Three Heroes Battle Orochimaru

The group returned to Tanzaku Street without incident.

Natsume glanced at Kakuzu and Sasori in the distance, then leaned close and whispered, "Hui Nai, follow this road inward. Stop when you reach Gunma Casino. My clone will meet you there."

Naruto Uzumaki's mother trembled slightly, nodded, and left with Karin in her arms.

Perhaps because she had not seen crowds in so long, she was like a frightened young beast, every movement filled with fear and pitiful vulnerability.

"Let's go meet Orochimaru."

Natsume pointed north. "He's about a thousand meters ahead."

Considering the possibility of a fight, he had not set the exchange location in Tanzaku Street, but on an uninhabited plain.

"Let's go."

Kakuzu gave a sinister smile. "I can't wait to see one of the legendary Sannin for myself."

You're just dying to trade Orochimaru's head for money, aren't you?

Natsume saw straight through his thoughts.

After all, Kakuzu had even sold his teammates for money before.

Now Orochimaru, worth tens of millions of ryo, was right in front of him. There was no way he would let this opportunity slip by.

Natsume was not worried either.

Although Orochimaru did not yet have curse marks or Living Corpse Reincarnation, his combat experience was extensive and his ability to survive was first-rate. Taking him down would be difficult.

Moreover, Kakuzu and Sasori's abilities were not as suppressive or unbeatable as the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Even if Orochimaru were unfortunate enough to die, it would not have much impact on Natsume.

He had already obtained the Hashirama Cells.

He had no interest in curse marks or Living Corpse Reincarnation.

The improved Impure World Reincarnation was indeed quite valuable, but it was not essential. If necessary, he could have Kabuto Yakushi research it.

"One more request: no matter what Orochimaru asks, neither of you is to answer. Just take the items for the exchange."

Natsume paused, raised two fingers, and said, "I'll add another two hundred thousand ryo as hush money."

Kakuzu immediately swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue and nodded. "No problem."

You have money, so everything you say is right.

He had lost himself amid Natsume's repeated offers of more money.

A few minutes later, Orochimaru's figure came into the three men's view from afar.

"I'm only a clone, so I won't join the fun."

Natsume stopped, watched Kakuzu and Sasori walk over, then took out a pair of binoculars.

Watching the drama unfold.jpg.

Three heroes against Lü Bu.

No, three heroes against Orochimaru.

Kakuzu, Sasori, and him versus one of the legendary Sannin.

How could he possibly miss this?

In his previous life, he had only watched through a computer screen. Now he was seeing it up close, far more vividly.

Natsume could also get a look at just how powerful the current peak of the ninja world really was.

Of course, he would cheer on all three people in the field.

Orochimaru quickly noticed Kakuzu and Sasori.

He licked his lips, somewhat excited.

It was the excitement of uncovering secrets.

Once the exchange was complete, if he could keep one of them behind, or force them to reveal a special ninjutsu or Kekkei Genkai, he would be able to glimpse the bigger picture through the smallest clue.

As the two drew closer, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.

So it really was an organization.

It even seemed rather formal, with matching clothing.

"Where are the goods?"

Kakuzu swept his gaze over Orochimaru. He had seen his portrait in the underground black market and recognized him at once.

He had once considered accepting the bounty on him.

But Orochimaru had always remained in Konoha, and Kakuzu had no way to simply force his way in.

Now Orochimaru had appeared alone!

Quick, use a Master Ball to catch him.

But before that, he had to complete the commission.

Because of his generous spending, Natsume had already classified him as a premium client—the kind he could cooperate with long-term.

"Here."

Orochimaru took out a storage scroll. He had no intention of reneging on the payment.

Mainly because Natsume had asked for only a small amount.

Besides, if the worst happened, there was still room to salvage the situation.

Kakuzu accepted it without even looking and put it away directly.

The next second, the calm atmosphere abruptly froze as two surges of killing intent shot into the sky.

In the world of the Hokage, killing intent was a real thing.

For example, during the Chunin Exams, when Orochimaru faced Sasuke Uchiha.

The moment they met, he used killing intent to freeze him in place.

Sasuke had only broken free by resorting to self-harm.

At that moment, Orochimaru was surprised to discover that Kakuzu's killing intent was no weaker than his own.

The way to cultivate killing intent was simple: countless life-and-death battles.

