Chapter 123: Grilling Manda - The Molting Technique!
When a creature reaches a certain size,
the power it unleashes with every movement becomes an undeniable attack.
Just like now—
Manda's tail lashed down like a divine whip!
The resulting gust of wind blew like razor blades, lifting Tsukasa's hair high and tearing the hems of his high-collared robe.
Tsukasa's mouth was blown open, exposing his teeth, his face pulled back by the wind pressure.
He couldn't even stand properly, and the intense wind made forming hand seals nearly impossible.
This crushing blow,
regardless of immortality or the forbidden technique Physical Regeneration, would reduce him to a pulp.
Tsukasa's scalp tingled, and he immediately gathered chakra on the soles of his feet, transforming it into water.
Water Release: Aqua Slide.
Using this technique, he reduced friction between his feet and the ground, sliding backward with the wind.
He barely dodged the strike, but inevitably suffered bloody cuts from debris thrown up by the gust.
After the blow, Manda straightened up, his eyes—large as buildings—scanning the battlefield.
He quickly spotted Tsukasa forming hand seals.
"Hmph!"
He sneered, lowered his head, and opened his fanged maw, swooping down with incredible speed!
He was about to swallow Tsukasa and the vast ground beneath him whole!
At that moment,
Tsukasa had already completed his seals, and with his hands facing the ground, he assumed a launching position.
Then—
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A massive amount of chakra gathered in his palms, transforming into a tremendous wave of air pressure and wind that gushed toward the ground!
Whoosh!
The fierce wind lifted Tsukasa high into the air, allowing him to barely avoid the massive jaws.
Manda bit down, his momentum unabated, creating a massive crater and burrowing entirely underground.
For a moment, the wild wind in the valley died.
The next moment,
a ferocious, enormous serpent head burst from the ground again,
maw wide open, soaring skyward!
It was like a skyscraper erupting from the earth, biting down fiercely on the helpless Tsukasa in mid-air!
Tsukasa took a deep breath.
This wasn't sustainable. On flat ground, the gusts whipped up by Manda would suppress his movements,
making it difficult to organize a proper counterattack.
Therefore, he had to use the terrain!
He immediately activated his Sharingan, his crimson pupils darting across the air.
He scanned his surroundings, his mind frantically calculating a strategy.
Orochimaru's textbooks could put him to sleep,
but in this adrenaline-fueled moment, everything was crystal clear,
his mind more responsive than ever before.
Almost instantly, he imprinted the entire valley's topography into his mind, forming a 3D model.
The interwoven paths for wire threads, trajectories for shuriken, Manda's reactions, battle strategies—even flashbacks to Orochimaru's textbooks—he could practically write an entire thesis.
Tsukasa instantly unleashed eight shuriken, scattering them in all directions!
"Uchiha Style: Wire Shuriken Technique - Eight Spiders!"
The eight shuriken pierced the valley cliffs from multiple angles, their tails densely interwoven with wire threads, forming a simple trampoline structure. With a tug of his fingers,
eight major strands and sixty-four minor strands suddenly stretched taut!
Tsukasa leaped, pulling the threads, landing in the center of the eight strands. He plummeted downward,
and the tension of the threads created spring force.
Like an arrow, Tsukasa shot high into the air again.
Manda's attack missed again, and
a human-like expression of frustration and ferocity appeared on his face.
"Just like a flea!"
"Stupid brat, let's see you dodge this time!!!"
Manda's eyes fixed on Tsukasa, who had leaped to the highest point and was about to fall.
He flicked his tail, severing the wire threads mid-air, and opened his maw wide, positioning himself at the landing point—
just waiting for Tsukasa to slide down from the sky directly into his belly!
Tsukasa's face showed a wicked grin.
"Dodge?"
"Dodge this! You were the first one to spit on me!"
Tsukasa glared at Manda and slapped his chest hard!
"Watch this!"
"Today I'm going to turn you into—"
"Roasted, grilled, giant snake!"
"Fire Release: Chakra Mode, activate!"
In an instant,
blazing fire-attribute chakra surged from Tsukasa's body, forming almost tangible chakra flames!
Tsukasa summoned the Kusanagi Sword with a flick of his wrist,
gripping the hilt with both hands, tip pointing downward. With a sudden twist,
he poured all his raging fire chakra into it,
and surging flames erupted, instantly transforming into a forty-meter-long flaming blade!
Leveraging the immense momentum of his fall from hundreds of meters above, he thrust
the sword
directly into Manda's gaping maw!
BOOM!
From Manda's perspective, the sword instantly illuminated everything, turning night into day!
It was like a sun falling rapidly from the sky!
And he was about to swallow this very sun!
Manda was stunned.
Who uses a forty-meter-long sword in combat?!
But his massive body became a hindrance, preventing him from dodging.
