Chapter 112: Color!
At that moment, the atmosphere around the wooden cabin suddenly became strange.
Orochimaru stood alone on one side, while Danzō stood before everyone, angrily urging Orochimaru to seal himself and submit to judgment.
From high above, the entire scene was perfectly clear.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tsunade stood side by side, their eyes filled with sorrow.
Hiashi Hyūga stood with his clansmen, head lowered as he contemplated the situation.
Meanwhile, Asuka and the Uchiha clan members stood on another side, eating chicken legs while watching the show.
The remaining Konoha shinobi stood together, their gazes toward Danzō filled with confusion.
They were completely out of place with one another.
Every group seemed disconnected from the others.
Yet they shared one thing in common.
Every pair of eyes was focused on Danzō.
Sensing the strange atmosphere around him, Danzō licked his dry, cracked lips.
He secretly scanned the crowd.
Everyone was staring at him with an expression that could only be described as completely motionless.
Time is almost up.
"Hmph!"
Hearing this, Danzō took a step backward and pointed viciously at Orochimaru.
"I have a zero-sum relationship with evil!"
Orochimaru placed one hand against his forehead and chuckled softly.
"Danzō, sometimes it's better to say less."
Then he turned toward Hiruzen.
The smile disappeared from his face, and the oppressive aura around him weakened slightly.
The Orochimaru standing before them now gave off the impression of a refined and scholarly man, almost like an exceptionally well-mannered student.
"Teacher."
"Tsunade."
Hiruzen slowly narrowed his eyes.
His eyebrows seemed to overlap as his vision gradually blurred.
For a moment, he seemed to see Orochimaru as he had been in his childhood.
A well-behaved, diligent, and studious student.
Seeing the two of them silently staring at him, Orochimaru yawned and wiped away the tears caused by it.
Then he smiled.
"I intend to do what I want to do."
"You may have tried to stop me in the past, but now is a good opportunity, because you've discovered that I've been experimenting on villagers."
As he spoke, he took out his Konoha forehead protector and silently stared at the village symbol engraved upon it.
Has it really been thirty-eight years?
The next moment, Orochimaru drew a kunai and carved a mark across the forehead protector.
"Orochimaru, is this because you wanted the position of Hokage?"
Hearing Tsunade's cold question, Orochimaru slowly put the forehead protector back on and tied the cloth behind his head.
"Only an idiot would want to become Hokage."
"Hmph!"
Hiruzen quietly exhaled.
His aged voice was low and hoarse.
"I will execute you myself."
The instant he finished speaking, Hiruzen's figure vanished.
The next moment, he appeared on Orochimaru's right.
His chest and cheeks puffed up like a toad as he formed the Tiger hand seal.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
A torrent of chakra-infused flames erupted from Hiruzen's mouth and shot directly toward Orochimaru.
The moment Orochimaru vanished into the flames, the fire suddenly split into three streams.
They attacked the place where Orochimaru reappeared from the front, left, and right.
Just as Orochimaru stabilized himself, the corner of his eye caught sight of a pair of chakra-infused fists flying toward him.
"Tsunade, you're really aggressive."
As the flames closed in and Tsunade drew nearer, Orochimaru bit his finger, rapidly formed hand seals, and slammed both palms onto the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu: Manda!"
Boom!
White smoke surged upward.
A massive black shadow appeared before everyone, blocking out the sunlight that illuminated the world.
Manda's eyes shifted upward slightly as he looked at the upside-down Orochimaru.
"Hundred living humans—"
Before Manda could finish speaking, a sharp pain struck his left flank.
A burning sensation immediately followed on his right side.
He lowered his head and glared viciously at the two shinobi who had attacked him from the ground, as well as the group of Konoha shinobi retreating into the distance.
"Orochimaru, you and I have no—"
Boom!
Another cloud of white smoke vanished.
Orochimaru landed steadily on the ground with a smile on his face.
"Thanks."
Not far from the battlefield.
Asuka, Hiashi Hyūga, and the other Konoha shinobi stood there, watching the battlefield ahead with solemn expressions.
The ground had collapsed in places.
Dust filled the air, and chunks of rubble occasionally flew toward them.
They couldn't interfere in a battle between Konoha's strongest combatants.
Most of them couldn't even fully understand what was happening.
What the hell is going on in there?
"Yeah. It's driving me crazy. I can't see a thing."
"Danzō disappeared earlier. I wonder if Lady Tsunade and the Third Hokage can defeat Orochimaru."
"There shouldn't be any problem. The Third is incredibly powerful."