One could basically judge what a ninja had experienced from his killing intent.

Orochimaru became serious.

Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes!

Countless venomous snakes crawled from his mouth, densely packed and stretching for dozens of meters as they surrounded Kakuzu and Sasori.

"Not bad."

Kakuzu removed the Akatsuki Organization cloak. Then, a humanoid figure made of black tentacles appeared behind him, like a stand-in.

Earth Grudge Fear mode.

This was his respect for Orochimaru.

At the same time, Kakuzu wanted to end the battle quickly.

The Fire Style mask on his right shoulder opened its mouth.

Fire Style: Headhunter!

A raging inferno swept out, reducing all the poisonous snakes around them to ash.

Orochimaru's gaze sharpened.

The power of that Fire Style was absurdly strong.

And he had never seen Kakuzu's pitch-black stand-in before. He had no idea what kind of ninjutsu it was.

Interesting.

Orochimaru's confidence remained undiminished.

He opened his mouth and spat out a small snake, which then spat out a sword.

The Kusanagi Sword shot forward at incredible speed.

Seeing this, Kakuzu extended black tentacles in an attempt to stop it.

But the moment they came into contact, they were sliced in two.

"Fine sword!"

Kakuzu's eyes lit up. A sword sharp enough to sever the black threads of Earth Grudge Fear was undoubtedly a top-grade weapon. It would certainly fetch a high price.

Earth Style: Earth Spear!

His arms hardened into black iron, and before Orochimaru's astonished eyes, he actually caught the Kusanagi Sword between both hands.

"Both his Fire Style and Earth Style are impressive."

Orochimaru evaluated him inwardly, then shifted his thoughts.

Kusanagi Sword: Sky Sword!

The blade extended without limit.

Kakuzu's expression changed. He quickly released the Kusanagi Sword and retreated, then used the Body Flicker Technique to move aside and avoid the extending blade.

The instant he came to a stop, the Lightning Style mask opened its mouth.

Lightning Style: Falsified Darkness!

An enormous lightning spear shot out at terrifying speed, piercing through Orochimaru before exploding.

"Is he dead?"

Kakuzu stared at the smoke and dust in the field.

Suddenly, he lowered his head and saw poisonous snakes already coiling around his waist.

And behind him stood Orochimaru, swinging the forty-meter-long Kusanagi Sword in an attempt to cut him in half.

Kakuzu's body turned into water.

His true body appeared some distance away, and then the Wind Style mask spat out a sphere of wind.

Wind Style: Pressing Dangers!

The unremarkable wind sphere suddenly spun and swelled before finally exploding, engulfing Orochimaru completely.

"Dodged that too?"

Kakuzu frowned. This guy was pretty good at staying alive.

Several of his elemental techniques possessed power close to that of forbidden techniques.

An ordinary person would have died long ago.

Orochimaru let out a breath. After dodging several attacks in a row, he was hardly having an easy time either.

This was probably his toughest battle since Hanzō of the Salamander, the demigod of Amegakure.

And worse still, Sasori had yet to make a move.

He stared at Kakuzu, frantically trying to figure out his identity, but found no clues.

Where had a ninja proficient in Earth Style, Water Style, Lightning Style, Fire Style, and Wind Style come from?

"Too slow."

Sasori suddenly spoke, then without hesitation revealed the hidden cannon in his left arm.

He had used only one tube when dealing with the Kusa Ninja last time, but this time, there were more than a dozen.

Even Kakuzu hurriedly retreated at the sight.

"A puppeteer?"

Orochimaru's gaze swept over his right arm and paused for a second.

Then the dozen or so tubes all burst open, transforming into a sky full of poisoned needles.

The range was too wide.

Ordinary Body Flicker Techniques or substitution techniques could not evade it at all.

Snake Substitute Technique!

Poisoned needles riddled Orochimaru's body.

But in the next instant, as though shedding his skin—

Orochimaru tore open his outer body and crawled out again.

"What terrifying poison."

He glanced at the body that had melted into a thick liquid, and the corner of his eye twitched.

Orochimaru himself was an expert in poisons, yet Sasori seemed to be no less skilled than him.

He looked at the two of them grimly, having already abandoned any thought of defeating them.

What he was thinking now was: just how many members did this organization have? Could every member possess such terrifying strength? And if so, how strong was Natsume, their leader?