The flaming longsword, condensed from sealing power, pierced straight through Simu's chest.
Orochimaru curled his lips, his voice filled with confidence:
"Got you!"
As long as Hanyu Simu is sealed, he can take his time preparing.
Eventually, he could claim that body for himself.
With such a powerful vessel, he was certain he could unravel the secrets of this world!
Orochimaru had already begun fantasizing about mastering immortality and reaching the pinnacle of life.
But suddenly—
His expression froze.
He stared at Simu, impaled by the Ten Fist Sword, yet completely unfazed.
By all logic, anyone struck by the Ten Fist Sword should be instantly sealed into the gourd.
To ensure absolute reliability, he had already tested it on dozens of subjects—some of them elite Jōnin.
None had been able to resist the sword's seal.
There was no reason Simu should be any different.
So why—?
A chilling sense of dread crept into Orochimaru's heart.
Simu slowly raised his head.
"Sorry, Orochimaru," he said calmly. "You didn't stab me."
Simu smiled faintly.
Orochimaru followed the line of the Ten Fist Sword in disbelief.
There was a gaping hole in Simu's chest—wide enough for the blade to pass through cleanly.
It almost bisected him from top to bottom.
It was precisely because of that hole that he had avoided being sealed.
To an outside observer, it looked like the sword had pierced Simu.
In truth, the blade had passed cleanly through an opening in his body, never touching him at all.
Orochimaru was visibly shaken.
Simu slowly raised the Eight Precepts.
"Orochimaru, let me tell you something in secret. This too... is Taijutsu."
"When you chase after science, you'd best not forget the power of the body."
With that, the Eight Precepts came crashing down.
"Overlord!"
The massive Conqueror's Haki exploded outward, slamming into Orochimaru's upper body with devastating force.
It was far too powerful for Orochimaru to endure without preparation.
His massive form was launched across the battlefield like a ragdoll.
Simu's chest closed up rapidly, the gaping hole restoring itself in seconds.
It was thanks to an ability he'd acquired while impersonating Kizaru—
Life Return.
He hadn't expected it to come in handy now... but it had.
He'd nearly fallen into Orochimaru's trap.
Simu's expression turned serious.
He couldn't let something like that happen again.
So...
A massive dragon, hundreds of meters long, suddenly soared into the sky.
Natural energy across several kilometers was sucked away by Simu in an instant.
Vast air currents gathered into his mouth, compressing violently into an ultimate tornado.
"Sage Art: Ten-Thousand-Ren Tornado!!"
The compressed air twisted like a razor-sharp sickle, slicing through the battlefield with terrifying speed.
But Orochimaru, now down to three snake heads, had little mobility in his current form.
He could only take the hit head-on.
Yet again, he surprised Simu.
"Yata Mirror?"
A red chakra-wrapped shield emerged from the mouth of one of the snake heads.
The deadly airflow, which could shred steel with ease, struck the mirror... and vanished, as if absorbed by water.
Simu narrowed his eyes.
Orochimaru's upper body rose from the middle snake head.
"You know quite a bit..." he said, licking his lips.
"It took a lot of effort to dig up these two treasures from the Uchiha clan's archives."
Simu's eyes lit with realization.
"So it really was the Uchiha Clan."
In the original timeline, these two treasures—the Ten Fist Sword and Yata Mirror—were wielded by Uchiha Itachi.
So it made sense they were connected to the Uchiha lineage.
He just hadn't expected his own butterfly effect to push them into Orochimaru's hands in this world.
But so what?
A confident smile crept across Simu's face.
Earlier, he had nearly been caught off-guard by the Ten Fist Sword only because he hadn't expected Orochimaru to possess it.
Now that he knew, he could take proper precautions.
The wind shifted.
Simu's body rapidly shrank and reverted to his human form.
Orochimaru's face tensed.
Sure enough, his greatest strength was also his biggest weakness.
He now possessed both the Ten Fist Sword, which could instantly seal enemies, and the Yata Mirror, which could block all ninjutsu.
Offense and defense had reached their peak.
But... he was slow.
And unfortunately for him, Simu was now one of the fastest shinobi in the entire ninja world.
Offense and defense were meaningless if you couldn't keep up with your opponent.
A streak of golden light suddenly shot down from the sky—
Orochimaru was just about to raise the Yata Mirror, burning with red chakra, to block the attack.
But Simu's afterimage twisted midair sharply.
