forest at the same time, Maboroshi, how does it feel?"
"Tch, don't underestimate this great one, you bastard!" Maboroshi's gaze shifted, directly sweeping past Gamabunta. When he looked at Katsuyu, a subtle hint of caution flashed in his vertical pupils, "But that slug is indeed a bit tricky."
"Will we win?"
"We will win, of course!"
Hearing Orochimaru's slightly teasing voice, Maboroshi's eyes immediately turned violent. He swung his tail, and first launched an attack.
The exaggerated size did not affect Maboroshi's speed. The snake's tail instantly turned into a scarlet streak of light, the wind whistling with a sweeping force of thousands of pounds, lashing out like a whip.
"Boom!"
The ground exploded, and Gamabunta demonstrated his excellent jumping ability. He pushed off with his toad legs and leaped away from the spot, easily avoiding the snake's tail sweep, carrying Jiraiya and Nawaki into the air.
But the Katsuyu beside him was not so flexible. Compared to the agile Bunta, she was huge and slow, so she did not make any dodging movements, and was directly cut in half by the snake's tail!
"Puff!"
Maboroshi was slightly startled, a rare look of astonishment flashing in its fierce eyes.
It did not feel any impact, only seeing the long shadow sweep past, and Katsuyu split into two identical slugs before his eyes.
"Damn it!"
He was a little agitated, and the snake's tail recoiled, repeatedly whipping twice like a steel whip, the air full of rapid wind sounds.
However, the result of doing so was that four slugs appeared before his eyes.
Although the size was not the same as before, the aura did not weaken in the slightest.
"It is immune to physical attacks, don't do any more foolish attacks, Maboroshi!"
Orochimaru reminded, suddenly his eyes sharpened, and he looked up sharply.
A shadow loomed overhead, gradually expanding like ink-dyed rice paper, completely covering the snake and human.
Gamabunta, with the force of Mount Tai pressing down, fell straight down, and Jiraiya's loud voice came from the whistling wind:
"Toad Flatness Technique!"
The giant toad crashed heavily on the ground with a deafening sound. Under the powerful kinetic energy, a circular shock wave spread in all directions, even the barrier of Uzushiogakure was passively revealed, rippling in layers.
Because he attacked the slugs, Maboroshi did not have time to dodge this attack and was slammed into the ground by Gamabunta, roaring angrily.
Jiraiya immediately leaned out and looked down, his eyes piercing through the layers of smoke, trying to find Orochimaru's figure next to Maboroshi, but clearly, he had lost his target.
Violent shaking came from under his feet, which was Maboroshi struggling madly. Obviously, the previous move not only did not seriously injure it, but instead angered this violent serpent.
Jiraiya immediately came back to his senses and steadied the tottering Nawaki.
Gamabunta's movements did not stop, and a toad face showed a humanized solemn expression. He firmly stepped on Maboroshi's body, suppressing the other party, and at the same time drew out the short sword from his waist and stabbed it straight at the snake's head!
Maboroshi twisted his snake's neck flexibly, opening his mouth without retreating, and with a "ding", bit Bunta's short sword, the venomous fangs rubbed against the blade, splashing out dense sparks.
"Don't give it a chance!"
Jiraiya shouted, making hand seals with both hands, "Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
The ground surged, quickly turning into a flowing russet color, and in just a few breaths, it turned into a swamp of about a hundred meters in radius.
The ground changed from solid to soft, and Maboroshi immediately lost its support. The huge body sank inch by inch under Bunta's pressure, splashing out countless mud.
"Too concerned about Maboroshi?"
The hoarse voice in his ear was like an icy wind, chilling Jiraiya's spine.
"Teacher...be careful..." Nawaki shouted belatedly. By the time he reacted, a ghost-like figure had already passed him and killed behind his teacher.
"Buzz..."
A buzzing sound came from behind, and Jiraiya turned his head desperately, but it was too late. In a hurried glance, Orochimaru's disheveled hair flew, holding a crystal-clear chakra ball, and pressed it hard on his back.
"Rasengan!"
The blue light flickered, the airflow surged, and with Orochimaru's clear shout, the Rasengan exploded suddenly!
Under the tyrannical thrust, Jiraiya's body seemed to lose control and flew out spinning, smashing into the distant earth.
On top of Gamabunta's head, Nawaki stared blankly at the back of the person in front of him, tears silently overflowing his eyes.
Orochimaru felt something and turned his head slightly, his golden vertical pupils emitting a cold and unfamiliar light.
"Nawaki, long time no see. Have you become Jiraiya's disciple?"
Nawaki opened his mouth. He had seen the person in front of him a few times when he was a child, and he had a good impression of him at that time.
"You..."
"Let's end the reminiscing." Orochimaru's mouth turned up, "It's better to jump down yourself, the chance of surviving is higher."
After saying that, he jumped and disappeared on top of Bunta's head.
Gamabunta learned that Jiraiya had been attacked and wanted to support him, but he really couldn't get away, because Maboroshi's struggle was getting more and more intense.
Suddenly, a snake's tail protruded from the mud and strangled Bunta's round belly tightly.
"Get out!" Maboroshi roared, and the force exploded, throwing Bunta far away, smashing into the mountains.
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