A boisterous laugh echoed, catching Orochimaru's attention.
He turned to see a flash of lightning, and a towering figure appeared before them.
"The Third Raikage." Orochimaru said slowly, eyeing the man.
"Orochimaru." The Third Raikage replied, easily singling out the leader among the ninja. As one of Konoha's legendary Sannin, Orochimaru was well-known.
Orochimaru had inflicted significant damage on the Kumo-nin in this war.
"Third Raikage, do you think you can take us all on alone?" Orochimaru asked. Surrounded by numerous Konoha ninja, did the Raikage believe he was Tengen?
"Of course not. My Kumo-nin are nearly here." The Raikage said with a grin. "I'm just a bit ahead of them."
"Raikage-sama!"
"Father!"
Two figures appeared beside the Raikage in a flash of lightning, A and Killer B.
Orochimaru could hear rustling in the distance, the sound of a large enemy force approaching.
"Retreat." Orochimaru signaled to Uchiha Fugaku and the others. Staying here wasn't wise; they needed to regroup to face the Kumo-nin.
"Withdraw!" Fugaku and the others shouted, and the Konoha ninja swiftly fell back.
"Orochimaru, and all you Konoha folks, no need to rush off. Let's chat a bit longer." The Raikage laughed, transforming into a bolt of lightning and charging forward.
"Fight while retreating!" Orochimaru barked.
Not only was there a gap between Orochimaru and the Third Raikage, but Fugaku and the others were outmatched by Killer B and A.
This was just one of Konoha's battlefields, but the Cloud had committed nearly all its elite forces to this war. It wasn't surprising that Konoha's ninja were at a disadvantage.
Meanwhile, Tengen, arriving from the Kiri-nin front, entered the region with his team of several hundred Konoha ninja. They could see Konoha and Kumo-nin locked in combat.
"Are we arriving at the perfect moment?" Tengen said, observing the battles unfolding.
"My dear Captain Tengen, it's perfect timing indeed. We've walked into a massive clash between Konoha and the Kumo-nin." Kushina Uzumaki said.
"A large-scale battle." Tengen said, using his ki to sense the surroundings. He nodded as he detected various forces colliding across the area.
"Captain Tengen, should we join the fight?" Kushina asked.
The Konoha ninja looked to Tengen.
They weren't overly anxious about their comrades' deaths. In their minds, Tengen's mission was paramount, and they couldn't afford to lose sight of the bigger picture.
Battles weren't just happening here; Konoha and Cloud forces were clashing elsewhere too.
"Alright, Kushina, lead the team to support our ninja. I'll go for the head of the snake." Tengen said. If he could repel the Third Raikage's main force, or even capture him, the Kumogakure would likely halt its aggression against Konoha for a while.
"Understood." Kushina nodded. "Konoha ninja, follow me! Take down the Kumo-nin!"
"Kill!" The Konoha ninja charged into battle.
As for Tengen's safety, Kushina had little worry. In her eyes, Tengen was the strongest in the ninja world.
His feat of single-handedly destroying the Kirigakure proved that no one could challenge him yet.
"The target's that way." Tengen said, sensing intense clashes in a distant battlefield. He started to move, but his player began flashing repeatedly.
"What's this signal?" Tengen glanced at the player, surprised to see it displaying an IMAX signal, indicating a fragment, only a quarter of an IMAX video.
This was Tengen's first time encountering a video fragment, but he knew it didn't matter. Collecting the pieces would suffice.
What surprised him was that this was an IMAX video.
A true first, the highest clarity video he'd encountered. Its contents were unpredictable.
The video that granted him the Saiyan Bloodline, capable of growing to universe-shattering power, had enabled him to destroy the Kirigakure.
At this moment, Tengen craved this IMAX video signal, even if it was just a fragment.
"The signal's location…" Tengen checked the player's display and smiled.
It was exactly where he sensed the intense battlefield, with familiar presences like the Third Raikage and his teacher, Orochimaru.
---
"Damn it." Orochimaru muttered, staggering back in disarray. His ninjutsu had been shattered by the Raikage's overwhelming force.
Most ninjutsu had little effect against the Raikage's terrifying taijutsu.
"Orochimaru, I hear you have a mighty summoned beast. Why not call it out?" The Raikage said with a mocking smile.
He wasn't afraid of any summoned beast. He'd wrestled the Eight-Tails, after all.
No summon could rival a Tailed Beast, could it?
Orochimaru's expression darkened at the Raikage's words. The taunt was clear, and he knew his summon, Manda, wasn't reliable.
"Do I have to use my hidden techniques?" Orochimaru thought. As a master of forbidden jutsu and research, he had secret methods.
But using them would come at a steep cost.
"If you won't summon it, don't blame me." The Raikage said, lightning crackling across his body.
"Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite!"
***
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