"Pfftt!!!"
Among the Three Snake Princesses, Tagorihime was no stronger than Orochimaru himself. If even he could not withstand the strike of the colossal Wooden Giant, she stood no chance at all.
A horrifying series of bone-cracking sounds echoed one after another, as dense as exploding beans.
Her slender waist, fragile ribs, and delicate arms—all of them shattered inch by inch, crushed to dust under the overwhelming power of the wooden colossus!
Her entire body was sent hurtling backward at tremendous speed, trailed by the gruesome sounds of breaking bones and a spray of blood mist.
The other two snake princesses—Ichikishimahime and Tagitsuhime—transformed into twin streaks of light the instant Tagorihime was struck, rushing to catch their wounded companion.
"Tagori!"
The two cried out sharply, stretching out their hands.
But they had gravely underestimated the terrifying force behind that giant palm.
Just as their fingertips were about to reach Tagorihime's broken body, a massive and unstoppable impact slammed into both snake princesses.
It felt as though they had been hit head-on by a rampaging Tailed Beast. Both let out pained gasps, the color draining from their faces—
—and their bodies, dragged by Tagorihime's "cannonball-like remains," were flung backward uncontrollably!
[Boom! Boom! Boom!]
Three figures were violently hurled against a massive cliff wall several hundred meters away. The heavy impact echoed, and fragments of stone rained down.
"Cough… cough…"
Ichikishimahime spat out several mouthfuls of blood mixed with fragments of her own organs, feeling as though every bone in her body had been shattered.
Enduring the searing pain, she struggled to turn her head, searching for the most gravely wounded Tagorihime. But what entered her sight made even this thousand-year-old snake princess feel a chill rush straight to her scalp!
Within a deep depression in the cliffside, Tagorihime's body was embedded into the rock in a posture completely defying human anatomy—so grotesque it sent shivers down the spine.
Her limbs were twisted at unnatural angles, her spine seemingly snapped in several places. The once-elegant ancient kimono she wore was now filthy and soaked in blood and stone dust.
Her face, once coldly beautiful, was now a blur of flesh and blood, half her cheekbone caved in. Her breathing was faint, like a candle guttering in the wind.
Only her body still twitched faintly, without consciousness.
Senjutsu energy flickered weakly from her shattered body like dim fireflies, struggling to mend the horrific wounds.
"Hiss—"
Ichikishimahime sucked in a sharp breath, her scalp tingling.
She had never imagined that even a high-ranking member of Ryūchi Cave—one of its mighty snake princesses, wielding powerful Senjutsu—could be injured to such a state by a mere human.
[Thud.]
[Thud.]
[Thud.]
Each deadly footstep resounded like the drums of execution, drawing closer and closer, carrying a power that made the very ground tremble.
The massive Wooden Giant was charging toward the cliff where they had fallen, its steps heavy and relentless.
Every footprint it left behind sizzled, glowing with molten magma.
Atop the giant's head, Uchiha Keizumi's figure stood unmoving, cold as a sculpture.
Those scarlet Sharingan eyes pierced through the smoke and dust, locking firmly onto them!
Though hundreds of meters still lay between them, Uchiha Keizumi had already made his move!
His right arm bent slightly, the red magma flowing along it suddenly swelling and surging like a boiling volcano. The thick molten rock roared and churned, coalescing in the blink of an eye into a massive molten fist nearly 10 meters in diameter, radiating an unbearable heat of destruction!
His entire arm had become fully elementalized—a crimson bridge connecting him to that enormous fist.
[BOOM—!!!]
As he thrust his punch forward, the molten fist tore through its restraints like a dragon of lava, shrieking as it ripped the air apart, its scorching heat capable of incinerating all things—
a blazing meteor of molten death descending toward the three snake princesses embedded in the cliff!
The colossal fist's shadow nearly engulfed all three of them!
Ichikishimahime and Tagitsuhime's pupils contracted sharply!
The intense aura of death made them both decide in an instant.
Two piercing hisses echoed through the cave as the snake princesses could no longer maintain their human forms. The vast Senjutsu chakra stored within them erupted, and their bodies swelled, twisted, and transformed with explosive speed!
[Bang!]
[Bang!]
Two enormous snakes, no smaller than the earlier Manda, instantly replaced their graceful humanoid figures, coiling before the cliff face.
Their scales gleamed with a cold, metallic luster under the reflection of the molten fist's red glow. The gigantic serpent bodies formed an unyielding wall before the gravely wounded Tagorihime.
But it was clear that during the long and relatively "peaceful" years within Ryūchi Cave, they had already forgotten how to face a truly formidable enemy.
They had learned nothing from Manda's shattered corpse.
"Foolish."
Atop the Wooden Giant, Uchiha Keizumi uttered his cold judgment.
Orochimaru had never dared to clash head-on with his magma—yet these two snake princesses of Ryūchi Cave thought they could block it with mere flesh and blood.
[BOOM—!!!]
The molten giant fist crashed down with unstoppable force, slamming hard into Ichikishimahime's massive snake body, whose scales glimmered with a metallic sheen.
[Szzzz!]
[Splurt!]
A hair-raising sound split the air—the scales that looked tough enough to withstand a direct ninjutsu strike melted instantly upon contact, hissing like a hot knife cutting into solidified lard.
