Orochimaru's voice dropped completely, and there was clearly no more time for talk.
A wave of killing intent rolled out from him, sudden and sharp, like a serpent striking.
The ground seemed to hum under its weight.
Reika's breath hitched once.
Saya's smile twitched wider.
Emi straightened.
Akane's Sharingan narrowed.
But nothing else happened.
No one froze.
No one buckled.
No one collapsed.
They simply shifted into seriousness, like people adjusting to a sudden change in temperature.
Kimimaro wasn't surprised.
Killing intent — that blend of pressure only worked cleanly on those far beneath the user.
Someone like the Sasuke of the original timeline, still a frightened genin.
But these four?
All of them stood at quasi-kage level now, each in their own way.
And Kimimaro himself had already stepped into the lowest rung of true Kage class.
Orochimaru's pressure washed over them, but nothing more.
Kimimaro met the Sannin's gaze calmly.
"You'll need more than that," he said.
Orochimaru only gave a slow nod, unfazed.
He hadn't expected them to fold.
If anything, he looked mildly satisfied.
He had unleashed that pressure not to intimidate them, but to weigh their spirits even further, to measure how deeply their resolve had been tempered.
And now he had his answer.
So, he didn't waste another breath.
Four shadow clones burst into existence around him with a muted crack of chakra.
Kimimaro only nodded.
He had expected exactly this.
Shadow Clones were the only sensible option when facing a larger, weaker group.
After all, Orochimaru couldn't risk bringing real subordinates, not when early exposure was a threat, and not when he barely possessed any true elites to begin with on their level.
"And his reserves match the theory," Kimimaro thought.
Kage-level reserves, yes… but that number of clones was about the upper limit for someone at that tier, the same constraint Hiruzen had operated under.
After all, very few beings in this world possessed the absurd, bottomless chakra wells of a Naruto-tier anomaly.
His eyes flicked to the cultists rushing into the clearing from all sides, the strongest inner guards. His earlier earth clones had already dispelled, carrying his instructions back.
They obeyed instantly.
Their physical contribution would be almost meaningless against someone with Orochimaru's speed and refinement; a group of programmed ants couldn't hurt a serpent of this caliber.
But hurting him wasn't the point.
They spread out, weaving into the improved formation Ashina had designed years ago, now refined through countless drills.
Talismans unfurled. Seals lit. Incantations synchronized. A massive Yin–Yang ritual circle began to flare beneath the soil, yet its array targeted Orochimaru alone.
They didn't have his blood, but they didn't need it thanks to Ashina's jutsu shiki refinements over time.
Orochimaru's chakra was leaking into the air like cold mist, and for the ritual's purpose, that was enough now.
All they needed to do was slow him.
Restrict a step, dull a strike, tug at the edges of his movement and perception.
Because for Kimimaro, right now, even a single fractional advantage mattered.
Ashina's voice echoed from the pendant at Kimimaro's throat, calm and dry as ever.
"So this is what the Hokage's cursed line has become over time… the direct heir of Konoha's higher-ups that rebelled against them in the end. Hm. Shinobi do evolve in peculiar ways."
Kimimaro exhaled once through his nose, eyes never leaving Orochimaru as the Sannin's clones spread into flanking arcs.
"Evolution takes many forms," he murmured back. "Some of them… rotten."
He slid one foot forward, lowering his center of gravity.
The air tightened.
Orochimaru's killing intent sharpened into motion.
Kimimaro's thoughts flattened into focus.
'This will be the hardest trial of my life so far.'
'Whether this turns into hell… or just another step on the staircase… begins now.'
Orochimaru moved first.
No hand signs.
No warning.
Just a grotesque shift — all five bodies, his original and the four clones, elongated in an instant, torsos snapping downward as their lower halves twisted into pale serpent tails.
A blur.
One heartbeat, they were standing still; the next, they were already around them.
Each mouth split open unnaturally wide, spitting out a Kusanagi blade — four of them illusions, only one real, but fast enough that guessing wrong once could cost a limb.
Kimimaro didn't underestimate any of it.
Of course, he's this fast.
In the original timeline, Orochimaru's base form kept up with Four-Tails V2 Naruto in terms of physical performance.
This was nothing.
But Orochimaru wasn't done.
His arms bulged, skin peeling back like wet parchment as dozens of snakes erupted from his sleeves — a summoning pre-prepared, hidden beneath his skin with sealing marks.
Kimimaro read it instantly.
Cheap chakra cost.
High reaction speed.
Perfect for overwhelming a group and finding an opening.
Behind him, his four girls adjusted without hesitation.
Reika's Yin Seal snapped open along her forehead, chakra flooding outward in controlled waves.
Emi activated her Byakugan, stance tightening, chakra threads already forming along her fingertips.
Akane's Sharingan spun into perfect clarity, kunai steady in her grip, eyes tracking every whip-fast movement.
Saya's Ketsuryūgan rippled awake, scythe drawn back, her grin widening like a promise of violence.
Kimimaro projected his voice directly into their minds.
"Careful. Don't let the snakes bite. The poison's real. So is the juinjutsu paralysis."
A second pulse.
"Don't let his speed or unpredictability pull you off balance. One clean hit from him can be fatal. Focus on timing, not chasing him. Counter. Strike first."
His voice sharpened.
"Priority is to erase the clones and corner his real body quickly. Even if they can use jutsu, a Shadow Clone is still a construct — advanced, yes, but far less durable than the original."
Another pulse of intent.
"I'll tie down the real body. I can sense him constantly. Trust my signals."
"Watch the ground especially," Kimimaro added, voice cutting through the chaos. "He favors subterranean attacks; it pairs perfectly with his snakes. And he's a master of Earth Release, among other things…"
They had already been briefed on Orochimaru's abilities months and years ago. Kimimaro had always assumed the snake would eventually show up, but he repeated this anyway.