"Die, you bastard!!"
The Fourth Raikage's roar thundered as his feet smashed against the ground, and in the blink of an eye he was right in front of Orochimaru.
His arm crackled with lightning, swinging down like a battle axe.
"Boom!"
The strike tore through Orochimaru's figure, smashing a huge crater into the ground. Cracks spread outward, and a towering tree nearby toppled with a crash.
"A clone? No... just an afterimage!"
The Fourth Raikage's heart sank. As one of the few taijutsu masters in the ninja world, he knew exactly how terrifyingly fast one had to be to leave behind an afterimage.
Orochimaru specialized in ninjutsu. How could he possibly move at such speed? How could his body even handle it?
"Phew\..."
Not far away, Orochimaru let out a long breath, as if emptying all the air from his chest and stomach.
As he inhaled again, pale markings crawled across his face, and the blade of the Kusanagi sword lit up with a faint yellow glow.
Seeing this, the Fourth Raikage's pupils shrank. He blurted out, "Senjutsu?"
The doubts in his heart were instantly answered.
With natural energy strengthening him, physical ability really could increase sharply.
But when had Orochimaru learned Senjutsu? As far as he knew, in Konoha, only Jiraiya could use it. The late Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, had only scratched the surface.
"Senjutsu? You could call it that. But to be exact, I'd say it's solar energy."
Orochimaru smiled. Warm yellow markings spread across his face, like war paint, adding a hint of masculinity to his otherwise delicate features.
"Solar energy?"
The Fourth Raikage scowled at Orochimaru under the deep night sky, thinking he was talking nonsense. But Orochimaru wasn't lying.
Solar energy wasn't the same as sunlight itself. Otherwise, Sun Breathing could only be used during the day—how would it deal with demons that came out at night?
In truth, during the day, some of the sun's energy was absorbed by the earth. Now, as Orochimaru entered his Demon Slayer Mark state, that was the energy he was drawing on.
And it was precisely because it was nighttime that he didn't have to worry about his body bursting apart from too much solar energy.
The Fourth Raikage didn't know the details, but he knew one thing: a ninja who could use Senjutsu couldn't be measured by normal standards.
On top of that, the speed Orochimaru had just shown made him cautious. He decided to proceed carefully.
"Not attacking? You should know your time is running out."
Orochimaru's mouth curled into a wicked grin. Flames suddenly burst from the Kusanagi sword in his hand. "Forget it, how could testing a sword mean waiting for someone to walk up to you? Better to do it yourself."
Before the last word left his mouth, Orochimaru vanished. The Fourth Raikage's heart tightened as he raised his arm to block.
"Clang!"
Heat washed over him, and a black mark was left across his golden armguard.
The Raikage swung back with a heavy strike, his lightning-wrapped fist carrying unstoppable force.
But when it hit Orochimaru, the figure shattered like a bubble.
"Click, click... a big macho man like you should just be in underwear, and yet you've got armor on."
Orochimaru flashed onto a tree trunk, surprised but smiling. "Still, how many more hits can you really block with just that?"
The Fourth Raikage rasped back in his rough voice, "And how long can you keep this up?"
His eyes dropped to Orochimaru's legs, where red stains were spreading across his uniform. Clearly, even with Senjutsu, a body not trained for this kind of speed couldn't withstand it for long.
Orochimaru's words were half true, half false, but one thing wasn't a lie—this was his first time using Senjutsu.
"The first time is always a bit rough, but lasting a whole day is no problem at all."
A strange smile spread across "Orochimaru's" face. "But you won't get the chance to experience it, because your men won't give you the time."
His words hinted that Kumogakure's fortress might fall, aimed at shaking Raikage's mind.
The Fourth Raikage's hair and beard bristled with fury. His savage face didn't change, but the lightning on his body grew even stronger.
"Orochimaru" didn't care whether the words had any effect. He leapt from the treetop, sword blazing with flames, and slashed down at Raikage with full force.
Lightning and crimson flames clashed, the air bursting with explosions as their battle grew more and more intense.
…
Meanwhile, Konoha's ninjas and Kumogakure's shinobi were chasing and fighting, arriving close to the fortress.
Three Uchiha jonin exchanged glances, quickly forming hand seals in unison. "Summoning Jutsu!"
Bang!
With a puff of smoke, three massive brown pythons, each dozens of meters long, appeared, crushing countless trees under their weight.
One of the Uchiha jonin took a deep breath, holding back his excitement as he pointed toward the fortress. "Forward! Destroy that fortress!"
"Hisss…"
The three pythons hissed, but instead of obeying, they opened their jaws wide at the Uchiha jonin, clear drool dripping from their mouths.
Faced with the pressure of three summoned snakes, the Uchiha jonin stepped forward, waving his arm as he scolded, "Do you dare defy Orochimaru-sama's orders?"
Feeling the restraint of the temporary contract, the pythons let out unwilling hisses, then charged toward the fortress, venting their anger and wild instincts on Kumogakure's ninjas along the way.
The Uchiha jonin let out a breath of relief and turned to the captain. "Do we still summon Manda? That one's far more rebellious than these pythons."
"We have to summon him. With Manda, our chances of bringing down Kumogakure's fortress will be much higher."
Uchiha Jinsuke gritted his teeth. "Tell the others to get far away from this area."
The other Uchiha jonin didn't hesitate, vanishing in an instant.
The sound of steel clashing echoed in the forest as they held back Kumogakure's ninjas, leaving Jinsuke alone in the clearing.
He bit his fingertip, letting blood soak into the hastily drawn contract seal in his palm, then shouted, "Summoning Jutsu!"
"Orochimaru… no, you're not Orochimaru. That bastard wouldn't dare disturb my rest."
From the white smoke came a cold voice. Manda raised its head, glaring at Uchiha Jinsuke with eyes glowing like lanterns, its presence overwhelming.
"Heh. Orochimaru gave you a contract, and you think you can summon me? Are you underestimating me?"
Such arrogance made Jinsuke's forehead veins bulge. Forcing down his anger, he pulled a stiff smile. "Manda, over there is Kumogakure's fortress. Orochimaru-sama asked me to tell you to destroy it."
"You dare give me orders?"
Manda's tail lashed violently, gouging a huge crater into the ground.
After venting, it ignored Jinsuke and fixed its eyes on the fortress in the distance. Its snake eyes were filled with hatred.
Though much of its strength had returned, the scars left by Raikage's attack still marred its belly.
Now was the perfect time for revenge.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Jinsuke glared at Manda charging toward the fortress. His Sharingan burned with anger, and he swore to himself that one day he would make that snake pay.
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