BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Countless black threads condensed into massive fists and hammered down toward Orochimaru's position with relentless fury.
The terrifying destructive power completely devastated the surrounding landscape.
Enormous boulders shattered into fragments, ancient trees crashed to the forest floor, and thick clouds of smoke and debris filled the air everywhere.
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
At some point during the battle, two grotesque masked creatures had separated from Kakuzu's body. Powerful Wind and Lightning Release techniques poured forth from the masked monsters' mouths, bombarding Orochimaru with overwhelming intensity.
The assault resembled a violent storm of destruction, completely covering Orochimaru's position and denying him any opportunity to mount a counterattack.
This demonstrated the overwhelming power possessed by Kage-level shinobi!
To avoid being caught in the devastating crossfire, Jiraiya quickly pulled Uzumaki Naruto, who had barely regained his composure, to a safer distance.
Hidan maintained his grim smile while completely ignoring the explosive ninjutsu detonating around him. He slowly followed Jiraiya and Naruto at a measured pace. He showed no intention of initiating combat immediately, but he clearly wouldn't allow the two targets to escape his surveillance.
What's wrong with this person?
Jiraiya's expression grew increasingly solemn as he watched Hidan walk casually within the range of the destructive ninjutsu, seemingly unconcerned about sustaining injuries.
Does he possess extraordinary recovery abilities?
No, he doesn't appear to be injured at all?
What's happening here?
What kind of shinobi belong to this organization? Every single member appears completely abnormal.
Jiraiya glanced toward Orochimaru, who was engaged in desperate combat, then shifted his attention to Hidan, who continued staring at him and Naruto nearby. His alertness reached maximum levels.
I didn't expect this kind of complication to arise. This situation is becoming extremely dangerous.
Should I consider forming a temporary alliance with Orochimaru?
The irony wasn't lost on him—he had originally planned to kill Orochimaru himself. However, if he didn't join forces with the snake sage and waited for these Akatsuki members to eliminate Orochimaru, he and Naruto would face mortal peril.
Jiraiya's brow furrowed as he weighed his limited options.
"Summoning Technique: Ten Thousand Snake Formation!"
Orochimaru had been severely battered by Kakuzu's overwhelming firepower. He finally identified the proper opportunity and immediately released a dense swarm of serpents as his counterattack.
Snakes of various sizes surged together, displaying dangerous colorations and venomous capabilities as they rushed toward Kakuzu's position.
"Hmph! What a pointless waste of energy!"
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
A massive high-pressure wind sphere descended from above, its concentrated force forming a rapidly rotating vortex that continuously shredded the advancing snake formation, making escape impossible.
With a thunderous explosion, the storm suddenly detonated. In a single instant, countless serpents were torn apart, their remains scattered across the battlefield.
Powerful winds swept outward, completely destroying all vegetation within a radius of several hundred meters.
Bang!
Kakuzu leaped high and landed on solid ground, scanning the environment after the smoke and dust cleared while searching for any trace of Orochimaru.
"Hidan!"
"Didn't you see? That snake has hidden himself again!"
The fierce battle had also affected everyone's vision, and Hidan hadn't observed Orochimaru's escape route.
"Tch!"
Kakuzu snorted with cold irritation while forming hand seals. The two masked creatures released from his body moved to flank his position, providing protective coverage.
Rumble...
Wind Release and Lightning Release techniques were discharged indiscriminately throughout the area. Kakuzu knew that Orochimaru hadn't fled the immediate vicinity. Although his sensory abilities weren't exceptional, he could still vaguely detect Orochimaru's presence at such close range.
His opponent was definitely nearby, preparing to launch a surprise attack, but his exact position remained unclear. Kakuzu could only release ninjutsu toward the general area where he suspected Orochimaru might be hiding.
"It looks like I need to eliminate Kakuzu as quickly as possible."
Orochimaru, concealed in the shadows, changed his position silently to avoid being caught by the ninjutsu released by the masked creatures.
"Summoning Technique: Impure World Reincarnation!"
With a resounding bang, smoke billowed upward as a coffin was summoned into existence.
Hmm?
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
The sound of Orochimaru activating the Impure World Reincarnation was immediately detected by Kakuzu. Sharp lightning crackling like a spear pierced through all obstacles and bombarded the coffin with devastating force.
BOOM!
The explosive sound echoed throughout the forest, making everyone instinctively want to cover their ears.
Kakuzu glanced toward the impact site. If his instincts were correct, his previous ninjutsu must have struck Orochimaru directly.
Wait...
A strange figure suddenly stepped forward from the smoke and dispersing electrical discharge.
Who is this?
"Blue hair? White robes... no, that's a Kazekage's ceremonial garment!"
Kakuzu frowned as he examined the mysterious shinobi whose true form had been revealed.
This was a man with short blue hair wearing the distinctive robes of a Kazekage!
The Lightning Release technique had undoubtedly struck the man, leaving a horrifically severe wound across his chest.
However, no blood flowed from the injury. Instead, scattered paper fragments began filling the wound at a speed visible to the naked eye, restoring it to perfect condition within moments.
Obviously, this wasn't a normal human body at all!
Although Kakuzu didn't recognize the identity of the man before him, he was certain that something was fundamentally wrong with this individual—very wrong indeed.
"What is this? Some kind of puppet?"
Observing the blue-haired man's somewhat vacant eyes and the abnormal regeneration he had just witnessed, Kakuzu suspected this might be a special puppet created by Orochimaru.
"Hehehe... Kakuzu, this is a gift I've prepared especially for you!"
Orochimaru stepped out from behind the blue-haired figure. "Does this person look familiar to you?"
"Kakuzu, you've lived for quite a long time. You should recognize him!"
Kakuzu stared at Orochimaru with a dark expression. Suddenly, his mind made the connection and he remembered exactly who the blue-haired man was.
He's the Third Kazekage!
After Kakuzu had stolen the forbidden technique—Earth Grudge Fear—from his village, he became a rogue shinobi. During a bounty hunting mission, he had entered the Land of Wind and encountered the Third Kazekage.
The two sides had engaged in fierce combat. At that time, Kakuzu was no match for the Third Kazekage and had been defeated decisively. Fortunately, Kakuzu had possessed sufficient speed to escape and avoid death.
The encounter had occurred so long ago that Kakuzu's memories had become somewhat unclear.
However, once Orochimaru provided the reminder, everything came flooding back.
"You bastard!"
As more memories returned to him, Kakuzu's eyes fixed on Orochimaru with murderous intensity before glancing at the Third Kazekage's motionless form.
"This is the Impure World Reincarnation?! You actually mastered such an evil forbidden technique?"
The Reanimation Jutsu was a forbidden summoning technique invented by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, and deployed multiple times during wartime conflicts.
Although Senju Tobirama himself had later sealed this technique and forbidden others from learning it, the knowledge had obviously survived.
Now it appeared that Orochimaru had mastered this dangerous forbidden jutsu!
Of course, Konoha already possessed this information.
Orochimaru had employed the Impure World Reincarnation during his assault on Konoha, but the village had naturally kept this intelligence classified.
Therefore, people outside Konoha were only learning about this capability for the first time.
"Hehehe... evil? Kakuzu, where exactly did your own secret technique originate?"
"Is it perhaps... Earth Grudge Fear?"
Before Orochimaru could finish his provocative statement, Kakuzu's face darkened with rage. With a thunderous bang, a powerful wind sphere launched toward Orochimaru with lethal intent.
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