章節 160: Chapter 160: Natsuro vs Orochimaru!
Orochimaru's laughter went on for a while before he finally stopped, sneering, "Strong? What does 'strong' even mean? My pursuit is the ultimate pinnacle of ninjutsu! Being 'strong' means nothing to me! Jiraiya, you're still as naive as ever. You've never understood me!" He licked his face with his long tongue, eyes sharp. "That's why you'll always lagged behind, and was dead last!"
"Orochimaru!" Jiraiya seemed unexpectedly calm, not angered at all. He was unusually composed, completely different from his usual demeanor, even somewhat solemn.
"Enough talk, Orochimaru! This time won't end like last time!" Tsunade shouted, fury filling her voice.
"Heh, Tsunade, for one of the Legendary Sannin, it's quite a joke that you've developed hemophobia," Orochimaru mocked, holding his ground against both opponents without showing any weakness, even appearing to have the upper hand.
Orochimaru looked at the serious Jiraiya and the furious Tsunade, a smirk forming on his lips. The time had come.
"Be careful!!"
Natsuro suddenly paused, sensing chakra that had suddenly appeared within his perception. He immediately shouted.
"What?!"
Everyone reacted and looked at the crystalline swords emerging from the ground between them, forcing them to dodge. After they evaded, the crystalline swords embedded in the ground quickly transformed into walls, separating them, as if the intent was not to harm but to block.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru and his team walked purposefully to face their chosen opponents—Kimimaro faced Jiraiya, Kabuto approached Tsunade, Naruto, and Shizune, while Orochimaru himself confronted Natsuro.
Natsuro looked at Orochimaru and the surrounding crystals, a trace of disbelief in his eyes. His sensing ability had failed for the first time; he hadn't detected the user of this Crystal Release technique in advance.
As for the Crystal Release itself, he wasn't particularly surprised; although he couldn't remember who used it, he knew of its existence.
"Surprised, aren't you, Natsuro?" Orochimaru taunted, his eyes fixed on him with a sinister smile. "Every user of the Flying Thunder God technique is an excellent sensory ninja. The Second and Fourth Hokage were like that, and people like that foolishly always place great confidence in their sensory abilities."
Orochimaru's pleasure was evident as he savored the shock on Natsuro's face. Now Natsuro could feel the same shock Orochimaru had when he saw him teleport through the barrier with the Flying Thunder God.
"I prepared thoroughly within these three days. Against someone of your level, weaklings are useless. I simply summoned Guren," Orochimaru said.
"So you used special methods to hide her?" Natsuro realized his sensory ability hadn't truly failed; it was merely being targeted.
"Of course. I instructed her not to extract chakra beforehand and even provided her with a barrier to conceal her chakra and presence. Before making a move, there wouldn't be even the slightest disturbance, which prevents most sensory ninjas from detecting her."
Orochimaru's taunting continued, "Indeed, you didn't notice, Natsuro Shindōkawa. This is the limitation of not having a bloodline ability; it's something you can never overcome!"
"No, even with a bloodline, it would be hard to notice," Natsuro retorted. After sensing the area to confirm the Flying Thunder God marks were still present on his allies. He calmly continued, "I can still teleport us all out of here, Orochimaru. You know that better than anyone."
"Of course. Since you could bypass the Four Violet Flames Formation, no other barrier I set would hold you back. So this is a gamble," Orochimaru chuckled evilly.
"I'm betting you won't use the Flying Thunder God because not only do I want to kill you all, but you also want to kill me! Otherwise, you wouldn't have agreed to meet here, right?" Orochimaru said, spreading his hands.
"So this gamble was already won the moment you stepped onto this plain! Natsuro Shindōkawa" Orochimaru smiled as if he had everything under control.
Natsuro looked at Orochimaru. With the Crystal Release, Orochimaru not only separated everyone but also prevented him from quickly sensing his comrades' conditions. Without this separation, he would have undoubtedly used Flying Thunder God to rescue anyone in danger. But now...
Since he could only sense chakra, he couldn't know when to help.
From the beginning, Orochimaru had planned specifically against his Flying Thunder God.
All of this relied on Natsuro wanting to kill Orochimaru. And, indeed, he wanted to finish Orochimaru here!
Natsuro sighed, saying, "Honestly, Orochimaru, after learning about your goals, aside from not agreeing with your experiments on comrades, I somewhat admire you—especially now."
"How shallow. Comrades? Strength is the only eternal truth. On the path to seeking truth, I have no need for comrades. Everything is my research subject, including you, Natsuro Shindōkawa!"
Natsuro's expression tightened. He couldn't deny feeling a hint of Orochimaru's allure as a villain, someone driven purely by the pursuit of power.
But he would never agree with Orochimaru. In the next moment, Natsuro drew his 'Ink' sword.
