Around the rooftop, the battling Anbu members and elite Oto ninjas all stopped their movements simultaneously, deterred by the scene that had just unfolded.
Mamoru's figure stopped at the edge of the eaves, the lightning around him gradually fading. His chest heaved slightly, and his limbs twitched uncontrollably.
'The burden this newly developed technique places on the body is far beyond expectations. I really can't use it lightly.'
Hashirama and Tobirama withdrew their gazes and continued their charge toward Hiruzen.
Hiruzen focused his mind and formed hand signs, preparing for this tough battle.
—
Orochimaru staggered to his feet, looking at the figure by the eaves with lingering fear. If Kidōmaru hadn't sacrificed himself to push him away, that strike just now would have cost him a layer of skin even if it didn't kill him.
He hadn't expected that in just over a month, this boy would have grown so much. Such terrifying talent made him dread to imagine what level he would reach in the future. He was simply a monster among monsters.
At this thought, an expression of mixed obsession and madness appeared in Orochimaru's eyes, and he lightly licked his lips with the tip of his tongue.
Mamoru turned around and looked into the distance—Hiruzen was engaged in a fierce clash with Hashirama and Tobirama.
He turned his gaze back to Orochimaru nearby, his lips curling into a half-smile. "Your subordinates are truly loyal. The white-haired one before was, and now these ones are too."
"Those are all my lovely subordinates." Orochimaru gave a sinister smile, flicking his long, snake-like tongue.
"You're quite the joker." Mamoru spoke mockingly, but there was no laughter in his eyes.
Before his voice had finished, his figure suddenly blurred, appearing beside Orochimaru in the next second.
His right leg turned into a sharp whip-like shadow, pointing straight at Orochimaru's waist with the sound of breaking air.
"You fell for it!" Orochimaru hissed excitedly, his voice filled with the ecstasy of a successful scheme.
He had been waiting for this moment. As he quickly dodged the attack to the side, dozens of poisonous snakes suddenly shot out from his sleeve.
Many Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!
The poisonous snakes bared their fangs and lunged at Mamoru, but the moment they touched his body, they were all scorched by the scorching flame Chakra shroud, and a burnt smell filled the air.
However, Orochimaru's true intention was only now being revealed.
Standing ten paces away, Jirobo slammed both palms onto the roof.
Earth Release Barrier: Earth Prison Dome of Magnificent Nothingness!
The rubble crumbled in response, and with a thunderous roar, a huge hemispherical rock barrier rose from the ground, completely enveloping Mamoru, Orochimaru, Tayuya, and Sakon and Ukon (connected).
Inside the barrier, the crimson flames around Mamoru dispelled the darkness, and the leaping firelight illuminated his calm face.
Mamoru looked around the enclosed space and keenly sensed that his Chakra was slowly draining away.
"Heh! This barrier... is absorbing my Chakra?"
He raised an eyebrow at Orochimaru, his tone carrying a hint of playfulness. "You really are interesting. If you're not exhausting my Chakra, you're absorbing it. You've really racked your brains to deal with me."
"Don't let him escape!" Orochimaru ordered with a sinister smile.
Tayuya and Ukon on either side responded in unison.
The painstakingly set trap had finally caught the prey, this was the perfect time to catch a turtle in a jar.
Tayuya and Ukon stepped forward, the Cursed Seal quickly spreading across their bodies as they entered the second stage.
Tayuya's skin turned dark, her red hair grew wildly, and her hood fell off to reveal a pair of horns on her head, with two more pairs of curved bull horns growing from the sides of her head.
Meanwhile, Sakon and Ukon's skin turned crimson, and each of the two heads grew a single horn, their faces twisting into a terrifying Yaksha-like appearance.
"Looking like this, neither human nor ghost, you're quite pitiful." Mamoru shook his head with a bit of pity.
"Shut your mouth, you bastard! I've been annoyed with you for a long time!" Tayuya shouted angrily, pulling the flute from her waist.
"Huh!?" A vein popped on Mamoru's forehead.
"What did you say!? You hag!"
This was the first time he had been insulted to his face by a woman.
"H-Hag..." Tayuya trembled with rage.
"Ugly man, die!"
She pressed the flute to her lips, and a shrill flute sound immediately echoed within the barrier.
Demonic Flute: Phantom Sound Chains!
At the same time, Sakon and Ukon completed their separation, the two heads splitting from the middle of the body, with the missing half of the body replaced by a hard black substance.
"It's finally my turn to take the stage!" Ukon shouted excitedly.
"The good show is just beginning." Sakon added coldly.
"Playing so poorly, who are you holding a funeral for!?" Mamoru raised his hand and fired a Blue at them.
Orochimaru and the others hurriedly scattered. The moment the blue energy ball hit the inner wall of the barrier, it exploded, and amid the flying earth and stone, a small hole was actually broken open.
"Haha..."
Mamoru sneered, "You think a barrier of this level can trap me?"
Orochimaru's pupils constricted, he hadn't expected Mamoru to be able to damage the barrier with a casual strike.
"Move quickly, don't give him a chance to act!" He shouted, being the first to flash in front of Tayuya, crouching on the ground and opening his mouth to vomit a surging tide of snakes.
Sakon and Ukon lunged at Mamoru from both sides simultaneously.
Tayuya bit her finger and slammed her hand onto the ground, and three massive Doki appeared in a burst of smoke.
Finale, Ninth Movement: Revolt of the Demon World!
She played the flute again, the melody suddenly changing pace.
The three Doki looked up, and three long worms condensed from spiritual energy were spat out from their mouths, flying into the air and lunging straight toward Mamoru's location.
"Just in time!"
The flames around Mamoru flared up, and he pushed off his feet, charging forward boldly. As he moved forward, he reached out and made a grasping motion.
"What's going on!?"
Before Sakon and Ukon could even react, they felt an irresistible gravitational pull dragging their bodies.
The two let out a muffled groan and collided with each other.
In that split second, Mamoru had already closed in. He extended his arms and threw both fists together. The moment his fists made contact with the targets, scorching heat and terrifying power exploded, sending the two flying.
The two flew back, their backward speed several times faster than when they had come.
Bang! Bang!
Two dull thuds sounded as Sakon and Ukon were deeply embedded into the stone wall of the barrier, with spider-web-like cracks spreading out from them as the center.
At this time, the three semi-material long worms summoned by Tayuya also lunged down from the air. They twisted their bodies, their mouthparts at the top opening to reveal rows of dense, sharp teeth.
Without even looking up, Mamoru pointed two fingers upward and fired a Blue, which instantly dispersed one of the semi-material worms.
However, the other two attacked from tricky angles, biting right into Mamoru's Chakra shroud.
Rip!
A tearing sound rang out.
What happened next was something Mamoru hadn't anticipated.
The two long worms frantically tore at the Chakra shroud, and the fragments containing pure Chakra were actually swallowed by them.
They even bit a hole through Infinity.
"Holy crap! What the hell is this!?"