Why Don't You Retreat When You Know Our Names?

"Orochimaru! How are you holding up!"

A thunderous roar echoed from afar, followed immediately by a figure in a red short-robe vaulting over a broken wall.

Jiraiya stood with his hands on his knees, gasping for air, the scroll on his back tilted to one side. Behind him, Hiruzen Sarutobi leaped onto the top of the ruins, leaning on his Adamantine Staff, with Tsunade following closely behind, her face etched with gravity.

Lin Zi was wiping his sword while stepping on the severed remains of the Yamata no Orochi. He didn't even turn his head at the sound, merely shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm doing fine."

He pointed the tip of his sword toward the massive, writhing snake head opposite him, his tone light and airy.

"But your Orochimaru... doesn't seem to be doing so well. I chopped off two of his heads, and now he's gone completely mad."

Jiraiya followed the direction of his finger, his pupils shrinking abruptly.

Under the moonlight, that pale, giant snake, as large as a hill, was rearing its heads. Every scale shimmered with a deathly, cold light, and the flesh where it had been injured was squirming, regenerating at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"That is..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice sounded parched, his grip tightening on the Adamantine Staff.

"The Eight Branches Technique."

He slowly spat out the four words.

"A forbidden S-rank jutsu of Konoha... I never expected him to not only master it but to reach such a level."

Jiraiya's expression shifted instantly.

He stared at the giant serpent, then looked at the Original World Orochimaru, who was half-submerged in the snake's head, covered in blood. His lips trembled, his eyes churning with fury and heartache as he pointed at Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru, you descended upon Konoha in the dead of night—what exactly is your scheme!"

Tsunade lowered her center of gravity, her chakra condensing into a blinding white light upon her fists.

"Enough talk. No matter what he's mastered, we're burying him here today."

At this very moment, the Original World Orochimaru's golden slit pupils swept across everyone present, finally settling on the face of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He suddenly bared his teeth, letting out a sinister, chilling laugh that made one's spine crawl.

"Yo... what a grand reception from Konoha."

He spread his arms wide, as if embracing the farce, while the eight snake heads hissed in a low, rhythmic drone, like a chorus of vengeful ghosts.

"Two Hokage... oh, and..."

He tilted his head, his gaze lingering for a moment on the faces of Jiraiya and Tsunade, his tone dripping with mockery.

"The new Sannin?"

The night wind carried the stench of blood across the ruins, weaving the killing intent into something tangible across the shattered debris.

"Hmm?"

Lin Zi tilted his head, his golden slit pupils reflecting the eight frantically writhing snake heads as his lips curled upward.

"You know our names, yet instead of fleeing, you're moving closer to us?"

He crossed his arms, his tone light.

"You're just like that Eight-Tails Jinchuriki from before—quite courageous, aren't you?"

"You—!!"

Orochimaru completely snapped.

The massive body of the Yamata no Orochi shuddered violently, and violent chakra poured out from the serpent's body, flooding into the earth beneath.

Rumble! The ground was struck as if by an invisible, giant hammer; it cracked inch by inch, spiderweb-like fissures spreading wildly as debris was swept into the air by the shockwave.

"Orochimaru! Stop being so obsessed and lost!!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned on his Adamantine Staff, his voice rolling across the battlefield like muffled thunder. He stared fixedly at the figure emerging from within the snake head, his eyes brimming with heartache and rage.

"Teacher..."

Orochimaru suddenly softened his voice, his expression twisting into a mask of profound grief, his voice trembling.

"Are you... going to stand on their side now, too? Even you... are going to abandon me?"

The tone was as sorrowful as if he had been betrayed by the entire world.

But in the next second, the giant snake head beside him reared up violently, its blood-red maw opening wide, dripping with corrosive venom from its fangs as it smashed down toward Hiruzen Sarutobi!

"Old man!!"

Jiraiya's pupils constricted, nearly crushing his scroll in his anxiety as he pushed off the ground, ready to charge.

But Lin Zi was faster than him.

"Whoosh!"

A pale, giant python shot out from Lin Zi's sleeve like a bolt of white lightning, instantly wrapping around Hiruzen Sarutobi's waist and yanking him back with a violent jerk!

BOOM!!!

