Sasuke, poisoned by the snake's venom, collapsed instantly. Orochimaru caught him, gazing down at his unconscious body with satisfaction.
"Perfect. A worthy vessel."
Lowering his head, he pressed his lips against Sasuke's neck, marking him with the Curse Seal of Heaven.
Sizzle—
The mark burned into Sasuke's skin like a red-hot brand, a faint wisp of smoke rising from it.
As the seal settled, the surrounding environment began to distort…
A smirk played on Orochimaru's lips.
"She couldn't sit still, could she?"
["Sending a mere child to fight me? Do you really think so little of my power? Now, you—the master of this barrier—will have to intervene to save him."]
["So, what will you do next?"]
Suddenly, the lights overhead erupted in a brilliant display of color. The intricate patterns of the barrier shifted and rotated.
As the fog of war lifted, Orochimaru's senses returned.
More importantly, the battlefield was restored to its true state—and in the distance, he could see his former subordinates.
---
"Huh?"
Kimimaro stood over Tayuya, retracting a bone blade from her motionless body.
Around him, every member of the Sound Four lay defeated.
The last one had just fallen.
Kimimaro froze, glancing up at Orochimaru, sensing his silent judgment. He quickly spoke up.
"Orochimaru-sama! They attacked first—I was only defending myself!"
Orochimaru lifted a hand to stop him, his face unreadable.
"There's no need to explain, Kimimaro. I know it wasn't intentional. But don't come any closer—stay where you are."
Kimimaro stiffened.
Does he… not trust me anymore?
Panic flickered in his eyes.
"Orochimaru-sama! I—I'd never turn my blade against you!"
Orochimaru sighed, shaking his head.
"I know. This isn't about trust. Just wait. I need to dismantle this barrier first."
Kimimaro clenched his fists but obeyed, standing still. He understood the power of this illusion—and why Orochimaru remained cautious.
But still… he didn't like it.
---
Orochimaru ignored Kimimaro for now. His attention was fully on the approaching enemy.
He had long learned not to trust his own eyes in situations like this.
Only his instincts—honed from years of battle—were reliable.
And then, without hesitation, he activated one of his most refined techniques:
Body Shedding.
At that moment, a pillar of light shot down from the sky, striking the ground in front of him.
Shimmering fragments of color gathered within the beam, swirling and slowly taking shape.
Beneath this figure, a glowing sigil formed, radiating intense energy.
The light was blinding—so much so that even Orochimaru had to squint.
And then—
She appeared.
Standing atop the beam of light, Sakiya lifted her head, one hand covering her left eye while the other stretched skyward.
"Heh… The Eye of Death has arrived."
"Ten-Finger Piercing!"
FWIP FWIP FWIP—
A dozen bone spears tore through the air—
Straight toward Orochimaru.
Orochimaru extended his hand, and a white snake slithered from his sleeve, effortlessly deflecting all the incoming bone spears.
Kimimaro froze.
"That wasn't even aimed at you..."
Orochimaru sighed.
"Listen, Kimimaro! Stop attacking on your own. Wait for my signal."
Kimimaro felt the curse mark on his neck heating up, then cooling down.
He understood immediately.
Orochimaru was using the fluctuations in the curse mark to send coded instructions—one pulse, two pulses, each meaning something different. Combined with his hand gestures, the message was clear.
Kimimaro absorbed the orders instantly.
But before he could act, the curse mark suddenly flared up, burning intensely.
His body tensed with anticipation.
Then—
He looked up and saw a grinning girl standing before him.
"Larch Dance—!"
BANG!
Even Kimimaro's steel-hard body couldn't withstand the impact. His vision blurred, his brain buzzing from the force of the blow.
The chakra he had just gathered was completely disrupted.
The ground beneath him shattered under the sheer power of the attack.
Sakiya watched him staggering but still standing, then chuckled.
"Oh? Looks like I went easy on you."
Just as she prepared for a follow-up strike, the rock beneath her suddenly exploded.
From the rubble, two massive pythons lunged at her, fangs bared.
ZZZT—
In an instant, both she and Kimimaro vanished—reappearing in a new position.
The spot where they had stood was now empty, the snakes biting into nothing but air.
Sakiya swung her staff down—
CRACK!
The impact echoed, sending Kimimaro crashing into the ground, half-buried in the debris.
However, Orochimaru wasn't upset. Instead, he laughed, his confidence returning in full force.
