Jiraiya leapt onto Gamabunta's head. "That's why I need your help."
"Let's do this!"
"Right!"
Eight-Tails and Gamabunta clashed, the sheer force of their battle keeping anyone from approaching within a thousand meters.
On the eastern side of the battlefield.
Uchiha Fugaku slit the throat of a Konoha ninja trapped in his genjutsu world. He spun around sharply. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball swallowed dozens of venomous snakes, and the scent of scorched meat wafted through the air.
"Orochimaru?"
Seeing the pale, sinister man appear before him, Fugaku's expression shifted.
"Fugaku, your growth is surprising. But the wind you've stirred up is destined to end here," Orochimaru said. "Though before that, I'm truly curious... how did the Uchiha clan manage to flee from Konoha to the Land of Rice Fields overnight?"
Facing Orochimaru's inquisitive gaze, Fugaku offered no answer. The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes simply began to spin madly.
Seeing this, Orochimaru smiled indifferently and spat a long sword from his mouth.
Clang!
The two engaged in a fierce exchange, every strike aimed at a vital point.
Before long, Orochimaru voluntarily opened up the distance.
He swallowed the long sword back into his throat, his eyes gleaming with a morbid light. "As expected of the Sharingan. That extreme insight is indeed well-suited for kenjutsu..."
Hearing Orochimaru's praise, Fugaku showed no sign of joy.
In their brief exchange, even with the insight of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, he hadn't gained the slightest upper hand.
The legendary Sannin were truly terrifying.
There's going to be trouble tonight...
Before Fugaku could formulate a strategy, Orochimaru attacked again.
"Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes!"
Orochimaru lay flat on the ground, his mouth stretching open to a degree that defied human anatomy.
Countless venomous snakes poured endlessly from his mouth, piling up into a small hill in an instant and swallowing Fugaku whole.
Just as Orochimaru thought victory was in hand, a figure walked out from the mass of snakes, carrying Fugaku on his shoulder.
Looking at those unusual eyes, a gleam of excitement flashed through Orochimaru's gaze. "Uchiha... Yuzuru."
"Orochimaru, you chose Uchiha Fugaku as your opponent just to force me out, didn't you?"
"Now... I am here."
Ocular power surged within Yuzuru, and he tossed Fugaku into the Kamui dimension.
Witnessing this, Orochimaru extended a long tongue to lick his face in a circular motion before speaking. "You saw through my objective yet still chose to appear before me..."
"Yuzuru-kun, you are quite confident in your strength."
Yuzuru stood tall, speaking as if stating a simple fact. "The current me is the strongest person in this world!"
"Is that so?"
The smile on Orochimaru's face gradually faded, replaced by a terrifying killing intent. "Are you truly prepared to face fear as deep as the abyss?"
"Orochimaru, put away your boring tricks."
Yuzuru's voice remained flat, completely unaffected.
Although Orochimaru's killing intent was oppressive—in the original story, it had once made Hatake Kakashi, already a Jonin, sweat profusely and lose the courage to attack—it had no effect on the current Yuzuru.
After awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan, his spiritual energy far exceeded that of an ordinary person.
Orochimaru hoping to make him reveal a flaw through killing intent alone was simply overthinking things.
Seeing that Uchiha Yuzuru remained completely unaffected, Orochimaru retracted his aura.
He took two steps forward, and his right hand suddenly transformed into a thick, massive python, lunging toward Yuzuru.
Yuzuru was tightly constricted by the giant python, yet his expression barely changed. He simply stared at Orochimaru with his crimson Mangekyo Sharingan. "Orochimaru, work for me."
The sudden request made Orochimaru freeze in place.
He repeated the words, sounding somewhat uncertain. "Work for you?"
"We'll start by killing Sarutobi Hiruzen."
Seeing Yuzuru's serious demeanor, Orochimaru laughed out of sheer absurdity.
They said the stronger an Uchiha became, the more they resembled a madman. It seemed that was true.
"Kill Sarutobi Hiruzen?" Orochimaru couldn't help but ask. "Don't you know Sarutobi Hiruzen is my mentor?"
"I am the highly anticipated successor for the next Hokage, and you want me to follow you?"
Yuzuru shrugged and continued, "There are no deals that cannot be made, only insufficient chips."
"Orochimaru, you've always been interested in immortality, haven't you? I can provide you with experimental equipment and materials. You just need to focus all your energy on researching life, rather than wasting your time on a battlefield like this."
"You'd better survive me first before talking about that."
Orochimaru didn't want to listen to a madman any longer. With a thought, the python wrapped around Yuzuru's body began to constrict with increasing force.
The next second, the sound of a thousand birds chirping rang out.
