Rearguard Action

Without a moment's hesitation, the two figures immediately launched a joint attack.

If they did not even dare to fight a two-on-one, what would others think of them? What would they say about them?

Look at the likes of Rasa and Pakura, they were both serving as Kazekage; could he do it!

He couldn't do it, they lacked that ability, you know. After losing to Konohagakure, they lost to Kumogakure; after losing to Kumogakure, they lost to Iwagakure; and after losing to Iwagakure, they lost to Kirigakure. There was nowhere left to lose after that.

If you didn't even dare to fight a two-on-one right now, just like that, you had no face left at all!

"Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder!"

"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Wave!"

The two Kekkei Genkai users launched their attacks instantly, only to be blocked by an earth wall that rose up before Orochimaru.

Countless snakes slithered out from behind the earth wall, forming a torrent composed of serpents that rushed toward the pair.

Fireballs roared, and gold dust flew wildly!

Innumerable snakes were blasted into mummified corpses by the Scorch Release, while countless others were beaten into sieges by the gold dust.

The two did not stop; Orochimaru couldn't possibly have only this much ability, as they had already experienced it many times over the past year or more.

The earth wall was shattered, and true to expectation, Orochimaru's figure was not revealed behind it.

Using the Flying Thunder God, Orochimaru transferred to another location, weaving hand seals early to prepare a jutsu.

"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"

Overwhelming floodwaters roared as they rushed toward the pair.

Pakura unleashed her jutsu with full force, countless roaring fireballs flying toward the dozen-meter-high wall of water, evaporating a massive amount of water mist and delaying the arrival of the torrent.

This bought time for Rasa.

Gold dust condensed beneath the feet of the two, lifting Rasa and Pakura into the air.

Looking at the massive lake created by the Water Release beneath his feet, Rasa could not help exclaiming:

"I heard that the Second Hokage was someone who forged a pact with the vast ocean; I suppose he wasn't much more than this!"

Pakura also said with a look of apprehension:

"No matter how many times I see it, I am shocked by Orochimaru's chakra reserves. Does he truly not possess the bloodline of the Senju?"

While the two spoke, the churning water beneath them, which had gradually subsided, began to swirl once more.

"Water Release: Water Colliding Wave!"

Orochimaru pressed his palms together, and a torrent resembling a rapidly spinning and rising tornado appeared on the surface of the water, charging toward the two in the air.

Pakura reacted in time, summoning a giant fireball and hurling it downward before the water vortex could engulf them, generating yet another vast expanse of water mist.

"Compound Ninjutsu: Lightning Water Dragon Bullet!"

Before the mist could disperse, a massive water dragon crackling with lightning pressed on aggressively, biting toward the two.

Rasa condensed a massive amount of gold dust into a giant gold dust cosmic cube to block beneath them.

Under their combined efforts, they were actually suppressed by Orochimaru!

Countless immensely powerful jutsus bombarded the pair, forcing them to barely manage their defense.

On the other side, Chiyo was likewise locked in fierce combat with Hatake Sakumo.

Though Chiyo fought with reckless disregard for her life, Hatake Sakumo, drawing on the experience from their previous encounter, appeared especially cautious and easily refused to give Chiyo an opening.

Streaks of dazzling white blade light flashed across the battlefield, their extreme speed paired with staggering output leaving Chiyo's puppets in ruins.

If the high-tier combat power could still barely hold its ground, the Sunagakure forces below had already suffered heavy casualties.

Minato Namikaze and Shikun Mitarashi transformed into flashes of light, slaughtering their way through the Sunagakure lines. Without the strength of a Jōnin, it was likely a matter of a single move.

Even if they were Jōnin, if one Rasengan wasn't enough, they simply applied a few more.

Faced with such indefensible ninja, you could guard against them for a moment, but you could never guard against them forever.

Not to mention the presence of Shukaku as an inside man.

