The Great Battle Ends

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The deafening explosions rang out without end.

All around them, ninjas fought in the sky and across the ground.

Under the Third Hokage's leadership, Shukaku was successfully subdued, and Gaara returned to human form.

But the powerful warriors brought back with Impure World Reincarnation soon gave everyone a hard time. Fortunately, Konoha hadn't sent out its ninja forces this time, and most of its ninjas were still in the village.

Every three jonin worked together to hold off one of the enemy's Kage Level fighters.

The most troublesome opponents were the ones brought back with Impure World Reincarnation. They feared no death and were incredibly powerful. Several jonin had nearly lost their lives fighting them.

"Damn it, are the sealing scrolls ready yet? The longer this drags on, the worse it is for us!" Asuma Sarutobi cursed as he fought.

They could still hold their ground, but the longer the battle went on, the more damage Konoha would suffer. They were struggling to keep up with their opponents.

"Don't panic," Kurenai reassured him. "All we can do is wait for Lord Jiraiya's side to settle things. Our job is to buy time and keep these fighters occupied."

As she spoke, a torrent of Water Release surged toward them. They could only leap aside to meet the attack.

Meanwhile, Rasa was directing the Sand shinobi forces. His combat strength had been greatly reduced, so he couldn't charge into battle.

"Lord Kazekage, isn't it bad for us to keep dragging this out? Konoha has too many jonin, and our ninjas are nearly wiped out. The reinforcements we sent outside still haven't arrived, and if Orochimaru loses..."

Baki watched Orochimaru's position grow increasingly dire and voiced his concerns.

This attack hadn't gone as smoothly as they'd expected. The Kazekage was badly wounded, Jiraiya had appeared, and the Third Hokage had subdued Shukaku. Now they could only pin their hopes on Orochimaru.

Sunagakure had become a complete turncoat in this battle. The village had once held a respectable middle position among the five great villages, but if this battle ended in defeat, they'd be left at the bottom.

Rasa snorted, his expression growing even grimmer. "We have no other choice. If we retreat now, do you think Konoha will let us go? How is Gaara? Can he transform into the Tailed Beast again?"

Rasa abruptly changed the subject and asked about Gaara.

As Sunagakure's weapon, Gaara was a failure in Rasa's eyes.

He'd planned to make Gaara go berserk in Konoha and wreak havoc, but he hadn't expected the Third Hokage to suppress him with the Five Elements Seal.

The sealing technique required its user to master the nature transformations of all five basic chakra elements. It could only be undone with the Five Elements Unseal.

"No. We don't have the ability to undo this seal. Gaara probably can't transform into the Tailed Beast."

Baki answered Rasa honestly.

Rasa's expression darkened further. Gaara was like a magnificent feast sealed beneath a cover: he'd draw the attention of others, but Rasa couldn't enjoy him himself.

He even considered killing Gaara on the spot. He couldn't let the village fall into such danger. If a Jinchūriki died, the Tailed Beast would eventually revive somewhere else in the world.

Tailed Beasts were conscious entities made of chakra. Killing one merely scattered its chakra.

"Keep a close eye on Gaara. Once the battle's over... you'll deal with him."

In the end, Rasa issued the order for the village's safety. Baki hesitated briefly.

He'd been Gaara's teacher for a long time, so he wasn't entirely without affection for him. In the original story, Baki had even defied popular opinion to help Gaara become Kazekage. But now, he could only follow orders.

Meanwhile, the battle between Orochimaru and Jiraiya had reached its most intense stage.

Jiraiya's Sage Mode gave him an enormous amount of chakra. With two great sages helping him gather Senjutsu Chakra, he was exceptionally well suited to a prolonged fight.

Orochimaru and Jiraiya stood on opposite sides of the battlefield. Orochimaru bore marks where flames had scorched him.

Clearly, fighting Jiraiya and the two great sages at the same time had taken its toll on him. Jiraiya, by contrast, had barely suffered a scratch.

"Little Jiraiya, so this is Orochimaru? You'd certainly have a hard time defeating him on your own."

Sage Shima, standing beside Jiraiya, spoke up.

Orochimaru gave a sinister smile. "I should thank you for the compliment, Sage. It seems I'll have to find a power capable of matching Mount Myoboku as soon as possible."

Jiraiya furrowed his brows at that. If Orochimaru obtained the Senjutsu of another sacred land, his ambition would make him even more dangerous.

"You won't get the chance, Orochimaru! I won't let you escape this time. Fire Release: Great Flame Bomb!"

Jiraiya drew a deep breath and puffed out his cheeks. He transformed his chakra into oil, then spat it out as he used Fire Release to ignite it, producing flames far more powerful than an ordinary Fire Release technique.

