Chapter 22

As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished without a trace.

Koyuki stared at the empty spot. Her lips moved, but in the end, she only let out a sigh.

Sigh—

She knew her man could not stay cooped up here forever.

But once he left, she had no idea when she would see him again.

Would he... come back?

Outside Konoha Village, already some distance from the village.

Orochimaru, who had been hurrying along, suddenly halted in his tracks. "Lord Orochimaru?"

The Sound Four immediately gathered around him, protecting him in the middle.

Orochimaru said nothing. He merely stared in a certain direction.

The four followed his gaze but saw nothing. Yet the next second, they were all dumbfounded.

A figure suddenly appeared out of thin air in that previously empty place. "Yo, Senior Orochimaru. Leaving in such a hurry? Where are you headed?"

Uchiha Yi spoke with a smile. "Heh, so it's Yi-kun. I wonder, what brings you here?"

"It's nothing major. I'm just feeling a little upset."

Uchiha Yi shook his head, but then his gaze suddenly sharpened. "Orochimaru, I believe I told you—don't touch the old Third. But it seems you didn't take my words seriously."

"You brat, who the hell do you think you are, talking to Lord Orochimaru like that?"

"You've got a death wish!"

The Sound Four erupted on the spot.

Uchiha Yi did not even spare them a proper glance, merely sweeping them with the corner of his eye.

Tsukuyomi: Illusion Realm.

The four instantly froze in place as if struck by lightning, unable to move.

Terror and panic constantly shifted across their faces, as though they had witnessed something horrifying.

Orochimaru's expression darkened slightly, alarms immediately going off in his mind. "Hehe, as expected of Yi-kun. Your skill in genjutsu surpasses even Itachi's."

"But I didn't truly kill the Third."

Orochimaru's tone softened. "Hmph. If I hadn't held back, the Third would have died by your hand long ago."

The corner of Orochimaru's mouth stiffened. After a pause, he continued.

"Yi-kun, why bother? You should know that the old Third was deeply involved in the destruction of your Uchiha Clan."

"I know that better than you do. But the Third cannot die yet. He has to stay alive."

Trying to provoke me with that?

Pointless.

Damn it.

Seeing how utterly unmoved Uchiha Yi was, anger rose in Orochimaru's heart.

Orochimaru's expression stiffened slightly before he spoke again. "Yi-kun, why bother? Don't forget, my teacher was deeply involved in the destruction of your Uchiha Clan."

"You don't need to remind me. But the Third Hokage cannot die yet."

Trying to drive a wedge between us?

Will that work?

Damn it!

Seeing Uchiha Yi's utterly unyielding expression, fury flared in Orochimaru's heart. "Uchiha Yi, do you really think I'm afraid of you? If we truly fight, you won't come out of it unscathed either."

"No. I'm telling you seriously—you should be afraid of me."

Uchiha Yi looked utterly solemn, which only infuriated Orochimaru further.

Fuck!

Overcome by rage, Orochimaru attacked at once. "Summoning Technique!"

Boom!

Manda appeared.

Facing Uchiha Yi, Orochimaru did not dare let his guard down in the slightest. He summoned this giant beast right from the start. "Damn you, Orochimaru! You dare order me around? Are you tired of living?"

"Manda, now is not the time to argue about that. Once this is over, I guarantee you a sacrifice that will satisfy you."

"Hmph, that's more like it. So this brat is the opponent?"

Manda snorted and looked down at Uchiha Yi with utter disdain. "Orochimaru, you've really gone downhill. You can't even deal with a child."

Brat again?

My temper is about to blow!

He exploded instantly. "A giant earthworm like you really thinks it's something?"

Uchiha Yi's gaze turned cold.

Giant earthworm?

Manda was just about to fly into a rage when Uchiha Yi moved before it could speak.

Whoosh!

A vast surge of chakra erupted. The next second, a gigantic phantom rose from the ground.

Susanoo!

This was Uchiha Yi's first time using this technique in battle.

He went straight for the complete form—a genuine, flawless, fully realized Susanoo.

Honestly, even if he wanted to use Majestic Attire: Susanoo, he could do so with ease.

But against this snake and Orochimaru, there was no need to go that far.

What the hell is that?

Orochimaru was shocked. He had never seen anything like this before.

Manda beneath him, however, had its snake pupils suddenly constrict as it blurted out, "Susanoo? Brat, you're from the Uchiha Clan?"

"I told you, I hate the word 'brat.'"

Rumble!

Lightning exploded. Susanoo clenched its right hand, instantly forming a massive lightning sword.

Put simply, it was an enlarged version of Lightning Cutter.

A form forcibly maintained through an enormous amount of chakra, one that could only be sustained with Susanoo.

Whoosh!

The lightning sword slashed down, bringing a sky full of lightning with it.

Not good!

Orochimaru's expression changed drastically as a fatal sense of danger crashed over him. "Manda!"

"Shut up, I know!"

Manda opened its mouth and spewed out a violent torrent of chakra while Orochimaru formed hand seals with both hands. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough."

Originally only a C-rank ninjutsu, under Manda's enhancement, its power soared directly to S-rank.

A howling gale rose up, actually stopping Uchiha Yi's Susanoo head-on. "Hmph!"