In this battle, Sunagakure suffered a crushing defeat. Rasa's wounds ruptured halfway through the fight, and after fighting desperately alongside Pakura to temporarily shake off Orochimaru, they rescued Chiyo and fled, borne away by gold dust.

At the critical moment, the monk Bunpuku's will awakened, temporarily suppressing Shukaku's consciousness and taking the initiative to serve as the rearguard for Sunagakure, which allowed Sunagakure to preserve a shred of its vitality.

Or rather, it was not that Shukaku's consciousness had been suppressed, but that Shukaku and Bunpuku had reached an agreement, deciding to join forces against the enemy.

Shukaku and Bunpuku got along fairly well; it believed they were both monks, and in certain respects, this Bunpuku resembled the Sage of Six Paths very much.

To bid farewell to this old friend, and because it no longer wished to be tortured by Orochimaru, it consented to Bunpuku's request.

At the very final moment of his life, monk Bunpuku became a perfect Jinchuriki.

His mental cultivation and mastery were extremely high, not even requiring him to conquer his own dark side the way Naruto and the others had.

A perfect Jinchuriki was vastly stronger than a mere Tailed Beast.

The strength of Naruto in Kurama Mode far exceeded that of the Nine-Tails during the Nine-Tails Incident.

Sage Fox Mode counted as peak Super Kage, while Kurama Mode was mid-tier Super Kage-roughly analogous to the difference between Shinju Senju and the Wood Human Technique.

A lone Nine-Tails was perhaps merely at the standard of a Super Kage gatekeeper, yet regardless, it was an existence that forced Minato, who had already become the Fourth Hokage in the original timeline, into mutual destruction.

A lone Shukaku was not actually strong among Kage-level fighters. Although its strength was not weak among the Tailed Beasts, it could be suppressed by Rasa; even if Rasa had a few Jōnin as assistants by his side, his strength certainly could not exceed Rasa's by too much.

Among the Tailed Beasts, the Nine-Tails was a Super Kage gatekeeper, the Eight-Tails was peak Kage, and most of the remainder were at the standard of ordinary Kage level.

Yet Bunpuku, having become a perfect Jinchuriki, possessed power that even made Orochimaru rather apprehensive; the opponent had reached the peak standard of the Kage level.

Having become a perfect One-Tail Jinchuriki, Bunpuku ultimately engaged in a massive battle with Orochimaru and the rest.

Minato Namikaze and Shikun Mitarashi both lacked sufficiently powerful breakthrough methods. Against a thick-skinned existence like a Tailed Beast, Master Minato and Master Zixiao could only deal scraping damage.

Consequently, the main force of this battle consisted of Orochimaru and Hatake Sakumo.

Whether due to some protocol reached between Shukaku and Bunpuku, they consistently targeted Orochimaru as their primary target.

They did not care even when Sakumo's relieving blade nearly sliced off its tail.

Instead, they grew all the more eager to fight Orochimaru to the death.

Orochimaru felt depressed enough to spit blood.

Yet he really was beaten to the point of vomiting blood by Shukaku.

Good grief, playing favorites to disgust me, were they?

Shukaku: You can lose the fight, but you must disgust him to death!

Orochimaru was not driven out of his wits by Shukaku, instead using himself as bait to create an opening.

In the end, Shukaku was pinned down by Gamabunta, with Garaga and Manda each entangling half of Shukaku's body, before being decapitated by Hatake Sakumo's blade and killed.

The rebirth of a dead Tailed Beast required three years, and until a new Jinchuriki was nurtured, Sunagakure would not lightly initiate a war again.

The existence of Tailed Beasts ensured that the presence of Kage-level powerhouses would not be interrupted.

Even if all other Kage-level experts perished, there was still a Jinchuriki who could succeed to the position of Kage.

Come what may, they could still retain their status among the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

With the exception of Takigakure, which lacked sufficiently powerful sealing jutsus to harness the power of a Tailed Beast.