Senju Yunju vs. Orochimaru

Sasuke Uchiha's tone was calm, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him. But Yunju understood—Sasuke Uchiha wanted to watch him fight Orochimaru, not out of curiosity, but to assess him. Yunju might become a variable capable of influencing the situation.

Naruto stood nearby, looking from Yunju to Sasuke Uchiha. His fists remained clenched, but he did not move. He did not want to leave. He wanted to stay and watch Sasuke Uchiha. Sakura stood behind him, equally motionless.

Yamato walked over to Sai. "What are you planning to do?"

Sai said, "I still want to help you bring Sasuke Uchiha back."

Yamato gave him an extra glance, curious.

"I'll stand with you," Sai said. "I'm giving up on Root's mission."

Yamato did not press him further. He walked over to Naruto and stood beside him. Now, he too wanted to see Yunju's strength.

Jiraiya retreated behind everyone. With his arms folded across his chest, he leaned against an uncollapsed stone pillar like a spectator enjoying a show.

Orochimaru's gaze swept across everyone present. Then he smiled, a smile of complete satisfaction and certainty. "Since all of you want to watch me perform so badly—"

He extended his newly grown left hand from his sleeve and flexed his fingers.

"Then let's have a fight," Yunju said.

The candle flames in the corridor flickered at once. Their shadows stretched across the walls, overlapped, then separated.

Orochimaru moved first.

There were no hand seals, no warning. The flesh on his right arm swelled as though something were forcing its way out from within. Then it burst open—countless white snakes surged from his sleeve, the gaps between his arm bones, even the cracks in his skin. Each was as thick as an arm, their forked heads and icy fangs exhaling purple-black venomous mist. The snake horde tangled, split, and spread through the air, covering more than half the space and sealing off every possible route Yunju could use to evade.

Yunju did not retreat.

He brought his hands together, pouring chakra from the soles of his feet into the ground like a drop of ink falling into clear water—the self-created ninjutsu from years ago, Mud Release: Sinking Domain!

Cloudy gray chakra sank from the ground and rapidly spread outward, forming a circular domain roughly ten meters across. Its edge had no clear boundary. Like a translucent membrane, it made even the air feel several degrees thicker.

The instant the white snakes rushed into the Sinking Domain, their speed visibly dropped. Their bodies struggled and twisted in the mudlike chakra, their bones seeming to have been filled with lead. Mud Release continuously siphoned away the chakra clinging to their bodies, weakening the horde's explosive power every second. By the time they reached Yunju, the snakes had gone limp like overcooked noodles.

Sasuke Uchiha stood at the edge of the field with his arms folded, his Sharingan still active.

He saw the flow of chakra inside Yunju's body—the Yin Seal on his forehead glowed faintly, while the chakra stored in his Hundred Healings was like a volcano submerged beneath the water's surface. And Yunju had not even used it yet!

Mud Release was not a bloodline limit. It was an extremely precise fusion of Water Release and Earth Release. To achieve that degree of fusion without it exploding meant this man's chakra control was already close to, or perhaps even beyond, Tsunade's.

Yamato stood on the other side, his pupils contracting slightly. He possessed the First Hokage's cells and Wood Release. More than anyone present, he understood how much chakra it took to maintain a domain like this continuously. Yunju had sustained his Mud Release for nearly half a minute, and his breathing had barely changed.

He is fully qualified to hold Orochimaru off alone. Yamato reached that conclusion.

After reaching his conclusion, Yamato quietly brought Sai with him, and the two prepared to ambush Sasuke Uchiha and forcibly drag him back! But Kabuto saw through it. He intercepted them midway, and the three immediately began fighting. Yet it was obvious Kabuto was only stalling for time.

"Sasuke Uchiha is Lord Orochimaru's favorite. Let him watch the battle he wants to see a little longer."

Meanwhile—

Yunju gave Orochimaru no chance to catch his breath. His hand seals were a beat faster than Orochimaru had expected—Wind Release: Wind Blade shot from his fingertips, several solid chakra blades slicing precisely through the Mud Release domain and cutting the limp snakes into segments. The severed snakes twitched a few times in the sludge, then stopped moving.

Next, Lightning Release: Earth Current surged out from the ground. Blue arcs of electricity accelerated through the muddy medium within the Mud Release domain. Yunju compressed Lightning Release chakra into the Sinking Domain, strengthening the current for a short time rather than increasing its destructive force.

