Who Would Get the Horse Talisman?

There were differences even among the elite ninja. After Orochimaru knocked Hema's chakra blade aside with a single slash, he quickly retreated and calmly formed hand seals.

"Manyara no Jin!"

Orochimaru crouched low and opened his mouth wide. As his hoarse voice rang out, a flood of venomous snakes with gaping jaws and sharp fangs poured from his mouth.

The densely packed snakes surged forward like a tide, spreading out and coiling around the Twelve Guardian Ninja.

They frantically swung their swords, managing to cut the snakes in half, but Orochimaru's Wind of Calamity followed right on their heels.

"Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!"

The principle behind the technique was simple. It used the properties of Wind Release chakra to compress the air into an extremely thin layer, then created a pressure difference at the target point to produce a slicing effect. It required no hand seals and was a basic ninjutsu that any Wind Release ninja could learn.

But when Orochimaru was the one using it, everything changed. A gale sprang up around him, and with each swing of his arm, a swift blade of wind shot out.

--Bang!

No one dared take such a razor-sharp wind blade head-on. They all leaped back to dodge, while Chixing crashed through the barrier of the Lightning Binding Technique and charged after the Shadowkhan.

Seeing Chixing hot on their heels, the Shadowkhan decisively chose a safer way to retreat. Just as they were about to disappear into the shadows, a dazzling green light suddenly cut off every shadow. Uncle stood with a dried gecko in his left hand and a dried pufferfish in his right, striking a one-legged pose with his arms raised at different heights. "Uncle wasn't just standing around watching!"

"Damn you, old man!"

Uncle hadn't used his full strength when he cast the Petrification Spell on Beizi earlier. After all, Beizi was an ordinary person, not a demon, so the spell wore off in no time. Beizi clutched his head and got to his feet, calling back his three-section staff and preparing to teach Uncle a lesson, when a hand suddenly stopped him.

It was Nanwu!

As the saying went, "People with squinty eyes are always dangerous," and Nanwu was no exception. Electricity crackled over his body as he entered his "battle stance." He pointed at Chixing and the Shadowkhan, who were about to leave Amegakure, and said:

"Beizi, recovering the Daimyo's family heirloom is what matters!"

The Twelve Guardian Ninja reached a unanimous decision. They stopped paying attention to Uncle, who could barely move, and used Body Flicker Technique to catch up.

Orochimaru wore an expression that seemed to say, "You think you can escape?" and immediately went after them, leaving Uncle and Nagato's group standing dazed in the rain.

"Nagato! Are you all right?!"

Yahiko and Konan arrived with reinforcements, late to the scene. Seeing the wreckage all around them, they asked with concern.

"I'm fine..."

Nagato shook his head. He really couldn't make sense of things; both sides had their own story. The Twelve Guardian Ninja claimed the Talisman was their Daimyo's family heirloom, while the Konoha Ninja said it was a demon's power and the Shadowkhan had to be stopped from getting it.

Nagato had no idea who was lying, but... it was a fact that the Shadowkhan had destroyed Amegakure's tower. And besides... wasn't there a wise-looking old gentleman right in front of him who could explain everything?

"Sir... please, come with us."

"Thief! Don't run!"

Beizi raised his three-section staff and shouted, "Lightning Release: Lightning Strike Run!" The staff plunged into the ground, and lightning raced along the earth toward Chixing.

Several crackling bolts, writhing like snakes, suddenly spread out and covered Chixing in an instant.

But Chixing said nothing, simply enduring the lightning with his thick, tough body. He raised both arms, a low growl rumbling in his throat as magma gathered around his arms, forming enormous fists like a giant's. Then he unleashed them in a barrage.

"Great Eruption!"

This was Akainu's most destructive move in One Piece. It was so powerful that it could completely melt the seawater frozen by Aokiji's Ice Age. Chixing's version was no less formidable. As the surroundings shook, countless molten meteors plunged from the sky.

--Rumble!

It was like the end of the world. Every molten meteor that hit the ground transformed the landscape. With their ability to hide in shadows gone, the Shadowkhan could only endure the attack.

But their feeble resistance was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—utterly useless. Boiling magma erupted, the ground was pounded into a wasteland, and the Shadowkhan all vanished in an instant...

"You Starfish Monster! How dare you attack the Daimyo's bodyguards!"

The Twelve Guardian Ninja had finally arrived, and now they were ready to kill. Anyone who dared defy the Daimyo's authority couldn't be allowed to live!

One of the more hotheaded ninja sent by Hema was the first to form hand seals. "Lightning Release..."

But before he could finish, a sharp pain struck his abdomen. He looked back to see Orochimaru smiling coldly, Kusanagi Sword in hand. "Heh... have you all forgotten I'm here?"

"Orochimaru... how dare you?!"

He had never imagined that a Guardian Ninja serving the Daimyo of the Land of Fire could be stabbed in the back by a Konoha Ninja from the very same Land of Fire. Even as he collapsed into a pool of blood, disbelief and resentment filled his face.

"Orochimaru?! Are you really going to become a rogue ninja?!"

The Lightning Release Quartet had finally arrived, too, and all of them looked shocked. Killing a Guardian Ninja, a symbol of the Daimyo's authority, in public was no longer a simple case of becoming a rogue ninja. It made Orochimaru a traitor to his country—and an S-rank rogue ninja.

Ignoring their questions, Orochimaru easily leaned aside to evade their Lightning Release techniques, then formed hand seals.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

This was one of Orochimaru's ninjutsu that had a standout moment in the original Naruto story.

Though it was only a simple C-rank technique, its scale depended on the user's skill. In the hands of a talented ninja, the wind could topple a whole forest of century-old trees. In Orochimaru's hands, it was even more powerful.

The gale tore up huge chunks of earth. Its immense destructive force swept up rocks and completely blotted out the sky. It didn't just batter their bodies; its shrill howl seemed to pierce their eardrums, forcing the Guardian Ninja to cover their ears and squeeze their eyes shut. For a time, they couldn't move at all.

The gale only died down after Chixing's Great Eruption had wiped out the Shadow Ninja.

"Got it!"

When the Shadow Ninja shattered, the Horse Talisman fell naturally to the ground. Chixing caught it in one plump pink hand and said in a rather simple-sounding voice,

"That's some incredible destructive power, Chixing~"

Meanwhile, Orochimaru had taken on the Twelve Guardian Ninja alone. Summoning all kinds of giant snakes from Ryūchi Cave, he had driven them back step by step before joining Chixing.

Looking at the surrounding magma, which had gathered into a small lake, Orochimaru thought to himself, Destruction on this scale... will probably cause permanent changes to the environment... Heh...

"Damn snake-handling bastard... Damn Pink Starfish Monster!"

The Twelve Guardian Ninja had finally managed to kill all the giant snakes, but their chakra was almost gone.

The Shadowkhan had been wiped out, and the Guardian Ninja had barely any stamina or chakra left. All they could do was hurl a few insults before retreating...