The snake head slammed into the spot where Hiruzen Sarutobi had been standing, causing the ground to collapse into a pit several meters in diameter as gravel and dirt erupted into the air like a fountain.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was yanked off balance, landing unsteadily and only finding his footing by jamming the Adamantine Staff into the ground; he panted heavily, looking up at Lin Zi.

Lin Zi retracted the white snake, his serpentine pupils sweeping over him.

"Old man, this is a time for battle, not for playing out a sentimental master-and-disciple drama."

Hiruzen Sarutobi opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue, nodding silently as killing intent gathered in his eyes once more.

"Fourth Hokage! Jiraiya!"

Tsunade suddenly roared, her feet pushing off the ground as she leaped to Lin Zi's side.

"Prepare the sealing jutsu!"

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the eight roaring snake heads.

"The old man, myself, and Orochimaru—the three of us will hold this bastard back!!"

"Understood!" Minato responded immediately, his hands beginning to weave signs at high speed.

Jiraiya bit his thumb and pressed it against the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Poof!

White smoke exploded, and the two Toad Sages appeared on Jiraiya's shoulders.

On the battlefield, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Tsunade, and Lin Zi had already moved in unison.

The three of them fanned out into a triangular formation, surrounding the Yamata no Orochi in the center, each step they took leaving a shallow crater in the earth.

Lin Zi stood at the forefront, the Kusanagi Sword held horizontally before him, the horns of his Sage Mode glinting coldly in the moonlight.

"Attack!"

Tsunade gave the order.

The three of them lunged simultaneously toward the massive, pale serpent!

"Do you really think you can stop me with just the likes of you?"

The Yamata no Orochi let out a heaven-shaking roar, all eight heads rearing up at once, their gaping maws wide enough to swallow a house, the ground beneath them trembling violently.

"Enough talk!"

Tsunade moved first, her feet kicking off the ground as she charged straight at the snake head on the left, her right fist raised high, chakra coalescing into a blinding white light.

"Strength Enhancement Punch!"

BOOM!!!

That punch landed squarely on the snake's lower jaw, forcing the head to snap violently upward as a large patch of pale scales shattered, exposing the raw, crimson flesh beneath.

The Yamata no Orochi let out a pained howl, its massive body writhing intensely.

"Old man!"

Tsunade landed, her feet carving two furrows into the broken bricks, and roared without looking back.

"Its skin is tougher than I imagined!"

"Got it!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi gripped the Adamantine Staff tightly, pouring his chakra into it frantically.

"Enma! Extend!"

"Understood!"

The Adamantine Staff suddenly elongated, transforming into a streak of pitch-black lightning that thrust straight toward the central head where Orochimaru was protruding!

"Teacher, you're still using the same old tricks!"

Orochimaru sneered, the central head swerving sharply, and the Adamantine Staff grazed past its scales, kicking up a shower of sparks.

Another snake head nearby seized the opportunity to snap at Hiruzen Sarutobi from the side, moving so fast it was nothing but a white blur!

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Lin Zi's voice came from behind.

Countless white snakes surged from his sleeves, precisely binding the upper and lower jaws of the ambushing snake head, forcing it to a halt in mid-air!

"Well done!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi leaped up, raising the Adamantine Staff high and smashing it down onto the crown of the head restrained by Lin Zi!

BANG!!!

The snake head was sent reeling, white snakes and blood splattering everywhere.

"Not bad coordination, old man!"

Lin Zi grinned, but just as he prepared to press the attack, his expression suddenly shifted.

Within the central head of the Yamata no Orochi, Orochimaru was covered in blood, yet he wore a crazed smile as he slammed his hands together.

BOOM!

The snake scales covering the body of Yamata no Orochi all stood on end with a shing, and it began to thrash and writhe frantically as eight bone spurs extended from its back, kicking up a sky full of rubble before—

SWEEP!!!

"Tsunade! Watch your back!"

Jiraiya's roar echoed from the distance.

Tsunade had just blasted back one of the snake heads and, before she could even turn around, she felt a world-shattering gale strike from behind; her pupils constricted sharply as she instinctively gathered chakra at her back to defend herself.

BANG!

The bone-spurred tail of Yamata no Orochi slammed into her like a battering ram!