Will of Fire! Great Fire Great Flame World!

"Oh?"

Orochimaru had already moved the moment Ruohuo activated the Fire Formation Wall.

However, two figures suddenly appeared, blocking his path.

The two men were of different builds, both wearing hoods; one wore a mask with the Root insignia, while the other wore only dark sunglasses.

"Ryoma-kun, Chito-kun... I didn't expect to see you two here."

Orochimaru's smile remained gentle, yet the moment they appeared, he knew exactly what was happening.

"So, the mission Elder Danzo gave you is to stop me?"

Orochimaru raised two fingers.

The two men immediately felt an incomparable pressure!

Standing before them was the Third's strongest disciple, one of the Sannin, the Cold Lord of Konoha, Orochimaru!

"That is not Lord Danzo's intention, Lord Orochimaru!"

Yamanaka Chito shouted immediately, and both men bowed their heads while simultaneously entering a state of high alert!

"We have no intention of being enemies with Lord Orochimaru; we are merely here to convey a message from Elder Danzo!"

"Is that so?"

The smile on Orochimaru's face did not waver. "Then I suppose I should thank Elder Danzo. After all, taking on both of you at once would be quite troublesome..."

"I wonder what Elder Danzo has to say?"

"Lord Danzo wishes to reach a cooperation with Lord Orochimaru!"

Yamanaka Chito spoke rapidly, sounding somewhat anxious. "Elder Danzo is willing to support Lord Orochimaru in the election for the Fourth Hokage!"

"Oh?"

Orochimaru's expression remained unchanged as he glanced in the direction behind the two men.

Firelight illuminated the night sky, accompanied by plumes of black smoke, and the sound of Explosive Tags detonating echoed incessantly!

"That is truly a flattering piece of news..."

Orochimaru chuckled and lowered his fingers from the seal. "So, what is it that Elder Danzo wants from me in return?"

Hearing this, Yamanaka Chito and Aburame Ryoma visibly relaxed.

Yamanaka Chito pulled a scroll from his robes and tossed it toward Orochimaru.

"This contains all the records regarding Wood Style experiments from the time of the Second Hokage to the present—or at least, a portion of them."

"This is Lord Danzo's sincerity... If Lord Orochimaru is willing, Lord Danzo would like you to help restart this project!"

"Lord Danzo is willing to provide Lord Orochimaru with full support, including the bid for the position of Fourth Hokage!"

"All Lord Orochimaru needs to do is wait here for a while..."

Orochimaru frowned slightly.

He did not open the scroll, nor did he doubt its authenticity.

Orochimaru also did not doubt Danzo's promise... Danzo's support would indeed be a significant boost to his succession as Hokage.

Orochimaru looked toward the sky once more.

The firelight had already lit up half the horizon; his student was clearly locked in a fierce battle, and the situation was intense.

Orochimaru understood...

That child was also one of the conditions of Danzo's cooperation.

The task of these two was merely to delay him.

Once everything was over, Root would naturally be able to fabricate enough evidence and help him distance himself from the incident.

However...

"This cooperation doesn't seem very fair to me, gentlemen."

A smile returned to Orochimaru's face as he walked straight past them, though he did not return the scroll.

"That child is my student. I have poured a great deal of effort into him, and even the teacher is full of expectations for him."

"I have shown Elder Danzo nothing but sincerity."

"But it seems Elder Danzo does not care much for that..."

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Ruohuo focused on two tasks at once. While maintaining the Fire Dragon Bullet in the air, he shifted the form of his Great Fireball, turning it into a barrage of fire projectiles that rained down in a carpet-bombing assault!

The absolute aerial advantage allowed Ruohuo to maintain control over the offensive.

Absolute control over the Great Fireball, coupled with a full 500% power boost, allowed Ruohuo to maintain absolute suppression over the enemies on the ground!

"This won't do, the commotion is too big!"

"The brat is out of my ninjutsu range, what do we do!"

"How has his chakra not run out yet!"

"Three minutes at most! If that brat doesn't come down, we have to retreat!"

"Prepare to take the bodies! We cannot leave any evidence behind!"

The masked ninjas exchanged quick words while dodging.

Up in the sky, Ruohuo had completely entered berserk mode!

"Come out and face me head-on! You bastards!"

Ruohuo kept his hands in the Tiger Seal.

Most Fire Style techniques ended with this seal, and under the "Little Fire God" 200% ninjutsu activation buff, Ruohuo could use at least twenty different Fire Style techniques with it.

But for now, he only intended to use the most basic Great Fireball!

"If you don't plan on coming out, then turn to ash along with the entire forest!"

Ruohuo gathered his chakra, injecting fifty times the amount into this basic C-rank ninjutsu to expand its scale!

The consumption was equivalent to five full-power Great Fireballs, but it resulted in five times the power and fifty times the scale!

"Will of Fire: Great Flame World!"

It was a super-giant fireball as dazzling as an artificial sun!

The night was completely ignited, and the entire forest was illuminated by the light of the flames!

BOOM!!!!

The artificial sun slammed into the forest!

With such high temperatures and such scale, there was nowhere to hide; one could only face it head-on!

If the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama were here, perhaps he could have forcibly resisted it with peerless Water Style even in this waterless place.

But against such an out-of-spec Fire Style, even the Second Hokage would likely choose to use the Flying Thunder God to avoid its edge, unless there was a necessary reason to stay!

Let alone a few rats hiding in the gutter?

"What is this...!?"

Aburame Ryoma and Yamanaka Chito, who had not yet joined the battle, widened their eyes as they watched the massive fireball fall like a crashing sun, their expressions blank, even forgetting how to think for a moment!

"Retreat! Don't get caught in the blast!"

Aburame Ryoma was the first to react, warning his colleague before sprinting backward without hesitation!

What kind of monster could use a Fire Style of this scale!?

What kind of technique was that...

Did the Uchiha still possess such Fire Style... forbidden techniques!?

This had to be a forbidden technique.

It could only be a forbidden technique!

No wonder Orochimaru had long since seen through their intentions yet was still willing to linger for a while.

Such a monster...

All the plans Danzo had laid out a week in advance were simply insufficient to destroy this Uchiha brat!

Unless Orochimaru chose to take action himself, it was impossible!

But would Orochimaru choose to cooperate with Danzo?

Watching that scorching light descend.

The intensity in Orochimaru's eyes did not diminish in the slightest; he calmly formed a seal, preparing to withstand the impact of the heatwave.

"Is this the limit of your Will of Fire, Ruohuo-kun?"

"I gave up a shortcut to becoming Hokage just for you, after all..."