"Go to hell, brat!"
With Orochimaru's furious roar, the white phosphorous serpent he transformed into lunged straight for Kazama.
"Get out of the way!"
Jiraiya hurriedly pulled back, retreating.
But Kazama, instead of dodging, charged head-on toward Orochimaru's attack.
"Kazama! Orochimaru's jutsu is no joke—you can't block it! Fall back now!"
Jiraiya knew Kazama's defense was incredibly tough.
But Orochimaru's Yamata no Jutsu? That was power on par with a Tailed Beast.
No matter how strong someone's defense was, how could they possibly withstand a Tailed Beast's attack?
What Jiraiya didn't know was that Kazama was exactly the kind of person who could stand up to a Tailed Beast's power.
"Brat! I know you can absorb attacks, but my Yamata no Jutsu can obliterate heaven and earth! A nobody like you doesn't stand a chance, haha!"
Seeing Kazama charge forward instead of dodging, Orochimaru burst into maniacal laughter, as if he could already taste victory.
Ding! Successfully absorbed Yamata no Jutsu. Congratulations, Host, for gaining the Power of Yamata no Orochi. You can now transform into the true Yamata no Orochi!
Ding! Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the eleventh Strange Flame, Kurei Chika, which can summon a giant flame turtle to attack enemies!
"Just as I expected. Yamata no Jutsu's power is insane—not only did it give me the true power of Yamata no Orochi, but it also handed me Kurei Chika on a silver platter. Perfect! Let's test out the power of Kurei Chika and Yamata no Orochi right now!"
Kazama stood tall in the air, smirking coldly at Orochimaru across from him.
"What?! You… you're not dead?!"
Even though Orochimaru knew Kazama was no pushover, he never could've imagined that Kazama would take the full brunt of his Yamata no Jutsu and come out completely unscathed.
After all, his Yamata no Jutsu was supposed to be as strong as a Tailed Beast!
"Is this kid even human? He's a monster!"
For Orochimaru—himself a monster—to say something like that showed just how shocked he was.
"Kazama, you've got some serious luck, kid!"
Jiraiya, who'd been worrying about Kazama's safety, finally let out a relieved sigh seeing him unharmed.
"Jiraiya-sama, run!"
"Why?"
Jiraiya was baffled by Kazama's sudden, out-of-nowhere command.
"Because I'm about to show off! Kurei Chika!"
Kazama pointed, and a massive flame turtle—mountain-sized, covered in flaming spikes, with a maw full of fangs—materialized.
"What… what is that?!"
Staring at the flame turtle, as massive as his own white phosphorous Yamata no Orochi, Orochimaru felt an overwhelming, terrifying pressure he'd never experienced before.
"Holy crap! Good thing I booked it! Kazama's got summoning jutsu up his sleeve? That's insane, just insane!"
Jiraiya, panting, had already sprinted a hundred meters away.
"Jiraiya-sama, keep running!"
"What?! Why do I gotta keep running?!"
Jiraiya, practically whining, asked again.
"Because I'm about to show off again!"
"Give me a break!"
Hearing Kazama's words, Jiraiya scrambled even farther, half-running, half-crawling.
"Orochimaru, put away that fake Yamata no Jutsu of yours. Today, I'll show you the real Yamata no Orochi!"
With a wild laugh, Kazama's body transformed into the true Yamata no Orochi—eight heads, eight tails, dragon-like heads with glowing lantern eyes, and wings sprouting from its back. Eight ominous clouds of different colors hovered above its heads, and its body loomed as massive as eight mountain peaks.
Each of its eight giant heads wielded a different nature of ninjutsu: Wind, Lightning, Water, Fire, Earth, Storm, Lava, and Ice.
Compared to Kazama's true Yamata no Orochi, Orochimaru's so-called Yamata no Jutsu was pathetically weak, like an ant.
Even though Kazama's Yamata no Orochi hadn't attacked yet, its sheer primal, demonic aura was enough to scare Orochimaru half to death.
Before, Orochimaru had only sensed Kazama's terror.
Now, he was face-to-face with the unmistakable stench of death radiating from him.