Mutual Damage

The clouds covered the moon, and the sky darkened once more.

Across the battlefield, only the Fourth Raikage and Orochimaru were still fighting. All the other ninja had stopped.

Konoha had already accomplished its strategic objective, completely destroying the enemy's fortress. Now, under Fugaku's command, they were heading toward the area where the Eight-Tails was, with Manda leading the way.

Intimidated by Manda's might, the Cloud ninja didn't dare attack on their own. They followed behind the Konoha Ninja, ready to launch a surprise attack as soon as their village's Jinchuriki had Manda tied down.

The fortress had been destroyed, but Kumogakure had not yet lost. The Raikage had eliminated Konoha's armored giant. If they could take out Orochimaru as well, Kumogakure would still win this war.

Boom, boom, boom...

The Eight-Tails' tentacles thrashed wildly, trying to snatch the tiny insect darting across its body, but every strike missed.

To ordinary ninja, a Tailed Beast was an unstoppable weapon of war. But once they reached a certain level of strength, they could toy with one at will.

With "Orochimaru's" current reflexes and speed, the Eight-Tails' attacks were laughable, like a child's. Still, to be safe, he had left the ground and made Gyuki's body the battlefield, fighting the Fourth Raikage there.

"Lord Raikage, you're running out of time."

"Orochimaru" licked the blood from his lips and smiled. "My adorable summoning beast is on its way. When it arrives, will you still be confident you can kill me?"

The Fourth Raikage stood on Gyuki's back, his face so dark it could have dripped water.

He had sensed Manda and the others approaching. He knew Orochimaru wasn't bluffing.

But after unleashing his full presence, Orochimaru had focused only on dodging, while power steadily gathered in his sword. He was holding back a deadly strike, giving the Raikage an unprecedented sense of danger. The Raikage didn't dare ignore it and attack recklessly.

But if he kept probing like this, he'd waste this golden opportunity.

He had let the half-dead Shisui Uchiha escape. How could he let a weakened Orochimaru get away, too?

"Killer B!!"

The Fourth Raikage made up his mind. Lightning blazed around him as he leaped into the air.

Eight-Tails Gyuki gave up attacking Orochimaru. Its enormous body pressed tight against the ground as its eight tentacles rose high, then slammed toward the Fourth Raikage.

"This..."

"Orochimaru" looked up and couldn't help but murmur in surprise.

In the air, a streak of lightning bounced repeatedly beneath the eight tentacles' relentless blows, growing faster and faster until it left a string of afterimages.

Soon, even his sharp eyes could no longer follow the Fourth Raikage.

Yet thanks to the brothers' seamless teamwork, the tentacles kept pace with the Raikage's movements, driving the lightning faster still.

"Now that's simple and brutal..."

After a brief compliment, "Orochimaru" held his sword across his body and spread his senses all around, aided by the special state that made him one with nature.

"Boom!"

At some point, a tentacle collided with the lightning, and a deep gash was carved into it. The Fourth Raikage knew he'd reached his limit. He stopped gathering power and plunged straight down toward Orochimaru.

"Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop!"

A bolt of lightning came hurtling in with a thunderclap. "Orochimaru," whose eyes had been closed the whole time, suddenly opened them. His sword flashed, meeting the Fourth Raikage's fist head-on.

The lightning and flames clashed only briefly. With a sharp crack, the Kusanagi Sword broke under the Raikage's attack.

The punch continued unabated. "Orochimaru" could only twist aside in time, but the blow tore away a chunk of flesh the size of a fist from his flank.

"Did it work? No, not yet!"

The Fourth Raikage's eyes widened, but his body's remaining momentum carried him off to the side, leaving him unable to follow up with another punch.

He turned his head in frustration, only to see a feral grin spread across Orochimaru's face.

Before he could react, pain struck his waist and abdomen. His small and large intestines, along with his kidneys, had all been slashed.

"Boom!"

The Fourth Raikage could no longer keep his balance and was flung away by his momentum. Even though the tentacles caught him, he still landed in a sorry state.

"How did you like that kidney-slashing strike?"

"Orochimaru" smiled. His gaze fell on the grime-smeared, broken Kusanagi Sword, and he grimaced in disgust before casually tossing it aside.

Whoosh...

A rush of air came at him. "Orochimaru" clutched his flank and forced himself to leap away, dodging the tentacle's sneak attack.

With the Fourth Raikage no longer holding him back, Orochimaru didn't need to stay. He forced his injured body out of the Eight-Tails Gyuki's reach.

Soon, he rejoined the Konoha Shinobi Army.

"Orochimaru, look at you. You're a mess!"

Though he said that, Manda curled around Orochimaru to protect him from attacks coming from any direction.

As if. He'd helped this guy twice and still hadn't been paid.

"Lord Orochimaru, are you all right?" Seeing the huge wound in Orochimaru's flank, Fugaku was startled. "Medical Corps! Where are the medical ninja?"

He called out twice, then his voice trailed off as he remembered that Orochimaru himself was an exceptionally skilled medical ninja.

"Heh... It's nothing serious. I just need to change forms."

"Orochimaru" smiled and left the Demon Slayer Mark state. His entire demeanor suddenly changed, as if he'd become a different person.

"That bastard really put me through the wringer."

Orochimaru was still smiling, but his face seemed veiled in coldness. He glanced at the wound, formed Hand Seals, and suddenly transformed into a several-meter-long, scaleless White Snake.

Fugaku's heart jumped, and he instinctively took several steps back.

The smallish White Snake opened its mouth, and an arm emerged. Orochimaru slowly crawled out, his body coated in saliva but completely free of wounds. The whole process was like a snake shedding its skin.

Even though they knew how bizarre Orochimaru could be, the Konoha ninja present still felt a chill at this inhuman sight and swallowed nervously.

Orochimaru paid them no mind. He leaped onto Manda's head and looked into the distance by the faint light of the crescent moon.

On the Cloud ninja's side, the Fourth Raikage noticed his gaze and struggled to his feet, unwilling to show weakness now.

Nearby, Kumogakure's medical ninja did their best to use their techniques, but they had little effect.

The Fourth Raikage's muscular frame was indeed usually nigh-indestructible, but once he was injured, he wasn't so easy to heal. What's more, all the energy in Genie's sword strike had gone into preventing the wound from regenerating.

"Raikage, how about we end this battle here?"

Orochimaru said coldly, "At this point, you've already lost."

The Konoha side also turned their gaze toward the Cloud ninja forces. They were fierce and their morale burned bright, while the Cloud ninja were generally dispirited. The difference was plain to see.

The Fourth Raikage's face darkened. He wanted to flare up, but the slash to his kidneys made it impossible to maintain his earlier bravado.

"What, you still want to keep fighting?"

Orochimaru stood atop Manda, unharmed, his cold expression radiating menace. "If you do, I'll fight you to the bitter end!"

After a brief silence on the battlefield, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer B, suddenly spoke. "Orochimaru, Kumogakure agrees to end this war."