Countless bolts of lightning surfaced on Yuzuru's body, instantly turning the python into charred flesh.
"Trying to run?"
Orochimaru immediately rushed toward Yuzuru, his body twisting into various bizarre postures as he launched an offensive.
"It's useless. Before these eyes, all attacks are seen through."
Yuzuru's body dodged continuously, moving like a butterfly dancing on the tip of a blade. He evaded Orochimaru's attacks only at the very last moment each time.
It looked perilously close.
After a brief skirmish, Yuzuru voluntarily opened up the distance.
With Orochimaru's talent in scientific research, such a talent had to be preserved.
Even if he defeated Orochimaru now, given the man's personality, he certainly wouldn't submit to control. If he wanted Orochimaru's help, he would have to wait until the time was right in the future.
Therefore, Yuzuru had never intended to waste too much ocular power on Orochimaru from the start.
"Let's end today's battle here. See ya~"
Yuzuru swept his hand in front of him, and his entire form vanished as if wiped from existence.
"What a tricky fellow..."
Orochimaru stood in place, frowning.
He could sense that Yuzuru had no intention of fighting him. Aside from the fact that the boy was proficient in various elemental jutsu, Orochimaru had gained no intelligence from the encounter.
Looking at the white-hot battle in the distance, Orochimaru sighed inwardly.
Even today's counterattack had failed to yield any results. This war could only end in Konoha's defeat...
"Damn it..."
Ay panted heavily, the excitement from the start gone from his face.
He had overestimated himself.
Facing Hatake Sakumo, even with his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, he had nearly died several times.
Fast speed, high attack power...
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Ay would have found it hard to imagine that a person could refine their kenjutsu to such a level.
Compared to the battered Ay, Hatake Sakumo was in much better condition. Gripping his short blade tightly, he continued to press in on Ay.
"As long as I kill you, the situation will ease," Sakumo took a deep breath, mobilizing all the chakra in his body. He seemed to merge with the short blade in his hand, transforming into a brilliant streak of blade light as he slashed toward Ay.
"I can't dodge it..."
Ay's eyes turned cold as he summoned every last bit of chakra remaining in his body.
If he couldn't dodge, then they would perish together!
Just as the two were about to make contact, a streak of lightning slammed Ay's body aside, and the Third Raikage's hearty voice rang out. "Bullying my son won't do. Konoha's White Fang, I'll take you on!"
"Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite!"
The Third Raikage's finger and Hatake Sakumo's short blade collided with a deafening boom.
Immediately after, the short blade shattered into countless fragments, and Sakumo was sent flying backward by the immense force.
"It's the Third Raikage! We've won!"
"Brothers, follow the Raikage and kill them!"
"Let those Konoha bastards feel total despair! We of Kumogakure are the strongest shinobi village!"
Seeing the Third Raikage personally join the fray, the crowd from Kumogakure acted as if they had been injected with stimulants, launching a ferocious offensive against the Konoha ninja.
The tide of battle turned in an instant.
In the original story, the Third Raikage had faced ten thousand Iwagakure ninja led by Onoki alone, holding out for three days and three nights before dying of exhaustion.
This showed just how formidable the Third Raikage's combat power was.
Attacks from ordinary ninja couldn't even break his defense, while he could easily kill anyone.
Under his full-force charge, Konoha's formation was quickly torn open.
"Damn it, why at a time like this..."
"Why is the Third Raikage here? Are those guys from Cloud Village not afraid their Kage will die on the battlefield?"
"No, we can't stop him at all! Lord Orochimaru, Lord Sakumo, Lord Jiraiya, anyone, please save us!"
Under the powerful offensive of the Cloud ninja, the Konoha forces began to crumble...
Facing this situation, an almost exhausted Hatake Sakumo had no options left. He could only watch helplessly as the situation deteriorated.
Fortunately...
The drums signaling retreat sounded from the rear. The Konoha ninja, as if granted amnesty, immediately ran for their lives toward the back lines.
Jiraiya and Gamabunta blocked the rear, working together to unleash a combination technique—
"Toad Oil Flame Bullet!"
A sky-filling wall of fire instantly halted the Cloud ninja's pursuit. Following that, a colossal python charged toward them.
Although the Third Raikage and Killer Bee wanted to kick the enemy while they were down, they couldn't allow their own village's ninja to be slaughtered. They had to stop and deal with the attacks from Manda, Bunta, and Jiraiya.
Under the obstruction of the three, the Konoha ninja finally retreated safely from the battlefield.
But there was no joy of survival on their faces, only a spreading despair.
Gradually, this despair turned into dissatisfaction and anger!
If not for the Third Raikage's sudden entry into the war, they clearly had a chance to win...
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