After the colossal wooden giant, wrapped in magma, delivered a terrifying punch that killed Manda outright—
A shockwave far surpassing a hurricane, mixed with heat seemingly hot enough to melt gold and iron, crashed down upon Orochimaru like an invisible giant hammer!
Orochimaru only had time to cross his arms before his chest, chakra instinctively condensing.
However, before that world-destroying power—
A human body was as fragile as paper.
Orochimaru felt as though a rapidly moving mountain of molten rock had slammed into him head-on; the bones in both his arms gave off a sickening crack, and the searing pain instantly coursed through his entire body.
His whole figure was like a tattered kite with its string cut, blasted away by that overwhelming force!
[Boom!!!]
His body crashed into a slick, icy rock wall like a cannonball. The violent impact caved a spider-web-shaped crater into the solid surface, sending chunks of shattered stone tumbling down.
A sweetness welled up in his throat, and he could no longer suppress it—thick blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, dripping down his pale chin.
He forced himself to endure the agony tearing through his body, struggling to lift his head.
The golden vertical pupils locked firmly onto the magma-churning area ahead.
And—
Onto the now-motionless summoned beast, Manda.
Manda… that arrogant, foul-mouthed giant serpent… now had only half a charred corpse left, half-submerged in a dark-red lake of lava, its body still giving off a nauseating burnt stench.
As for Manda's remaining half of a head—it had already vanished from Orochimaru's sight.
"Manda…"
"Dead?!"
Orochimaru's voice was dry and hoarse, carrying a faint tremor even he himself hadn't noticed.
The composure and coldness that belonged to one of the Sannin of Konohagakure were completely crushed in that instant, leaving only horror and absurd disbelief.
His strongest summoned beast couldn't even withstand ten moves under Uchiha Keizumi's hand?
Icy analysis instinctively flashed through his chaotic mind.
—Although Manda's body was enormous, before the extreme heat of Lava Release that burned through all things, it was as fragile as paper! The larger the target, the more conspicuous it became.
—And venom strong enough to corrode stone was utterly restrained by Wood Release.
—Moreover, Manda's movements, before the dynamic vision of the Sharingan, were clumsy as slow-motion playback; no matter what kind of attack, it couldn't even touch the hem of Uchiha Keizumi's robe.
—In short, Manda was utterly countered by Uchiha Keizumi!
Of course, there was another, more crucial factor Orochimaru didn't mention.
That was—
In the heat of the moment, he hadn't shared with Manda even part of the intelligence on Uchiha Keizumi. In essence, he'd sent Manda to its death. Otherwise, Manda might at least have held out a little longer.
[Whoosh—!!!]
Suddenly, a piercing sound tore through the smoke and sulfurous air—a magma torrent, denser and faster than before, abruptly expanded in Orochimaru's vision.
The scorching heat rushing toward him from afar made every inch of his skin sting like needles.
"Damn it!"
Orochimaru's heart blared in alarm—the shadow of death once again loomed right before his eyes.
He clenched his teeth, enduring the bone-crushing pain, and hurled himself sideways in a disheveled, almost crawling motion.
[Sizzle—]
The torrent of magma grazed past his tattered robes. The rock wall behind him, the very one that had just been smashed into a crater, melted and collapsed like wax the instant it came into contact with the lava, leaving behind a gaping molten hole that struck terror into the heart.
But the magma torrent did not dissipate after missing its target; instead, it twisted sharply as if alive.
Like a giant serpent whipping its tail, it swept toward him again with even greater speed.
Its range of coverage was so vast that it sealed off nearly all of his escape routes!
"Can't dodge it!"
Orochimaru's golden snake eyes shrank to pinpoints under the ultimate sense of crisis.
He gritted his teeth hard and slammed both hands against the ground without hesitation!
"Summoning Technique: First Rashōmon!!!"
[Rumble!]
A massive demonic-faced gate—more battered than before and covered with black, charred marks of corrosion—rose from the ground with a heavy roar.
It was the last surviving Rashōmon from when he had previously blocked the Lava Release, yet now its former might was long gone. The gate was scarred all over, teetering on the brink of collapse.
[Boom—!!!]
The crimson magma torrent crashed ferociously against the Rashōmon. The damaged structure trembled violently, emitting a piercing metallic screech as its scorched surface melted into streams of glowing red iron.
Orochimaru never expected it to completely block the magma.
All he needed was that brief instant of obstruction!
At the very moment the magma struck the gate and the shockwave had yet to fully spread, Orochimaru's body shot upward like an arrow released from its bowstring.
