A Solo Battle Against Orochimaru

"Greetings, everyone from Konoha. It has been a while." As the dust gradually cleared, a massive purple serpent coiled its body in preparation to attack. Orochimaru, dressed in a Red Cloud Robe, stood atop its enormous head and looked down at the crowd.

"Orochimaru..." Orochimaru's Summoned Beast, Manda, brought immense pressure upon everyone. The foreheads of several Special Jonin present had already begun to bead with sweat. Although Jonin like Nagai Seiichi and Inuzuka Fu remained calm, Manda's enormous size still left them feeling greatly troubled.

"Orochimaru, are they this time's sacrifices?" Manda's pair of sinister vertical pupils stared fixedly at the people below as he spoke in a human voice. "That isn't enough."

"Inaho, Saito, take everyone and fall back. Leave this place to me." The three tomoe in Uchiha Toko's eyes slowly spun as flashes of lightning continuously erupted around him. "Kakashi, protect everyone."

Kakashi pulled down his mask at that moment, revealing his Sharingan. "Will you be all right on your own?"

Uchiha Toko threw back his head and laughed, his hands rapidly forming seals. "Do you know why I usually carried out missions alone during the Third Shinobi War? Lightning Style: Azure Dragon!"

Violent lightning-nature Chakra erupted outward with Uchiha Toko at its center. Kakashi, standing not far from him, paled in shock and hurriedly pulled his teammates back.

Within a few breaths, viscous electric plasma surrounded Uchiha Toko. Violent lightning surged like ocean waves, unleashing thunderous explosions.

At the heart of that sea of lightning, Uchiha Toko seemed like a demon god descended upon the world.

Only then did everyone remember the name Azure Lightning Toko, earned when Uchiha Toko had single-handedly slaughtered fifteen Kirigakure Jonin squads on the battlefield of the Third Shinobi War. Hadn't he relied on these immensely powerful, large-scale Lightning Style ninjutsu? In this situation, remaining near him would instead make Uchiha Toko worry about his ninjutsu harming his comrades, preventing him from fighting at full strength.

"But that amount of Chakra is just absurd." As Kakashi led his teammates away, he stared at Uchiha Toko within the sea of lightning and could not help clicking his tongue. During the Third Shinobi War, he and the Uchiha Clan had not fought on the same battlefield, so he had only heard of Uchiha Toko's fighting style. But seeing it today, he could not help shedding tears of envy in his heart. Among all the shinobi he had seen, only his Master's Wife, a Jinchuriki, could be said to reliably surpass Uchiha Toko in Chakra reserves.

At that moment, Uchiha Toko let out a low shout. Amid the surging lightning, a colossal azure lightning dragon, no smaller than Manda before it, instantly burst forth and roared toward its target.

The massive trees in its path collapsed one after another, their broken sections scorched black in the blink of an eye by the violent lightning. Facing the roaring Lightning Dragon, terror appeared in Manda's eyes as well. "Orochimaru! What have you provoked?!"

"It has been several years, and Toko-kun's strength has improved again." Orochimaru, standing atop Manda's head, wore a grave expression. He had only seen his Teacher accomplish ninjutsu on such a scale so casually when his Teacher was young. In other words, Uchiha Toko was likely no weaker than the Third Hokage at his peak. And Uchiha Toko had yet to reveal the abilities of his Mangekyō Sharingan.

Orochimaru dismissed Manda's summoning. He understood that against a shinobi like Uchiha Toko, whose every move was a wide-area destructive ninjutsu, Manda's huge body was nothing but a target. After landing, Orochimaru bit his finger and slammed his hand heavily against the ground.

"Summoning Technique: Triple Rashomon!"

Three enormous gates engraved with demonic statues shot up from the ground, blocking the path of the roaring Lightning Dragon. The instant the two collided, a violent shockwave surged into the sky and swept everything around it into its wake. Although the group Kakashi led had already retreated several hundred meters, the blast still made them stagger. As for Utatane Kui, who had lost an arm and had no one helping her during the retreat, she was directly blown away by the explosion's impact. She crashed heavily dozens of meters away, spat out a mouthful of blood, and immediately lost consciousness.

"Gulp..." Nagai Seiichi could not help swallowing at the sight. It was difficult to imagine that the man causing such a huge commotion had been drinking and chatting with him the night before.

"Is your Clan Head always this outrageous?" Hyuga Ken'ya looked somewhat dazedly at Uchiha Inaho, who had covered his retreat earlier.

"Of course! Our Clan Head is the strongest person in our clan!" Uchiha Inaho said, his eyes filled with fervor.

"Ken'ya! Stop chatting! Hurry and check the situation at the center of the explosion!" Kakashi shouted in reminder.

Hyuga Ken'ya hurriedly came back to his senses, activated his Byakugan, and looked toward the center of the explosion.

"Clan Head Toko... He's charging at Orochimaru. They've already engaged!"

Although Uchiha Toko's Lightning Style: Azure Dragon had not directly injured Orochimaru after being weakened by the Triple Rashomon, the enormous force of the explosion still forced Orochimaru to retreat. At that moment, Uchiha Toko drew Swift Lightning and pursued him at lightning speed.

Seeing this, Orochimaru also drew the Kusanagi Sword at his waist. Within only a few instants, the two exchanged several blows.

After several exchanges, even Orochimaru, a skilled swordsman, could not help feeling troubled. Uchiha Toko was simply too fast. Combined with his exquisite Sword Technique, every slash was as swift as lightning, each one aimed at Orochimaru's vital points.

Is this a Lightning Release Chakra Mode similar to those fellows from Kumogakure? This is troublesome.

As Uchiha Toko relentlessly pursued him, he too frowned slightly. Orochimaru's attainments in swordsmanship were not low, and his entire body had undergone soft-body modification. Even Uchiha Toko's tricky sword moves could be blocked by Orochimaru's blade in unimaginable postures.

After Swift Lightning and the Kusanagi Sword collided once more, the two separated at a touch.

"Is this the power of the Uchiha Clan? Truly terrifying." Orochimaru extended his long, slender tongue and licked his entire face before speaking.

"You aren't bad either, Orochimaru. As expected of one of the legendary Sannin." Uchiha Toko said with a light laugh.

"I heard that Toko-kun awakened the same Mangekyō Sharingan as Madara Uchiha. Might I have the honor of seeing it?" Orochimaru, confident that he could not die, suddenly asked.

"The Mangekyō? That depends on whether you have the ability to make me use it." Azure lightning erupted around Uchiha Toko once more as he stepped upon lightning and charged at Orochimaru.