Funeral for a Traitorous Slave

"Whoa..." The Sand Ninja stared dumbfounded at the drastically changing landscape before them.

The once lush forest had vanished, replaced by a golden desert, with only faint hints of green buried beneath the sand.

During wartime, ninjutsu like Magnet Release, capable of causing widespread destruction, naturally had a shocking effect.

"As expected of Lord Souya..." a young Sand Ninja muttered, swallowing hard.

"Lord Souya's Magnet Release must be even more powerful than Lord Rasa's, right?"

"Such immense Chakra reserves..."

The Sand Ninja marveled.

However, Souya's expression didn't relax. His senses indicated that only about ten Konoha ninja had perished in the Gold Dust torrent.

Dozens of meters in front of Souya, the Gold Dust ground suddenly erupted, and Orochimaru shot out from within.

His clothes were spotless, save for a few sticky, unidentifiable liquid droplets. He first surveyed his surroundings.

"Truly remarkable..." Orochimaru turned to Souya and offered a compliment.

Souya ignored Orochimaru. For someone like him, words were useless without demonstrating his own strength and unique value.

"Attack!"

Souya shouted, raising his arm. He then took the lead, Starfall Rod in hand, and charged directly at Orochimaru.

The Sand Ninja, their morale boosted by Souya's terrifying ninjutsu, roared and charged towards Kikyo Mountain ahead.

Of course, they deliberately avoided Orochimaru's position, as his fearsome reputation was well-known to them.

Only when they saw Souya actually able to contend with Orochimaru did they completely let go of their reservations.

Souya spun around, gripping the rod with both hands, and leaped up. The Starfall Rod descended upon Orochimaru like Mount Tai.

Clang!

Orochimaru raised his sword to block, and the two made a crisp metallic sound.

But Orochimaru immediately shifted the Kusanagi Sword slightly, flicking it to the right, deflecting the force of the Starfall Rod and even shearing off a small piece of the rod.

Souya's expression remained calm, showing no sign of regret. He didn't intend to fight Orochimaru to the death, but currently, no other Sand Ninja could last more than a few rounds against Orochimaru.

However, encountering Orochimaru here was also a good thing. He could first display his formidable strength and then discuss future cooperation.

As for capturing Orochimaru and then coercing him, Souya hadn't even considered it.

After all, while Orochimaru's strength might not be top-tier, his ability to survive was absolutely second to none. He was, after all, the only one who dared to "bug" the Shinigami...

The two began to clash, sparks flying. Occasionally, scattered metal fragments fell.

Upon closer inspection, the Starfall Rod in Souya's hand showed noticeable dents in several places.

Souya seized an opening, releasing the rod with his left hand, forming a hollow grip.

Instantly, several arms of Gold Dust shot up from the ground beneath Orochimaru's feet.

They unexpectedly bound his legs, and then Souya tightly gripped the Starfall Rod with both hands and swung it forward fiercely.

Bang!

Accompanied by a whistling sound, Orochimaru's body was sent flying.

But Souya didn't stop there. He planted the Starfall Rod beside him and brought his hands together sharply.

Boom!

Two deeply condensed, massive Gold Dust wrists rose from the ground, interlocking like clasped hands, crushing Orochimaru within their grasp.

The two golden wrists gleamed in the sunlight, appearing as if cast from pure gold, exuding an ostentatious aura.

Souya's hands continued to move.

A massive vortex suddenly formed beneath the golden wrists, spinning rapidly.

The two Gold Dust wrists holding Orochimaru closed tightly, slowly sinking into the ground.

The flowing Gold Dust vortex turned into a funnel shape. Souya pulled out the Starfall Rod and threw it into the center of the funnel.

The Starfall Rod landed directly in the center of the sand vortex, like a divine needle stabilizing the sea.

Souya changed his hand seals, and black runes began to appear on the surface of the Starfall Rod, appearing faster and faster.

After appearing, the runes detached from the rod. Some crept along the ground, while others seeped directly into the earth.

In an instant, dense rune patterns spread across the surface of the vortex, intertwining like a perfectly sealed spiderweb.

"Sealing Technique? Slave Reapers!"

After completing this, Souya let out a heavy sigh, fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

This was the strongest attack he could currently unleash, a composite technique of Magnet Release and Sealing Jutsu.

Souya believed that even Orochimaru would not emerge unscathed from this onslaught. As for finishing Orochimaru off... Souya had never entertained such a thought.

Taking advantage of the lull, Souya glanced at the battle ahead.

The ninja of Sunagakure had already directly assaulted Konoha's defensive line, with various ninjutsu erupting from both sides.

After watching for a while, Souya noticed that Sunagakure seemed to have the upper hand, suppressing Konoha's ninja.

However, this was enemy territory, so it was possible they had a plan to lure the enemy deeper...

Of course, this was also because Konoha's main forces were not in this direction. If Minato were here, Souya wouldn't dare to launch an attack, no matter what.

After all, he had only gotten a chance to live again, and Souya didn't want to die for nothing.

The Kazekage must have received confirmation before sending Souya to attack in this direction.

Crack!

Just as Souya's thoughts drifted, movement came from the large sand vortex ahead.

The sealing runes in the center of the sand vortex suddenly shattered, followed by a "boom" as the Starfall Rod, serving as the sealing node, let out an explosive sound.

The Starfall Rod was blasted away, spinning into the distance. Souya beckoned with one hand, controlling a small stream of Gold Dust to fly up, wrap around the Starfall Rod, and pull it back into his hand.

Souya frowned slightly. He hadn't expected the Sealing Technique to be broken so quickly. Even at this stage, Orochimaru's mastery of sealing techniques seemed to be above his own...

He rubbed the Starfall Rod, feeling the remaining Chakra inside. It was less than thirty percent.

But now was definitely not the time to conserve Chakra. If Orochimaru managed to recover, he would be the one at a disadvantage.

Souya's expression turned resolute. He had no habit of waiting for his enemies to break free.

He held the Starfall Rod horizontally with his thumbs and index fingers, using the Chakra within as a guide to cast Ninjutsu again.

After all, as a Ninja Tool, its basic function was to help ninja conserve Chakra and increase the power of their Ninjutsu.

The Lightning Blade, "Fang," could allow the user to use Ninjutsu without hand seals. If hand seals were added, the power of the Ninjutsu would reach another level.

This was the significance of hand seals, otherwise, the honest man Kisame wouldn't have liked them so much. As for Hashirama, who could just clap his hands and summon whatever he wanted, it was purely because at his level, he no longer needed extra hand seals to enhance his power.