Manda's Exit! Tobirama's Apprehension!

Pfft, pfft, pfft!

A vast expanse of razor-sharp spikes erupted from beneath the earth, piercing Manda through and through.

"You... bastard!"

The intense pain only fueled Manda's fury.

"Sasori, your defense seems a bit lax behind you!"

While Manda was being skewered and crippled, Orochimaru emerged from the ground behind Sasori of the Red Sand, his mouth gaping wide to spit out a blade that streaked like a ray of light: "Sword of Kusanagi: Sky!"

Squelch!

Sasori's body was pierced instantly.

Orochimaru had no time to celebrate; his brow furrowed, and he retreated in a flash.

The next moment, a poison-tipped steel cable lashed out from behind Sasori, cold and terrifying, slicing through the spot where Orochimaru had stood like a phantom.

"Hmph, your reflexes are quite sharp!"

Sasori snorted coldly, completely ignoring the wound on his body.

Furthermore, not a single drop of blood flowed from the injury.

It was as if that body were not made of flesh and blood at all.

"Disappear!"

Orochimaru's retreat gave him the perfect opportunity to deal with Manda.

Perhaps a jonin would find Manda incredibly difficult to handle.

But before him, Manda was nothing more than a slightly more powerful beast.

"Iron Sand: Heavy Assault!"

A massive quantity of iron sand gathered above Manda, forming a colossal cube that descended with crushing force.

This was the technique the Third Kazekage had once used to suppress the One-Tail.

When dealing with large-scale enemies, one must use simple, brutal methods.

"Aaaah, damn it!!!"

The cube descended with force far exceeding ten thousand tons.

Manda felt as if he were about to be flattened into a pulp, turned into a snakeskin bag.

There was no choice!

He had no option but to retreat!

With a bang, he performed a reverse-summoning and returned to Ryuchi Cave.

The cube slammed into the ground, causing the earth to shake and the mountains to sway with a staggering display of power.

"Now, only you remain, Orochimaru!"

Sasori caught his breath and looked at the newly reappeared Orochimaru, his expression icy.

After all, Manda was the Summoned Beast of the Sannin Orochimaru; despite how cleanly and efficiently he had dealt with the snake, it had actually consumed a significant amount of his chakra.

"Truly terrifying, Sasori. Even Manda is so powerless before you!"

Orochimaru licked his lips, smiling with a cunning air: "However, your chakra consumption must be quite high, no?"

Clearly!

His purpose in summoning Manda was never to assist him in battle.

It was entirely to drain Sasori's chakra and gain an advantage for himself.

"Heh, it's more than enough to deal with you!"

Sasori remained unmoved by the remark, even offering a mocking retort: "Besides, maintaining this Edo Tensei must be costing you quite a bit as well!"

Orochimaru smiled dismissively: "And what of it? I can guarantee that you will be the one to fall in the end!"

"You probably don't know..."

He looked quite smug and self-satisfied: "Those brought back by Edo Tensei possess an immortal body and the trait of infinite chakra."

"In other words..."

Watching Sasori's expression darken as he realized the implication, Orochimaru grinned: "Even if Uchiha Ye exhausts his chakra, he cannot inflict even the slightest damage on the Second Hokage."

"So what if he knows the intelligence on Edo Tensei? I have specifically reinforced the Second Hokage; he is more than enough to drag him down!"

"The final outcome will be him collapsing from exhaustion, while you are besieged by me and the Second Hokage, eventually falling from fatigue!"

Hearing this, Sasori couldn't help but snort: "What if things don't happen the way you imagine?"

"Don't forget, since Ye knows the technique of Edo Tensei, he might even know of flaws that you aren't aware of yourself!"

These words caused Orochimaru's smile to vanish instantly, and as he looked toward Uchiha Ye in the distance, he couldn't help but feel a renewed sense of wariness.

Indeed!

Who knew if Uchiha Ye possessed even more intelligence?

Tobirama Senju was right here!

At the same time Orochimaru and Sasori of the Red Sand were clashing, he had engaged in a brief but extremely perilous exchange with Uchiha Ye using the Flying Raijin.

He had paid the price of an arm to leave a wound on Uchiha Ye's chest.

Tobirama Senju had already determined that relying solely on the Flying Raijin made it difficult for him to inflict effective lethal damage on Uchiha Ye.

"In that case..."

Tobirama Senju's gaze sharpened: "Then I shall forge a domain of my own!"

"Water Style: Wave Riding Strike!"

The water vapor in the surrounding air suddenly converged, transforming into surging, violent waves that blanketed the area, leaving Uchiha Ye no room to dodge and catching him directly in the deluge.

Within this space of several hundred meters, Tobirama Senju had forcibly manufactured a watery world.

"To create such an exaggerated volume of water in a place devoid of it?"

Sasori of the Red Sand rode the Third Kazekage into the air, avoiding the watery world.

Watching this scene, he couldn't help but be stunned: "Is this... the Second Hokage, known as the 'Grandmaster of Water Style'? Truly shocking!"

Even Orochimaru could only offer endless praise.

Calling it Water Style was an understatement; it was more like Ocean Style.

The sheer volume of water was truly astonishing.

Submerged, Uchiha Ye naturally dared not linger!

How could he possibly be a match for Tobirama Senju in the water?

Kisame Hoshigaki might have stood a chance, but not him!

"Uchiha brat, die!"

Sure enough, before Uchiha Ye could rush to the surface, Tobirama Senju had already struck rapidly. In the water, he was like a fish in its element, moving with incredible speed.

"Water Style: Water Tornado!"

Tobirama Senju formed seals rapidly, and the surrounding water began to rotate at high speed, forming a vortex with immense suction that enveloped Uchiha Ye.

He intends to pin me down and then finish me off in one strike!

Uchiha Ye saw through the plan clearly, yet a sense of crisis surged within him.

How could he allow Tobirama Senju to build his own domain and display such might?

"Lava Style: Scorch Flow Explosion!"

Hum!

The entire body of water suddenly trembled violently as Uchiha Ye's body turned a scorching red. A surge of superheated thermal energy erupted, instantly causing the surrounding water vortex to collapse. The sound of boiling water roared incessantly, and the volume of water plummeted at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Hm?!"

Tobirama Senju felt the surrounding water temperature spike several times over, and the water volume was decreasing rapidly.

Uchiha Ye ahead of him was like a god of fire, blindingly bright.

Finally, the terrifying power erupting from his body directly pushed the water away, forming a vacuum zone.

"This guy..."

Seeing this, even Tobirama Senju was stunned, followed by a sense of intense wariness: "I didn't expect that even in the water, I couldn't restrict him!"

His gaze became extremely sharp: "Then I have no choice but to kill you while I have the chance!"

The water had not yet been scorched dry!

Uchiha Ye had to maintain his ability.

Therefore, he could not utilize his ability to turn his body into lava.

In his physical form, he was a perfect target.

"Water Style..."

Water waves gathered around him once more, and an aura so sharp it made one's skin sting erupted, finally manifesting from his mouth as an attack like a flash of white light: "Water Severing Wave!"