In the dead of night, a beam of light shot skyward from a round building, like a lighthouse.
Orochimaru stood atop a tree, gazing into the shadowy forest beyond the light's reach as he quietly waited for his opponent to arrive.
Since he'd guessed Kumogakure planned to launch a full-scale assault when Konoha reached the fortress, Orochimaru saw no need to make another exhausting trip. Instead, he'd wrapped a building he'd come across by the road in Barrier Ninjutsu, turning it into an oversized light bulb.
It was better to conserve his strength and wait for the enemy than face them exhausted.
Of course, if Kumogakure refused this challenge, he'd take advantage of the situation and play a game of misdirection, setting up several false beams of light to take the fortress without bloodshed.
But just as the rumors said, the Raikage was decisive and had no interest in playing mind games with him.
"Bang!"
A heavy thud rang out as the Fourth Raikage leaped from the darkness and hit the ground, his landing crushing a crater beneath his feet.
The entrance suited the Raikage perfectly—dramatic, powerful, and striking!
Orochimaru grinned darkly and called out, "Explode!"
Boom! Boom! Boom...
In an instant, shock waves surged and dust scattered. Blazing flames lit up the smoke, swelling into a massive explosion that swallowed the Raikage's powerful frame.
The Konoha Ninja stared into the smoke, anticipation on their faces.
Even a prepared jonin would be badly wounded by an explosion on this scale. The Raikage had charged in so recklessly that he might have been caught off guard and killed outright...
"No, he's not dead."
The Uchiha elites had already activated their Sharingan. They could still see a vast chakra signature in the smoke.
A shrill birdcall rang out as lightning tore through the smoke, revealing the Fourth Raikage. He casually ripped away his tattered shirt, baring his broad, rugged chest.
He hadn't merely survived. He was completely unharmed.
Meeting the Raikage's fierce gaze, Orochimaru let out a sinister chuckle. "It seems Lord Raikage is quite pleased with my welcome gift."
But he was on his guard. The Fourth Raikage was exactly as the Old Man had described: shrewd beneath his rough exterior.
Konoha had prepared for the fight, of course. The Fourth Raikage had tested the waters by using his own body to trigger the traps.
It looked reckless, but in truth, he had absolute confidence in his body's toughness.
Orochimaru licked his lips, sensing trouble.
Now that he'd faced the Raikage in person, he understood the reports about him much better.
The Fourth Raikage was much like Jiraiya: physically powerful and quick to adapt. Without enough offensive power, there was no way to defeat him.
Orochimaru knew he didn't have a sharp enough spear. Besides, he hadn't trained in ninjutsu to kill his enemies.
In this battle, he could only keep himself from losing.
Of course, there was more than one way to avoid defeat.
His thoughts took only an instant. The moment the Fourth Raikage appeared, Orochimaru leaped down from the treetop.
He formed hand seals. "Forbidden Technique: Eight Branches Technique!"
In an instant, a colossal creature with eight heads and eight tails appeared out of nowhere. It looked like eight serpents entwined together, its body pure white and scaleless, radiating chakra on the level of a Tailed Beast.
There was no need for any more talk. He'd been going all out from the start.
Orochimaru let out a roar and whipped his massive tail. The towering beam of light collapsed with a thunderous crash, plunging the surroundings back into darkness.
That was the signal for the battle between Konoha and Kumogakure to begin.
The ninja on both sides deliberately avoided the area around Yamata no Orochi and the Raikage, clashing in the shadowy forest.
Darkness was undoubtedly an advantage for ninja with dōjutsu, but Kumogakure had the greater numbers.
The two sides were evenly matched for a time.
In the end, it was always the strongest fighters who decided the outcome of a battlefield.
The Fourth Raikage's gaze sharpened, but Yamata no Orochi's imposing presence did nothing to intimidate him.
He had plenty of experience fighting Tailed Beasts. The Eight-Tails, Gyuki, was no big deal—he beat him all the time.
The White Snake before him might be huge, but compared to the Eight-Tails, it was all show.
"Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop!"
With a low growl, blue lightning erupted around the Fourth Raikage. He leaped into the air and struck Yamata no Orochi's head at a speed rivaling the Yellow Flash.
His hand blade struck like lightning, easily tearing through the tough skin on the serpent's head. The force of the blow carried on, cleaving downward like a battle axe.
The long serpent's body split in two, its blood spraying across the Raikage and staining him crimson.
Even Orochimaru, with a will as hard as iron, couldn't help crying out in pain. The other heads lunged at the Raikage, trying to bite him.
"Bang!"
The Fourth Raikage stomped hard, dodging the serpents' attack and landing back on the ground. He stared at Yamata no Orochi, his thick brows furrowed.
The split serpent's head was held together by the other serpents and began visibly knitting itself back together. At this rate, it would be fully healed in no time.
The Fourth Raikage wiped the serpent's blood from his face and cursed. "What kind of monster is this?"
The Sannin were renowned, powerful figures from the generation before his. But even the Raikage hadn't expected one of them to be this hard to deal with.
Orochimaru had transformed himself into a monster like a Tailed Beast, and his regenerative ability was so incredible that he could simply withstand the Raikage's attacks while targeting the other Kumogakure Ninja.
Kumogakure's strategy had been to use the power of a Tailed Beast to wipe out as many of Konoha's forces as possible. Now, Orochimaru could use that same strategy against them.
With that in mind, the Fourth Raikage shouted into the forest, "Killer B, help me take down this monster!"
His previous target no longer mattered. A feral grin spread across the Fourth Raikage's face. He'd use this chance to kill Orochimaru.
"Right, bro!"
Killer B slashed away the Konoha Ninja around him. Eight tentacles burst out from his body, and he began to swell. In an instant, the Eight-Tails' enormous body filled the battlefield.
Seeing this, the Konoha and Kumogakure Ninja hurriedly fled the area to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
Orochimaru spotted the enormous figure in the darkness too. His cold, vertical pupils flicked toward the Eight-Tails, Gyuki, and he let out a sinister laugh. "Calling for backup? I can do that too."
Yamata no Orochi's central head opened its jaws, and Orochimaru's upper body emerged. He formed hand seals. "Summoning Technique!"
"Bang!"
As the smoke cleared, the giant summon Manda, from Ryūchi Cave, appeared on the battlefield. He swept his gaze across the area, taking in the entire battlefield, and said coldly,
"Orochimaru, every time you summon me, it's always bad news."
"Boom!"
Dodging the Fourth Raikage's sneak attack, Orochimaru retreated into Yamata no Orochi. The White Snake's head spoke. "Don't worry. After the battle, I'll give you a reward."
"I want ten times what you gave me last time!"
Manda roared and lunged at the Eight-Tails, Gyuki.
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