"Orochimaru's Sage Mode really is something. It looks like I'll have to use that technique."

As he thought this, Orochimaru bit his finger and rapidly formed Hand Seals. His body began to change, swelling and growing larger, until he disgorged eight enormous white serpents covered in scales.

"Secret Technique: Eight Branches Technique!"

The white serpent was terrifying, hailed as the strongest serpent. Its massive body surpassed even Manda's, and it bared fearsome fangs.

In the original story, Orochimaru—after being swallowed by Sasuke Uchiha—released this technique when Sasuke's chakra suppression ran out.

Unfortunately, Itachi had the Sword of Totsuka, the Sword of the Gods, and defeated Orochimaru in an instant.

That didn't mean the technique was weak. Orochimaru wouldn't have kept it as a trump card if it had no exceptional qualities.

It was one of Orochimaru's largest and most powerful techniques, and the embodiment of his unchanging, lifelong obsession!

"Little Jiraiya, be careful! This technique is no ordinary one," Sage Fukasaku warned.

"I know. Great sages, get ready!"

Jiraiya stamped both feet against the ground. The terrifying force left two enormous craters, launching him into the air.

He pressed his hands together.

"Ninja Art: Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"

The technique lengthened his hair and shaped it like a lion's head to ensnare his opponent. Though it was hair, it was strong enough to tear them apart. It had once defeated Pain's Animal Path summon in an instant.

Countless strands of hair split into dozens of ropes and wrapped around the eight-headed serpent before him.

Hiss—! Roar—!

The eight heads were bound together and collided with one another. But soon, one head spat flames, and the intense heat burned away all the hair around its body. Jiraiya saw this but didn't panic.

With a turn of his hand, he followed up with another technique to trap his enemy.

"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"

A vast swamp suddenly appeared beneath the serpent, and its entire body sank into it, unable to escape.

Orochimaru hid inside the serpent's belly and sneered. Another head of the Eight-Headed Serpent exhaled a blast of freezing wind.

The entire swamp froze solid. Even Jiraiya was covered in ice crystals, but the Eight-Headed Serpent climbed out of it.

"It looks like each of the eight heads can use a different nature of ninjutsu."

After two exchanges with the serpent, Jiraiya had worked out its attack pattern. The two sages exchanged glances.

"If that's the case, Little Jiraiya, let us take over."

"Senjutsu: Frog Call!"

Sound-based techniques were the strongest form of genjutsu. This Frog Call was performed by the toad couple, and could trap an opponent in a powerful genjutsu, leaving them unable to move.

Even the Eight-Headed Serpent froze in place after hearing it.

"Now!"

"Sage Art: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan!"

This Senjutsu technique was more than ten times larger than the Big Ball Rasengan. Its power was terrifying, enough to destroy a massive rocky mountain.

Jiraiya leapt high into the air again and slammed the Rasengan into the head of the Eight-Headed Serpent.

The serpent broke free of the genjutsu and roared.

Roar—!

Two of its heads exploded under the force of the Rasengan.

The two sages didn't sit idle either. Working together, they performed their techniques.

"Tongue Battle Bind! Water Slash!"

Sage Shima first restrained the Eight-Headed Serpent with her tongue. Then Sage Fukasaku unleashed a high-powered Water Release technique. Its piercing force was no weaker than the Second Hokage's Water Severing Wave. It sliced through another head, where Orochimaru was hiding.

"Little Jiraiya, now!"

The moment he saw Orochimaru, Jiraiya reacted. His hair instantly lengthened and tightly bound Orochimaru, trying to drag him out. Orochimaru and Jiraiya struggled against each other.

"Orochimaru, give up. Your actions have brought too much suffering to the ninja world."

Jiraiya kept trying to reason with him. He wanted to bring back his old friend. That was why he hadn't let the two sages attack from the start. He didn't want to kill Orochimaru.

"Hmph, Jiraiya, how could you understand what I'm thinking? Life is so fragile, and people are so easily broken! I'll make life stronger—eternal!"

Orochimaru roared at Jiraiya. From childhood onward, he had witnessed the cruelty of war and the deaths of those close to him. Unlike ordinary people, he didn't release his emotions through tears. Instead, he blamed everything on life's fragility. He had feared losing his companions, and so he'd never trusted in their strength.

Jiraiya was about to refute him when a figure appeared behind Orochimaru in an instant.

"Flying Thunder God Technique!"

Feng Yao had finally waited for his chance. He'd marked Orochimaru with the Flying Thunder God Formula during their earlier fight. Now, Orochimaru was too weak to resist.

He grabbed Orochimaru as his right eye opened a Kamui Vortex.

"Orochimaru, it looks like you'll be spending eternity in my dimension."

Orochimaru's body twisted as he was pulled into the Kamui Dimension.

"No!!"