The moment Orochimaru stood up, a strange aura surrounded him, giving his wild and powerful body an almost divine presence.
At that instant, the last bit of chaos in his mind cleared. The violent energy within him was completely suppressed, leaving his eyes cold and emotionless.
He took a step forward, and small clouds formed around his feet.
With a second step, black flames appeared, swirling around his body.
In the next moment, Orochimaru shot into the sky, flying straight toward the distant fleet. Even though the savage energy in him was gone, his expression was still filled with arrogance.
After eating the Devil Fruit and reconstructing his body, Orochimaru now looked like the most untouchable figure in the ninja world.
Seeing how reckless he was acting, the sages on the other side could no longer sit still. After all, they had been chasing him down all this time.
Of course, they had to admit that Orochimaru was ridiculously strong—he had held them off alone for so long. But now, he was charging at all five of them by himself? Did he really think they were nothing?
"Orochimaru, you're really full of yourself!!"
"Does that guy seriously think we can't kill him?"
The five sages were truly angered now. Orochimaru was acting like they didn't even matter.
"He's asking for it!"
"All together!"
Honor in battle? Who in the ninja world cared about that? If they could gang up on him, they absolutely would.
The five sages didn't hesitate. Three of them shot into the sky, charging at Orochimaru, while the remaining two sped across the water, moving just as fast.
Not every sage had the ability to fly. For most, they could only stay in the air for a short time.
But that was enough.
Against Orochimaru alone, the five of them had more than enough power to take him down.
"Orochimaru!"
At the front, Seishu Iemitsu pressed his palms together, and the Senjutsu chakra within him compressed rapidly. Veins bulged across his body as terrifying energy surged through him.
"Sage Art: Thunder Roar!"
The moment he spread his hands apart, a massive surge of lightning erupted from his body, forming a several-meter-wide bolt that crashed down. The sea beneath it crackled, turning into churning waves under its power.
It was clear—this attack was far from simple.
"Sage Art: True Inferno!"
"Senjutsu: Great Thrust!"
The three of them unleashed their Senjutsu techniques almost simultaneously. Violent natural energy erupted in an instant, making the ocean surface look like it had exploded.
The terrifying surge of natural energy split the battlefield apart. Ordinary people couldn't even get close.
The currents created by the battle were extremely dangerous for ships, and the pirates watching from a distance had serious expressions on their faces.
"This power is insane… So this is the top-tier strength of the New World?"
"There's no way we can get involved in a fight like this."
"This is terrifying!!"
The pirates were stunned by the sheer force of the battle, each one taking a deep breath in shock.
But in the next moment, Orochimaru's voice rang out, drowning out the entire battlefield.
All that so-called power, all that overwhelming presence—compared to Orochimaru, the gap was just too big.
To understand the difference between them, all you had to do was look back at Orochimaru's fight with Shanks. Then look at this battle now.
Orochimaru hadn't even been able to use his full strength back then.
But even without going all out, he was more than enough.
"Die!!"
Orochimaru's voice pierced through the battlefield. The natural energy gathered in the area trembled at the sound.
After building up his power all night, he finally unleashed it in full force.
A fusion of strength and will… A sword strike that broke past all limits.
In that moment, the power stored within Orochimaru's body was fully unleashed.
His fight with Shanks hadn't been for nothing.
Taking so many of Shanks' limit-breaking slashes had taught Orochimaru something—how to push his own power beyond its limits.
In the next instant, a blinding sword light burst from the Kusanagi Sword. The terrifyingly sharp slash shot straight toward Kiyosu Iemitsu.
No one even had time to react.
It was too fast. There was no way to dodge.
Right before Orochimaru struck, there had been no sign of his power leaking out. The only difference was the aura around him.
But something like that—this kind of attack—was completely beyond anything the sages had ever encountered before.
Especially since Orochimaru didn't even bother calling out the name of his technique.
"Damn it!!"
"I have to dodge… If this hits, I'll die!!"
At that moment, Kiyosu Iemitsu felt the threat of death. This wasn't an attack a normal person should even be able to perform.
How could anyone pull off something like this?
He was a sage. There was no way he could die from an attack like this.
Lightning surged around his body as he forced himself backward in an unnatural movement. But it was too slow.
"Buzz!!!"
The razor-sharp sword light tore through the massive lightning attack created by Kiyosu Iemitsu's Senjutsu. But it didn't stop there.
It slashed straight down into the ocean, carving a deep trench into the water. Red and black lightning crackled within the trench, radiating a terrifying energy.
A figure plummeted from the sky, blood spraying in the air.
"Boom!!"
At the same time, the attacks from the other two sages arrived.
A massive wave of fire engulfed Orochimaru, followed by dozens of enormous piercing strikes.
The heat from the flames distorted the air for 300 meters around.
The impact from the dozens of piercing strikes sent ripples through the air. As the vibrations spread, the patterns on the spikes began to glow.
"Sage Art: Grand Suppression!"
"Tide Surge Technique!"
The two sages reacted instantly. Their combat skills might not be exceptional, but they were definitely solid.
Even after their teammate fell suddenly, their focus remained steady.
"Too late."
Orochimaru's voice echoed through the flames as a massive creature burst out.
It was so large that it completely outscaled the attack range of the two sages.
At the same time, Kabuto and Hiruko had already entered the battlefield.
All they needed to do now was hold off the other two sages.
Up in the sky, Orochimaru had already shifted into his dragon form, staring down at the sages.
Dark clouds churned overhead as his Conqueror's Haki fully unleashed.
After being chased by these guys for so long, it was time to return the favor!
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