The first to move wasn't Linto, nor was it Orochimaru.
It was the Root organization's ninja.
If they didn't act, they would really turn into snakes.
"Orochimaru! Open the barrier and let us out!" said the fox mask ninja, his voice filled with fear.
They could accept being killed with one sword strike.
But watching themselves turn into a poisonous snake was even harder to bear than being killed.
"Heh—"
Orochimaru chuckled lightly, "You are Root ninja, for the 'Will of Fire,' you must have sacrificed many comrades. Now it's just your turn. Why make such a fuss?"
The fox mask group realized they had been tricked by Orochimaru.
Five Root ninja. Linto killed two. The remaining three looked at each other, hardened their hearts, and rushed at Orochimaru with their knives.
One moved in close combat, while the other two quickly made hand signs, about to use a Ninja skill. But a surge of nature energy entered their bodies, disrupting the flow of their Chakra, and the Ninja skill collapsed.
Without Orochimaru needing to lift a finger, Kimimaro and Jugo rushed forward and killed the three attacking Root ninja.
The three ninja fell at his feet. Orochimaru glanced at them, stepped over their bodies, and noticed that one person hadn't died yet. He said in a comforting tone:
"Don't worry. I'll have Danzo give you double the compensation. I'll pay the rest if it's not enough."
Hearing this, whether he was truly relieved or just angered, the last ninja rolled his eyes and died.
Orochimaru stepped over the corpse and said to Jiraiya again, "For the sake of our friendship, I'll give you one more chance. Leave, Jiraiya. Go south out of this barrier, return to Konoha, and never look for me again."
Jiraiya lowered his body and whispered to Linto and Sasuke beside him, "I'll leave behind a purified area. As long as you stay inside it, you'll be safe. I'll find a way to get you out."
After saying that, without waiting for Linto and Sasuke's response, Jiraiya made hand signs and created a shadow clone to stay in place, maintaining the purified area. His real body charged at Orochimaru and the others.
Sasuke looked worriedly at Jiraiya's back.
"Is that old guy really going to be okay?"
He then looked at Linto.
From the beginning, Linto had been standing quietly in place, looking at his left hand, as if thinking about something. Suddenly, Sasuke's eyes widened.
"Brother Shou! You—"
Sasuke clearly saw Linto's left hand skin harden, and scales like those of a snake appeared.
Was Linto also going to turn into a snake?!
Sasuke felt both surprised and scared in his heart.
But then, he saw the scales on Linto's arm change again.
The fins of a fish.
The fur of a mammal.
The shell of an insect.
The feathers of a bird.
Countless changes happened in a very short time. Sasuke stood there in a daze. He couldn't believe his eyes. In a daze, he felt like he was dreaming.
A strange and bizarre dream.
"Ugh—"
Jiraiya's painful groan interrupted Sasuke's thoughts.
The two's skills were originally evenly matched.
Now, Orochimaru had the home-field advantage, and Jiraiya had also used some of his Chakra to create a shadow clone to maintain the purified area. Facing the strong attacks of Orochimaru, Kimimaro, and Jugo, he was temporarily at a disadvantage.
Leaving Kimimaro and Jugo to fight Jiraiya, Orochimaru went ahead to attack Linto.
Orochimaru's plan was clear:
Linto's evil spirit and special power were too mysterious. As long as he took care of this variable, this battle...
Would be won!
Orochimaru smiled and ran up to Linto. Just then, he saw Linto's constantly changing left arm, and his thoughts instantly became confused.
What is this?!
As one of the few scientists in the Hokage world, Orochimaru could be said to be the ninja who understood the human body the most.
If it were someone else, they might think it was some kind of Ninja skill or bloodline limit.
But Orochimaru knew that this level of change was not something that could be explained by Ninja skills or bloodline limits.
A gust of wind blew past, and the feathers on Linto's arm scattered, changing back into human skin again.
Linto, who had been looking down since Tagorihime opened her domain, slowly raised his head and looked at Orochimaru.
The wind blew on Orochimaru's body, and his spine felt cold.
Th-This is what kind of look.
Not fierce or cruel.
But heavy.
As if it came from ancient times, crossed the river of time, and descended.
Linto raised the Great Destruction Sword and took a deep breath.
Tagorihime, who was floating in the air watching the show, looked shocked. Her beautiful eyes stared at Linto—
The natural energy she released was actually being sucked dry by the man in front of her with every breath he took!
That was the natural energy that Tagorihime had cultivated for hundreds of years, and it was also boosted by the White Snake Sage's dragon and snake treasure bead.
"How can a mere mortal..."
Tagorihime was so shocked that she lost her mind, until she saw ripples and natural energy swept together and poured into the Great Destruction Sword. The already huge sword was first wrapped in a circle of golden lightning, and then countless green winds appeared.
Wind and thunder surrounded it, and the Great Destruction Sword seemed to have suddenly become dozens of meters longer out of thin air. The shining light pierced through the dark barrier.
Sunlight shone in again.
Like a spotlight falling on Linto.
Tagorihime suddenly came back to her senses: "Little snake! Dodge it quickly!"
Dodge?
Dodge where?
Orochimaru's eyes were about to pop out.
Death had never been so close.
"Orochimaru-sama!"
Kimimaro and Jugo left Jiraiya and rushed towards Linto.
At the critical moment, the two unleashed their ultimate potential, taking the lead in blocking the falling blade.
The wind and thunder roared, and the long sword fell.
With a deafening roar, the earth shook.
A long crack appeared in the barrier surrounding the village.
Jiraiya swallowed and looked around the battlefield.
Kimimaro, dead.
Jugo, dead.
Orochimaru...
His lower body was gone, leaving only his upper body, with his intestines spilling all over the ground.
One sword!
Just one sword!
It had destroyed all of Orochimaru's plans and preparations.
Jiraiya couldn't believe it. All that was left in his heart was horror.
Sizzle—
The Great Destruction Sword was red-hot, especially the "bone and soul" that once belonged to Samehada in the core, which let out a faint moan.
"Don't worry, just this once... for now."
Linto comforted in a low voice.
He was able to swing that sword thanks to Tagorihime's rich natural power.
Now that the barrier was broken and the natural power was used up, Linto couldn't replicate the previous sword strike in a short time.
However, with Tagorihime's "help," he had mastered the method of fusing natural power and ripples. As long as he was given some time to practice.
Swinging that heaven-piercing sword light again... would definitely be no problem.
Linto stuck the Great Destruction Sword into the ground, letting it cool down naturally.
In just a moment, Orochimaru opened his mouth, and a complete version of himself crawled out again. The original half of his body became a layer of "skin" and was thrown on the ground.
"Great Serpent Style Substitution Technique."
After restoring his body, Orochimaru immediately planned to escape.
"You're really hard to kill."
A calm voice sounded from behind. A hand reached out and grabbed his neck tightly, lifting him up like he was a little chick.
Orochimaru was forced to look up, meeting the stern eyes of Star Platinum.
But he quickly noticed an even more terrifying gaze than Star Platinum's.
Linto stood in front of Orochimaru.
"Let me see how strong your proud recovery ability really is."
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