"Holy crap!" Mamoru blurted out, his pupils slightly contracting in shock. "What the hell is that!?"
This was the second time in a single day that he had lost his composure enough to let out a curse.
The last time he had been this out of sorts was not long ago—when he witnessed Kimimaro tanking Blue head-on.
Thinking about it, Orochimaru's subordinates were full of capable people. Not only were they fiercely loyal, but the bizarre abilities granted by their Cursed Seals were endless.
Aside from Space-Time Ninjutsu, they had actually found a means sufficient to threaten him, they had truly racked their brains.
Mamoru focused his mind, his cold gaze locking onto the girl playing the flute. He felt a surge of irritation—this woman was trying to do him in.
With a casual wave of his hand, the front ends of the two long worms that were tearing at and devouring his Chakra were instantly crushed by a Blue that appeared out of thin air.
"What!?"
Tayuya's breath hitched at the sight, and the flute music stopped abruptly. However, suppressing the horror in her heart, she brought the flute to her lips once more.
The three long worms twisted and actually reformed their hideous mouthparts, pouncing once again. However, this time, they didn't even get close before their heads were exploded one after another mid-flight.
"I told you, this tune sounds like crap," Mamoru spoke coldly, his voice carrying undisguised killing intent. "Are you trying to play for your own funeral?"
At this moment, the sound of constant hissing filled the air, and venomous snakes had occupied the vast majority of the ground. They flicked their tongues, surrounding Mamoru in layers at the center.
Even so, Orochimaru had no intention of stopping, with new swarms of snakes constantly gushing from his mouth.
"Disgusting." Mamoru shuddered.
Looking at this display, was he planning to fill the entire interior of the barrier?
The annoying flute music still lingered. He glanced at the long worms that were slowly regenerating, and the last bit of patience in his heart was completely exhausted.
Forget it. If this dragged on any longer, Hiruzen would probably start scolding him.
"Orochimaru."
Mamoru's left hand swept across his front, his fingers slicing through the air and pulling out a blazing arc of fire.
"Since you've worked so hard, I'll let you witness the true essence of fire."
"Hehe... an enclosed space is truly superb." A playful smile curled at the corner of his lips as he let out a low laugh.
"Jirobo, deactivate the barrier, quickly!" Orochimaru instantly saw through his intention and shouted sharply, his voice carrying a sense of urgency.
Jirobo, outside the barrier, was startled. Although he didn't understand why, he followed orders and cut off the supply of Chakra.
Almost simultaneously, the ceiling inside the barrier began to disintegrate, and rocks tumbled down.
Mamoru seemed oblivious, only spitting out a single word.
"Fuga..."
He raised his left arm, using his spread fingers as a bow, and his right finger hooked onto the flowing fire, slowly drawing back. He actually pulled out an arrow of raging flames from thin air, the intense heat causing the surrounding air to distort.
"This is...!?"
Orochimaru and Tayuya watched this scene in shock.
Another completely unknown technique!
There was no need to think. Just by looking at that arrow, their skin felt a stinging pain as if being burned, and every sensory cell was screaming to flee.
Orochimaru reacted extremely quickly. Without waiting for the barrier to fully deactivate, he bit his finger and slammed his palm onto the ground.
Triple Rashomon!
Tayuya snapped back to her senses and played her flute again. The three Doki closed in at her command, shielding her tightly within.
Rumble!
Three massive demonic gates erupted from the earth, their hideous doors smashing through the top of the barrier, sending debris flying like rain.
At the very moment the first Rashomon rose, Mamoru released his fingers.
The fire arrow shot out like a crimson laser, burning the air and vaporizing everything in its path.
Boom!!!
The arrow collided violently with the Rashomon, and the crimson flames exploded like a solar corona, the blinding red light instantly swallowing the entire field of vision.
When the light finally dissipated, everything within the attack range had been erased, except for some residual ground structures around the Rashomon.
Jirobo and Sakon-Ukon had been vaporized, along with their bones.
As for those three towering Rashomon gates, three massive holes had been bored through them. Behind the gates lay Orochimaru's charred and broken body, and further away was Tayuya's figure, her life or death unknown.
Seeing this, Mamoru immediately turned his head to look. He saw that the roof had long been covered by tangled tree roots, with towering giant trees standing among them.
In the distance, Hashirama and Tobirama were still locked in a fierce battle with Hiruzen and Enma.
"Not dead yet..." Mamoru clicked his tongue, his brow furrowing slightly. "Truly an unkillable cockroach."
The Edo Tensei had not been released, which proved that Orochimaru wasn't completely dead.
He turned and stepped through the holes in the Rashomon, arriving before Orochimaru's charred corpse.
Just as he was about to move to completely destroy the body, a glittering golden giant claw suddenly attacked.
Having learned his lesson from having his Chakra eaten earlier, Mamoru immediately ducked to the side to dodge. Even for him, with the battle lasting this long, his remaining Chakra had to be calculated carefully.
Mamoru nimbly avoided the golden claw that attacked again, tapped the ground lightly with his toes, and soared into the air.
Looking down from above, he saw Rasa standing with his arms crossed next to Orochimaru's charred corpse.
Looking at the Gold Dust swirling around him, Mamoru finally realized. Since being kicked away by his first attack, Rasa had seemed to vanish from the face of the earth. It turned out he had been hiding in the shadows to gather Gold Dust.
In a flash of thought, the charred corpse below suddenly made a 'crack-crack' sound, its surface covered in spider-web-like cracks.
The next moment, Orochimaru actually burst out from within the charred shell. He was covered in slime and, as if he had no bones, he twisted and slid to the ground.
Almost at the same moment, in the distance, Hashirama clapped his hands together, and countless giant tree branches, like living giant pythons, coiled up into the air, blotting out the sun.
Mamoru didn't dare be the least bit careless, weaving nimbly through the air and constantly dodging the whistling attacks.
Meanwhile, the Gold Dust claw controlled by Rasa had also blocked his retreat from the other side.
Seeing the offensive becoming increasingly dense, Mamoru stopped entangling with them. His figure suddenly shot upward, turning into a crimson light that rushed toward the sky until he was beyond all attack range.
(End of Chapter)
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