Reshaping the World

There was no time to mourn Sasori of the Red Sands' defeat.

Summoning Technique!

Boom!!

Amid the enormous cloud of dust, a massive dark-purple snake with black stripes appeared.

A pair of small horns protruded from its head, as if it were about to shed its serpentine form and become a dragon.

It was Manda, the great serpent of the sacred Ryūchi Cave!

To guard against Uchiha Sora's giant green snake summon, Orochimaru had resisted the urge to summon Manda to help him fight.

He'd held back and held back, only for the famous Sasori of the Red Sands to suddenly get taken out...

Orochimaru had fought the Third Kazekage before. That man had truly lived up to his title as the strongest Kazekage.

You took down the Third Kazekage, yet you lost this easily?!

If Sasori had known what Orochimaru was thinking, he probably would've said, "If you're so good, you do it."

Orochimaru had no idea how badly Sasori had struggled. Intelligence made an enormous difference in battle.

This hadn't been a fair fight at all. Sasori had felt as though every move he made had been anticipated, each step bringing him closer to a dead end.

Uchiha Sora sealed Sasori's core in a scroll, then looked up at the colossal Manda.

Actually, when Sasori had transferred his core, Sora had had a chance to destroy it.

But capturing Sasori was obviously more valuable than killing him.

He'd just have to consider whether Nagato would come after him because of it...

Probably not. The Akatsuki weren't exactly a loving family at this point.

They didn't know that the Core was Sasori's true body. From their perspective, Sasori had been killed, so there was no risk of him leaking any information.

Nagato wouldn't expose his strength early just to get Payback.

At this point... he'd probably only recently killed Hanzo and was busy getting Amegakure under control.

Coming back to the present, Uchiha Sora said to Orochimaru, "Orochimaru, I'll say it again. Leave now, and I'll pretend none of this happened."

Orochimaru furrowed his brow, seeming to hesitate.

The situation didn't exactly favor him, but Uchiha Sora had to be in rough shape.

If Manda could keep the boy occupied... maybe Orochimaru could capture him.

Uchiha Itachi's talent had already made Orochimaru covet him, but Itachi was still a child. The boy before him was a Uchiha monster who had already realized his potential!

Manda, beneath Orochimaru's feet, spoke up.

"Hey! Orochimaru, I don't care whether you want to fight or not. You summoned me, so you'd better have a hundred living sacrifices ready. Not one less!"

"Manda, you..."

Orochimaru was just about to placate Manda when a sudden tremor in the earth stopped him cold.

"Hellhound!!"

With rivers of dark-red magma flowing and bursting, a vicious beast from hell roared into view.

The sharp, dog-shaped mass of magma streaked across the sky, leaving a trail of scorching heat. The air warped in its wake, and a piercing shriek rang out!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!!

The enormous explosion shook the surrounding area. A horrifying molten crater had opened in Manda's massive body, and through the wound, they could even see his charred innards.

Even Manda's lightning-fast reflexes couldn't evade that terrifying attack!

What incredible speed! What devastating power!!

The only sound was the righteous cloak fluttering in the wind.

Akainu raised his head high, his gaze locked on Manda. His power burned with heat, while his killing intent was as cold as ice!

"Even if you look down on justice, there should be a limit..."

"Dog Bite Crimson Lotus!!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!!!

The magma surging around him gathered like a raging sea. As Akainu swung his arm, an even larger magma hound shot forward.

If Manda didn't dodge Dog Bite Crimson Lotus, he'd really be done for.

Without hesitation, Manda ended the summoning. His furious roar echoed through the air.

"Damn you, Orochimaru!"

"Two hundred... no, three hundred people!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!!!

The magma hound's jaws snapped at empty air, charging all the way into the sky before exploding with a thunderous blast!

Chunks of falling magma struck the desert, setting even the sand and stones ablaze!

Akainu furrowed his brow and turned to Uchiha Sora. "A space-time ability... Can you help me catch him? I have to kill him!"

He'd dared to talk about living sacrifices right in front of a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral!

If Akainu didn't hunt him down, how could he live up to the word "justice" he bore?

"That might be tricky. Maybe we should ask him."

Uchiha Sora turned to look at Orochimaru, his expression less than friendly.

Orochimaru's face was expressionless. He suddenly dropped to the ground and opened his mouth wide like a snake.

Ninja Art: Mandara Formation!!

An endless flood of snakes surged toward them, blotting out the sky.

Great Eruption!!

Countless fists of magma erupted like a volcano, incinerating the massive swarm of snakes in an instant!!

But...

Once their vision cleared, they could no longer sense Orochimaru's presence.

Uchiha Sora looked around and said, "He got away."

Defeating Orochimaru and killing Orochimaru were two completely different things.

Uchiha Itachi could defeat Orochimaru with a single glance, but even after carefully laying his plans and using the legendary Totsuka Blade, he still hadn't managed to truly kill him.

Even with Akainu on their side, Uchiha Sora hadn't expected to take Orochimaru down for good.

Akainu furrowed his brow even more deeply.

Tracking wasn't his specialty, and he'd rarely encountered such bizarre abilities among pirates.

"Young man, there really isn't any way to find him?"

As far as Akainu was concerned, Orochimaru's aura now rivaled that of the most evil pirates. The frustration of running into someone like that and letting him escape was hard to bear.

Uchiha Sora shook his head. "Here's an example you can understand... Killing him would be about as difficult as getting Borsalino to work hard."

I see...

Akainu considered this for a moment. "The Government of this world is sending children your age to deal with people like him? What exactly is it doing?"

Shisui was clearly taken aback by those words.

In his mind... there was nothing strange about children going to war, was there?

The World Government... what did that have to do with the Feudal Lord?

Uchiha Sora smiled. "We don't have a unified government here."

He gazed at the tiny sparks flickering across the desert and spoke slowly. "I'll be the one to establish order. I'll reshape this world."

His voice wasn't raised. He didn't sound as though he were talking about a dream, but stating a fact.

Akainu pulled a cigar from his sleeve and lit it with the tip of his finger.

"Heh... An ability user like me ought to have ambitions like that."

For once, Akainu even made a joke.

The enormous difference in their height meant Akainu had to crouch to meet Uchiha Sora's eyes. He raised a hand and touched Sora between the brows, where a lotus-shaped mark appeared.

Along with the mark, Akainu infused him with life energy, quickly replenishing what Sora had lost.

"Grow strong. You owe me."

"I'll come collect."

"Of course."

Uchiha Sora chuckled as the still-visible lotus mark glimmered faintly.

Akainu stood up, turned around, and adjusted his hat. His figure gradually faded.

With his back to the two of them, Akainu casually waved a hand, as if to say goodbye.