Sensing the threat from the black iron rod in his opponent's hand, Orochimaru quickly reacted — he twisted his long tongue, which had flung Nagato into the air, and slammed it into the ground.
Bang!
A thick cloud of dust erupted as Nagato's body smashed a deep, human-shaped crater into the earth.
Slurp!
With a sickening wet sound, Orochimaru swiftly retracted his tongue, coiling the still-dazed Nagato back to his side.
"Damn it!"
Obito, who had narrowly saved Nagato moments earlier, now found himself staring down a swarm of venomous snakes writhing toward him, feeling a rare moment of helplessness.
"Orochimaru, you bastard!"
Black Zetsu cursed furiously, abandoning all caution.
"White Zetsu, hurry up!"
At this desperate moment, even though White Zetsu's combat prowess was far from reliable, Black Zetsu could only place his slim hopes on him.
Bitter resentment welled up inside him — if only he had inherited the strength of his elder brothers, things would be different.
If he had their power, he wouldn't have spent countless years failing to save his mother.
Now, even the critical Rinnegan, the key to her revival, was slipping from his grasp.
"Wood Release: Thorn Killing Jutsu!"
For once, White Zetsu showed his worth.
His Wood Release wasn't particularly powerful, but it was enough — thick wooden spikes erupted from the ground, racing toward Orochimaru.
"Wood Release, huh?"
Orochimaru, watching the wooden tendrils encase Nagato like an iron cage, showed a flicker of surprise.
He tested the strength of his tongue against the bindings — it could still slither, coated in slick mucus, but Nagato's body was now firmly immobilized.
"It seems I can't strangle him outright after all," Orochimaru mused regretfully.
Despite Nagato's neck being strained to its limit, the Wood Release had bought him precious seconds.
And time was running out fast — Orochimaru could already feel the Four Symbols Seal he had placed on Nagato beginning to weaken.
Without hesitation, Orochimaru opened his mouth to an angle no human should ever achieve.
"What the hell is that?!"
Obito's lone eye widened in disbelief as he watched something monstrous slither out of Orochimaru's gaping mouth.
"This freak..."
Even Black Zetsu, who had seen countless horrors, was stunned at the sight — a grotesque creature, part human, part snake, writhing its way into the open air.
"This guy has completely left humanity behind!"
White Zetsu, still grappling with the Wood Release, muttered under his breath.
Compared to this, he almost felt like a normal person.
"Quick! Stop him!"
Snapping back into action, Black Zetsu shouted urgently.
The horror they witnessed left no time for hesitation.
He glanced at Obito in near despair — knowing that if they failed to act now, everything they fought for would be lost.
Orochimaru, now revealing a monstrous form with a human head atop a massive snake's body, looked utterly grotesque.
From his gaping mouth, rows of sharp, triangular teeth gleamed coldly under the dim light.
At the center of this horrific maw, a pink, fleshy tube pulsed like a blood vessel, emitting a sinister mist — a poisonous gas steadily leaking into the air.
This was Orochimaru's true body, the form he used for his forbidden Reincarnation Technique — and now, he had unleashed it.
"The Rinnegan will be mine!"
There was no time to waste. The Four Symbols Seal restraining Nagato was on the verge of breaking.
With a violent lunge, Orochimaru snapped his jaws toward Nagato's head, intending to sever it in one brutal bite.
"Orochimaru, how dare you!"
A furious and panicked female voice cut through the chaos.
In a blur of motion, a spinning, wheel-shaped weapon made of white paper sliced through the air, hurtling toward Orochimaru's head.
It was Konan.
Her paper wings beating rapidly, she flew at full speed toward Nagato's side.
But the scene that greeted her chilled her to the bone.
"Heh..."
In response to Konan's attack, Orochimaru's body writhed, and countless small white snakes peeled away, twisting and coiling together into a mound — a mountain of snakes — to shield him.
Boom!
Unfortunately for Orochimaru, Konan's attack was laced with explosive tags.
Although she held back to avoid harming Nagato, the blast was enough to blow apart the writhing snake.
