Arrogant Orochimaru

A vast expanse of forest was swallowed by the sandstorm; countless giant trees were pushed over and buried, while others were uprooted and shredded into splinters within the gale.

Sen Chisato stood on a treetop not far away, his face filled with emotion. "So this is the power of a Tailed Beast."

Although he could achieve this himself if he went all out—perhaps even something more exaggerated—why bother doing the work himself when he could get others to labor for him with just a few words?

His chakra reserves were indeed substantial, but they hadn't reached the level of a monster; it was better to save where he could.

However...

Glancing at the direction in which Rasa and One-Tail Shukaku were moving, Sen Chisato immediately followed.

This wouldn't do; how could they head that way? The battlefield was in the opposite direction.

Exactly!

After flushing out Rasa and Shukaku, Sen Chisato's greed had expanded even further.

He wanted Rasa, he wanted Shukaku, he wanted the people on the main battlefield, and he certainly wouldn't let the massive reputation gained from this battle slip through his fingers!

At this moment, Shukaku was still controlling the sandstorm to chase Rasa, but after pursuing him for several kilometers without success, it began to lose patience.

"Damn you, have the guts to stop running!" Shukaku roared, withdrawing its chakra and abandoning the futile attempt to bury Rasa with the sandstorm.

"Hmph!"

Rasa gave a disdainful smile, controlling his sand platform to fly slowly above Shukaku's head, looking down as he said, "Shukaku, have you had enough? It's time to stop acting like a temperamental child."

Rasa had expected Shukaku to fly into an even greater rage at these words, but to his surprise, the beast laughed. "Ahahahahaha, you idiot, let's see how you dodge this time!"

Shukaku took a deep breath, accumulating a massive amount of chakra in its belly, then reached out and slammed a heavy hand against its stomach. "Wind Release: Air Bullet!"

A giant wind sphere containing a massive amount of chakra erupted outward. Rasa's pupils constricted, and he immediately steered his sand platform to fly to the side.

Just as he was about to evade the Air Bullet, another terrifying wave of wind pressure swept toward him, forcibly pushing him back into the trajectory of the incoming attack.

"Oh no!"

Rasa hurriedly controlled his Gold Sand to envelop himself. A second before his vision was completely obscured, he saw Sen Chisato standing on a treetop, smiling as he lowered his hands from a hand seal.

The next second.

Boom!

A violent explosion erupted in mid-air.

Taking the full force of Shukaku's Air Bullet, the Gold Sand exploded like fireworks.

"Hahaha, daring to order me around—serves you right!" Shukaku clutched its stomach and laughed. It glanced at Sen Chisato, inexplicably finding this human brat much more pleasing to the eye.

Rasa plummeted rapidly from the sky; though he wasn't injured, he looked utterly disheveled.

Raising his hands to gather the Gold Sand beneath him once more, Rasa hovered in mid-air, his expression dark. "It seems I shouldn't have held any illusions about a beast like you. I will seal you away again right now!"

Taking a deep breath, Rasa pressed his palms together, his chakra erupting completely.

"Magnet Release: Gold Sand!"

Like a volcanic eruption, a massive wave of Gold Sand surged up from the earth.

Shukaku was enraged once more by the term "beast," its voice becoming even shriller. "What did you say!? You lowly human!"

Slamming its hands onto the ground, the sandstorm rose again, and the yellow sand collided with the Gold Sand like a giant tidal wave.

Boom!

The forest in this area suffered yet again.

Sen Chisato's figure flickered repeatedly as he leaped between the treetops, finally landing in a safe spot.

Looking out, the forest within a radius of several kilometers had been completely destroyed, transformed into a sea of sand.

The yellow sand and Gold Sand ground against each other, constantly devouring one another until they were thoroughly churned together.

The weight of the yellow sand increased as it mixed with the Gold Sand, and its chakra was continuously eroded. Eventually, Shukaku lost control of the yellow sand, and the sandstorm gradually subsided.

A hair-raising, rasping sound echoed as the Gold Sand shifted, gathering once more and crawling onto Shukaku's body while the beast wasn't paying attention.

Sensing the abnormality, Shukaku immediately began to struggle, but the Gold Sand continued to climb, gradually swallowing half of its body.

"Damn it, let go of me!"

Shukaku roared, even stripping away the yellow sand from its own skin in an attempt to shed the Gold Sand along with it.

But it was useless.

The Gold Sand detached itself from that layer of yellow sand and crawled back onto Shukaku's body.

A chakra that did not belong to it began to envelop the beast; if it were swallowed by the Gold Sand, it would be completely suppressed and eventually resealed.

Thinking of this, Shukaku grew anxious. While struggling, it looked toward Sen Chisato and bellowed, "Human brat, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and help me!"

"Sigh, One-Tail Shukaku... you look so pathetic."

Sen Chisato, who had intended to keep watching the show, sighed helplessly at this moment before offering his advice: "Don't you Tailed Beasts have the Tailed Beast Bomb? Use it to smash him."

"Do you think I don't want to? If it weren't for... hurry up and help me, or the next time I get out, I'll bury you first!" Shukaku seemed to have some unspeakable difficulty, ultimately changing the subject and resorting to a blunt threat.

"If you were actually capable of that, you wouldn't be this pathetic." Sen Chisato's mouth twitched.

Trying to bury him?

Daring to steal his business?

He would definitely bury this stinking raccoon dog first!

Then again, he couldn't actually let Rasa seal Shukaku.

Sen Chisato leaped from the treetop, quickly forming hand seals while still in mid-air: "Summoning Jutsu!"

Poof!

A massive cloud of smoke erupted, and before it could even dissipate, a writhing body tore right through it.

A giant viper, nearly a hundred meters long and covered in purple stripes, appeared on the field.

Without even assessing the situation, the giant snake arrogantly declared, "Orochimaru, what kind of trouble have you stirred up this time? We had a deal: I want one hundred living sacrifices, or I'm swallowing you whole!"

Sen Chisato stood atop the giant snake's head, speechless.

Why was everyone so arrogant, spouting "this lord" the moment they appeared?

A summoning beast with such an arrogant personality and so many demands—there was only one possibility.

"I am a disciple of Lord Orochimaru."

Sen Chisato introduced himself, then pointed forward. "There are two ahead. If you can take care of one, never mind a hundred sacrifices—I'll double it, no problem."

"Tch, are you questioning my power, you... you brat... what kind of monster is that?"

Manda, who had been quite displeased at being questioned, looked up and immediately changed his tone.

"You mean that big raccoon dog? One-Tail Shukaku. Do you know him?" Sen Chisato asked in a flat tone, though a gloating smile played on his face.

Keep bragging now!

Manda: "..."

"You brat, you're even better at causing trouble than Orochimaru," Manda lamented, then warned, "One hundred living sacrifices. If you dare miss even one, I'll swallow you alive!"

As he spoke, Manda began to coil, his body tightening as he assumed an attack stance.

Seeing this, Sen Chisato stopped joking and pointed at Rasa in the air. "Don't get the target wrong; he is our enemy."

Manda tilted his head slightly, finally noticing Rasa in front of Shukaku.

Not knowing Rasa's identity, his attitude immediately reverted to arrogance: "A mere human, is it? Watch as I swallow him in one bite!"

With that, Manda lunged forward in an instant, jaws wide as he snapped toward Rasa.