One Slash

The first to make a move was neither Lin Qing nor Orochimaru.

It was the Root ninja.

If they didn't act now, they really would turn into snakes.

"Orochimaru! Break the barrier seal and let us out!" the Fox Mask Ninja cried, his voice full of terror.

They could accept being cut down in a single strike.

But watching helplessly as they turned into venomous snakes was worse than death.

"Heh..."

Orochimaru chuckled. "You're Root ninja. For the sake of the Will of Fire, I'm sure you've sacrificed plenty of your comrades. Now it's simply your turn. Why make such a fuss?"

The Fox Mask Ninja and the others realized they had been played by Orochimaru.

Of the five Root ninja, Lin Qing had killed two. The remaining three exchanged glances, steeled themselves, grabbed their kunai, and charged at Orochimaru.

One engaged him in close combat while the other two quickly formed Hand Seals, preparing to unleash ninjutsu. But Natural Energy flooded their bodies, disrupting the flow of their chakra and causing their techniques to collapse.

Orochimaru didn't even need to act. Kimimaro and Jugo rushed forward and cut down the three attacking Root ninja.

The three ninja fell at their feet. Orochimaru glanced at them and stepped over their bodies. Noticing one of them was still breathing, he offered some comfort:

"Don't worry. I'll make Danzo pay double the condolence money for you. I'll cover whatever's short."

Whether the words really put him at ease or simply enraged him, the last ninja rolled his eyes back and died.

Stepping over the bodies, Orochimaru turned to Jiraiya again. "For old times' sake, I'll give you one more chance. Go, Jiraiya. Head south once you're outside the barrier, return to Konoha, and never come looking for me again."

Jiraiya crouched low and spoke quietly to Lin Qing and Sasuke beside him. "I'll leave behind a purified area. You'll be safe as long as you stay inside it. I'll find a way to get you out."

Without waiting for Lin Qing or Sasuke to respond, Jiraiya formed Hand Seals and created a Shadow Clone to remain in place and maintain the purified area. Then his real body charged at Orochimaru and the others.

Sasuke watched Jiraiya's retreating figure with concern.

"Can that uncle really handle this?"

Then he looked at Lin Qing.

Lin Qing had been standing quietly in place since earlier, staring at his left hand as though lost in thought. Suddenly, Sasuke's eyes widened.

"Brother Qing! Your—"

Sasuke clearly saw the skin on Lin Qing's left hand harden, scales like a snake's appearing across it.

Was Lin Qing going to turn into a snake too?!

Sasuke was both shocked and terrified.

But then he saw the scales on Lin Qing's arm change again.

The fins of a fish.

The fur of a mammal.

The shell of an arthropod.

The feathers of a bird.

Countless transformations occurred in an instant. Sasuke stood there, bewildered, unable to believe his eyes. For a moment, he thought he was dreaming.

A bizarre, absurd dream.

"Ugh..."

Jiraiya's pained groan interrupted Sasuke's thoughts.

The two had been evenly matched to begin with.

Now Orochimaru had the home-field advantage, and Jiraiya had split off some of his chakra to create a Shadow Clone and maintain the purified area. Against the combined assault of Orochimaru, Kimimaro, and Jugo, he was quickly forced onto the defensive.

Leaving Kimimaro and Jugo to keep Jiraiya occupied, Orochimaru moved ahead and charged at Lin Qing.

Orochimaru's thinking was clear:

Lin Qing's Evil Spirit and its mysterious powers were far too unpredictable. As long as he eliminated this wild card, the battle...

would be won!

A smile curled Orochimaru's lips as he reached Lin Qing. But then he saw Lin Qing's constantly changing left arm, and his thoughts abruptly went blank.

What was this?!

As one of the few scientists in the Naruto World, Orochimaru could be called the ninja who understood the human body best.

Someone else might have thought this was some kind of ninjutsu or Kekkei Genkai.

But Orochimaru knew that changes of this nature couldn't be explained by ninjutsu or Kekkei Genkai.

A gust of wind blew, scattering the feathers on Lin Qing's arm. His skin returned to normal.

Lin Qing had kept his head bowed ever since Tagorihime opened her domain. Slowly, he raised it and looked at Orochimaru.

The wind brushed against Orochimaru, sending a chill down his spine.

W-what was that look?

It wasn't fierce or savage.

It was grave.

A gaze as though it had come from primordial times, crossed the river of time, and descended upon him.

Lin Qing raised the Blade of Ruin and drew a deep breath.

Tagorihime, floating in the air as she watched the scene unfold, stared at Lin Qing in astonishment.

The Natural Energy she had released was being drained away with every breath the man before her took!

That Natural Energy had been cultivated by Tagorihime over hundreds of years, then amplified by the Dragon Snake Treasure Orb of the White Snake Sage.

"How could a mere mortal..."

Tagorihime was so stunned that she lost herself for a moment. Then she saw Ripple and Natural Energy sweep together and pour into the Blade of Ruin. The already enormous blade first became wrapped in golden lightning, then countless emerald-green gusts of wind appeared around it.

Wind and lightning swirled together. The Blade of Ruin seemed to lengthen by dozens of meters in an instant, its blazing light piercing the pitch-black barrier.

Sunlight poured in once more.

Like a spotlight, a beam of light fell upon Lin Qing.

Tagorihime abruptly snapped back to her senses. "Little snake! Dodge!"

Dodge?

Where could he go?

Orochimaru's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

Death had never been so close.

"Lord Orochimaru!"

Kimimaro and Jugo abandoned Jiraiya and charged at Lin Qing.

At this desperate moment, both pushed themselves to their limits and got in front of the descending blade first.

Wind and lightning roared as the great blade fell.

A thunderous boom shook the heavens, and the earth trembled.

A long, narrow crack appeared in the barrier surrounding the village.

Jiraiya swallowed and surveyed the battlefield.

Kimimaro, dead.

Jugo, dead.

Orochimaru...

His lower body was nowhere to be seen. Only his upper half remained, his intestines spilling across the ground.

One slash!

Just one slash!

It had shattered all of Orochimaru's preparations and contingencies.

Jiraiya could hardly believe it. All that remained in his heart was shock.

Sss—

The Blade of Ruin glowed scarlet, blazing hot. The "flesh and soul" at its core, once part of Samehada, let out a faint wail.

That last strike had exceeded the Blade of Ruin's limits.

"Don't worry. Just this once... for now."

Lin Qing murmured in reassurance.

He had been able to unleash that strike thanks to Tagorihime's dense Natural Energy.

Now that the barrier had shattered and all the Natural Energy had been spent, Lin Qing couldn't replicate that strike again anytime soon.

However, with Tagorihime's "help," he had learned how to combine Natural Energy and Ripple. As long as he had a little more time to train...

He would have no problem unleashing that sky-piercing blade of light again.

Lin Qing planted the Blade of Ruin in the ground and let it cool on its own.

In the time it took to do that, Orochimaru opened his mouth and crawled out of it, whole once more. The upper half of his original body had become a "skin," which he discarded on the ground.

"Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique."

After restoring his body, Orochimaru immediately tried to flee.

"You're really hard to kill."

A calm voice sounded behind him. A hand reached out and clamped around his neck, hoisting him up like a little chick.

Orochimaru was forced to look up and meet the steely gaze of Star Platinum.

But soon, he noticed an even more terrifying gaze than Star Platinum's.

Lin Qing stood in front of Orochimaru.

"Let me see just how powerful the recovery ability you're so proud of really is."