Hearing this, Asuka glanced at the expressionless Hiashi before looking toward the Konoha shinobi gathered around him.
"This battle is exceptionally intense. It won't be over anytime soon."
"Let's eat first. This is a battle between teacher and student. We shouldn't interfere for now. Once Orochimaru shows signs of trying to escape, we'll intercept him."
With that, he pretended to produce a pile of food and distributed it among the shinobi present.
The shinobi lowered their heads and stared at the steaming food in their hands.
They rubbed their empty stomachs.
Their faces clearly said one thing:
Refusal.
After all, this really wasn't an appropriate time to eat.
Seeing Asuka force the food upon them without giving them any room to refuse, they wrinkled their noses and took a step backward, making sure the dust wouldn't blow into their meals.
This Uchiha... is actually a pretty decent guy.
"Come on, come on, come on!"
Seeing everyone finally begin eating, Asuka became excited as well.
As the wielder of the Mangekyō Sharingan, his eyesight was practically the best among everyone present.
The only other person with comparable vision was the head of the Hyūga clan.
Unfortunately, that guy was too focused on observing Asuka himself and had no interest in watching over these weaker companions.
"I'll explain how the Third Hokage defeats Orochimaru."
"When you return to the village, remember to help promote the Third Hokage."
Then Asuka stood up and faced the battlefield.
The three tomoe of his Sharingan spun rapidly before his eyes.
There was no need to activate his Mangekyō for this level of observation.
"The Traitor Cleanup Plan: Final Battle. Begins now."
"First to enter the stage is our very own Hokage, the Third Hokage."
"As a Kage-level shinobi and master of ninjutsu, he fears nothing in the shinobi world. Any existence daring to threaten the village will be completely crushed beneath his might."
"His opponent is our former hero, one of Konoha's Legendary Sannin—Orochimaru."
"As a Kage-level shinobi, he shamelessly used villagers for human experimentation. A man like this is completely unworthy of being called our hero."
"Good! The Third has immediately launched his attack without saying a word!"
"He unleashes the Monkey's Lethal Strike: Flower Dew!"
"He attacks Orochimaru directly!"
"Lord Third's movements are incredibly fluid, as though mountains are collapsing and the earth itself is splitting apart."
"What will Orochimaru use to stop him?"
"It seems we all underestimated Orochimaru. He really is one of the Legendary Sannin."
"He remains calm and charges forward without hesitation!"
"His left hand is fierce, his right hand gentle!"
"This technique is called Toad Firecracker!"
"Both hands strike simultaneously, subduing the dragon and tiger!"
At this point, Asuka swallowed and rubbed his slightly dry throat.
He secretly glanced at the Konoha shinobi, who were becoming more and more absorbed in their food.
He felt considerably more at ease.
My commentary seems to be pretty good.
Just then, the situation on the battlefield changed again.
Asuka's expression immediately became serious.
He continued.
"Before the words have even left my mouth, the Monkey raises the Adamantine Staff and smashes Orochimaru's head!"
"Who can stand against Konoha's Hokage?"
"Orochimaru curses inwardly. How is this battle supposed to continue?"
"Before he can even finish thinking, he unleashes his upper-body technique—Shadow Style: Many Hidden Snakes Hands!"
"The Third Hokage is caught off guard!"
"Immediately afterward, he unleashes his lower-body technique—Snake Limb Hardening!"
"He kicks Tsunade ten meters away!"
"The clash between these three is simply beyond words!"
"What an incredible battle!"
"The Third counters Orochimaru's retreating attack!"
"He sidesteps the incoming strike and unleashes another Earth Style technique—Earth Flow River!"
"Orochimaru is swept two hundred meters away!"
"Orochimaru also knows that a hasty assault is futile, so he's deliberately pretending to be weak to buy time."
"Excellent! Tsunade has fallen for it!"
"She is flying this way!"
After saying that, Asuka froze.
Damn it!
Seeing Tsunade flying toward him, his expression changed dramatically.
Without saying a word, he extended both arms and caught Tsunade from behind, absorbing her momentum before turning around and holding her tightly.
Hearing Tsunade's faint gasp, Asuka smiled as he held her.
"Go ahead. Give it a try!"
After encouraging her, he withdrew his right arm from beneath Tsunade's knee and slowly lowered her to the ground.
The moment Asuka's feet touched the ground, the muscles in his arms suddenly tensed.
He grabbed Tsunade's full, curvaceous waist with both hands and threw her straight back toward the battlefield.
Clap! Clap!
He dusted off his hands.
Then he turned toward the astonished crowd and said disdainfully,
"What an evil Senju of the Forest."