In desperation, Manda could only snap his jaws shut, attempting to rely on his sturdy, resilient scales for protection.
His enormous serpentine eyes glared at Orochimaru, cursing furiously.
You want me to kill this thing?
And only give me 100 sacrifices after I'm done? Do you think I'm stupid?!
Before he could finish cursing,
the Flowing Flame Blade plunged down. It failed to pierce Manda's scales, but struck like a massive hammer—
smashing hard into Manda's head, driving him deep into the ground, sending up clouds of dust.
Then,
the blade exploded violently!
Instantly, the valley was engulfed in flames!
"Orochimaru, damn youuuuuu!!!"
Manda howled in agony as he bathed in the blazing inferno!
Tsukasa now hovered above Manda.
He swung his sword, releasing the last brilliant flames from its blade before sheathing it.
A notification appeared before his eyes:
[Ding!]
[You bravely struck back at Manda who attempted to trade you for sacrifices, gaining a random ability from him: Molting Technique (Mastery, Rank B)]
[Your Heart of Steel stacks have increased.]
Tsukasa was stunned by the notification.
Heart of Steel can extract abilities from summoning beasts too?
And the Molting Technique?
Is that even a jutsu?
A sudden thought struck Tsukasa, and his expression changed.
If Manda knew the Molting Technique, then what had he just slashed? Snake skin?
Tsukasa instinctively looked up,
and then
saw darkness overhead, a massive shadow obscuring the sky.
At that moment,
Manda burst through the ground, his bloody maw wide open, ready to devour him!
Tsukasa's eyes suddenly widened, and he raised his hand to draw his Kusanagi Sword, gripping it tightly.
In this desperate situation, he could only hope the blade was sharp enough to cut through Manda's stomach before being digested by stomach acid.
But then, at that moment...
POOF!
The looming shadow suddenly cleared, dissolving into thick white smoke.
Orochimaru, dressed in his kimono and wooden sandals, slowly emerged through the smoke with a smile on his face,
his hands forming the release seal.
He had sent Manda back to Ryūchi Cave.
Tsukasa frowned in displeasure at being interrupted, and just as he was about to speak,
he felt a sudden chill down his spine.
Behind Tsukasa,
a double-edged ancient sword, floating mid-air, suddenly pierced through the white mist and hurtled toward him at lightning speed!
The blade was coated with dark green venom!
With a schlik, the blade pierced Tsukasa's back and exited through his chest!
The poison within the blade took effect instantly, causing Tsukasa to feel his chakra begin spiraling out of control. Even the forbidden technique Physical Regeneration was temporarily unable to activate.
"Cough, cough, gah!"
He suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood, looking at Orochimaru in shock.
This was the Kusanagi Sword: Sword of Kusanagi.
A legendary weapon capable of free flight, moving at Orochimaru's will!
With a thud, Tsukasa fell backward to the ground.
Silently,
footsteps echoed.
Orochimaru approached on his wooden sandals. He narrowed his eyes, staring at Tsukasa's body on the ground.
It looked exactly like a corpse.
Yet this couldn't fool Orochimaru, who knew his student intimately.
Tsukasa, possessing the immortality of the Jashin Cult, shouldn't even be capable of leaving a 'corpse'.
"It appears the experiment was successful."
"As expected, you possess such talent—the ability to replicate any jutsu."
Orochimaru stared indifferently at Tsukasa's body lying on the ground.
He scoffed and spoke hoarsely,
"Foolish student."
"Don't pretend. Manda only knows this one technique. You couldn't possibly learn any other jutsu from him."
The next moment,
under Orochimaru's calm, profound gaze, a pair of hands tore open the mouth of Tsukasa's body on the ground.
Pulling it apart,
a new, naked, intact, saliva-covered Tsukasa emerged from beneath the old shed skin.
Tsukasa glanced back at his own discarded husk and let out a deep breath.
"You win, Orochimaru-sensei."
He activated his Sharingan, looking at Orochimaru expressionlessly.
"Hehehe~ Exactly!"
Seeing this scene, Orochimaru looked satisfied and excited. He stared at Tsukasa's body and
laughed hoarsely:
"With the Molting Technique as a foundation, go back and memorize the scroll. Even with your limitations, you should be able to master my technique."
"My Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique."
After saying this,
Orochimaru eagerly reached out, opened his mouth wide, and reached into his throat.
"Cough, cough, urp~!"
Soon, while Tsukasa felt his scalp tingle,
Orochimaru regurgitated a new scroll from his throat—as tall as a person.
Orochimaru patted the scroll and unrolled it before Tsukasa.
Then he stared at him with golden serpentine eyes and laughed hoarsely:
"Come, next is my true inheritance!"
"Inherit everything from me and sign your name on this scroll!"
"Then,"
"Become a summoner of Ryūchi Cave!"
End of Chapter 123
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