Orochimaru swept his gaze around, and when he spotted Chiyo, he teased,
"Chiyo, I didn't expect you to still be alive."
Chiyo replied calmly, "Orochimaru, don't worry—you'll definitely go before this old woman does."
On the other side, when Deidara saw Rorin and the others appear, he shouted excitedly,
"Didn't expect the Hidden Sand Village to send the One-Tail's jinchūriki. Looks like I won't have to make a special trip to the Hidden Sand Village this time—we can take care of everything at once. Hmm!"
Sasori remained silent, because he had also noticed someone unexpected.
On Tenchi Bridge, Naruto Uzumaki glared viciously at Orochimaru, his expression gradually twisting into something feral.
"Heh, that's quite the look," Orochimaru chuckled darkly, then continued, "So the Hidden Leaf Village and the Hidden Sand Village have teamed up? Things just got a little troublesome."
Kabuto Yakushi returned to Orochimaru's side with a smile, adjusting his glasses.
"Hey, hey, are you planning to gang up on us with numbers? Heh."
Rorin pulled a bone blade from his body and reminded everyone,
"Don't forget, there are still two rats hiding in the shadows."
This was both a warning to his allies and a message for Orochimaru's side.
Orochimaru stared at Rorin and the others, then glanced at Kabuto.
"Kabuto, it seems we won't be able to deal with Sasori so easily today. Looks like we've been set up."
Kabuto responded calmly, "That's a bit of a shame, Orochimaru-sama."
Rorin then fixed his gaze on Orochimaru, while the three from the Hidden Sand Village moved to engage Kabuto. Team 7 stood by, ready to support.
Holding his bone blade, Rorin charged straight at Orochimaru, unleashing a dazzling flurry of attacks.
Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Camellia.
Rorin's attack speed was now even faster, thrusting continuously at Orochimaru. Soon, Orochimaru's left arm was cut—fortunately, it only sliced through his clothes, and a piece of fabric fluttered down.
Orochimaru retreated, staring at Rorin with a serious expression. He hadn't expected this young man to be so fast.
Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!
Rorin quickly pulled back and glanced toward the Hidden Sand side. Seeing that they had also retreated to the edge of the bridge, he exchanged a look with everyone, and they understood immediately.
In perfect coordination, Rorin and the others withdrew. Kakashi detonated the Explosive Tags beneath Tenchi Bridge.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Continuous explosions erupted. The sudden attack made Orochimaru and Kabuto frown as they quickly retreated, trying to escape the bridge. However, the blasts were too intense, and both of them still ended up injured.
Hidden in the shadows, Sasori and Deidara both frowned.
Sasori said calmly, "So they arrived before us. No wonder we didn't notice them earlier—they were already hiding."
Deidara asked, "So are we joining the fight?"
Sasori slowly shook his head. "No, it's not our time yet. But if they got here first, then the trap we set has already lost its key effect. Let them fight Orochimaru for a while first."
Deidara nodded and said no more.
By now, Tenchi Bridge had been completely destroyed. As the smoke cleared, Orochimaru and Kabuto could be seen on the opposite bank, hunched and looking somewhat battered—they had clearly been hurt badly in the explosion.
Orochimaru stared coldly at the group.
"Didn't expect to be played by you."
He then used the Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique, shedding his body and emerging anew. With the bridge destroyed, he and Kabuto both retreated.
Seeing them leave, Rorin showed no particular reaction. He quietly looked toward the depths of the forest and muttered,
"Time to come out, isn't it?"
About fifteen minutes later, just as Rorin and the others thought their enemies wouldn't appear again, Sasori and Deidara slowly stepped out from the forest.
"Orochimaru is really useless—he didn't accomplish anything," Deidara said with a grin.
Gaara fixed his gaze on Deidara and said calmly,
"Looks like you've reattached your left arm."
Deidara looked at Rorin and asked flatly,
"Was it you who captured Hidan?"
Rorin neither confirmed nor denied it. The others were a bit confused but didn't ask further, silently noting that Rorin seemed to have some other entanglements with the Akatsuki.
Everyone prepared for battle again. Originally, once Orochimaru discovered them, they had activated this backup plan—first repel Orochimaru, then split into two teams: one to continue pursuing him, and the other to deal with the Akatsuki.
Chiyo kept her eyes fixed on Sasori.
"Sasori, it seems you've changed a lot over the years."
Sasori gave no reply. The battle was on the verge of erupting.
Rorin handed Kakashi a piece of Orochimaru's torn clothing and a bone, saying calmly,
"Kakashi-sensei, we'll leave Orochimaru to you."
Kakashi nodded, took the items, and then used the Summoning Technique to call forth Pakkun.
After sniffing the scent, Pakkun led Kakashi and the others on their way. Watching the three of them leave, Rorin turned his attention back to Deidara.
This time, Gaara and Rorin would face Deidara, while Chiyo and Baki would deal with Sasori.
Rorin stepped beside Gaara. The two stood firm, taking their stances.
Deidara smiled at them, then summoned a clay bird and flew into the sky. Gaara lifted himself with sand, while Rorin activated his Curse Mark power and took flight with wings.
Just like that, the battlefield split into air and ground.
Chiyo summoned several puppets and attacked Sasori alongside Baki, who sent multiple wind blades slashing toward him.
Sasori nimbly dodged. The three quickly entered an intense clash.
Meanwhile, the three above were also locked in fierce combat. Rorin gathered lightning and charged at Deidara.
Blue Bird!
This time, Rorin held nothing back, aiming straight for Deidara's heart.
Seeing Rorin's speed, Deidara was about to dodge right, but Gaara's sand surged toward him at the same time. Realizing the danger, Deidara used a clay substitution to escape.
Rorin's lightning pierced through the clone, and he immediately locked onto Deidara again.
Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Brambles!
Bone thorns burst from Rorin's body, surging toward Deidara and forming an encirclement together with Gaara's sand.
In response, Deidara created a large number of C1 clay bombs in midair and hurled them toward Rorin and Gaara.
"Detonate!" Deidara shouted.
Rorin remained completely calm. He infused lightning chakra into the explosive clay, suppressing part of the detonations, while on the other side, Gaara shielded himself with sand.
Seeing his explosive clay disrupted by lightning, Deidara frowned.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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