There was not the slightest resistance.
The molten fist, carrying its horrifying heat and crushing power, tore straight through Ichikishimahime's serpent body!
A gigantic, charred hole with molten red edges burst open through her flesh.
Her organs, bones, and muscles at the point of impact carbonized in an instant beneath the infernal heat.
The thick stench of burning flesh and scorched protein filled the air immediately.
Only because the molten fist's diameter was slightly smaller than the snake's body thickness did she avoid being blown completely in half on the spot!
"Hssssss—Aaaahhhhhhhh!!!"
The indescribable pain made Ichikishimahime let out a shrill, soul-piercing scream. It was agony as though her very soul were being torn apart alive.
Her enormous snake body convulsed wildly, thrashing against the ground as blood and charred flesh sprayed out from the gaping wound like a crimson waterfall.
Her vertical pupils, veined with bursting blood, looked ready to explode.
The molten fist's momentum was weakened by less than one-third by that massive flesh-and-blood body. Still carrying Ichikishimahime's scream and a storm of blood, it smashed ruthlessly into Tagitsuhime behind her.
[Bang—]
[Szzz!!!]
This time, though it failed to pierce clean through, the terrifying impact and lingering molten heat still blasted a deep, several-meter crater into Tagitsuhime's serpent body.
Her once-hard scales shattered inch by inch like fragile glass.
The burning agony, mixed with the pain of her organs rupturing from the impact, forced another anguished hiss from her throat.
"Hssss—Aaaaahhhhh!!!"
The two enormous snakes writhed and convulsed in agony before the cliff, their blood and molten magma dyeing the scorched ground crimson. Their pained screams echoed endlessly throughout the cave.
After a brief moment, Tagitsuhime forced herself to endure the searing pain and the chaos tearing through her body. Her enormous head suddenly lifted, her bloodshot vertical pupils locking onto Uchiha Keizumi standing atop the Wooden Giant.
Her voice, hoarse and twisted from pain and fury, roared out: "Human! I remember—Ryūchi Cave and you, and your Uchiha clan behind you, have never shared any feud or grudge!"
"Yet it is you—who trespassed uninvited into our sacred ground! Who slaughtered Manda! Who killed Orochimaru! Who gravely wounded Tagorihime!"
"And now you strike mercilessly at us as well—why?! What in the world are you after?!"
Uchiha Keizumi stood silently atop the Wooden Giant.
The towering construct placed him at eye level with the two snakes writhing below.
Facing Tagitsuhime's furious, bewildered questioning, he gave no reply.
He simply, slowly, turned those scarlet, bewitching Mangekyō Sharingan eyes toward Tagitsuhime's enormous serpent pupils.
The instant their gazes met—!
Tagitsuhime's massive serpent body stiffened violently! She felt the space around her twist and warp in an instant.
"What is this…?!"
A flicker of shock flashed through her vertical pupils.
The scorched battlefield, the flowing rivers of magma—were all gone.
Before her stretched a desolate night under the pale moon.
And in that moonlight, she suddenly saw a familiar figure—a shadow slipping quietly into a human village under cover of darkness.
Looking closer—
Wasn't that… herself?
Wait—!
Ancient memories surged up within her, and she instantly realized what was happening. "This is—Sharingan genjutsu!"
Inside the illusion—
She watched herself creep into one farmhouse after another… and then came the screams—piercing wails of terror that split the night sky, the helpless cries of children, the desperate roars of men, the dying whimpers of women…
The entire village erupted in a tidal wave of agony.
The thick stench of blood filled the illusion so strongly it was nauseating.
Cold sweat trickled down Tagitsuhime's scales. Why was she seeing scenes from her own memory?
Was this illusion meant to draw out her buried recollections?
Or—had the other party already seen into her memories?
The next instant, the scene abruptly shifted again.
This time, she was in a dim, secret cavern deep within Ryūchi Cave, its walls lined with enormous discarded snake skins.
She saw herself again—this time, killing a human trial-taker who was about to pass Ryūchi Cave's test, simply because she found it amusing. She had wanted to see just how desperate humans could become… what they would do in their final moments of despair.
Then, once more, the vision changed.
Countless memories flickered past like a revolving lantern.
The only pattern Tagitsuhime could grasp—was that every single scene showed herself killing.
Yet what puzzled her was—
This Sharingan illusion merely forced her to recall long-forgotten memories. Those recollections caused her no mental anguish, nor did they rob her of her will to fight.
So what was the true purpose of this illusion?
Suddenly—
The illusion receded like a tide. The stinging scent of sulfur, the searing pain of her wounds, and the screams of her companions all rushed back at once.
Tagitsuhime's enormous pupils still carried traces of confusion and disbelief.
She once again saw the towering Wooden Giant
And the figure standing atop its head.
Then, Uchiha Keizumi's cold, detached voice echoed faintly through the air: "These are the sins you've committed in the shinobi world. There is no personal grudge between us. The only reason I strike you down… is because you are evil. As long as you live, countless innocent victims will never find peace. I am merely delivering justice—justice delayed for a thousand years."
Tagitsuhime's expression was one of utter disbelief.
This man…
He must be insane!
Such a ridiculous excuse…
Was he actually serious?