Without a doubt, Orochimaru's conclusion dealt a worldview-shattering blow to the ninjas under his command.
To achieve such a result through taijutsu alone was simply unimaginable.
Orochimaru crouched down and pinched some dirt from the edge of a massive crater. "It was indeed caused by taijutsu. Both combatants were incredibly fast, and their strength was beyond imagination."
He raised his head and looked toward a sword mark nearby, where scorched earth still remained. "One of them is a master swordsman and has mastered the nature transformation of Lightning Release chakra. He infused Lightning Release chakra into his weapon, granting it the destructive power of lightning."
"As for the other, they relied purely on fists and kicks, fighting the weapon-wielding opponent with speed and destructive force. Both sides were using nothing but taijutsu."
"So it absolutely could not have been the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura. Though that man was an almost perfect jinchuriki capable of easily controlling the Three-Tails' power, he was still a ninjutsu-type ninja, not a taijutsu specialist. And if he had transformed into a tailed beast, the destruction on this battlefield would not look like this."
"At the very least, given a tailed beast's enormous size, a tailed beast transformation would have left footprints here. Yet there are no tailed beast tracks at all."
"Moreover, whether it was Yagura or the Three-Tails, both possess Water Release chakra. Did you detect any traces of Water Release ninjutsu here? No—rather, did you find any traces of Water Release chakra at all?"
After hearing Orochimaru's analysis, the Konoha ninjas all found it logical and convincing.
Yet precisely because of that, they found it all the more terrifying, because it completely surpassed the common sense they knew.
Ninja A: "H-How could that be? To do something like this with taijutsu alone..."
Ninja B: