Whether it was the somewhat closer Kakuzu or the more distant Sasori of the Red Sands, both noticed the sudden appearance of the enormous serpentine body at once. Orochimaru's ostentatious yet sinister Chakra might not leave them utterly dumbfounded, but it was enough to put them secretly on guard.
But before the monster with eight snake heads could display its might, it was abruptly surrounded by a vast sea of flames.
The blazing orange-red flames swiftly transformed into dazzling white, like streams of light. No flesh-and-blood body could withstand temperatures of several thousand degrees. Before the aroma of roasting meat could spread, it was instantly replaced by an unbearable stench of burning flesh.
Based on the destructive urges hidden in the human heart, one could reach this conclusion... setting things on fire was a very enjoyable activity, especially when burning living creatures.
"Using a ninjutsu of this scale so effortlessly... Konoha really does produce monstrous ninja," Kakuzu muttered as he watched the enormous area of flames burning fiercely.
There was nothing surprising about Orochimaru using any exaggerated ninjutsu. After all, he was one of the famous "Three Legendary Sannin." However, after Orochimaru suddenly unleashed his ultimate move, the obscure Kakashi Hatake had actually countered it with a composite ninjutsu of the same level. That was the truly astonishing part... Well, even if he was merely relying on his seniority, Kakuzu could still consider "Kakashi of the Sharingan" an obscure nobody.
Kakuzu looked at the fire Kakashi had unleashed, then at the fire he had just released himself. He could only say that there was still quite a gap between them in both scale and power.
Then he thought about Kakashi's age, and for some reason, Kakuzu suddenly felt rather aggrieved.
"Power isn't everything. A technique that can resolve a battle