Time Eye: Lock

Boom! The attacks of the three Kage landed, erupting with a tremendous roar and kicking up an enormous cloud of dust.

"Is it over..." Orochimaru stared fixedly at the figure within the smoke.

"No. He's still alive."

As the smoke cleared, Hyuga Kei was still floating in place. Only three black Truth-Seeking Orbs had transformed into a round shield, blocking that wave of attacks.

The legendary strongest spear, the One-Finger Nukite, had actually been effortlessly stopped by that thin black shield.

"How is this possible? The strongest combined strike of four Kage-level fighters was blocked so easily." Kabuto and Orochimaru stared wide-eyed.

Hyuga Kei smiled. His efforts had not been in vain after all. The Truth-Seeking Orbs could nullify any ninjutsu; he had already become invincible.

There were only a handful of people in the ninja world who could use senjutsu. At present, only two people could break Hyuga Kei's defenses: Jugo and Jiraiya.

The only others were the summoning beasts of the Three Great Sage Regions.

With a wave of Hyuga Kei's hand, the round shield formed by the Truth-Seeking Orbs instantly knocked the two nearby men flying.

"Wind Release: Truth-Seeking Orb Shuriken!" Hyuga Kei grasped three Truth-Seeking Orbs, shaping them into shuriken wrapped in violent Wind Release chakra.

Hyuga Kei hurled the Truth-Seeking Orb Shuriken with all his strength. The shuriken became a dark-green meteor, flying toward Orochimaru with unstoppable force.

Cold sweat beaded on Orochimaru's forehead as he watched the attack. With that immense chakra, getting hit would mean certain death!

The Third Raikage moved with incredible speed, appearing before the Truth-Seeking Orb Shuriken and meeting it head-on with a one-finger Hell Stab.

After barely an instant of resistance, the Third Raikage's body was instantly destroyed, turning into ashes that slowly drifted down from the sky.

The Third Raikage's soul gradually separated and returned to the Pure Land. "The younger generation truly surpasses the old. I never expected that, during my absence, such a powerful warrior would emerge in the ninja world."

Kabuto's eyes widened. That black orb could actually destroy a body constructed through Impure World Reincarnation.

"Summoning: Triple Rashomon!"

Orochimaru and Senju Hashirama used Summoning Jutsu at the same time, and six massive gates of varying shapes rose from the ground.

Senju Hashirama's Impure World Reincarnation body was not at its peak and could not use the Five-Gate Rashomon.

The Truth-Seeking Orb Shuriken tore through all six Rashomon gates in succession, but its trajectory was redirected into the distance.

Hyuga Kei immediately detonated the wind-nature chakra surrounding it. In an instant, a violent storm erupted from the Truth-Seeking Orb Shuriken.

With another wave of his hand, the Truth-Seeking Orb Shuriken reverted to three spheres and flew rapidly back toward Hyuga Kei.

Kabuto spotted a weakness in Hyuga Kei's Truth-Seeking Orbs. "Lord Orochimaru, have the Second Hokage use the Flying Thunder God to move those black orbs far away. Then we can defeat him while we have the chance."

Orochimaru nodded. They had thought of the same plan.

"Iron Sand Creation."

The Third Kazekage gathered the iron sand Orochimaru had collected for him and formed a massive black cube before the Truth-Seeking Orbs.

The three Truth-Seeking Orbs were like red-hot iron balls dropped onto ice, steadily forcing their way inward. Yet the iron sand did slow them down.

The moment the Truth-Seeking Orbs broke through the iron sand, Tobirama Senju appeared before them with the Flying Thunder God. He caught the orbs with his body; the weakened force of the Truth-Seeking Orbs was no longer enough to shatter his Impure World Reincarnation body.

The next moment, Tobirama Senju teleported himself and the three Truth-Seeking Orbs dozens of kilometers away. The second after that, he returned to the spot with the Flying Thunder God.

(The Truth-Seeking Orbs destroy jutsu. In the original story, Minato took away a Truth-Seeking Orb, so touching one does not mean instant death.)

Hyuga Kei sensed the location of the Truth-Seeking Orbs. They were flying back toward him at tremendous speed, creating booming sonic blasts in the air.

Five minutes. The Truth-Seeking Orbs will return in five minutes, Hyuga Kei thought.

