Aozora heard a strange noise from behind and quickly turned around, only to see Orochimaru suddenly emerging behind Shizune and Shisui.
Two serpents slithered out from the sleeves of his red robe with cloud patterns, instantly coiling toward Shisui and Shizune.
Shisui reacted immediately, pulling Shizune away and tossing her aside, but due to physical exhaustion slowing his speed, he himself was caught by the serpents and lifted into the air.
Looking at Shisui's young face and his magnificent Mangekyo Sharingan, Orochimaru couldn't help but reveal a look of delight.
Meeting Orochimaru's greedy gaze, Shisui shuddered involuntarily and attempted to mobilize what little chakra remained in his eyes to activate [Susano'o Wheel].
Yet on the other side, the serpent transformed into Orochimaru's right hand, extending rapidly forward with its palm striking onto Shisui's abdomen.
"Five Elements Seal!"
A specialized sealing formula, imbued with all five natures of chakra, struck Shisui instantly. It threw his internal chakra into chaos and sealed away the last remnants of his energy.
With the loss of chakra support, Shisui's Mangekyou instantly regressed to the Three Tomoe Sharingan, and even the tomoe within his eyes continued fading.
Orochimaru said, "Such beautiful eyes. I shall admire them at my leisure once I return."
Compared to Izanagi, what he valued more now was Shisui's body and those magnificent eyes.
Previously, his impression of the Sharingan had merely been that of a powerful bloodline; throughout his research, it had only served as material for balancing Hashirama's Cells.
But today's battle between Shisui and Danzo revealed that the Sharingan was far more complex than he'd imagined.
Whether it was Izanagi's power to reverse life and death, or Susanoo's godlike presence—both left him utterly astounded.
Therefore, he had instantly set his sights on Shisui.
Devoted to forbidden jutsu for years, Orochimaru had not only conducted experiments on others but also transformed his own body. These modifications made his body supple and full of vitality, yet simultaneously left it riddled with holes, teetering on the brink of collapse.
Thus, he was forced to accelerate his development of the Soul Transfer Kinjutsu—one of the reasons why his secret experiments had been discovered.
Now his forbidden technique was nearly complete, and just when he encountered such a youthful yet powerful vessel—who could say this wasn't a gift from heaven?
Before this perfect body, all else—whether Danzo's secret treasures or the hidden techniques of the Sharingan—no longer mattered.
Other things could wait—but a chance like this to claim Shisui came along only once in a lifetime.
Right now, Shisui's strength was already rivaling his own. If given time to recover and grow even stronger, he might never get another shot.
Thus, during the firestorm, he had silently concealed himself underground, leaving behind an Earth Release Bunshin (clone) on the surface.
He used the Earth Release Bunshin to distract everyone while provoking Danzo into initiating Self-Destruction to break the barrier, all while quietly maneuvering behind Shisui to subdue him.
After overpowering Shisui, he prepared to escape through the earth, only to find himself completely immobilized.
Turning his head, Orochimaru saw that his surroundings had already become a space filled with crimson clouds and black smoke.
Without flinching at the spikes piercing his body, he shouted, "Why? You should have no chakra left!"
Shisui did not appear or respond, continuously using the remaining dojutsu power to maintain the genjutsu space.
Orochimaru had many ways to break illusions, and Shisui's hastily cast dojutsu wasn't perfected. Soon the illusionary space began crumbling apart, and Orochimaru returned to the real world.
Orochimaru looked at Shisui, finding that his eyes had already reverted to normal black pupils—even duller than ordinary people's eyes.
Before he could think further, a powerful punch struck his chest.
A sharp pain shot through his chest as Orochimaru spat blood and flew backward. But he didn't retract his left arm, dragging Shisui along as they both flew backward.
Whoosh!
A streak of blue light shot from the side, instantly severing Orochimaru's transformed giant snake left arm.
Blood splattered in the air—the snake body binding Shisui directly became a half-arm stump, while the lower half of the serpent body retracted into Orochimaru's sleeve.
Orochimaru covered his left shoulder with his right hand, but before he could react further, the same blue light that severed his arm curved mid-air again, shooting toward his head.
Clang!
A sharp longsword emerged from Orochimaru's mouth, blocking Aozora's flying blade.
Just after deflecting Aozora's projectile, Orochimaru suddenly felt darkness descend. Looking up, he saw Tsunade's leg descending in a downward kicking motion from above.
Boom!
Orochimaru quickly jumped back, but the blue light followed like a shadow on his heels.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The blades rang out relentlessly as Aozora's throwing knives rained down and were barely deflected by Orochimaru's Grass Cutter.
Short distances didn't allow the blades enough acceleration.
But during this brief parrying window, Tsunade charged forward again.
Seeing Tsunade completely unfazed by the bloody carnage around her, a hint of regret flickered across Orochimaru's mind.
However, he quickly dispelled such useless emotions since fierce combat wouldn't give him even a moment's distraction.
Tsunade's Monstrous Strength and Aozora's deadly darts temporarily forced Orochimaru into evasive retreats, leaving numerous injuries across his body—externally and internally.
At the same time, the Shadow Guard Team of four who maintained the barrier appeared inside the casino.
Seeing this, Orochimaru cast one last lingering glance at Shisui and silently muttered, "Yours I shall have... in time!"
Once decided, Orochimaru slammed his blood-stained right hand onto the ground. Countless venomous snakes surged forth like a flood toward Aozora and others.
Aozora sighed helplessly before transforming into Flame Spitter once more.
Intense scorching flames spewed from his mouth, engulfing the surging snake swarm.
Poom! Poom! Poom!
The summoned poisonous snakes with minimal intelligence immediately dissolved into white mist and returned to the Summon Realm. The remaining snakes burned into ashes, forming toxic smoke.
[Wind Release: Great Breakthrough]!
Using a basic Wind Release technique, Tsunade blew the toxic smoke into the sky before scanning the surroundings and stating, "Orochimaru has fled!"
Aozora nodded and returned to guard beside Shisui.
Approaching footsteps prompted Shisui to peacefully close his eyes, lying still on the floor with steady breathing.
Tsunade approached, examined Shisui, then announced, "He's under the Five Elements Seal, drained of both stamina and chakra—but nothing too serious!"
Saying so, she began releasing the Five Elements Seal from Shisui.
Aozora swept the group with his Sharingan, noting how drained everyone's chakra reserves looked. Shizune and Black Hawk were clearly exhausted, but the others had obviously used up most of their chakra breaking through the barrier.
Black Hawk glanced at Aozora, then made a hand signal toward Tsunade.
Tsunade paused briefly, then shook her head. "He's a friend and the hired help I brought in!"
Black Hawk gave a slight nod, not pressing further, but frowning as he spoke, "Danzo used Wood Release from his right arm to break the barrier, then escaped with his subordinates covering his retreat! This is the arm he sacrificed to escape…"
As he spoke, he pulled out a grotesque arm covered in cursed seal markings.
Tsunade looked at it with disgust. "What's the point of keeping something like this? Destroy it—now!"
"It's a souvenir from battle—it holds valuable intel. Only the Hokage can decide what to do with it."
Black Hawk shook his head. "I'll ask then—are we continuing the pursuit to capture Danzo?"
Tsunade glanced at the group. "Let's take a break first! Contact the old man before we decide anything else!"
As they were talking, a sudden shout echoed from outside.
"You rogue ninja inside, listen up! You're surrounded! Drop your weapons and surrender now!"
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