Like lightning, he plunged down at a near ninety-degree angle.
Then, in a flash, he shot to the left.
The moment Orochimaru turned his body to track him, Simu flashed to the right again!
Simu clasped his hands in front of his chest while dashing at high speed.
A rich golden light began to glow between his palms.
A confident smile appeared on his lips.
"Let's see whose Yata Mirror is faster."
"Sage Art: Yata Mirror Slash!"
The golden longsword tore through the air instantly.
Before Orochimaru could react, his right head was severed.
After slicing off the right head, the golden light curved midair and targeted the central head.
Fortunately, the remaining right head reacted quickly, and with the Yata Mirror in its mouth, it slashed downward with the flaming shield.
The sharp, fast lightsaber clashed violently against the blazing Yata Mirror.
Unfortunately, Simu's slash still couldn't penetrate the legendary treasure.
It only caused Orochimaru's massive body to tremble slightly.
"Hanyu Simu, we have no real grudge. Why not let this go?"
Orochimaru's face had gone pale.
He had already lost six heads and was seriously injured.
He spread his arms.
"Believe me, I can offer you far more value alive than dead!"
Simu stood fifty meters away, just within range to instantly pursue him or avoid a sudden attack from the Ten Fist Sword.
Facing Orochimaru's plea, Simu merely shook his head.
"Without your body, I can't explain things to the village."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and spoke with certainty:
"I can create a fake corpse for you."
Simu was momentarily tempted.
It had to be said—Orochimaru's scientific expertise was perhaps the strongest in the entire ninja world.
His understanding of ninjutsu was unmatched. If Simu could subdue him, he would be a huge asset for future endeavors.
But the thought passed quickly.
Simu's expression hardened as killing intent radiated from his body.
Orochimaru was simply too dangerous.
There was no way to guarantee his loyalty.
Keeping him alive would only make Simu sleep with one eye open.
It was better to kill him.
Sensing Simu's intent, Orochimaru sighed in frustration.
"As expected, it's not going to work?"
Now that the decision had been made, he didn't hesitate.
He leapt into the air, arms crossing in front of him.
Cross-shaped flashes lit up the night sky.
"Sage Art: Yasaka Magatama!"
A rain of glowing projectiles poured down from above, blasting the already-ruined ground into even more rubble.
Orochimaru held the Yata Mirror in his mouth, blocking every falling light sphere.
"This level of attack is useless against me!"
The Yata Mirror's defense was strong enough that even Simu couldn't break through it—Orochimaru believed confidently.
But his face soon froze.
The downpour of light hadn't stopped.
It had been blasting the battlefield for five whole minutes… with no sign of stopping.
"What the hell is this guy doing?"
Orochimaru gritted his teeth, face grim.
He had ruled the ninja world for so many years, but had never seen such a monster.
No one except the First Hokage had ever used such a high-level jutsu with this kind of stamina!
It was like Simu had infinite chakra!
And the worst part? Simu's chakra reserve was like the sea—deep and endless.
But Orochimaru's was not.
Holding up the Yata Mirror consumed a huge amount of chakra.
In most battles between shinobi, things were usually decided within twenty minutes.
So the Yata Mirror's consumption wasn't a problem—it only needed to be summoned to block one or two deadly attacks.
But this Hanyu Simu was outrageous…
Orochimaru looked up at the never-ending storm of light.
The bombardment had continued for two straight hours.
Two hours! Not a single second of pause!
Orochimaru was mentally collapsing.
Due to his chakra depletion, the Yamata no Orochi form was shrinking.
Several white snakes detached from his body and tried to burrow underground to flee.
But none of it escaped Simu's Observation Haki.
Just as the snakes were about to break through the light's range, several intensified blasts would vaporize them instantly.
Orochimaru's fury exploded.
This couldn't go on.
His chakra was nearly drained. His expression was grim.
He had only one final move left.
Just as Orochimaru prepared to make a last stand… the light rain stopped.
From within the ruins, three plumes of white smoke exploded into the air.
"Tch... show-offs," Orochimaru muttered.
The Two-Tails was the first to appear.
The Five-Tails followed closely behind.
Only the Four-Tails retained a bit of distance and restraint.
"Hey, isn't this Lord Orochimaru from Konoha?"
The Two-Tails tilted its head, raising a massive blue paw in greeting.
Orochimaru's face stiffened.
How… how could this guy still have so much chakra?!
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