The wind screamed before the man himself arrived, pressure crushing the battlefield flat.
Orochimaru's eyes widened. His hands blurred into seals."Summoning Jutsu — Triple Rashōmon!"
Three massive demonic gates slammed into existence with booming thuds.
A heartbeat later—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Maito Dai's flying kick tore through all three instantly. Not even a second of resistance. The "impenetrable" Rashōmon shattered like paper screens.
The kick still barreled toward him. Orochimaru barely had time to cross his arms.
Impact. Blood sprayed in all directions. The ground exploded as Dai drove a crater into it, collapsing to one knee, chest heaving. The green aura of the Eight Gates sputtered out. His body had hit its limit.
From below, Orochimaru emerged, Kusanagi poised against Dai's throat. A single twitch could sever his head."You lose, Dai-kun," he hissed, tongue flicking across his lips. If that last blow had connected properly… he really would've died.
What a terrifying man. A "failure" — yet standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Sannin.
"Sorry, Orochimaru-sama," Dai said sheepishly, scratching his head. "I can only open up to the Sixth Gate for now."
Orochimaru slid the blade away, his smile sharp. "I heard you. Those 'Eight Gates' you mentioned… the inner gates of the body, aren't they?"
Of course he knew them. Half his research into unlocking human potential was based on the Eight Gates. But he'd never imagined someone could just… rip them open like Dai had.
"Yes. To truly fight you, I'd need the Eighth Gate. But that one's only for protection. Once it opens… the clock starts ticking on my life."
Orochimaru's expression didn't change. But inside—he was cursing.The hell do you mean "only protection"!? You trying to kill me, you lunatic?!
That last kick was already too much. If Dai opened the Seventh Gate, Orochimaru doubted he could keep up. The Eighth? That wasn't a duel anymore—that was suicide… for both sides.
He forced a smile, suppressing the panic. This "failure" was utterly terrifying. If not for his Substitution Jutsu just now, he would've died outright. And this was supposed to be a spar, not a deathmatch!
Even Hiruzen himself would've struggled to stop that strike.
"...Orochimaru-sama, may I join you?" Dai asked earnestly, almost like a student requesting permission to tag along.
Orochimaru's face darkened. Dai flinched, thinking he'd gone too far. Maybe he still wasn't strong enough?
"Drop the honorific," Orochimaru said coolly. "Just Orochimaru. From today, you'll move with me. I'll handle your transfer with the Hokage."
Dai brightened instantly. "Thank you, Orochimaru!—uh, Orochimaru."
Watching the ridiculous grin spread across Dai's face, Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. The other shinobi looked like they'd swallowed kunai. This man had just shaken a Sannin, and he was grinning like a fool.
A sigh slipped unbidden from Orochimaru's lips.He has no idea how strong he really is… Jinzō was right about him.
The unit regrouped and surged forward through the treetops, shadows flickering silently across branches like ghosts. To passersby, it was nothing but birds startled into flight.
Dai trailed near the back. Orochimaru had placed him there deliberately. Ran — the jōnin who had tried to stop the fight earlier — dropped back to join him.
"You shouldn't be here," Ran muttered, voice heavy. "If you fall… what happens to your wife and son?"
"Ran-kun—" Dai began.
But Ran cut him off. "Listen. I've mocked you for years. Looked down on you. But truth is, I've always envied you."
His tone was bitter, raw. "I'm the same generation as Orochimaru. A nobody, cannon fodder, who clawed my way up to jōnin. I've sacrificed everything — family, time, my future — just to survive in this system. That's what it means to be a civilian shinobi. My life isn't mine. It belongs to the village. Marriage, kids? Impossible. All I can look forward to is dying nameless on some battlefield."
His jaw tightened. "But you… you had what I dreamed of. A wife. A son. A quiet life. The kind of happiness most of us gave up long ago. Why throw it away? Why walk willingly into this red whirlpool of war?"
Dai only smiled, raising his thumb."Because, Ran-kun… I want to protect you too."
Ran's throat tightened. He couldn't respond. He only ducked his head and pressed forward.
Maybe that was why people placed their hopes in Dai. He was simpler, purer, than most of Konoha.
The column suddenly halted at Orochimaru's raised hand. All eyes shifted forward. From the forest ahead, enemy shinobi emerged.
Headbands glinted in the dim light — marked with the symbol of Sunagakure.
"Sand shinobi," Orochimaru muttered, gaze locking on the gray-haired man at their head. Recognition flared in his eyes."Ebizō."
A troublesome opponent.
What about Hatake Sakumo…?