With nothing left to say, it was time to fight.
At that moment, arcs of electricity began to jump around his body, while invisible wind wrapped around him, forming armor, a technique known as "Wind Release: Armor of the Wind!"
Seeing this, Orochimaru wasted no time. Fire Release was the ideal counter to Wind Release, and he swiftly formed hand signs.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball shot from Orochimaru's mouth, heading straight for Natsuro.
Seeing the enormous fireball, Natsuro merely raised his hand, and a small metal ball floated before him. He flicked it lightly.
In the next instant, the metal ball shot forward, carrying a streak of white light. It pierced through the massive fireball without resistance, dispelling it as it continued toward the stunned Orochimaru.
In Orochimaru's widened eyes, a large hole appeared in his body.
"Secret Technique: Railgun!"
Natsuro felt a bit satisfied. As his control over electricity grew, the power of his Railgun technique had finally shown some decent results. Even the "original" Railgun user would begrudgingly acknowledge this as a proper Railgun, though its power still fell a bit short.
But unfortunately, he saw that despite Orochimaru's surprise and the hole blown into his body, countless small fleshy worms crawled within the wound, quickly healing it.
"Impressive, a jutsu without hand signs!" Orochimaru's head appeared beside his body with a long neck, taunting.
Natsuro didn't hesitate, flashing forward and striking Orochimaru with his sword.
"Clang!"
However, his strike was blocked by another sword. Orochimaru's hands were empty, but he pulled a sword from his mouth to block Natsuro's attack.
This sword was none other than the Kusanagi Sword, a weapon even Natsuro's 'Ink' blade imbued with the Wind Release's cutting nature couldn't cut through. Without protection, ordinary weapons would be cut on contact.
Though the acceleration from Lightning Release still worked, the paralysis effect didn't, as Orochimaru possessed all five chakra natures, rendering paralysis ineffective.
One strike, two strikes.
Countless sword strikes clashed in a matter of seconds. Around them, iron and snakes collided constantly creating sparks, with no sign of a decisive outcome.
In terms of swordsmanship, Natsuro actually held the advantage, evidenced by the fact that his blade had struck Orochimaru multiple times. However, he was unable to deliver a complete cut; Orochimaru's wounds, no larger than a palm, healed almost instantly.
Natsuro was somewhat surprised by this outcome. For someone focused on pursuing the pinnacle of ninjutsu, Orochimaru's sword skills were actually quite decent.
"No wonder you're known as the 'Little White Fang of Konoha.' Your swordsmanship really reminds me of that foolish guy who believed in the Will of Fire," Orochimaru chuckled, clearly referring to White Fang, Sakumo Hatake.
Orochimaru wasn't afraid of the situation. Although his swordsmanship was inferior, he didn't care. "So what if you've cut me a few times? Can you actually kill me?"
Natsuro didn't respond, his eyes flashing, as he sensed that if this went on, his 'Ink' sword might not last. It was already emitting a faint hum of distress.
This was the first time he had encountered something like this. Usually, he was the one cutting through others' weapons, but now it seemed his own was reaching its limit…
Natsuro's movements appeared to slow down slightly.
At that moment, a glint flashed in Orochimaru's eyes—he'd finally found an opening.
In the next instant, Orochimaru flicked Natsuro's sword away, then swung his own with a cold sneer.
"I can make mistakes countless times, but I only need you to slip up once!"
But did Natsuro really make a mistake?
In the next moment, Natsuro's figure disappeared from where he stood, causing Orochimaru's powerful strike to miss.
Fortunately, Orochimaru's body was modified to be extremely flexible, so he wasn't injured by the force of his own missed attack. However…
Orochimaru's eyes widened as he finally realized what had happened. Though his body hadn't turned, his head had twisted around, facing the brilliant light of a descending blade.
The familiar figure was there, wielding that strange long sword, slashing downward. This strike wasn't like the previous minor cuts; this time, Natsuro sliced Orochimaru clean in half.
But Natsuro didn't stop there. He continued to slash, cutting Orochimaru into countless pieces before finally withdrawing.
Natsuro's 'Ink' sword, which he had been using for a long time, had more than one Flying Thunder God mark engraved upon it.
Looking at the pieces scattered on the ground, Natsuro began forming hand signs to perform a Fire Release jutsu he wasn't particularly familiar with.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
Although his proficiency in Fire Release wasn't high, this jutsu's level and power were significant.
A massive crimson fire dragon, resembling molten lava, burst from Natsuro's mouth, instantly engulfing the pieces of Orochimaru's flesh.
"Will this be enough?" Natsuro wondered as he watched the flames burn. While fire could purify, he doubted Orochimaru would be so easily killed.
