Orochimaru didn't play around anymore.
"This is your last chance. I won't pursue your insolence, but it must stop here."
With that, he threw multiple kunai at Renji. Nono pushed Kabuto aside while deflecting them.
"This has nothing to do with you, Kabuto! Don't follow me anymore—get away!"
She could tell Orochimaru had made up his mind. She would fight him if necessary, but there was no need to involve Kabuto in this mess.
Kabuto was torn between duty and family, but there was no way he would leave her to fend for herself!
Watching the increasingly brutal battle in front of him, Renji couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. He adjusted the trajectories of projectiles as much as he could to keep them from being fatally wounded.
'Now what? There's no way I'll offer my head to break this up. And now, it seems the snake is actually trying to kill Nono.'
While he was trying to come up with a plan, the battle grew even more serious. Orochimaru spat venom all over the cave interior, trying to infect everyone.
Nono grew desperate, making risky moves to keep him from making it worse. With Kabuto helping her, they barely held him back.
Within two minutes, piles of dead snakes littered the floor.
Orochimaru stepped back and smirked, an evil grin spreading across his face. "I underestimated you, Wandering Miko. You aren't bad at all."
Nono and Kabuto were panting heavily. "Thank you for your compliment, Orochimaru-sama. But please, let's stop here. I swear, Renji won't be a problem anymore."
Orochimaru shook his finger slowly. "No, no, that's no longer the issue. I couldn't care less whether he lives or dies. But you, Nono—you defied me repeatedly, and influenced Kabuto-kun to do the same."
Nono looked at Kabuto with guilt.
Orochimaru's tongue flicked across his lips as his expression twisted into something sinister. "I don't need disobedient subordinates."
With a single hand sign, a kunai at her feet shot upward, morphing into a tiny snake that sank its fangs into her leg. It moved so fast she couldn't react in time.
Even Renji didn't see it coming—he was too inexperienced in real ninja combat.
Kabuto shouted, "Mother!"
He killed the snake instantly and turned to her. Within seconds, her face turned pale blue, and she collapsed, gasping for breath.
He knelt beside her, channeling medical chakra to force out the poison. "What is this poison?! I can't identify it!"
Orochimaru stepped closer with his sword drawn. "You can't save her anymore, Kabuto. Even I don't have an antidote for that poison. Such a pity—you would have made an excellent subordinate."
At that moment, Renji fell into shock and denial.
'Why? How? I was right here. I had enough strength to fight, to protect her. Then why? WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?!'
He remembered all his moments with Nono—her gentle smile, her shy expression when he massaged her head, her determination to save him. She wasn't just a character from an anime. She was a person—someone he cared for deeply.
His eyes turned red, glowing like blood. His hair began to rise, floating against gravity.
System messages appeared in his vision, but he was too far gone to read them.
[Warning! Warning!]
[Demonic Energy destabilizing]
[Attempting to calm down host... Failed]
[Attempting to find a solution... Found!]
[Using recovered Origin Energy to unlock suitable skill]
[OVERDRIVE unlocked!]
[OVERDRIVE activated!]
[Good luck, host]
As Orochimaru raised his sword to strike Kabuto, a chill ran down his spine—a primal sense of death.
He turned toward Renji and froze. The man was floating several feet above the ground, glowing red eyes burning with fury, his hair writhing in the air like living flame.
Renji's face was blank, but his eyes radiated wrath.
"What is this…?"
For the first time in years, Orochimaru felt death whisper in his ear. He almost stepped back, but forced himself still.
"Interesting. Very interesting! Did he unlock some kind of Kekkei Genkai?" he muttered, licking his lips in anticipation.
Kabuto also noticed the change in Renji but ignored it, focusing on sustaining Nono's life with his medical chakra.
Renji didn't think of anything else—his entire being focused on Orochimaru. His hair elongated and shot forward like blades, forcing Orochimaru to block frantically with his sword.
That triggered the fight again—this time between Renji and Orochimaru.
With each passing second, Renji's attacks grew faster and sharper. Orochimaru couldn't even form hand seals. There were too many attacks.
He leapt back, excitement gleaming in his eyes. "Your Kekkei Genkai is stronger than I thought! Maybe you can give me a good fight!"
Forming quick seals, he slammed his palm to the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!"
A massive cloud of smoke erupted. From it emerged a gigantic purple snake, scales glistening.
"Orochimaru, you bastard! You still owe me two hundred sacrifices!"
Orochimaru jumped onto Manda's head while forming more seals. "I'll give them to you, Manda—along with another hundred! For now, help me distract this man."
"Hmph. You'd better keep your word."
Seeing the enormous serpent, Renji's eyes flickered, as if he remembered something. He waved his hand, and [Kushina] dissolved into long crimson hair that flew to his open palm. The hair wrapped lovingly around his arm, awaiting his command.
Orochimaru frowned. "Is that... hair?"
As he watched, part of the crimson hair ignited, separating and spiraling around Renji in a vortex of flame. It took the form of a gigantic translucent woman glowing crimson, with Renji at the heart. The figure had two pointy horns on her head, looking demonic.
Orochimaru's eyes widened in disbelief. "Is that... Kushina?! What is going on?!"