"Alright, let's continue the commentary."
Asuka turned back toward the battlefield, his voice once again filled with excitement.
"The second half begins!"
"Orochimaru realizes his predicament and becomes desperate to end the battle quickly!"
"He immediately unleashes the Myriad Serpent Formation against the Third!"
"The Third responds with a combination technique—Adamantine Staff: Gale!"
"An eye for an eye!"
"Orochimaru is sent flying another two li!"
"Although Orochimaru is anxious, he remains outwardly calm and uses the Triple Rashōmon to block Tsunade's Heavenly Foot of Pain!"
"Orochimaru's plan succeeds! He escapes danger!"
"No, wait!"
"Tsunade kicks the gate aside, cleverly dodges the attack, and counters from the side!"
"She once again knocks Orochimaru down with a devastating punch!"
"The Third seizes the opportunity and immediately follows up, forcing Orochimaru into a desperate situation!"
"Orochimaru struggles with everything he has!"
"He unleashes his final attack!"
"First, he uses Shadow Snake Hands to approach the Third!"
"Then he suddenly closes the distance and unleashes the Little Black Hand: Steal the Peach!"
"Followed by Hot Spring Snake Bites the Chest!"
"What shameless techniques!"
"Absolutely shameless!"
"The Third Hokage sneers!"
"He sticks out his rear and effortlessly blocks the attack!"
"A wave of ridicule shatters Orochimaru's mental defenses!"
"Then he kicks Orochimaru flying!"
"His spirit is completely crushed!"
"His will is utterly destroyed!"
"Orochimaru collapses in exhaustion, his consciousness fading."
"He tremblingly raises an arm and cries, 'Teacher!'"
"He actually wants to win the Third's sympathy and surrender!"
"What a disgrace!"
"The Third Hokage shows no mercy!"
"He doesn't even give Orochimaru a chance to speak!"
"He grabs Orochimaru by the back of the neck and throws him into the air!"
"Then he sweeps across the Nine Heavens and Eight Desolations!"
"The Adamantine Staff smashes Orochimaru to pieces!"
"Orochimaru stares at the staff before him."
"Then he closes his eyes."
"Is he waiting for a miracle?"
"There will be no miracle."
"No, wait!"
"At this moment, Elder Danzō steps forward!"
"He embraces the Third Hokage!"
"Outstanding!"
"..."
What the hell?!
Seeing Danzō suddenly appear, grab Orochimaru, and throw him far away before blocking Hiruzen's pursuit, Asuka was stunned.
What the hell?!
When did Danzō become strong enough to stop Hiruzen Sarutobi?
As he stared at the Third Hokage standing motionless, the three tomoe in Asuka's eyes instantly connected into a strange pattern.
A semicircular halo rapidly expanded outward from where he stood.
In the blink of an eye, it enveloped Orochimaru.
Trying to run?
I'm still doing my best to make sure there are no regrets.
Slap!
From the corner of his eye, Asuka caught sight of a slender hand resting on his shoulder.
The Mangekyō Sharingan in his eyes rapidly disappeared, returning to their normal state.
Asuka turned toward Tsunade, who had suddenly placed her hand on his shoulder.
He folded his arms and said calmly,
"Lady Tsunade, please don't forget your identity."
Tsunade's expression darkened.
She lowered her voice and murmured,
"I can no longer inherit the identity of the Senju."
With that, she summoned a scroll and handed it to Asuka.
Then she leaned close to his ear, her tired voice carrying a hint of pleading.
"Don't send him back."
"I know your Mangekyō Sharingan has this ability."
"I'll keep it a secret for you."
Tch.
Asuka lowered his head and looked at the summoning contract scroll in his hand.
Then he glanced toward Hiruzen, whose path was being blocked by Danzō.
He shrugged and waved toward Tsunade.
"I'll return it tomorrow."
He had once desperately wanted to obtain this.
But ever since signing a contract with Shukaku, he couldn't even sign a contract with a ninja cat anymore.
Let Yūgao use it instead.
Seeing Tsunade reveal this weakness was completely worth it for the sake of capturing Orochimaru.
P.S. Haha~
I saw this fight scene on a video platform today.
Then I adapted it and wrote it down.
I have to admit, it reads surprisingly smoothly.
Dear readers, could you picture the scene in your heads while reading this?
If not, I probably won't write like this again next time.
The main reason is that I couldn't come up with a good way to write the battle myself, so I had to borrow someone else's.
The video's title was:
"Siberian Titan Dragon Crushes an Asteroid Bare-Handed."