Sure enough, as the flames gradually died down, Natsuro saw the massive, charred corpse of a snake. It wasn't Manda, but the sight left him with a strange expression.
"So this is where Sasuke got that technique from, huh?"
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Currently on Chapter 210 - To be or Not to Be the Hokage? That is the Question....
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章節 161: Chapter 161: The Battle Rages On: Natsuro vs Orochimaru (Continued)
Natsuro sighed once again at how hard it was to kill Orochimaru. Fortunately, he hadn't expected it to be so easy to take Orochimaru down.
The charred snake corpse suddenly began to twitch, and a pair of slimy hands pushed open the snake's mouth.
Then, the owner of those hands attempted to "emerge" from the belly of the snake.
Natsuro wasn't idle either. He threw a Flying Thunder God kunai and quickly formed hand signs.
"Ninjutsu - Shadow Clone Shuriken Technique!"
In an instant, the single Flying Thunder God kunai multiplied into hundreds, raining down on Orochimaru's location.
Natsuro had always remembered that Orochimaru's Great Serpent Substitution Technique took a considerable amount of time. Now, he finally understood: Orochimaru was deliberately disgusted by the process.
As if sensing danger, Orochimaru immediately pulled himself out of the snake's mouth and quickly completed a set of hand signs.
"Wind Release - Great Breakthrough!"
A powerful gust blew from Orochimaru's mouth, scattering all the Flying Thunder God kunai in the sky, leaving only the original kunai whose location was now unknown.
Orochimaru stood beside the snake corpse, locking eyes with Natsuro. At that moment, it felt as if they had returned to their initial standoff.
But both of them were now in different states.
Natsuro was slightly out of breath, checking his chakra levels and noting he hadn't used much. After all, he didn't use any chakra-draining jutsu, so his stamina was holding up fine.
Orochimaru, however, was breathing heavier. He hadn't expected Natsuro to be so ruthless, cutting him into pieces.
Though Orochimaru could fully recover, it would still take a significant amount of chakra to do so.
Moreover, he had summoned a large substitute snake, further draining his chakra and leaving him somewhat fatigued.
"Natsuro Shindōkawa! So you do possess a bloodline limit, even if it's just Magnet Release. You're becoming more interesting," Orochimaru remarked, licking his lips as he stared at Natsuro.
Throughout their swordfight, Orochimaru had been using the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands technique, but the iron fragments surrounding Natsuro had sliced through countless snakes, preventing them from reaching him.
Natsuro felt similarly; his iron fragments were meant to target Orochimaru directly, but they ended up cutting down snakes instead.
"Does it matter if I have one or not?" Natsuro responded vaguely, naturally not wanting to reveal his techniques.
"Heh." Orochimaru chuckled, then dropped to the ground, mouth wide open.
"Ninjutsu - Ten Thousand Snakes Formation!"
Suddenly, thousands of small snakes slithered from Orochimaru's mouth, pressing toward Natsuro.
Seeing this, Natsuro felt a bit creeped out. Although he didn't have trypophobia, the sight was truly revolting.
Without hesitation, Natsuro formed the same seal Orochimaru had used moments before.
"Wind Release - Great Breakthrough!"
In an instant, violent winds rose, slicing through the swarm of snakes like knives, some of the weaker ones being torn in half and flung back toward Orochimaru.
This Wind Release was even stronger than Orochimaru's previous one!
Feeling the sting of the wind on his face, Orochimaru was visibly shocked; Natsuro's Great Breakthrough was stronger than his. He knew the implications: Natsuro's mastery over wind release was higher than his own.
And Natsuro was only thirteen, whereas Orochimaru was much older. He had been considered a prodigy once, too.
At that moment, Orochimaru finally realized now just how terrifyingly talented Natsuro was. Hiss abilities seemed to defy age, reaching a level that surpassed ordinary limits.
Even without a bloodline limit, he had achieved such strength!
However, Orochimaru suddenly laughed. That was exactly it, the higher one's talent, the more painful it was when reaching the peak, with nowhere left to progress! He believed that when Natsuro reached his peak and searched for other methods, he would follow a path similar to his own.
Belief aside, Orochimaru considered his options; the Ten Thousand Snakes Formation was supposed to buy him time.
But Natsuro had nullified it with a single Wind Release, leaving Orochimaru no time to spare.
Orochimaru decided to act anyway. He had already completed the hand signs, so he pressed his hands to the ground. Slowly, three coffins began to emerge from the earth.
Another lightning bolt flashed, forcing Orochimaru to stop and dodge aside.
The electromagnetic blast struck the Crystal Release wall, creating a large hole that soon repaired itself.
As the Railgun shot struck, Natsuro appeared in the middle of the three coffins, pressing them back underground. He looked at Orochimaru with a mocking expressioon.
