Two Against One! Orochimaru on the Run

"Could it be that my life ends here today?"

He had assumed that with a Reanimation Body to assist him, he would never fall into such a desperate situation.

The Reanimation Body was a constitution that could only be described as a bug.

As long as he, the user, remained alive, he was practically invincible.

Add to that the fact that the one he had summoned was Tobirama Senju.

In such circumstances, how could he possibly fail?

Yet, reality is sometimes just that cruel.

Uchiha Ye, a person who had completely exceeded his expectations, had shattered all of this.

"Orochimaru, it seems your good days have come to an end!"

Seeing this scene, Sasori of the Red Sand couldn't help but grin. "It seems the day you become one of my Human Puppets is not far off."

This made Orochimaru's gaze even more frigid, though he was, to some extent, at a loss for how to proceed.

"Dog-Biting Crimson Lotus!"

Orochimaru had just evaded an attack launched by the Third Kazekage when Uchiha Ye's assault descended upon him like a persistent curse.

He could naturally use Water Style to counter this incoming giant flame dog.

But Sasori of the Red Sand clearly would not give him enough of an opportunity.

The Third Kazekage's Iron Sand had already begun to condense, and a new strike was about to be unleashed.

If Orochimaru resisted this strike from Uchiha Ye, he would have no chance to dodge the Third Kazekage's Iron Sand attack.

And the toxins contained within that Iron Sand were something even he dared not test lightly.

But if he retreated!

Faced with Uchiha Ye's terrifying predictive abilities, he did not believe he would end up in any better position.

Perhaps before he even regained his footing after retreating, Uchiha Ye would already be waiting for him at his landing spot, ready to unleash a fatal blow.

Yet, in his current predicament, he had to make a choice.

"Water Style: Water Colliding Wave!"

Orochimaru performed hand seals at high speed, spewing out a monstrous tide to block the incoming flame dog, then suddenly bit his finger and performed another rapid sequence of seals: "Summoning Jutsu!"

Landing on the ground, he slammed his palms down and shouted: "Triple Rashomon!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three iron gates, each carved with the visage of a hideous demon, rose from the ground.

The next moment, the torrential assault launched by Sasori of the Red Sand through the Third Kazekage had already arrived: "Iron Sand Drizzle!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Countless massive Iron Sand bullets slammed heavily against the Rashomon gates, the sound echoing in all directions.

The first gate and the second gate were quickly breached.

Only the third remained standing.

The water collided with the lava, creating dense clouds of steam that enveloped Uchiha Ye, Sasori, and Orochimaru, rendering them unable to see even their own fingers.

And this was the opportunity Orochimaru needed.

In terms of pure strength, he could not be a match for the combined forces of Uchiha Ye and Sasori of the Red Sand.

If he continued to fight, he would certainly lose his life.

Taking this opportunity to retreat immediately was the only logical course of action.

He transformed his lower body into a serpentine tail and rushed to withdraw.

But!

"Orochimaru, did you think I would give you this chance?"

Uchiha Ye's voice suddenly rang out from behind Orochimaru, making even Orochimaru's skin crawl.

He had considered that with Uchiha Ye's formidable insight, he would give chase.

But he had not expected it to be this fast.

It was as if the mist did not exist at all, failing to pose even the slightest obstacle to him.

He saw that Uchiha Ye's right arm had already transformed into lava, condensing into a massive molten fist that instantly swept away all the mist, covering the area with a terrifying, crushing pressure: "Great Eruption!"

The power of this strike was absolutely terrifying!

Even the air shrieked incessantly, then warped and blurred under the scorching heat of that punch.

Whoosh!

Orochimaru was Orochimaru, after all; faced with this terrifying strike, he actually softened his entire body, twisting it into an arc to evade the blow.

"As expected of the man who bears the name of the Sannin!"

Seeing this, Uchiha Ye couldn't help but marvel, though his eyes narrowed a moment later: "But I am not the same as I was before."

The battle against Tobirama Senju had significantly enhanced the observational capabilities of his Sharingan.

Within the current perception of his two-tomoe Sharingan, Orochimaru's movements could only be described as sluggish.

Furthermore, this posture of his had quite a few openings.

And the most critical opening of all.

Was that if he were to strike again, it would be difficult for Orochimaru to dodge.

After all, no matter how fast Orochimaru's reaction speed was, it had its limits!

"Meteor Fire Rain!"

Under Uchiha Ye's control, the massive, missed lava fist instantly transformed into a sky full of flying sparks. As if possessing an innate ability to trace the human form, they grazed Orochimaru's bizarre posture as they struck.

"Hiss!!!!"

At this moment, even Orochimaru felt his scalp tingle.

Uchiha Ye was giving him absolutely no chance to dodge.

He had no possibility of evasion left!

"Ugh!"

He stretched his neck and immediately spat out another version of himself, then, without a second's delay, continued his flight with serpentine maneuvers.

Boom, boom, boom!

The scorching lava obliterated the shell he had shed, while the newborn Orochimaru continued to flee.

"Heh heh, running away?"

The voice of Sasori of the Red Sand rang out again, carrying a hint of mockery: "Did you ask for my opinion? Orochimaru!"

"Iron Sand World Method!"

In an instant, with the moving Orochimaru at the center, a hundred-meter radius was completely covered by iron sand.

Then, countless iron sand spikes connected to one another, spreading downward and piercing into the earth.

"Not good!!!"

Orochimaru's pupils contracted violently. Facing this indiscriminate, dense, downward-covering strike, he could practically see the Grim Reaper beckoning to him.

Even though he transformed into a serpentine form, dodging flexibly within the narrow spaces, his body was still slashed open in several places.

Instantly!

His body grew heavy, his head spun, and his vision blurred!

The poison had taken effect!

"Damn it!"

Orochimaru roared, once again activating the Orochimaru-Style Substitution Jutsu to shed a newborn self.

"Snake Servant Jutsu!"

Not daring to hesitate for even half a second, Orochimaru instantly transformed, as if molting, into a human-faced, snake-like creature composed entirely of various small snakes.

Then...

Like an explosion, he scattered into countless small snakes, surging in every direction.

This was his ultimate life-saving technique!

As long as a single small snake survived, he would be able to live on.

However...

"Do you think... that's possible?"

Uchiha Ye's voice rang out, devoid of any emotion, as calm and indifferent as a god.

His body suddenly glowed with intense heat, like a falling sun, erupting with rolling waves of heat: "Lava Style: Scorch Flow Explosion!"

Hum!

A heatwave capable of destroying everything raged outward.

Seeing this, Sasori of the Red Sand, having experience, was already lifted into the air by the Third Kazekage, avoiding this world-ending strike.

Sizzle!

It was as if a solar storm had passed through; nothing grew, and even the earth was scraped three feet deep, directly melted by the scorching heat.

The hundred-meter radius felt like being inside a celestial furnace. Every small snake, without even having time to let out a scream, was completely annihilated within the heatwave that seemed to distort space itself.

Half a minute later!

The earth remained scorching hot, and the commotion subsided.

Within a five-hundred-meter radius, no signs of life could be seen.

With Uchiha Ye at the center, the landscape changed in a gradient, decreasing from lava to crystallized scorched earth, to scorched earth, and finally to ruins.