"Eighth Form: Moon-Dragon Ringtail!!"
A massive purple blade storm roared outward. The Konoha ninja charging head-on were instantly shredded—over a dozen of them—forcing those behind to slam to a halt.
Akashō's lips curled slightly upward. Seeing the terror on the Konoha ninja's faces, he nodded in satisfaction.
"Kokushibo!!!"
Orochimaru finally caught up, slashing with his ninja blade and striking Akashō squarely in the back.
A huge gash split open, deep enough to reveal Akashō's still-beating heart. Blood sprayed all over Orochimaru.
Yet Akashō stood there steadily, unmoving.
Before Orochimaru's frozen gaze, the wound on Akashō's back instantly healed. Then he turned his head and said,
"Guess how many times I can die."
Akashō moved again, charging toward the stunned Konoha ninja.
"Run!!"
Orochimaru shouted frantically.
But aside from a few elite jonin who narrowly managed to evade Akashō's strikes, the rest didn't even have a chance to escape.
A scene similar to what happened in the Stone Village appeared again. In fact, because the battle between Akashō and Orochimaru lacked the overwhelming spectacle of Han's fight, many Konoha ninja still didn't even know what was going on. They only knew there was an attacker and continued rushing toward Akashō's location to reinforce.
Seeing that he couldn't stop the Konoha ninja from gathering, Orochimaru could only keep trying to restrain Akashō.
But his methods were even less effective than Han's.
As for fatal injuries—if Akashō had a human body, he would have already passed through the gates of death dozens of times.
Why can't he be killed? Why can't he be killed!?
Orochimaru's eyes turned bloodshot as he panted heavily. Could this guy be immortal?
"Hahahahaha!"
Akashō laughed wildly, whether from the joy of slaughter or from mocking Orochimaru's helplessness—it was impossible to tell.
Orochimaru thrust his blade straight into Akashō's heart, but Akashō countered by snapping the sword in half. With the broken blade still lodged in his chest, he continued cutting people down.
This went on for a full five minutes. Only when all the Konoha ninja in the camp had arrived did they finally realize—the invading enemy was so powerful that even Orochimaru couldn't resist him. Their arrival only added to the casualties.
"Retreat, fall back now!!!"
"Run! That demon can't be killed at all!"
The Konoha ninja began fleeing in all directions, and Akashō smiled at the sight.
"Run. Slaughtering lambs that don't flee isn't any fun."
Beside him, Orochimaru unleashed snakes from his sleeve, binding Akashō.
"Don't act like I'm not here, bastard!"
The snakes coiled around Akashō's body and bit into him, but Akashō merely twisted and used Moon Breathing Fifth Form to break free, then continued his massacre under Orochimaru's furious glare.
"Shadow Imitation Technique!!"
Suddenly, Akashō's Blade of Living Flesh stopped just one centimeter from a Konoha ninja's face.
The ninja trembled as he turned his gaze behind Akashō.
"Shikaku-sama…"
"Sama?"
Akashō narrowed his eyes and tried to move his blade. Among the ninja he'd encountered, anyone addressed that way was at least elite jonin level.
But judging from the jonin flak jacket on the man in front of him, the one restraining him was likely at least near-Kage level.
Akashō rotated the only part of his body he could still move—his eye—and under the moonlight, barely saw a straight, pitch-black shadow on the ground behind him, connected to his own.
A ninjutsu? Even Orochimaru couldn't achieve this level… that doesn't make sense.
No—this technique must have limitations. A cap.
Just as the thought formed, Akashō felt his hand gripping the blade move on its own. The Blade of Living Flesh slowly turned and stabbed into his own chest.
"Heh. Shadow Imitation Technique… successful."
So that's how it works. A secret technique, huh?
A cold glint flashed in Akashō's eyes. Veins bulged along his exposed arms and legs beneath his tattered clothes. A surge of force erupted, nearly pulling the blade completely out of his chest, sending a spray of blood into the air.
The corner of Akashō's mouth lifted slightly. Just as expected.
But before he could fully break free, the voice that had called out the Shadow Imitation Technique suddenly roared:
"Chōza!"
"On it!!"
"Expansion Jutsu: Human Bullet Tank!!"
A massive shadow engulfed Akashō. The air howled with a deafening rush, but he couldn't even lift his head to look.
What the hell is that?
At that moment, a long snake shot forward, wrapping around the Konoha jonin in front of Akashō and yanking him away.
"BOOM!!!"
At the same time, a massive spinning sphere crashed down from the sky, smashing into the ground with a thunderous explosion and sending countless fragments of rock flying.