Uchiha Yi curled his lip. The lightning sword in Susanoo's hand paused, then came down in another fierce slash. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Another combined ninjutsu slightly impeded Susanoo's movement, and Manda took the chance to dodge the sword with a flicker.

Boom!

The lightning sword struck the ground, blasting out a massive crater. "Orochimaru, this brat is no simple opponent. We can't keep dragging this out!"

"I know!"

Orochimaru rapidly formed hand seals. "Manda!"

"Got it!"

"Wind Release: Great Tornado Hurricane!"

A massive tornado storm sprang into existence and slammed violently into Susanoo.

The lightning sword in Susanoo's hand suddenly expanded, its dazzling radiance filling the entire area. "You think that little trick can stop me?"

Uchiha Yi's gaze turned cold. The lightning sword slashed down, cleaving the tornado in half and scattering it into the air. "Orochimaru, you've attacked me for long enough. It should be my turn now, shouldn't it?"

Before his words had faded, the lightning sword in Susanoo's hand instantly transformed into a massive bow.

Amaterasu's black flames surged over it, immediately condensing into a thick arrow.

Orochimaru's pupils shrank sharply.

Not good!

Manda's body began to tremble as well. That dangerous aura made it instinctively want to flee. "Summoning Technique: Threefold Rashomon!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three enormous gates with demonic faces rose up, blocking the way ahead.

But the black-flame arrow did not stop at all, piercing straight through the Threefold Rashomon.

The Rashomon gates exploded into fragments.

The arrow continued onward, viciously piercing through Manda's body. "Sss—!"

Manda let out a shriek, then exploded into white smoke and vanished back to the summoning realm. No one knew whether it was dead or alive.

Orochimaru's expression completely changed.

His snake pupils shrank to pinpoints as he stared fixedly at the enormous figure ahead.

After fighting for so many years, this was the first time he had encountered such a completely one-sided battle.

Put simply, he was getting utterly crushed.

But Orochimaru did not panic completely.

Honestly, ever since Uchiha Yi had used Amaterasu's black flames to kill the Third, he had already been on guard. He knew this kid would come for him sooner or later.

He had long since made his preparations.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two figures suddenly rushed out from the shadows.

They were the First and Second Hokage.

Their souls had not been sealed away, and their Impure World Reincarnation bodies were still intact. Orochimaru had kept them hidden all along, waiting for this very moment. "Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"

The earth burst apart instantly as countless thick tree roots grew wildly, binding Susanoo tightly.

The Second Hokage immediately followed with hand seals. "Forbidden Technique: Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags!"

Rumble, rumble—

A chain of explosions erupted across Susanoo's body, engulfing the entire figure in flames.

The complete Susanoo was forcibly blasted apart.

Of course, Uchiha Yi had also dismissed it himself.

Intangibility.

His body instantly became transparent, passing directly through the explosion zone before flashing in front of the Second Hokage. "Lightning Release: Black Flame Heavy Lightning Surge."

This was a ninjutsu he had modified himself, adding Amaterasu's black flames to the original Lightning Release: Heavy Lightning Surge.

Its power had increased by an unknown number of times.

Bang!

The Second Hokage took the blow head-on, and his entire upper body was blown away.

Uchiha Yi did not stop.

With another flash, he appeared before the First Hokage.

The same move. "Lightning Release: Black Flame Heavy Lightning Surge."

The First Hokage was blown apart as well.

Orochimaru stood at a distance and watched it all, his heart turning cold. Such powerful Lightning Release.

This Uchiha Yi truly was a monster.

But soon, he smiled. "It's useless, Yi-kun. An attack of this level—"

"They can regenerate, right? I know. The tricks of Impure World Reincarnation. But..."

Before Uchiha Yi finished speaking, the corner of his mouth lifted, and he vanished in a blur.

When he appeared again, he was already right in front of Orochimaru.

Flying Thunder God Technique.

Orochimaru was not entirely unprepared, either.

In fact, when he had seen those black flames while killing the Third, he had guessed that Uchiha Yi would come for him.

That was why he had arranged contingencies long ago.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two figures suddenly shot out.

They were the First and Second Hokage.

Their souls had not dispersed, and the Impure World Reincarnation technique was still operating.

Orochimaru had kept the two hidden all along, waiting for Uchiha Yi to show himself.

He had not let them act earlier because he wanted to catch his opponent off guard. "Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"

Countless vines grew wildly, binding the massive Susanoo tightly.

The Second Hokage moved as well. "Forbidden Technique: Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags!"

Rumble, rumble—

Explosions rang out in succession, and a sea of flames swallowed the giant figure.

Even the complete Susanoo could not withstand such violent bombardment and was blasted apart.

In truth, Uchiha Yi had dismissed it himself.

Intangibility.

His body drifted aside, avoiding the aftershock of the explosions, and instantly landed before the Second Hokage. "Lightning Release: Black Flame Heavy Lightning Surge!"

It was a ninjutsu he had improved himself.

Based on the original Lightning Release: Heavy Lightning Surge, he had mixed in Amaterasu's black flames.

Its power was countless times greater than the original version.

Boom!

The Second Hokage was blown to pieces on the spot.

Uchiha Yi did not stop. He turned and charged toward the First Hokage. "Lightning Release: Black Flame Heavy Lightning Surge!"

Just like that, the First Hokage exploded as well.

Orochimaru's pupils contracted.

What powerful Lightning Release.

Uchiha Yi truly was no pushover.