The sharp katana pierced through Orochimaru's chest, pinning him firmly against the rocky wall amidst the swarm of snakes underground!
"As expected of the legendary 'Darkness of the Shinobi,' capable of fighting two Kage at once."
Feeling the pain coursing through his body, Orochimaru's lips curled into a bitter smile as a trail of crimson blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
Danzō watched this pitiful performance with a cold, indifferent expression.
"Enough of this act. Show me your true power, Orochimaru."
Danzō's words caused Orochimaru's bitter smile to twist into something more sinister.
"As expected, nothing escapes your notice, Elder Danzō!"
With that, his mouth opened once more in an inhuman manner.
From the depths of his crimson throat, a dazzling sword light suddenly erupted!
A sharp longsword shot out of Orochimaru's mouth like lightning, aiming straight for Danzō!
Faced with this sudden attack, Danzō reacted as if he had eyes in the back of his head.
His katana erupted with a surge of sharp wind currents, shredding Orochimaru's body from within.
Then, he swiftly retreated, avoiding the sword light Orochimaru had spat out!
In an instant, Danzō was dozens of meters away.
At the same time, Orochimaru's body exploded.
But just before the explosion, a brand-new Orochimaru had already emerged, holding the longsword in his hand!
"That was close."
Orochimaru gripped the sharp sword, his eyes filled with danger.
He hadn't expected Danzō to figure out a way to counter his "Snake Clone Replacement Technique" after seeing it just once.
Indeed, while Orochimaru could continuously summon his true body from the clones, if the clone was destroyed mid-summoning, his true body would also suffer severe damage.
Danzō had nearly succeeded in doing just that.
"The Snake Clone Replacement Technique, huh? What a hassle."
Danzō said coldly.
There was no denying that Orochimaru's survival abilities were ridiculously overpowered.
Even Danzō wasn't confident he could kill him with absolute certainty.
"Hmph..."
Orochimaru chuckled lightly again, then suddenly hurled the Kusanagi Sword in his hand toward Danzō.
With a piercing whistle, the legendary sword, said to be capable of cutting through anything, shot toward Danzō.
The latter sidestepped to avoid it.
At that moment, Orochimaru, still standing in place, opened his mouth once more.
In the next second, a bizarre scene unfolded.
He began spitting out one new Orochimaru after another.
They were connected to each other, forming a grotesque human snake!
Using this strange technique, Orochimaru swiftly appeared behind Danzō from mid-air.
He reached out and grabbed the flying Kusanagi Sword, then swung it in a wide arc, slashing at Danzō with a fierce strike!
A cold flash of blade light swept through the air, and Danzō was instantly cut in half!
"What a disgustingly unsettling way to fight."
Danzō, now split in two, didn't die immediately. Instead, his body turned into countless pieces of paper that flew into the air.
Seeing this, Orochimaru smiled.
As if he had found Danzō's weakness, he immediately used another Fire Release technique.
A torrent of flames erupted from Orochimaru's mouth once more, surging toward the sky in an attempt to burn all the paper to ashes.
Unfortunately, Danzō's speed was beyond imagination.
He merely formed a half-body, then widened his exposed Mangekyō Sharingan.
Susanoo!
A massive surge of green chakra erupted from Danzō's body, coalescing into a towering green skeleton in mid-air!
The flames Orochimaru had spat out were effortlessly blocked. Taking advantage of this, Danzō not only completed his body but also controlled the Susanoo to deliver a devastating punch toward the ground!
The giant fist, carrying terrifying power, instantly shattered the ground.
Broken rocks and dust scattered in all directions!
Among the debris was Orochimaru's figure.
He used the Kusanagi Sword to cut through the smoke, then immediately launched another attack.
Orochimaru aimed the Kusanagi Sword at the descending green giant and poured chakra into it.
As the chakra flowed into the sword, it began to react.
The sword, said to be forged from the hardest material in the world, began to lengthen at an exaggerated rate.
In an instant, it crossed dozens of meters and stabbed into the Susanoo!
The Kusanagi Sword's sharp edge embedded itself into the skeleton, known as the "absolute defense."
But that was as far as it went.
Seeing this, Danzō immediately dispelled the Susanoo. As he landed on the ground, he formed hand seals.
"Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!"
In the next moment, countless massive roots burst forth from the ground!
They twisted like giant serpents, carrying an overwhelming force as they crushed toward Orochimaru.
Seeing Danzō even use Wood Release, Orochimaru no longer hesitated.
He quickly retracted the Kusanagi Sword and, using its sharpness, cut through several of the massive roots around him. Without hesitation, he bit his finger and pressed it against the ground.