Suppressing the dizziness brought by his severe injuries, his left hand darted lightning-fast to his waist and yanked out a scroll.
[Bang!]
A dense puff of white smoke burst open, and a bizarre jet-powered flying device suddenly appeared in midair—clearly another of Orochimaru's experimental inventions, casually tinkered with during his spare time.
Without a shred of hesitation, Orochimaru stepped onto the cold pedal of the craft and slammed his right hand onto the control panel.
[Buzz—]
[Whoosh!!!]
A pale-blue exhaust flame erupted in an instant, shrieking sharply. The powerful thrust propelled Orochimaru like a bird breaking free of its cage, fleeing madly toward the dark, deep reaches of Ryūchi Cave!
Manda's death had completely extinguished his last spark of fighting spirit.
As for whether he felt any pity for Manda's demise? Heh—between him and Manda, it had always been nothing more than mutual exploitation.
In his eyes, Manda was simply a formidable but inconvenient tool.
However, just as he had flown several hundred meters away and a trace of post-crisis relief rose in his heart—
[Thud!]
[Thud!]
A series of booming impacts, like the footsteps of a giant, accompanied by the trembling of the ground, came distinctly from below and behind him. The sound was like a rapid drumbeat of death, pounding relentlessly against his heart.
A chilling cold shot up from his spine, spreading through his entire body.
Stiffly, Orochimaru turned his neck bit by bit, dread creeping across his face as he looked down.
There, the enormous wooden giant was stepping over Manda's still-smoldering corpse, striding heavily in pursuit of his fleeing figure.
Atop that enormous wooden head, Uchiha Keizumi stood proudly.
He raised both arms diagonally upward, aiming straight at Orochimaru in the sky.
What made Orochimaru's soul nearly flee his body was that Uchiha Keizumi's arms—now completely transformed into molten magma—were swelling and throbbing violently like twin living volcanoes.
The crimson magma surged and compressed within his arms, radiating waves of pure destruction.
Orochimaru's pupils contracted sharply!
The next instant—
[Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom—]
Uchiha Keizumi's arms shuddered fiercely, and countless magma fists, each larger than a human and forged entirely from molten rock, erupted like dense anti-air artillery, tearing through the air with world-ending heat, pouring upward from the wooden giant's head!
In the blink of an eye, they formed a massive web of magma that blanketed half the sky—leaving Orochimaru utterly nowhere to escape!
The flying device beneath his feet looked clumsy and ridiculous before such a dense barrage of searing magma fists.
Gritting his teeth, Orochimaru twisted and rolled midair with desperate evasive maneuvers, narrowly brushing past several roaring magma projectiles.
The scorching waves singed the ends of his hair, and the fear of death clamped tightly around his throat!
However, just as he narrowly dodged three of the magma fists, an even larger and denser one came crashing straight into his inevitable path.
Quantity had at last transformed into quality.
[Boom!!!]
The magma fist didn't hit him directly, but grazed along the side of his flying device. The extreme heat instantly melted through the alloy hull—along with Orochimaru's left ankle and everything below it, which vaporized like ice under a torch.
The severed edge carbonized instantly; not a drop of blood even had time to flow!
"Ugh—ahhh!!!"
The piercing agony nearly made Orochimaru lose consciousness.
The colossal wooden giant had already caught up!
Its left arm, woven from twisted, gnarled trees, carried power great enough to crush mountains. With fingers spread wide like swatting a fly, the arm, wrapped in air compressed into tangible wind pressure, came slamming down toward the falling, out-of-control Orochimaru.
In an instant, shadow enveloped his tiny frame.
No way to dodge!
No way to block!
"Hardening Snake Body Technique!!!"
Orochimaru's eyes bulged wide with blood, and in the final moment he unleashed nearly all his chakra, forming a hand seal before his chest.
The wooden giant's massive palm struck his body head-on.
[Crack!]
[Splatter!]
[Crunch!]
The horrific sounds of bones shattering, flesh compressing, and organs rupturing blended together into a symphony straight from hell.
Orochimaru's facial skin and muscles burst apart like sludge, his skull caved and cracked in an instant; over a dozen ribs snapped and splintered, their sharp ends piercing deep into his fragile organs; his limbs twisted and broke at grotesque angles, with pale splinters of bone stabbing through torn flesh, exposed to the air.
From his mouth, nose, ears, and eyes—blood gushed like from torn water pouches, mingled with bits of shattered tissue.
"Puh!!!"
A mouthful of filth mixed with organ fragments, broken teeth, and thick blood spewed violently from Orochimaru's ruined mouth like a bursting fountain.