"Orochimaru, did you think I'd give you time to use the Impure World Reincarnation?"
Orochimaru stared at Natsuro, feeling the situation become more challenging. He hadn't prepared the Impure World Reincarnation in advance, fearing that bringing too many people would alert Natsuro to flee using the Flying Thunder God technique.
He regretted not using it earlier.
Now he realized he had underestimated Natsuro's strength, he was likely stronger than even Jiraiya, excluding Jiraiya's imperfect Sage Mode.
Yet, Orochimaru remained confident. Although he appeared to be at a disadvantage, Natsuro still didn't give him the same fear he had felt once before.
Because, as Orochimaru believed, Natsuro couldn't kill him. That person had once truly made him feel the terror of death!
But he also knew that his plan to use Natsuro's body as a spare was now impossible. With Natsuro's strength and Flying Thunder God technique, he wouldn't be able to keep him.
The fight had proven that even without using the Flying Thunder God to escape, Natsuro was difficult to defeat.
Luckily, taking Natsuro's body was just a minor part of Orochimaru's larger plan.
Orochimaru knew that even if he took Natsuro's body, he would be a struggle to inherit his unique talent.
What Orochimaru desired was a talent easily transferred through the body, like the Sharingan or Shikotsumyaku!
At this point, Natsuro was troubled about how to kill Orochimaru. His Rasenshuriken, a jutsu that attacks on a cellular level, was a trump card. He had to ensure a direct hit to make it effective.
Otherwise, if Orochimaru became wary, the Rasenshuriken's chances of taking him out in one blow would be significantly reduced.
However, the massive chakra output and uncontrollable noise from the Rasenshuriken made it impossible to launch a surprise attack. For the moment, he couldn't find a particularly effective way to deal with Orochimaru.
Orochimaru was resistant to sword cuts, fire, and even wind… it was absurd.
The best approach was to seal him, but would Orochimaru just stand still for it?
Without the Totsuka Blade's forced sealing power, Natsuro begrudgingly acknowledged that Itachi was Kishimoto's favorite, always having the right tools to "counter" his opponents.
Natsuro and Orochimaru were both frustrated with each other, when Natsuro's brow furrowed, he noticed that Naruto had started using the power of the Nine-Tails and quite a lot of it, too.
"It seems that things are turning in my favor over there," Orochimaru said with a grin, trying to see some sign of worry or a slip in his expression.
But to Orochimaru's disappointment, Natsuro's furrowed brow quickly relaxed, showing no sign of concern.
"I think you should worry about your subordinates' safety first," Natsuro retorted, confident that Naruto wouldn't be seriously injured like in the original story.
"Heh, don't underestimate Kabuto. His strength is even hard for me to gauge," Orochimaru replied.
"Likewise, Naruto's strength after tapping into the Nine-Tails is hard to estimate," Natsuro taunted.
At that, Orochimaru stopped speaking, realizing this wouldn't shake Natsuro, who didn't seem concerned about the Nine-Tails going berserk.
But why was Natsuro so confident?
If the Nine-Tails kid could truly control the fox's power, their operation might fail…
While Orochimaru had thought stalling time would be to his advantage, Natsuro didn't seem to care!
Natsuro wasn't entirely unworried, but his senses were on alert, tracking Naruto's energy.
Naruto's chakra signature had become clearer with the Nine-Tails' power, and Natsuro estimated Naruto was drawing on the power of about one tail.
Knowing Naruto's body, Natsuro estimated he could handle up to two tails. If the second tail emerged, he would be ready to seal the Nine-Tails again.
But with Tsunade there to handle Kabuto, two tails shouldn't be necessary, right?
Orochimaru sighed, realizing his chances of beating Natsuro here were slim, and Kabuto likely couldn't handle Naruto and Tsunade so maintaining the Crystal Release was pointless.
Biting his thumb, Orochimaru performed a hand sign.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
In an instant, a massive serpent appeared on the plains, it was Manda.
Orochimaru deliberately dispelled Guren's Crystal Release, and Guren, understanding his intention, breathed a sigh of relief, letting the enormous crystal walls fade.
After all, maintaining such a barrier meant constantly channeling chakra to repair the shattered crystals. Without chakra-boosting pills, she would have collapsed long ago.
Now, the entire battlefield was exposed for all to see.
On Jiraiya's side, countless giant bone swords were emerging from the ground. Kimimaro had already entered his second Curse Mark form, his body transformed into a monstrous black creature. Jiraiya had a few injuries, though none were serious.
On Tsunade and Naruto's side, Shizune was treating a trembling Tsunade while Naruto, wrapped in the red chakra of the Nine-Tails, protected them from Kabuto.
Compared to those two battlefields, Natsuro's side still seemed relatively "normal."
But everyone knew, the final battle had now entered its second phase...
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