The flute's notes were mournful, weeping, and lingering, drawing the listener's thoughts into a dark crimson space that felt like the depths of hell itself. With the melody, black ropes shot forth from the void, binding Orochimaru's arms and legs.
"The Magic Flute… so, the Koeda clan didn't just send one person after all!"
Orochimaru glanced at the crimson space.
He sighed softly.
A moment later, the ropes binding his limbs all snapped apart. He wrenched the Kusanagi Sword free from Mangetsu's body and swung it sharply to the side. A crisp clang rang out—and in that instant, the crimson world shattered into pieces, revealing Kyoichi before him, holding a broken blade.
The Kusanagi's edge was unmatched.
The long blade in Kyoichi's hands wasn't a famed heirloom, but it was still a finely forged weapon, tempered through countless hammer strikes. Yet against Orochimaru's Kusanagi, it was brittle as rotten wood—shattering into two pieces at the first touch.
The sharpness of the Kusanagi Sword was no secret in the shinobi world.
Not just to Kyoichi, a transmigrant, but to any jōnin who kept up with intelligence on the Sannin.
After all,
Since the Second Shinobi World War, when the Sannin rose to fame, every village's intelligence units had worked tirelessly to unearth their secrets. Over the years, though no one had managed to find out something as trivial as the color of their undergarments, plenty of useful information had been gathered.
Any shinobi active on the battlefield couldn't help but expose their techniques. And it wasn't always possible to kill every enemy witness.
That is how intelligence leaks—little by little.
For example, Jiraiya of the Sannin was known to wield a special state called Sage Mode. By merging with his toad summons, he gained power strong enough to contend head-on with jinchūriki, making him Konoha's main counterforce against them.
And Orochimaru's Kusanagi Sword was equally famous.
Not only was its sharpness known, but so was the fact that there wasn't just one Kusanagi Sword—different blades carried different special abilities.
But in the end—
The weapon itself wasn't what made it terrifying.
It was the fact that it was wielded by Orochimaru.
"So genjutsu is useless against you after all."
Kyoichi tossed away the broken half of his blade.
"Since you knew genjutsu wouldn't work, why bother with such a trick?" Orochimaru asked with mild curiosity.
"I wasn't certain it wouldn't work," Kyoichi admitted calmly.
In his memory, Uchiha Itachi had once paralyzed Orochimaru with a single glance, leaving the so-called foremost scientist of the shinobi world humiliated. From that day, Orochimaru had become obsessed with the Uchiha's Sharingan. Unable to unravel Itachi's genjutsu, he set his sights on Itachi's younger brother instead.
That was why Kyoichi hadn't objected when Yūsuke suggested trying genjutsu first.
Even if he didn't believe in the idea.
Uchiha Itachi could bind Orochimaru with genjutsu only because he had already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan—and one of his unique Mangekyō techniques was genjutsu itself. In a world ruled by bloodline supremacy, Itachi and Shisui together stood at the very pinnacle of illusionary arts.
Simply put—
Orochimaru being caught by Itachi's genjutsu likely had something to do with his own immortality experiments going awry. But it was just as much because Itachi's genjutsu was overwhelming. Regardless of his morality, Itachi was truly strong.
And now, the results proved it.
Genjutsu—
Was not Orochimaru's weakness.
At least, not Yūsuke's genjutsu.
"There was no harm in trying, was there?" Kyoichi spread his hands with a smile. "Even if it failed, we lose nothing. It's not as if you would simply let us walk away with Mangetsu. So why not give it a shot?"
"Well said."
Orochimaru wasn't angered—instead, he regarded Kyoichi with an approving gaze. "When the outcome can't worsen, it's only natural to try everything. A pity, though, Kyoichi-kun… had you chosen to side with Konoha, I would have been very fond of you."
"I did consider it," Kyoichi replied evenly. "But my clan's ties to the Kiri run far deeper. And besides… as long as your teacher still lives, Konoha would never accept the Koeda clan. Even if he agreed to take us in, what awaited us would not be hope."
His words cut like a blade—
Bluntly disparaging the Third Hokage.
But—
"You're right," Orochimaru said softly. "Sarutobi-sensei despises unstable elements like your clan. In his eyes, since the Koeda clan betrayed Iwagakure once, it's inevitable you'd one day betray Konoha too… That is why I say—what a pity!!!"
He sighed with deep regret.
Then—
"Well, since we've met here today, Kyoichi-kun, you can stay behind… and dedicate everything to me!"
The moment his words fell—
Whoosh!
Orochimaru swung his blade.
The Kusanagi suddenly extended, lunging straight for Kyoichi's chest.
Clang!!
Kyoichi's right arm darkened with abyssal blackness as he caught the Kusanagi barehanded, gripping its lethal edge.
Glaring at Orochimaru, he said in a low, steady voice:
"The Kusanagi Sword is certainly sharp. But Iwagakure's jōnin proved back in the Second Shinobi World War that it cannot easily pierce high-level Earth Release hardening techniques. Your blade cannot kill me."
"Earth Spear—one of the finest earth-hardening jutsu," Orochimaru said with a grin. "Just as Minato's reports claimed. Truly troublesome to cut through. But… what if I add lightning to the mix?"
The next instant—
He snapped his jaws open, and from his mouth shot another blade, its length wrapped in lightning and mucus, streaking toward Kyoichi like an arrow.
Kyoichi didn't move.
He stood rooted, like a tree.
Because—
There was no need to dodge.
This time, he wasn't fighting alone. He was only the vanguard. Behind him stood his comrades. They hadn't shown themselves before, hoping Yūsuke's auditory genjutsu might work. But now that it had failed, the others rushed forward.
"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!!"
Mei Terumī appeared at Kyoichi's side, exhaling a stream of orange-yellow acid that splashed onto the flying blade.