Adding fuel to the Fire Release, Jiraiya's Fire Release burned even more fiercely.
The air was filled with the scent of roasted meat, the crackling sound of Manda's scales being burned, and Manda's struggling, twisting, hissing, and screaming.
Manda thrashed wildly, its body and tail striking haphazardly in all directions, ravaging the already flattened Moutoku Castle, leaving it pockmarked with flying debris.
It was still shedding its skin, attempting to use its old body to block the power of the Toad Oil Flame Bullet.
However,
No matter how many layers of skin it shed, impaled through the mouth by Gamabunta's giant short sword and pinned to the ground, it couldn't escape.
"Orochimaru really screwed me over this time; I can only play dead to get by."
"Next time, if Orochimaru summons me again, I'll demand 1000 human sacrifices from him! No! I'll devour him directly!!"
After Manda's violent struggles, it fell silent. When the sea of fire from the Toad Oil Flame Bullet extinguished, all that remained was a huge, twisted, charred snake body.
"It looks like Manda is dead."
Gamabunta, who was nearby, couldn't help but feel a rush of emotions. Once comrades, now sworn enemies, and now, unexpectedly, it had come to this end.
"Let's go."
Jiraiya, standing atop Gamabunta's head, prepared to release the Summoning Jutsu.
Manda, feigning death, felt an increasing joy in its heart.
It wished Jiraiya and the others would leave quickly.
Just then, Naruto's voice rang out in the air:
"Jiraiya Sensei, the Toad Oil Flame Bullet alone won't kill Manda; at most, it will only burn off a layer of its skin."
Let me be the one to thoroughly slay it.
A cold, indifferent voice, like a depth charge, exploded in the heart of the feigning-death Manda, stirring up monstrous waves.
"That brat, how did he know I was playing dead?!"
"A test, or..."
As Manda was startled and hesitant, contemplating a countermeasure, it suddenly felt the giant short sword piercing its upper and lower jaws being swiftly pulled out. The sharp pain of the blade almost made it shriek.
Naruto, like a god, hovered in the air, a golden, translucent Chakra hand extending from his body, gripping the giant short sword, which was completely out of proportion to his own size.
After pulling it out, he swung it fiercely in mid-air. The sharp, cold light almost split the sky, carving a "white waterfall" across the heavens and earth, striking Manda precisely at its vital seven-inch mark.
Manda didn't even have time for a final struggle; it was directly beheaded by Gamabunta's giant short sword. Playing dead turned into true death.
"Boss Gamabunta, here you go."
Naruto, controlling the Chakra hand of his Sage Cloak, shook off the snake blood clinging to the giant short sword and then tossed it to Gamabunta.
Gamabunta leaped up, catching his giant short sword with both frog hands and sheathing it. He said to Jiraiya, utterly astonished, "Is he the Child of Prophecy? What a formidable young man!"
Jiraiya, whose mouth was agape in an "O" shape, large enough to fit a goose egg, nodded.
"Jiraiya, I'm heading back to Mount Myōboku now."
With a "poof,"
A large cloud of white mist exploded, and Gamabunta vanished from where he stood.
A great battle had ended.
Naruto slowly descended from the sky and reunited with Jiraiya and Tsunade.
Shizune, supporting Tsunade, frowned and looked around, seemingly searching for something.
A pink "lightning bolt" streaked from a nearby ruin, crashing into Shizune's arms. It was a small piglet wearing a short coat and a pearl necklace around its neck.
"Tonton."
Shizune joyfully embraced her pet, then frowned and said, "That Otogakure ninja who was with Orochimaru is gone."
Naruto said calmly, "His name is Yakushi Kabuto. He was a spy for Orochimaru, lurking in Konoha. After the Konoha Crush plan failed, he completely defected."
"Heh heh, he probably escaped during the chaos while I was fighting Orochimaru. Let him go."
In a cold, damp underground cave, only a few dim oil lamps provided weak light, casting distorted, flickering shadows of the glistening stalactites, like monsters ready to devour people.
The air was thick with the smell of herbs and blood.
Yakushi Kabuto leaned against the cold stone wall, his face ashen, his broken glasses askew on his nose, and the bandages on his chest stained red with seeping blood.
"As expected of Lady Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, on par with Lord Orochimaru. Her single blow broke all my ribs."
"If I hadn't used the Yin Healing Wound Destruction to minimize the damage, I probably wouldn't have made it back at all."
Yakushi Kabuto endured the intense pain, carefully using a Chakra scalpel to treat his broken ribs, beads of sweat constantly rolling down his forehead.
He was already injured by Tsunade's attack, and then the shockwave from Naruto's Great Ball Rasengan nearly took half his life.
Suddenly, a horrifying, dense crawling sound came from the cave entrance.
Countless tiny, mud- and blood-stained white snakes surged in like a tide, quickly gathering in the open space in the center of the cave, frantically coiling, piling, and merging!
Finally, they transformed into a monstrous, bizarre head with horns, its body entirely composed of individual white snakes.
"L-Lord Orochimaru?!"
Yakushi Kabuto suddenly looked up, a flicker of surprise in his eyes, but more so, horror.
He had never seen Lord Orochimaru so frantically reassemble his body!
The white snakes also appeared extremely exhausted, clearly having expended a great deal of energy.
"I knew Lord Orochimaru would be able to escape successfully—even two of the Legendary Sannin, plus the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki, couldn't stop Lord Orochimaru."
Accompanied by the grating sound of bones rubbing and flesh writhing, Orochimaru's snake form finally stabilized.
"Listen..."
The newly formed throat emitted a dry hiss.
Orochimaru slowly opened his eyes, his golden vertical pupils like two ghostly flames in the dim light, staring coldly into an empty space, as if wanting to pierce through the rock layers to see the golden-haired brat's figure.
"Uzumaki Naruto—"
His voice was hoarse and broken, every word seemingly squeezed through his teeth, containing a chilling killing intent capable of freezing the soul.
"As expected of the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki, the power he possesses is simply beyond what normal people can compare to."
"But, so what?"
"I am immortal, no one can kill me!"
Orochimaru flicked his snake-like tongue, seemingly with a hint of pride and relief at having survived, and looked at Yakushi Kabuto: "Kabuto—immediately activate all backup strongholds—collect test subjects—"
"I want—the most perfect vessel!!"
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru!"
Yakushi Kabuto, leaning against the rock, struggled to stand up to receive his orders.
However, just as his body tilted slightly forward, a sudden change occurred!
Yakushi Kabuto's movement abruptly froze!
He discovered, to his horror, that his body—couldn't move.
No.
Not only his body, but even his shadow, flickering under the oil lamp, suddenly became still.