Orochimaru's body had not fully recovered from its soft-bodied form, but he was already fast enough—his torso twisted sideways like a snake, spine dislocating, ribs shifting apart, skin stretching. At an angle that defied human anatomy, he evaded the path of the Earth Current.

"Not slow."

Yunju did not respond. He formed hand seals again—Earth Release: Earth Prison Dome.

Rock and earth rose from the ground, forming an enclosed prison that closed in simultaneously from four directions. Orochimaru was sealed inside. The earth prison was far thicker than the standard version. Yunju had reinforced it twice—rough stone on the outside, dense clay on the inside. Earth Prison Dome absorbed the trapped target's chakra and repaired itself, while the double-layered structure meant that even if the outer layer shattered, the inner layer could continue absorbing chakra.

Trapped inside the earth prison, Orochimaru did not immediately break out. He reached out and touched the inner wall, and a small portion of chakra at his fingertips was rapidly drained away. His pale face could not be seen in the darkness, but the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"You've improved greatly, Yunju."

He opened his mouth, releasing a faint hiss from his throat. Snakes poured from his mouth—denser than those that had emerged from his arm, each carrying even stronger venom. The snake horde burst through the earth prison's inner wall.

More snakes poured from every part of his body—bones, muscles, skin, trachea, blood vessels. His entire body exploded like an egg packed with snakes that had been crushed underfoot. The snakes broke through the walls and churned madly within the Mud Release domain, trying to gather themselves into form again.

Yunju charged straight into the snake horde.

His right arm likewise burst with snakes—Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, Yunju's enhanced version, one he had improved right in front of Orochimaru.

Their bodies were thicker, tougher, and more stable than Orochimaru's motley snakes, and their chakra was purer as well. The two snake techniques collided head-on within the Mud Release domain. White snakes and gray snakes entwined, biting, tearing, and snapping one another apart. Fragments of snake flesh and bloody foam carpeted the muddy ground.

But Orochimaru had too many snakes. His horde overwhelmed Yunju's.

After several seconds of stalemate, Yunju felt the snakes from his right arm beginning to be forced back. He withdrew them and took two steps back—forming hand seals with both hands at once, Water Release in his left and Fire Release in his right.

Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet.

Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet.

A water dragon and a fire dragon struck the densest part of the snake horde at the same time. When the water dragon exploded, its impact tore the snakes apart. The fire dragon followed immediately behind, evaporating the water while igniting the oil and scales of the remaining snakes. Steam and flames alternately engulfed the entire field, and the acrid stench of burning snake flesh filled the air.

The snake horde was finally cleared away.

Yunju lowered his hands. His breathing was heavier than before. Mud Release was still active, but he had already expended a considerable amount of chakra. Fortunately, his Senju physique allowed him to sustain such consumption.

Orochimaru's figure re-formed amid the steam and smoke. His new body had recovered for the most part, but his left hand was thinner than before—the prison break had consumed quite a bit of his remaining tissue.

"You truly have a great deal of chakra." Orochimaru took a step toward Yunju. "But having a lot does not mean it is endless. How much longer can you last?"

He did not wait for Yunju to answer. With a flash, he closed the distance from more than ten meters away and appeared directly in front of Yunju—close combat. Orochimaru's taijutsu speed was far faster than his earlier snake attacks. His left hand shot forward, fingers spread, purple venom seeping from his fingertips. There were no hand seals. It was a purely physical attack.

Yunju turned and blocked. Orochimaru's palm grazed his left shoulder, leaving three shallow black marks on his skin from the venom between his fingers. Yunju adjusted his stance almost instantly, drawing back his right fist as Super Strength chakra gathered around it—

He threw a punch.

Orochimaru's body was punched through. Not sent flying, but punched through—Yunju's fist entered through his chest and emerged from his back. Yet the pierced Orochimaru did not bleed or scream. His entire body turned into a mass of white snakes that scattered, then re-formed behind Yunju's side. His second hand had already reached out.

Yunju's movements slowed by half a beat. The reason was simple—when his right fist had just passed through that mass of snakes with no physical substance, his center of gravity tilted forward slightly. Orochimaru seized that opening. The fingertips of his left hand precisely pierced through Yunju's soft armor and penetrated his left shoulder.