"A clever trick, but I've already seen through it."
Sakiya pouted.
"You slimy snake! You'd better let go of the Dark Knight right now."
She paused, scratching her head.
"If you do... I might just give you a better seal in return."
Orochimaru smirked. Meanwhile, Kimimaro, still struggling to get up, hadn't noticed the small white snake slithering onto him.
Using Kimimaro's position as a reference, Orochimaru had strategically placed small white snakes around the battlefield—one every thirty degrees, forming a web-like formation.
With these snakes acting as sensory points, he could map out Sakiya's movements, detecting her exact position like a spider feeling vibrations on its web.
"Then let's put that to the test!"
Orochimaru bit his finger and slammed his hand onto the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu: Ten Thousand Serpents!"
A massive summoning array flashed beneath him.
Suddenly, an endless horde of snakes erupted from the ground, slithering toward Sakiya in a terrifying wave.
Sakiya's eyes twitched at the disgusting and overwhelming sight. A shiver ran down her spine.
"Ugh. That is absolutely vile."
Without hesitation, she clasped her hands together, her magic circle glowing brighter beneath her feet.
"Judgment of the Death's Eye! Thunder God's Wrath!"
CRACK—
BOOM—!
A massive bolt of lightning split the sky, striking the ground with a deafening explosion.
The writhing mass of snakes was instantly incinerated, their bodies disintegrating in a flash of electricity.
From the point where the lightning struck, arcs of electricity spread outward, electrocuting the entire swarm of snakes in an instant.
The faint smell of charred snake flesh filled the air.
Orochimaru, using the sensory feedback from his white snakes, pinpointed the exact location of the Lightning Chakra's origin.
His eyes locked onto an apparently empty spot to his right.
Without hesitation, he formed a series of hand seals.
"Exploding Serpent's Wrath!"
The ground beneath Sakiya's real location erupted violently.
Giant pythons burst through the shattered earth, crushing everything in their path. A massive section of the battlefield, including Sakiya's position, was reduced to rubble.
Yet, standing atop the largest python's head, Sakiya grinned.
She had also sensed the placement of Orochimaru's white snakes.
"So, you were using those little things as tracking markers, huh? Clever."
She lifted her sword, crackling with energy.
The circuit was complete. 50 million volts of raw power surged through the air.
"Judgment of Death! The Infinite Lightning End!"
BZZZT—
In just 0.01 seconds, the full force of 50 million volts struck Orochimaru.
The giant serpent beneath Sakiya spasmed uncontrollably before collapsing, lifeless.
Orochimaru suffered the same fate—his body twitched violently, arcs of electricity dancing across his skin.
Sakiya sniffed the air.
"Huh. Smells like roasted snake. About halfway done, I'd say."
Sasuke, lying nearby, remained completely unharmed—his protective insignia had activated, shielding him from the current.
Seeing that Orochimaru wasn't moving, Sakiya casually walked over, grabbed Sasuke by the leg, and began dragging him away.
That's when it happened.
Orochimaru's head snapped up.
He spat out a sword, the blade expanding at blinding speed with a sonic boom, aiming straight for Sakiya's heart.
The sword pierced through her chest—
—or at least, it looked that way.
The attack phased right through her.
Unbothered, Sakiya continued dragging Sasuke, humming to herself.
After all, every single one of Orochimaru's white snakes had been fried to a crisp.
Without them, his entire tracking method was gone.
Now, he was lost in the dark.
Orochimaru, unwilling to accept defeat, sneered.
"Hmph. Under the radiance of my Great Demon Star, illusion and reality are one and the same. You won't escape me."
Sakiya, still dragging Sasuke, mocked him with a triumphant smirk.
Orochimaru didn't reply.
Instead, his skin cracked open—
—and a brand-new Orochimaru emerged from the remains of his old body.
His expression remained unfazed, his eerie smile intact.
"Heh. Impressive technique. But don't worry... I'll be back for you."
Sakiya's eyes narrowed.
"Oh, trying to run away, huh?"
"Eye of Death!"
Her gaze sharpened, her power activating once more—
—but Orochimaru was faster.
He slammed his hand onto the ground.
"Reverse Summoning Jutsu!"
POOF—
In an instant, Orochimaru vanished.
Sakiya blinked.
Then she slapped her forehead.
"Oh, right. Should've seen that coming."
She exhaled, shaking her head.
"Guess even a slippery snake like him plans his escape routes in advance."
__________
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