"Magnet Release: Iron Sand World Method!"

Countless grains of iron sand gathered above Hyuga Kei, forming countless cone-shaped masses that filled the sky before repeatedly plunging into the ground.

Hyuga Kei dodged and weaved, not daring to touch them in the slightest. They contained potent poison, and if he came into contact with it, he could not guarantee that he would escape injury.

After narrowly avoiding every iron sand cone, Hyuga Kei reached the edge of the Magnet Release's range. But how could Orochimaru possibly give him time to rest?

"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique."

The soaring wooden dragon instantly coiled around Hyuga Kei. He felt the chakra throughout his body being continuously drained away.

Hyuga Kei quickly deactivated Tenseigan Chakra Mode, preventing the Wood Dragon from absorbing any more of his chakra.

"Anyone caught by the Wood Dragon Technique will have all the chakra in their body continuously drained. You no longer have the strength to break free."

Orochimaru used the Body Flicker Technique to appear before Hyuga Kei, preparing to seize his body.

He remained extremely cautious. Even now, he kept the Hashirama and Tobirama brothers guarding his side.

"How did you dare appear in front of me?" Hyuga Kei shook his head slightly. A powerful aura suddenly erupted from his body, and the curved manji pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan appeared in his eyes.

"Let me test my new dojutsu on you—Time Eye: Lock!"

Hyuga Kei's right-eye dojutsu had awakened long ago, but he had never had a chance to use it. The current situation was perfect.

Almost instantly, Orochimaru was about to have Tobirama Senju take him away. But before Tobirama Senju could place a hand on Orochimaru—

Everything around them froze. Time had been locked to that very second by Hyuga Kei. He did not dare delay; every second here was an enormous drain on his Dojutsu Power.

Breaking free of the Wood Dragon, Hyuga Kei instantly appeared before the three men. The Ghostly Sublimation Technique rapidly pulled out the souls of Hashirama and Tobirama, releasing both of their souls.

That left Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation with only the Third Kazekage, who stood beside Kabuto.

Hyuga Kei did not dare delay. He released the Mangekyō's dojutsu, and time around them instantly resumed. Orochimaru only felt Hyuga Kei break free of the Wood Dragon and appear before him in an instant.

The Impure World Reincarnation formulas on Hashirama and Tobirama beside him had both been severed.

Seeing this, Tobirama roughly guessed what had happened. "Is this your Mangekyō's dojutsu? It can actually lock time."

Hashirama nodded. "It's even stronger than Madara's."

Their souls swiftly rose into the sky and returned to the Pure Land.

Orochimaru tried to retreat at once, only to be frozen in place by one of Hyuga Kei's genjutsu.

Without Orochimaru's command, no one controlled the Third Kazekage either, and the iron sand filling the sky all fell to the ground.

"I will not become your tool!" Seizing the moment when Orochimaru's mind was at its weakest, the Third Kazekage broke free of the Impure World Reincarnation formula and returned to the Pure Land.

His body crumbled into a pile of debris, revealing the corpse that had been used as the sacrifice within it.

At that moment, dozens of kunai and shuriken shot toward Hyuga Kei. Kabuto Yakushi, who had not acted until now, wanted to save his superior.

Hyuga Kei formed a skeletal claw from his Susanoo to shield Orochimaru. Orochimaru could not be allowed to regain consciousness; his ability to escape was among the best in the ninja world.

Even if Hyuga Kei wanted to capture him alive, it would take some effort. This time, he had merely caught Orochimaru off guard with the Mangekyō's dojutsu. Once Orochimaru had the information next time, Hyuga Kei would not be so fortunate.

Hyuga Kei used Lightning Flash to instantly appear before Kabuto with Orochimaru in tow. "I advise you not to move recklessly. You have already been captured."

Kabuto revealed a harmless smile. "Lord Kei, please let me go. I'm just one of Orochimaru's minor underlings, forced to serve him."

Hyuga Kei smiled. "You are no minor underling of Orochimaru's. You are his right-hand man, a genius whose talent surpasses even Orochimaru's."

"Let's go inside and take a look at your snake nest. I have something to discuss with you."

Hyuga Kei was the first to enter the cave, while Orochimaru followed behind him like a puppet.

Kabuto took a deep breath and followed Hyuga Kei's steps. He knew that escaping this time would not be easy.