"Ow! Ow!!"
Manda hissed with its forked tongue, yet cried out in pain like a human. Its feral eyes glared murderously at the massive stone golem before it, and it roared furiously:
"Damnable humans! To wound me… I'll devour you all!"
Clearly—
Manda was not one to make empty threats.
Even as the words left its mouth, it lunged at the stone giant with astonishing speed, coiling tightly around its arms and legs, binding them fast. Its enormous head then arched high, before crashing down toward Kyoichi and Mei Terumī, who stood atop the golem's head.
It didn't open its jaws to bite—
Not just because the targets were too small.
More importantly, Manda knew well that shinobi who could still resist were never to be swallowed. If one were consumed alive, the ninja's hands would be free right inside its most vulnerable organs. No ninjutsu required—just a bundle of explosive tags could spell its death from within.
Many witless serpents of Ryūchi Cave had met exactly such fates.
Those fools, the moment they set foot on the battlefield, swallowed whatever living thing came close—only to offer up their own lives in the process.
But Manda, as Orochimaru's long-time partner, had fought countless battles against shinobi. It possessed rich experience in dealing with these tiny but lethal humans. Compared to biting or swallowing, slamming with sheer force was far safer—and far more effective.
If not for the overwhelming size difference, strangulation would have been an option too. But for humans this small, a headbutt alone could turn them into bloody pulp.
"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!!"
Mei Terumī spat forth another surge of searing acid.
Her reaction was swift.
Earlier, Kyoichi had been too fast—pulling her down before she could act. But now, facing such a formidable foe as Orochimaru, opportunities to strike were plenty.
And indeed—
As Manda's skull came crashing down, Mei countered immediately.
A stream of molten orange acid splashed against its brow. Flesh hissed and melted, white smoke billowed. But though pain tore through its skull, Manda did not relent. If anything, its eyes only burned fiercer, and its headbutt accelerated.
But Mei was not fighting alone.
"Earth Release: Fist Rock Jutsu!!"
Kyoichi's right arm became sheathed in dense, solid rock.
With a mighty push of his legs, he launched upward, swinging that massive, heavy stone fist straight at the serpent's descending skull.
This was a technique he had once seen Ōnoki use. Back when Kyoichi had fought the old man to buy time for his clansmen, the long-nosed Tsuchikage had sent him flying with precisely this move. Its power had been overwhelming.
If not for his Earth Spear technique at the time, he might have been pulped by a single punch from that frail, aged man.
Still—
From both Ōnoki and Namikaze Minato, he had gained much. There had been far too many things worth studying and refining—chief among them Sage Techniques. So he had long shelved the Rock Fist for later.
Only during his years adrift at sea, when there were no pursuers, did he finally find the time to revisit such techniques, incorporating them into his own fighting style.
Fist Rock met serpent skull.
The stone fist cracked apart, chunks breaking off his arm.
Kyoichi was hurled backward by the colossal impact, crashing hard onto the golem's crown. With a resounding bang, it was as though a hunk of iron had struck. Even the bound stone giant shuddered under the blow.
But Manda's head did not emerge unscathed either.
Blood sprayed from ragged wounds along its brow.
The headbutt was stopped cold. The crushing force of Fist Rock left Manda's skull reeling, its massive head lurching backward in pain.
Yet—
That was only the appetizer.
As the serpent reeled, a figure leapt down from above its head. None other than Orochimaru. His snake-like form twisted, and from his gaping mouth shot a crimson tongue, stretching unnaturally long like a frog's strike at an insect—darting straight for Kyoichi.
A grotesque hunting move—
Less snake than frog.
"Water Release: Water Whip!"
Mei formed a thin, flowing lash of water in her hand and cracked it like a whip, striking against Orochimaru's extending tongue. The two forces tangled, halting his strike at Kyoichi.
But the next instant—
From Orochimaru's mouth burst another serpent's head—this one bearing the blade wrapped in crackling lightning.
The Kusanagi Sword.
When Kyoichi had dropped it, Orochimaru had reclaimed it. Now he unleashed it again—this time having learned from failure, charging the blade with Lightning Release chakra.
Would Kyoichi dare try catching its edge barehanded again?
The blade, sharp and humming with electricity, shredded Mei's water whip like paper—
and plunged toward Kyoichi's abdomen.
Clearly, Orochimaru intended to capture him alive, not kill outright.
But—
Kyoichi, sprawled on the golem's crown, gave no response.
Because as before—he was not fighting alone.
Clang!!
At some point, Jūzō Biwa had scaled the stone giant's shoulder. Just as Orochimaru struck, Jūzō leapt high, his massive executioner's blade swinging down with brutal strength. The impact knocked the Kusanagi flying, wrenching it right out of the serpent-head's maw.
Deprived of chakra, the blade shrank rapidly midair, tumbling back toward the ground.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed with a flash of cold light.
He recognized Jūzō Biwa.
One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, wielder of the decapitating blade—an elite jōnin, to be sure. A fine material, as shinobi went.
But compared to the unique and valuable subjects like Kyoichi—
Jūzō was… ordinary.
Like chicken ribs—
Not worth savoring, yet wasteful to discard.
And to appear now, spoiling his hunt for true high-quality prey—
was nothing short of irritating.