"Summoning Technique!"
Seeing Manda's demise, Orochimaru bit his finger again and pressed it to the ground.
With a surge of complex markings and a loud 'bang', thick white smoke erupted. Emerging from the smoke was another massive serpent, over fifty meters long, this one with black stripes against its purple scales.
Seeing this, Kisame, who had been basking in his victory moments earlier, was instantly dumbfounded.
He didn't expect there were another one.
Naruto also never expected such a situation.
But he soon realized that this new snake should be created by Orochimaru using Manda's cells and cloning technology.
'Well played, Orochimaru. You've certainly got plenty of tricks up your sleeve.'
"Kisame, you handle this new Manda. Leave everything else to the three of us." Naruto ordered.
From his perspective, even if Orochimaru could clone Manda, the process couldn't possibly produce a large quantity. And Kisame was more than capable of dealing with this one.
Whoosh!
Naruto rushed towards Orochimaru and said, "Hidan, you take the front line and absorb the damage! Kakuzu, provide ranged support and harass him! I'll be the main damage dealer!"
"Got it!"
"Understood!"
Hidan and Kakuzu responded immediately.
They are also fully aware that no single person, even with their strength doubled, could stand against Orochimaru alone.
"I refuse to believe I can't take you down!"
Hidan let out a wild yell and charged at Orochimaru, brandishing his scythe.
Seeing Orochimaru attempting to escape through the black portal, Kakuzu swiftly formed hand seals. His mask beasts, now glowing with an intense white light, was activated. The fire mask beast struck first, unleashing a devastating firestorm.
Whoosh!
Flames instantly engulfed the area, surrounding Orochimaru and narrowing his escape route.
Then, the lightning mask beast released the Lightning Release Ninjutsu, and the incredibly fast electrical current interrupted Orochimaru's path and caused an electric shock, momentarily paralyzing him.
'Chance!'
Naruto shot up into the air.
With the bonus of his Zanpakuto's Shikai, Naruto's flying speed was incredibly fast.
In the eyes of onlookers, Naruto's single slash carved a black streak across the sky… a streak so sharp and dazzling, it seemed to tear the sky itself.
Whoosh!
By the time Naruto sheathed his blade, he had already appeared behind Orochimaru.
In that exact moment, Orochimaru's clothing shredded apart, his body riddled with deep gashes that spewed blood.
This technique mirrored the action effects of the Extreme Blade Art: Instant Slash from DNF. Naruto had long been inspired to recreate this move while practicing Itachi's swordsmanship, envisioning the legendary sword skills of DNF's Sword Soul.
Despite the Sword Soul being mocked as a traitor in the game, its elegance and flair were undeniable.
And Naruto named this move Black Flash!
Its starting and finishing stances were identical, but the process was entirely different. Back in his previous life, when playing the game, Naruto remembered that the finishing moment of Instant Slash left enemies with deep, untraceable cuts.
While he hadn't understood the mechanics then, Naruto now realized what it required: a burst of overwhelming speed and precision.
So just now, at the moment of contact with Orochimaru, Naruto briefly activated the Eight Gates, using the enhancements of his Zanpakuto to push his physical speed beyond what the human eye could perceive.
Within that split second, Naruto delivered no fewer than ten slashes to Orochimaru's body.
This is why Naruto felt justified in naming the technique as such.
Moreover, no one else could replicate this feat. After all, the Eight Gates weren't accessible to just anyone, let alone an enhanced version of them. This was an unprecedented achievement!
"Pfft!"
Orochimaru suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, but instead of despair, his gaze grew increasingly fervent.
'Yes, this was exactly the sense of crisis and challenge I wanted.'
Taking a deep breath, the wounds on his body began disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye, which is even more terrifying than Rapid Healing.
This was Orochimaru's true trump card… the Regeneration Technique!
In order to achieve immortality, Orochimaru needed a perfect body, one that not only preserved eternal youth but also possessed incredible regenerative capabilities.
Through years of experimentation and research, combined with the Yin-Yang Release creation abilities inherited from his mastery of Urashiki's body, Orochimaru finally perfected this Regeneration Technique.
Now, without needing to form hand seals, split his body, or switch vessels, any injuries sustained would heal on their own.
Unless he was obliterated instantaneously, Orochimaru was effectively unkillable. This confidence was the source of his recklessness.
"Yasuo-kun, keep going!"
Orochimaru chuckled.
Naruto responded with a soft laugh of his own.
His Black Flash had only leveraged the speed of the Eight Gates and not its full destructive power. If he had unleashed the technique's true potential, the doubled strength of the Eight Gates could have reduced Orochimaru to nothingness in an instant.
But Naruto knew this was merely a staged act, a performance for Sasuke to see.
In front of Sasuke, Naruto couldn't afford to fully unleash the Eight Gates, as it would instantly reveal too many secrets.
Naruto glanced at Sasuke and found that Sasuke was already engaged in a bitter struggle and was too distracted to pay attention here.
Naruto couldn't help but smile and whispered, "Orochimaru, show me even more surprises."
Since Sasuke was too preoccupied to notice, Naruto decided to use this opportunity to see more of Orochimaru's abilities. After all, Orochimaru was his servant, so Naruto had no intention of killing him. On the contrary, the stronger Orochimaru was, the more pleased Naruto felt.
Boom!
Naruto stomped on the ground, creating a spiderweb of cracks beneath his feet. Using the rebound force, he surged forward, gripping his Zanpakuto as he charged Orochimaru once more.
…
Meanwhile, about a kilometer away, Sasuke was locked in battle with Itachi.
Itachi appeared to be on the defensive, but this was all part of his strategy. He needed to lure Sasuke further away to prevent him from noticing the ruse.
Seeing that the distance was sufficient, Itachi shifted to an offensive stance. Forming a hand seal with one handm he shouted, "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
The huge fireball, which was often mocked as a technique that rarely hit its target, underwent a drastic change in Itachi's hands.
While forming the hand seal with one hand, his other hand wasn't idle and manipulated Sasuke through subtle Genjutsu, causing Sasuke to briefly lose focus.
By the time Sasuke regained clarity, the fireball was already upon him.
Just as Sasuke was about to use the Body Replacement Technique to dodge, the fireball suddenly exploded, leaving Sasuke no chance to escape.
Boom!
Caught in the explosion, Sasuke's clothes were left in tatters.
Fortunately, it was only a Great Fireball and not something more lethal.
Sasuke snorted coldly, ignoring the blood on his body. Black markings began to spread across his face, and gradually covered his entire body.
This is him activating the Cursed Seal of Heaven!
With the appearance of the Cursed Seal of Heaven, Sasuke's injuries began to heal rapidly.
Although the Cursed Seal forcibly drained Chakra, it also embodied Orochimaru's research into Senjutsu, granting Sasuke extraordinary regenerative abilities.
Fueled by a thirst for vengeance, Sasuke felt an unprecedented surge of power. His usual restraint gave way to raw determination.
To Sasuke, nothing mattered more than defeating Itachi. Even sacrificing himself would be a small price to pay.
Glaring at his brother's calm, indifferent face, Sasuke let out a roar, "Power! Give me even more power!"