"Damn it!"
Orochimaru's expression twisted with rage.
First, the organization's new recruit had intervened unexpectedly to save Nagato.
Then Black Zetsu, their intelligence guy, had managed to block him with Wood Release.
And now, Konan was here too, buying more precious seconds.
The seal on Nagato was crumbling fast — and Orochimaru still hadn't secured the Rinnegan.
Driven into a frenzy, Orochimaru's snake body began to swell grotesquely.
He was preparing to unleash his ultimate trump card:
The Yamato no Orochi.
Konan's attacks, fierce as they were, would be little more than an itch before his monstrous new form.
"Nagato... hang in there!"
Konan, wings spread wide, placed herself protectively in front of Nagato.
Her heart pounded with anxiety — she knew she alone wasn't enough to shield him from what was coming.
Obito and Zetsu, now somewhat recovered, also moved to stand guard before Nagato.
Their gazes toward Orochimaru were anything but friendly.
Hissss!
Orochimaru answered with a chilling sound — four white snake heads shot forward, each lunging at Konan, Obito, Zetsu, and Nagato simultaneously.
He wouldn't rest until he tore his enemies apart.
"Damn, the venom!"
Just as Obito was about to counterattack, his body suddenly shuddered — his footing faltered.
The potent snake venom was already taking its toll.
White Zetsu was affected too; he staggered slightly, his chakra flow sluggish.
Among them, Konan was in the best condition, having just arrived.
Nagato, however, was in the worst state — the wet mucus from Orochimaru's binding tongue had evaporated into the air, thickening the poison around him.
It was slowing the breakdown of the Four Symbols Seal — exactly as Orochimaru intended.
"Explode!"
Without hesitation, Konan tore away the slimy tongue constricting Nagato's neck.
Ignoring her own safety, she cried out and wrapped Nagato within her paper wings, shielding him with her entire body.
Boom!
Just as the snakeheads lunged, the paper weapon Konan had thrown earlier — woven with hidden explosive tags — erupted in a violent blast.
It bought them another precious moment.
Pfft!
For Orochimaru, whose massive body now dwarfed normal attacks, the explosion was barely a nuisance.
But for Konan, cradling Nagato, it was devastating.
The shockwave slammed into her back; she coughed up a mouthful of blood that splattered across Nagato's face.
Her body sagged, her spirit visibly weakening — her complexion turned as pale as the paper she controlled.
Obito, with his Kamui, remained unscathed.
Zetsu, though singed and battered, managed to keep himself upright.
And then — a mocking voice echoed through the battlefield:
"Tsk, tsk, tsk... What a chaotic little family squabble."
Toshiro, his Hokage robe tattered but his mood amused, strolled onto the scene.
The internal strife among the Akatsuki members was more entertaining to him than any spectacle.
"Looks like today's harvest will be richer than expected," he mused aloud, his gaze gleaming with anticipation.
Of course, the "harvest" he spoke of had nothing to do with Orochimaru's ambitions — it was all for himself.
Look at the people gathered here.
Orochimaru — the infamous rogue ninja of Konoha.
Nagato The second founder of the outlawed Akatsuki organization and a driving force behind the Moon's Eye Plan.
As Hokage, Toshiro naturally stood in stark opposition to them.
If he could capture all of them in one fell swoop, wouldn't peace finally be within reach?
Toshiro's gaze swept across the scene, pausing thoughtfully on one figure — Zetsu.
"Not good..."
Black Zetsu felt his heart pound violently under Toshiro's piercing stare.
Had he been exposed?
For thousands of years, he had hidden in the shadows, manipulating the endless conflict between the Uchiha and Senju.
His instincts, honed over centuries of deceit, screamed at him now — danger was closing in fast.
Acting swiftly, he nudged Zetsu's body toward the nearest tree, trying to meld with its trunk.
What's wrong with this guy?
Toshiro narrowed his eyes as he watched Zetsu trying to escape, tightening his grip on the Kusanagi sword.
He sees me and immediately tries to run?