"Summoning Technique!"
With a massive pillar of smoke, Manda's colossal hundred-meter-long body appeared on the battlefield.
"Orochimaru, why have you summoned me again?"
"I told you, don't call me unless you have five hundred sacrifices."
As one of the famous summoning creatures of Ryūchi Cave, Manda's tone was incredibly arrogant.
But when it saw the scene before it, Manda immediately sobered up.
"Orochimaru, who the hell have you pissed off this time?!"
Manda's voice was now filled with tension.
After all, what it saw before it was Wood Release, widely recognized as the strongest kekkei genkai in the shinobi world!
The only person Manda knew who could use Wood Release on such a scale was the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi!
Had Orochimaru gone and pissed off a dead man?
But Orochimaru had no time to explain to Manda.
The surrounding presence was growing stronger, and if they didn't flee now, they'd truly have no chance!
"No time to explain, let's go!"
"I'll give you as many sacrifices as you want!!"
Orochimaru stood on Manda's head, urging it on.
Manda looked at the surrounding roots and gritted its teeth.
"I want a thousand!"
With that, it swiftly twisted its massive body, charging forward like a freight train, crushing everything in its path!
Danzō, of course, couldn't just let Orochimaru escape.
He immediately formed hand seals and unleashed his strongest Wood Release technique—
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"
Several massive wooden dragons burst forth from the ground, opening their mouths and letting out piercing cry!
They firmly blocked Manda's path out of the village, engaging it in a fierce battle.
Both creatures were over a hundred meters tall, and their every movement shook the earth.
This terrifying scene frightened many of the shinobi who had come to assist.
"Is this the power of the Sannin?"
Chōza Akimichi, who had arrived at the scene, marveled at Manda's colossal form.
Even if he used his special soldier pills and the Multi-Size Technique, he couldn't reach such a scale!
Beside him, Shikaku Nara nodded solemnly, then said with relief:
"Thank goodness Lord Danzō is here, or this situation would be truly unmanageable!"
This sentiment was quickly echoed by others.
"That's right, thank goodness for Lord Danzō!"
"As expected of the God of War!"
People chattered excitedly.
But soon, someone raised a question.
"Where is the Third Hokage?"
"I heard he was the one who led the team to capture Orochimaru in the first place."
At these words, the scene fell into silence.
Finally, Shikaku Nara, the leader of the Jonin squad, stepped forward and said:
"Enough discussion! Hurry and assist Lord Danzō in stopping the rogue ninja Orochimaru!!"
"Yes!!"
——————
Danzō and Orochimaru, locked in their fierce battle, were unaware of the discussions happening around them.
Orochimaru, working with Manda, desperately tried to break through Danzō's encirclement.
But with several wooden dragons attacking, it was incredibly difficult.
"Lord Danzō, aren't you afraid I'll expose some of your secrets?"
At this point, Orochimaru had no choice but to pull out his trump card and threaten.
Many of his forbidden experiments had been conducted with the support of the Root.
If he were captured and interrogated, Danzō, as the leader of the Root, wouldn't be able to escape responsibility!
To this, Danzō simply gave a mocking smile.
"No matter. I believe the dead can't speak."
As soon as he finished speaking, his body began to crack.
It turned out that the Danzō Orochimaru had been speaking to was just a Wood Clone.
The real Danzō had already disappeared during the earlier battle.
Seeing this, Orochimaru's pupils contracted, and he realized something was wrong.
But in the next moment, Danzō's figure appeared on one of the wooden dragons beside Manda.
He held his katana, which was now coated with terrifying Wind Release chakra.
The rushing wind currents swept past Danzō, causing his clothes to flutter and his hair to fly!
For a moment, Danzō looked almost heroic, exuding an air of confidence and power.
A dark blade light erupted from his katana, transforming into a slash sharp enough to cut through space itself!
"Die."
Danzō's eyes lifted, and a black light flashed through the air.
Manda's eyes widened, but before it could react, the world around it turned upside down.
Then, it saw a headless body.
A massive, purple body, like a small mountain, with a gaping bloody hole where its head should have been.
How terrifying...
Wait!
That's my body!!
Manda suddenly realized, but its consciousness was fading, and the world around it grew darker.
By the time its head hit the ground with a heavy thud, the world had completely descended into darkness.
Not just its head, but Manda's massive body also crashed to the ground.
Aside from sending up a cloud of dust, it also brought a rain of blood!
Countless droplets of blood fell like rain, eventually forming a river of blood on the ground, emitting an unimaginable stench.
Silence.
Unimaginable silence.
No one could have expected that such a massive monster would be taken down by Lord Danzō with a single strike!
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