"Stop complaining so much. She's just one person. If we attack together, defeating her will be easy."
Although even Orochimaru was somewhat surprised by Furina's massive Water Release technique, he had no time to dwell on it now. He needed to end this quickly. Otherwise, if either Tsunade or Jiraiya recovered, things would become difficult.
"Don't forget my sacrifices." Hearing Orochimaru's urging, Manda unusually did not argue back. This was not because he had changed his ways, but because he saw Furina starting to form hand seals again.
Although he did not know what ninjutsu the other was preparing, he did not want her to succeed in releasing it. He had no desire to take another hit like the previous one.
Manda's body was enormous, but his speed was not slow at all. In the blink of an eye, he charged toward Furina with Orochimaru on his head. Facing such a colossal creature, Furina could not meet it head-on and could only quickly dodge.
After narrowly avoiding Manda's charge, Orochimaru's attack followed immediately. After a flashy sequence of spitting out a snake, the snake spitting him out, and him spitting out a sword, the sharp Kusanagi Blade had already arrived right in front of Furina's face.
At this moment, she could even clearly see the patterns on the sword hilt and the saliva on the blade. Instantly, a wave of nausea surged in her heart.
However, although Orochimaru's move was quite showy, its actual speed was not so fast that it could not be reacted to. After tilting her head to dodge the thrusting Kusanagi Blade, Furina retreated continuously once more.
Only at this point did Furina's ninjutsu finally complete. Near Manda, a water dragon comparable in size to him burst forth from the water with a roar, confronting him directly.
"Just some water."
Although wary in his heart, Manda showed no weakness in his words. He immediately engaged in combat with the water dragon. Their massive bodies collided, sending up waves of water. Even the ground seemed to shake from the impact.
"It's been a while, and you've gotten much stronger, Furina-kun. I'm starting to wonder if choosing Sasuke-kun back then was the right decision. Heh heh."
Orochimaru did not choose to join the fight between Manda and the water dragon. Instead, he jumped down to battle Furina directly. This was a wise choice. Without Furina's control, the water dragon, which lacked independent consciousness, was naturally no match for Manda.
"Hehe. Someone who's so indecisive won't be liked, Mr. Orochimaru. Besides, I've heard some things about the Sharingan from Sasuke. In the future, Sasuke might not necessarily be weaker than me."
Oh man, Orochimaru, you should hurry up and go find your "dad." Don't put your attention on me.
"Hehe, that's true. I know the power of the Sharingan all too well."
Although the two were engaged in fierce combat, their conversation continued as if they were not fighting at all, but rather sipping tea and chatting casually.
"But speaking of which, Furina-kun, what surprises me most isn't your strength, but your attitude. I thought you'd be very agitated when Sasuke was mentioned, since he's your teammate after all."
"If I can't take you down, what's the point of acting angry no matter how much? Powerless rage? That would just play right into your hands."
Although Furina appeared very calm on the surface, her inner thoughts were completely different. Orochimaru had taken his "Sasuke-dad" away and was about to have quite the enjoyable time. Furina was already using all her strength just to keep from laughing out loud.
Trying to use this to make her angry and destabilize her mindset? What a joke.
"If I ignored your appearance, I really wouldn't think the person standing opposite me is a student who graduated from the ninja academy not long ago."
"Hehe, you're too kind."
Furina did not pay much attention to Orochimaru's subtle praise. Instead, her attacks became even fiercer because of it. Right now, the situation between both sides was such that neither could do anything to the other.
Orochimaru's arms were crippled, making it difficult for him to land effective attacks on Furina with just his head. Although Furina was in good condition, Orochimaru's rich experience allowed him to stall her for a long time.
But while the two of them were locked in stalemate, the water dragon without Furina's control could not keep holding out against Manda forever. It would not be long before the fight returned to a two-on-one scenario.
As for splitting her attention to control the water dragon again? Come on, Orochimaru was no benevolent person. Even without his arms, he was not an enemy to be taken lightly. Trying to operate on two fronts would be no different from seeking death.
However, although the situation did not look favorable for Furina, she did not feel much worry in her heart. Not to mention that Jiraiya and the others could still provide support, even considering just herself.
If she really got surrounded, she could summon her three sea creatures to help. Unlike the water dragon formed by ninjutsu, they had their own consciousness and could definitely fight Manda on equal terms.
She had not used them before simply because there was no good reason to. But if it truly came to a point where she had no choice, she would not hesitate at all.
Just as the two had predicted, the water dragon without Furina's support was eventually dispersed by Manda after holding out for a while. Manda did not pause afterward. Together with Orochimaru, one on the left and one on the right, they launched a coordinated attack.
"Heh, pretty in sync."
Facing the simultaneous assault from one person and one snake coming from both sides, Furina had no better countermeasure. She immediately prepared to summon her three little ones to fight alongside her.
Speaking of which, this would be the first time. She was actually a little excited. Before this, she had only interacted with the three sea creatures in her mental world. It always lacked a sense of reality.
"Get out of my way!"
"Rasengan!"
But before Furina could complete the summoning, the situation changed again. Tsunade and Jiraiya appeared at the same time. Manda was punched flying by Tsunade, sending up another huge splash of water, while Orochimaru was forced back by Jiraiya's Rasengan.
"Huh?" Seeing the two arrive at her side, Furina silently stopped the summoning. These two seemed to have recovered, so there was no need anymore.
"Tsunade, Jiraiya. I thought you two would just keep watching from the sidelines. What a shame."
On the water's surface, the former three Sannin formally reunited. However, at this moment, most of Orochimaru's attention was still on Furina. From beginning to end, she had shown no signs of panic, clearly still holding some trump card.
If Jiraiya and Tsunade had not intervened, he would definitely have gotten to see it: whatever she had deliberately hidden. What could turn the tide? A ninjutsu? A forbidden technique? Or something else entirely?
Right now, he no longer held any hope for Tsunade's matter. He only regretted not getting to see Furina's hidden move. So mysterious - perhaps it was something he had never seen before.
"What are you talking about, Orochimaru? As Hokage, how could I just hide in the back and watch others risk their lives?"
Tsunade had no idea what Orochimaru was thinking. From her perspective, he was just regretting that he had not managed to take down Furina successfully. So she had no intention of giving him any pleasant expression.