Suspicious, Toshiro began calculating.
Could he have backup clones somewhere?
As for Nagato, Obito, and even Orochimaru, Toshiro had already dismissed them from his immediate focus.
There were bigger concerns.
"I haven't congratulated you yet, Toshiro-kun — on becoming the Fifth Hokage,"
A white snake raised its head, its jaws stretching wide before disgorging a grotesque mass...
which then shifted and twisted until Orochimaru's figure emerged — fully clothed, thankfully.
With a mocking smile, Orochimaru said,
"I never expected that old Sarutobi-sensei would pass the title to you. What a surprise!"
He tilted his head, voice laced with false generosity.
"Speaking of which... I still owe you a gift. What do you think about this pair of Rinnegan?"
Despite the offer, fear flickered in Orochimaru's eyes as he gauged Toshiro's reaction.
He was only testing him — no way would he willingly hand over such a prize.
"The Rinnegan, huh..."
Toshiro's eyes coldly met Orochimaru's.
He dismissed the offer instantly.
If Orochimaru truly managed to snatch Nagato's Rinnegan, he would never simply give it away.
"No need," Toshiro said coolly, lifting the Kusanagi.
"You've already given me a fine gift, Orochimaru-senpai."
And in a way, it was true — Toshiro owed his rise to Hokage to Orochimaru's own meddling.
Without the chaos caused by the Edo-tensei given by Orochimaru, the Sandaime would never have abdicated so quickly.
The political battles would have dragged on much longer.
"I never expected that jutsu could summon even the First and Second Hokage..."
Orochimaru muttered, a trace of regret in his voice.
"If I had perfected that technique earlier, things wouldn't have been so complicated."
He had spent years focused on developing his Reincarnation Jutsu, neglecting to refine Edo-tensei.
If he'd had access to the First or Second Hokage's powers earlier, today's attack on Nagato might have gone far more smoothly.
Yet despite his regrets, Orochimaru was beginning to realize the truth:
Even with Toshiro helping to deplete Nagato's chakra, the man's strength was still overwhelming.
Nagato remained resilient, even after being struck by the Four Symbols Seal.
Moreover... that new member's strange abilities had thrown everything off balance.
And Zetsu, long thought to be a mere intelligence operative, had unleashed Wood Release.
Clearly, the Akatsuki's secrets ran deeper than he had ever imagined.
"Konan..."
Nagato, feeling the faint warmth of Konan's body shielding him, gazed at her unsteadily.
She was barely standing, battered and broken, yet still desperately protecting him.
The Four Symbols Seal had finally broken — and the full, terrifying glow of Nagato's lavender Rinnegan burst forth.
His face twisted into a monstrous snarl, like a demon risen from the depths of hell.
"Orochimaru... you deserve... to die!"
Nagato spoke the words slowly, venom dripping from every syllable.
He pulled Konan close with one hand while locking eyes with Orochimaru.
And then, as if the fury surging within him overwhelmed his battered body, Nagato's breathing grew ragged.
His limbs trembled violently; his chest heaved uncontrollably.
It was almost like a sudden asthma attack or a seizure.
"An opening!"
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed.
Whatever was happening to Nagato didn't matter — it was an opportunity, and he wasn't about to waste it.
Even if it meant clashing with Uchiha Toshiro later, the first step was to seize the Rinnegan.
Boom!
Under Orochimaru's control, the massive eight-headed serpent surged forward, aiming straight for Nagato.
And Orochimaru himself moved simultaneously, gripping a new Kusanagi ready to strike.
"Get away!"
Though his physical body was faltering, Nagato's Six Paths of Pain remained functional.
Tendou, the strongest among them, thrust out both arms, releasing an immense gravitational force that sent the colossal Yamata no Orochi crashing backward.
Then Tendou turned toward Toshiro, silent but filled with deadly intent.
"Damn it..."
Toshiro could feel it — even from a distance.
The corpse that was Pain radiated anger, fear, and killing intent so intense it was almost tangible.
And Toshiro knew that something catastrophic was about to happen.
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