The Traitor's Burial

"Whoa..." The Sand Ninja stared, dumbfounded, at the landscape that had undergone a drastic transformation before their eyes.

The lush forest had vanished. A golden desert stretched before them, with only faint patches of green visible beneath the sand.

In wartime, the effects of a jutsu like Magnet Release, with its vast destructive range, were naturally astonishing.

"Just as you'd expect from Lord Souya..." a young Sand Ninja murmured, swallowing nervously.

"Isn't Lord Souya's Magnet Release even more powerful than Lord Rasa's?"

"That's an enormous amount of chakra..."

The Sand Ninja all marveled at the sight.

Souya, however, didn't relax. He sensed that only around a dozen Konoha Ninja had died in the Gold Sand deluge.

Several dozen meters ahead of Souya, the gold sand suddenly burst apart, and Orochimaru shot out from beneath it.

His clothes were spotless, though they were now splattered with a little unidentified, mucus-like fluid. He first surveyed the area.

"Impressive..." Orochimaru turned to Souya and offered his praise.

Souya didn't bother responding. There was no point saying more to someone like Orochimaru until he had demonstrated his strength and unique value.

"Attack!"

Souya raised his arm and shouted. Then, leading the charge, he gripped the Starfall Rod and rushed straight at Orochimaru.

The Sand Ninja were likewise emboldened by the terrifying power of Souya's jutsu. They roared and charged toward Kikyo Mountain.

Of course, they deliberately kept clear of Orochimaru. His fearsome reputation was well known to them all.

Seeing that Souya could truly hold his own against Orochimaru, they finally let go of their misgivings.

Souya spun around, gripped the rod with both hands, and leaped, lifting it high. The Starfall Rod came crashing down on Orochimaru with the force of a mountain.

Clang!

Orochimaru raised his sword to block. The weapons met with a crisp metallic ring.

But Orochimaru immediately shifted the Kusanagi Sword slightly and swept it to the right, deflecting the force of the Starfall Rod and shaving off a small piece of it in the same motion.

Souya's expression remained unchanged, with not a trace of regret. He didn't want to fight Orochimaru to the death; the other Sand Ninja wouldn't last more than a few exchanges against him.

Still, running into Orochimaru here was a good thing. Souya could first demonstrate his strength, then discuss working together in the future.

As for capturing Orochimaru and then trying to force him into cooperation, that hadn't even crossed Souya's mind.

After all, Orochimaru might not be among the very strongest, but his ability to survive was second to none. He was, after all, the only one who'd dared to exploit a bug in the Shinigami's rules...

The two clashed in a ringing flurry of blows, sending scattered bits of metal flying throughout their exchange.

A closer look revealed that the Starfall Rod in Souya's hands had already developed numerous visible dents and chips.

Seizing an opening, Souya released the rod with his left hand and held it outstretched.

Several arms of gold sand suddenly sprang up from the ground beneath Orochimaru.

They caught him off guard and bound his legs. Souya seized the Starfall Rod with both hands and swung it forward with all his strength.

Bang!

With a whoosh, 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 enormous wrists of densely compacted gold sand rose from the ground, crossed over each other, and clasped together, trapping Orochimaru in their grasp.

The two golden wrists glittered in the sunlight, as if cast from pure gold, radiating all the ostentatious splendor of a nouveau riche.

Souya's hands kept moving as he formed more seals.

A vast vortex suddenly formed beneath the sand wrists and began spinning rapidly.

The two gold-sand wrists clamped tightly around Orochimaru, slowly sinking into the ground.

The swirling gold sand took the shape of a funnel. Souya pulled the Starfall Rod free and hurled it into the center.

The Starfall Rod fell straight into the middle of the sand vortex, like a pillar holding back the sea.

Souya changed his hand seals, and black markings appeared across the Starfall Rod's surface. They multiplied faster and faster.

As each marking appeared, it peeled away from the rod. Some crawled along the surface while others seeped straight into the ground.

In the blink of an eye, dense networks of markings spread across the vortex, weaving together into a seamless web.

"Sealing Technique: Traitor's Burial!"

Only after completing the technique did Souya let out a heavy breath. Sweat beaded across his forehead.

This was the most powerful attack he could currently unleash: a combination of Magnet Release and Sealing Technique.

Souya believed that even Orochimaru would be in for a rough time after taking that attack. But he'd never expected it to finish Orochimaru off.

Taking advantage of the lull, Souya surveyed the battle ahead.

The Sunagakure Ninja had already reached Konoha's defensive line, and all manner of jutsu were erupting on both sides.

After watching for a while, Souya realized that Sunagakure seemed to have the upper hand, keeping the Konoha Ninja pinned down.

But this was enemy territory, after all. Perhaps they were trying to lure the Sand Ninja deeper in...

Of course, Konoha's main forces weren't stationed in this direction. If nothing else, if Minato Namikaze had been here, Souya wouldn't have dared attack, even at gunpoint.

He'd only just gotten a second chance at life. Souya had no intention of throwing it away.

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

Crack!

Just as Souya's thoughts began to wander, the broad sand vortex ahead stirred.

The sealing markings at its center suddenly shattered. Then, with a bang, the Starfall Rod—the seal's anchor—exploded.

The Starfall Rod was blasted away and spun into the distance. Souya raised one hand, sending a small stream of gold sand after it. The sand wrapped around the rod and drew it back into his grasp.

Souya furrowed his brow. He hadn't expected Orochimaru to break the Sealing Technique so quickly. Even at this stage, Orochimaru's skill with Sealing Techniques seemed to surpass his own...

He rubbed the Starfall Rod and sensed the chakra left inside it. Less than thirty percent remained.

But this was no time to conserve chakra. If Orochimaru recovered, Souya would be the one at a disadvantage.

A resolute look crossed Souya's face. He wasn't about to sit around and wait for his enemy to escape.

He held the Starfall Rod horizontally between his thumbs and index fingers, using the chakra within the rod as a guide to cast another jutsu.

After all, the basic function of a ninja tool was to help a ninja conserve chakra and increase the power of their jutsu.

The Thunder Blades could even let their user perform jutsu without hand seals. Adding hand seals could take the jutsu's power to an even higher level.

That was the point of hand seals. Otherwise, why would Kisame, honest as he was, be so fond of using them? Hashirama was the exception: when all it took was clapping his hands and calling out whatever he wanted, it was simply because he'd reached a level where extra seals were no longer needed to amplify his power.