"Heh heh... To think that Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin renowned throughout the ninja world, would actually join Akatsuki," the newly arrived clone body of Tatsuya remarked mockingly. The clone, freed up from the fight with Sasori and Iwamoto, stood nearby, observing Orochimaru who had pulled back slightly from his engagement with Pakura. This was the first time Tatsuya (in any form) had met Orochimaru since the latter's defection many years ago.
"You seem to know quite a bit about me?" Orochimaru replied, raising a curious eyebrow.
"You could say that," Tatsuya's clone responded lightly.
Orochimaru studied this particular clone body for a moment. There was something strangely familiar about the person standing before him.
"Hmph. Regardless of who you are, that gives you no justification for such insolence in my presence," Orochimaru sneered, his hands already forming seals.
Poof!
A massive cloud of white smoke erupted, and the enormous form of Manda appeared on the battlefield.
"Orochimaru! Why have you summoned the great me?!" Manda hissed upon appearing, addressing Orochimaru irritably.
"Rest assured, sufficient sacrifices will be prepared for you. Just help me suppress him," Orochimaru replied, pointing towards Tatsuya's clone body.
During the previous exchanges, Orochimaru had taken the opportunity to observe the other skirmishes. He keenly noted that both of Tatsuya's active clone bodies seemed to favor taijutsu, displaying restraint in their use of ninjutsu. While Orochimaru didn't understand the reason, using Manda against such close-combat specialists was clearly a more effective strategy. Facing two opponents, his plan was to eliminate Pakura first while Manda kept the clone occupied.
Receiving Orochimaru's assurance, Manda immediately slithered forward, launching itself towards Tatsuya's clone.
Seeing Manda's overwhelming presence approaching, Tatsuya's clone was forced to retreat rapidly. This left Orochimaru and Pakura facing each other directly, now somewhat separated from the clone.
Orochimaru's hands formed seals again, and then he bent over, placing his palms on the ground. Soon, a horrifying tide of snakes began crawling out from his mouth, quickly piling up before him like a small, writhing mountain. The scene was both grotesque and magnificent. Seeing this, even the other Akatsuki members nearby showed expressions of disgust mixed with awe. Against such a large-scale snake swarm attack, the only options were retreat or countering head-on with equally large-scale ninjutsu.
Haaa... Facing the veritable sea of snakes surging towards her, Pakura let out a slow breath. It seems hiding my identity any longer is impossible!
Muttering softly under her breath, Pakura began forming hand seals. Soon, five blazing orbs of fire appeared around her, rotating smoothly through the air. As Pakura poured large amounts of chakra into them, the five orbs began to rapidly expand.
"Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder!"
With a sharp cry, Pakura directed the five intensely hot orbs towards the mountain-like snake swarm. Wherever the orbs passed, the snakes rapidly desiccated and withered. Upon mere contact, the moisture within the snakes' bodies was instantly evaporated completely. Dried snake husks rained down constantly in the orbs' wake, crumbling into fine dust upon hitting the ground.
In just one or two minutes, the vast snake army Orochimaru had summoned was entirely annihilated by Pakura's single Scorch Release technique.
Staring at the mountain of dried snake husks, everyone present – Akatsuki members and Yakugakure defenders alike – showed undisguised shock on their faces.
Pakura panted heavily, her eyes fixed warily on Orochimaru opposite her.
"That's Scorch Release! You're Pakura of the Sand!" Seeing the technique, a look of realization dawned on Orochimaru's face. He turned his gaze, now burning with intensity, towards Pakura. Considering the timing of Suna's hero Pakura's disappearance and the emergence of this Scorch Release user, guessing her identity wasn't difficult. This was the main reason Pakura had restrained herself from using Scorch Release previously. But now that I'm exposed, Pakura thought, I fight with everything I have. Her eyes shone with a soaring fighting spirit as she prepared to actively engage Orochimaru once more.
Watching the two quickly distance themselves from the main battlefield, Tatsuya's clone bodies weren't concerned. The Scorch Release Kekkei Genkai was inherently powerful, and coupled with the long-term enhancement from the Fujinhoin, Pakura's current strength had solidly reached the Kage-level.
"Damn you, Orochimaru! How dare you abandon the great me and run off alone!" Sensing Orochimaru's chakra signature rapidly moving away, Manda let out an annoyed hiss. Having lost its target and its summoner, it decided to cancel the summoning technique itself.
Poof!
With another cloud of white smoke, Manda vanished from the battlefield.
With Manda's departure, the clone body it had been fighting was now free. Konan, seeing the opening, unfurled a pair of large wings made of paper origami from her back and flew towards the unoccupied clone. While airborne, countless smaller paper origami shapes detached from her wings, shooting towards the clone like projectiles.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Tatsuya's clone twisted and dodged continuously. Each piece of origami was essentially an explosive tag, detonating violently upon impact with the ground.
Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!
While evading, the clone formed hand seals and spat out a massive fireball towards Konan in the sky. The fireball surged upwards, but just as it was about to hit her, Konan's body dissolved into countless paper butterflies, fluttering away harmlessly. A moment later, the paper pieces reconverged nearby, reforming Konan's figure.
For the time being, neither could gain the upper hand on the other, reaching a stalemate.
On the battlefield, Orochimaru and Pakura's departure didn't significantly impact the overall situation. The decisive factor in this battle still rested with the confrontation between the Deva Path and Jizo/Kagutsuchi.