[Alert: You have less than 30% chakra remaining!]
That message briefly flashed in my mind, blinking red.
A massive red toad had just appeared beside Jiraiya, a pipe between his lips and a determined look in his eyes.
Orochimaru summoned a gigantic white-scaled serpent, its furious hissing echoing through the battlefield.
Tsunade, calm as ever, placed her hand on the muddy ground. With a surge of chakra, a giant, glistening slug materialized beside her, ready to heal and defend her comrades.
In front of them, my black salamander Ibuse reared up, letting out a low, earth-rumbling growl. She opened her jaws and released another thick cloud of poison, quickly spreading into the rainy air.
I knew I had to end this fight soon. I needed to kill one. Just one of them. It would be enough to break their balance… and complete the side quest.
I dashed toward Ibuse and, without a word, dipped my curved scythe into the viscous saliva dripping from her fangs. A deadly poison. Even the slightest cut would cause paralysis.
Quickly…
I launched into the fray. Orochimaru reacted first, his yellow eyes narrowing to slits. He formed a rapid series of hand signs.
"Kuchiyose: Mandara no Jin!"
Dozens of serpents burst from the ground around him, forming a hissing, scaly wall.
I landed back on my feet, breath ragged but eyes sharp. The ground around us was ravaged—muddy craters, trails of poison, fragments of broken armor. Despite the fatigue, every muscle in my body stayed coiled, ready to strike.
Tsunade charged again, her fists unleashing a flurry of devastating blows.
"Shannarō!"
Each strike splashed through the mud, the rain crashing down around her like a personal storm. I blocked the first punch, dodged the second, parried the third with a twist of my wrist… but the fourth hit my side, sending me crashing into a pile of rubble.
I recovered instantly, but Jiraiya was already upon me.
"Doton: Doryūdan!"
A dragon's head erupted from the ground, spitting compressed mud bullets. I leapt back, twisting mid-air, and hurled three water needles with surgical precision.
Orochimaru moved to intercept.
"Kuchiyose: Sen'ei Hebi Mikazuchi!"
Two massive snakes burst from the earth, coiling into a defensive spiral. My projectiles exploded on contact, showering them with blood, but Orochimaru remained motionless, eyes locked on me.
"You're slowing down, demigod," he hissed.
I clenched my jaw. My breath came harder. The scythe felt heavier. My vision blurred slightly. The cold rain showed no sign of stopping.
Suddenly, Jiraiya slammed his palm to the ground.
"Doton: Gansetsukon!"
A stone pillar surged from beneath me. I barely escaped by spinning my chain and launching myself sideways. But Tsunade was already there to meet me.
"Dokkōdan!"
Her punch landed on my guard with a sickening crack. Though my arm took the blow, the impact sent me flying again.
They're too well-coordinated...
Before I could hit the ground, Orochimaru weaved more hand signs.
"Fūton: Shinkūgyoku!"
Compressed air bullets screamed toward me. I countered with a water release:
"Suiton: Mizurappa!"
The wave of water intercepted most of them, but one grazed my flank, tearing metal and skin.
I landed on one knee, panting. They're hunting me like a pack...
Then came a strange sound. A soft, almost melodic vibration.
I turned my head.
Jiraiya had opened his mouth.
I leapt skyward, but Jiraiya shouted:
"Gama Rinshō!"
The toad opened its mouth and released an eerie melody. A deep vibration rang in my ears. The world around me slowed. Shapes distorted. My movements blurred.
A sound-based genjutsu?
No… Not now!
Everything became hazy. Orochimaru lunged, his Kusanagi blade aiming straight for my heart.
But… I am the Shadow Monarch.
I screamed inwardly, forcing my chakra to flare violently through my meridians. A burst of dark energy pulsed around me, shattering the genjutsu's dissonance.
[19% chakra remaining.]
Too late for Orochimaru. I barely parried his blade, then slashed through the air with my scythe. He jumped back.
Jiraiya moved to intercept, but I swung my chain, hurling it at him. The other end snapped toward Tsunade, wrapping around her ankle mid-air as she dove in with a vertical kick.
Perfect.
I yanked the chain hard. Tsunade's flight halted mid-air. My scythe brushed past Jiraiya's face. He barely dodged—
Or so he thought.
A thin red line appeared across his cheek.
I felt my heart pound harder. He's been hit.
In that instant of distraction, I dashed toward Orochimaru and slammed a brutal kick into his gut. His body crashed into the mud with a loud splash. I turned without pause and hurled a water needle at Jiraiya.
He tried to dodge, but the still-moving scythe pinned him. The cut on his cheek began to pulse violently.
Then… Ibuse opened her jaws one final time.
"Suiton: Daisan no Jin!"
A titanic wave surged forth—poisoned water forming a devastating tidal wall. It swept over everything: the toad, the snake, the slug. All of them vanished beneath its weight, neutralized in an instant, fading into dissipating chakra clouds.
"M-Merde…" Jiraiya gasped.
His eyes widened. He touched his cheek, breath quickening. His vision blurred. Sounds dulled. His limbs felt heavy.
The poison had taken hold.
"JIRAIYA!" Tsunade shouted, struggling against the chains. Her muscles swelled with medical chakra.
Orochimaru, now standing, began forming seals again, but I had already raised my hands.
"Stop."
They hesitated.
"You're strong… Stronger than I imagined. But you won't defeat me."
I stepped slowly toward Tsunade, rain sliding off my mask. She snarled but didn't move. Jiraiya was on his knees, fighting the poison. Orochimaru stood still, wary.
"Instead of killing you all… I offer you another deal."
Behind the mask, my eyes burned with cold resolve.