"Naruto: Ice God"Chapter 177: The Uchiha Attack (Part 4)
A red Tailed Beast cloak enveloped Feng Bai's entire body. Witnessing this transformation, Yowan understood clearly—no matter what, he wouldn't be able to finish Feng Bai off today.
Releasing his ninja blade, Yowan immediately turned and fled without looking back, though he couldn't resist leaving behind a parting line that hardly matched his hasty retreat: "I'll let you cling to life a little longer, Shimura Feng Bai!"
Feng Bai, now cloaked in Tailed Beast chakra, didn't bother responding. He simply reached down, pulled the blade from his body, and tossed it aside.
No blood flowed from the wound—with the Tailed Beast chakra's assistance, it was healing at an extraordinary rate.
Feng Bai wasn't magnanimous enough to let someone who had stabbed him simply walk away.
With Isobu's help, a Tailed Beast Ball rapidly condensed and shot off with a sharp "whoosh" toward Yowan's fleeing direction.
Whether it hit its target was unclear, but an explosion no less devastating than the Five Release: Great Serial Bombardment Technique suddenly erupted, making the already scarred forest resemble Sunagakure's desert environment even more.
"Wonder if I got him."
As the explosion gradually subsided, Feng Bai finally released his Tailed Beast cloak state and collapsed onto the ground.
"Are you okay, Feng Bai?"
Obito immediately rushed to Feng Bai's side, pulling out the medical kit Rin had given him. Kakashi, meanwhile, efficiently began unfastening Feng Bai's jōnin vest to examine his wound.
"Hey, hey, what are you doing undressing me when I'm fine?"
Feng Bai slapped Kakashi's hand away, rolling his eyes.
"But weren't you just stabbed by that guy...?" Kakashi was clearly bewildered.
"Oh, that? It's already healed. Look if you don't believe me."
Feng Bai waved dismissively, indicating he was unharmed. But Kakashi and Obito remained skeptical, so Feng Bai had no choice but to lift his shirt, revealing where he'd been stabbed.
"Good, you're okay. Damn it! If my vision hadn't been messed up by his technique, I definitely would've used Kamui to twist his head clean off!"
After confirming Feng Bai was truly unharmed, Obito rolled up his sleeves and began making tough declarations while standing in place.
"Enough talk—who knows where he's run off to by now."
Kakashi hadn't forgotten their main objective: "We need to hurry and find Captain Minato and the others."
"BOOM—"
Another thunderous explosion shook the very earth.
"What's happening?"
Obito quickly searched for the explosion's source, spotting smoke rising in the distance.
"Could it be Captain Minato and the others?"
An ominous feeling crept into Kakashi's heart.
"Let's go check it out!"
Feng Bai didn't dare be careless. Judging by the explosion's magnitude, it was no less powerful than the Tailed Beast Ball he'd just fired—very likely connected to the Nine-Tails.
The explosions outside the village didn't affect Setsuna's mission. At this moment, he had already reached Orochimaru's research facility.
With most of the village's forces concentrated at the main gate, the research facility's entrance stood completely deserted.
Accompanied by an invisible slash, the facility's doors were cut horizontally in half, then forcefully broken open by Setsuna.
Contrary to expectations, the research facility's interior was eerily quiet. All instruments and equipment were powered down, and the test tubes and beakers on the tables sat empty.
Something wasn't right.
Even with Setsuna's intelligence, he could sense the danger lurking within the research facility.
"Mangekyō Sharingan? I see, so you're that unknown Uchiha?"
A raspy voice sounded from behind him. A massive serpent opened its gaping maw, lunging for Setsuna's neck, but he easily dodged and severed it with Toyo-kumono.
"Interesting."
The raspy voice didn't cease—instead, it emanated from another direction.
Another white snake appeared, attacking Setsuna just as before.
"Petty tricks!"
Setsuna, increasingly irritated by the successive attacks, immediately increased his ocular power output.
The massive slash not only severed the white snake but also split the research facility's wall in two—through the gap, one could even see the scenery outside.
Fortunately, the building's main structure hadn't suffered severe damage, allowing the research facility to maintain its form.
After this brief probing, Orochimaru, hidden in the shadows, had already discerned Toyo-kumono's capabilities.
Orochimaru glanced at Nagato behind him. Receiving the eye signal, Nagato immediately nodded, confirming he understood the plan.
"Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes!"
Orochimaru opened his mouth wide, crouched low, and countless snakes poured forth, surging toward Setsuna at incredible speed.
Setsuna swung his ninja blade, cutting down the first snakes to reach him, but the following serpents swarmed forward fearlessly. Even employing Toyo-kumono's power, he couldn't completely eliminate the endless snake horde.
As the first snake slithered into Setsuna's pant leg and bit down viciously, Setsuna realized how troublesome this snake swarm was. Enduring the pain, he quickly formed hand seals: "Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
A raging inferno instantly erupted within the research facility. Nagato's group clearly noticed Orochimaru's grim expression.
"Water Release: Water Shockwave!"
Yahiko didn't dare hesitate, quickly employing Water Release to counter Setsuna's Fire Release.
"Found you!"
Setsuna released Toyo-kumono toward the direction of the Water Release, but his senses detected no one in that seemingly empty environment—making him realize something was amiss.
With Hashirama's cells enhancing him, his sensory abilities should have been greatly amplified, yet he still couldn't detect anyone launching attacks against him within the research facility.
Nagato didn't give Setsuna time to contemplate. As mist pervaded the research facility, he opened his eyelids, revealing the mechanical prosthetic eye Orochimaru had transplanted for him.
This eye, developed during Orochimaru's research into mechanical prosthetics, possessed night vision, thermal sensing, the ability to release all five elemental jutsu, and Storm Release capabilities.
"Storm Release: Thundercloud Cavity Wave!"
Lightning mixed with dark clouds shot from Nagato's eye, catching Setsuna completely off guard.
What was happening?
Even his Mangekyō Sharingan couldn't fully penetrate the mist—so how could the enemy strike him so precisely?!
Enduring the paralysis caused by the lightning, brown chakra surged from Setsuna's body, immediately condensing into Susanoo's second form.
Susanoo's head directly pierced through the research facility's roof. The already damaged facility completely collapsed, fully exposing Orochimaru and the others.
"Found you!"
Setsuna's aged face beneath the mask revealed an ugly smile, and Susanoo's fist simultaneously smashed down toward Orochimaru's position.
Though Konan and Yahiko felt fear in their hearts, they stood resolutely beside Orochimaru, preparing to use jutsu to intercept the attack.
"You're not fleeing?"
Orochimaru looked at the two beside him with some surprise.
"You transplanted new eyes for Nagato—we're grateful beyond words. How could we possibly abandon you and run for our lives?"
Yahiko smiled as he spoke to Orochimaru.
Konan didn't speak but nodded in agreement.
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