Manda

Orochimaru's expression finally darkened completely.

"Chiya-kun, do you know? What I hate most is when people ruin my plans."

Chiya sighed.

"Well, then you might end up hating me a lot in the future."

The moment he finished speaking, Orochimaru moved abruptly.

His neck suddenly stretched, lunging at him like a snake!

His hands were unusable, but his body was still astonishingly fast.

All Chiya saw was a pale blur rapidly closing in.

Chiya twisted aside.

A fierce gust brushed past his shoulder.

Tsunade instinctively moved, but Kabuto had already appeared at her side.

"Tsunade-sama, I'm your opponent."

A cold glint flashed in Kabuto's hand.

Shizune cried out from afar.

"Tsunade-sama!"

Tsunade raised a hand to block Kabuto's first strike, then drove a fist into the ground.

Boom!

The wasteland cracked under the impact.

Kabuto leaped back to evade the shockwave, yet there was not a trace of panic on his face.

"As expected, it would be troublesome if you landed even one hit."

On the other side, Orochimaru and Chiya became fully entangled in battle.

One could not use his hands, while the other could barely see, yet each struck more ruthlessly than the last.

Orochimaru was incredibly fast, and Chiya's current physical speed simply could not keep up.

But Chiya unleashed ninjutsu after ninjutsu, and the two traded blows back and forth.

Then Orochimaru spat out the Kusanagi Sword and flashed toward Chiya, thrusting with lightning speed.

Chiya had no time to dodge. In the next instant, a small patch of black-red bone framework rose over his chest.

With a clang, the framework barely blocked the Kusanagi Sword.

Orochimaru's pupils contracted. He withdrew the Kusanagi Sword and extended his long tongue to lick his lips.

"The Uchiha Clan's power is too wonderful. I must have you!"

Elsewhere, Kabuto suddenly sliced open his palm, and blood immediately gushed out.

"Tsunade-sama, please look here."

The instant Tsunade saw it, she froze, and then her entire body began to tremble.

She tried to take a step, but it was as though something had nailed her in place.

Blood.

Nothing remained in her vision but that spot of red.

Images from the past flooded over her.

Nawaki's shattered amulet.

Dan's body gradually growing cold in her arms.

She had wanted to save them, but she could save neither of them.

"Tsunade!"

Chiya's voice came from nearby.

But Tsunade seemed unable to hear him.

Orochimaru seized that instant to close in on Chiya, a cold smile appearing on his pale face.

"Losing focus in battle is not a good habit."

Chiya only felt a heavy blow to his chest before being sent flying.

He rolled twice across the ground, and a metallic sweetness rose in his throat.

The world before his eyes swayed even more violently.

Chiya had just gritted his teeth and pushed himself up when Orochimaru was already before him.

Chiya instinctively dodged to the right.

Orochimaru's attack grazed his hair.

Chiya raised his hands in a seal, and fire burst from his mouth.

"Fire Release! Great Fireball Technique!"

Flames swept toward Orochimaru.

Orochimaru twisted like he had no bones, evading the flames before closing in with a sneer.

"Useless. Ninjutsu like that can never hit me!"

Chiya retreated, his foot slipping beneath him as he nearly fell.

Orochimaru's voice sounded again.

"Chiya-kun, don't worry. I'll treasure your eyes properly. Hehehe."

Chiya closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The next instant, his right eye snapped open! The pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan spun rapidly within it.

His pupil suddenly contracted.

The world seemed to fall still for an instant.

Chiya raised a hand toward Orochimaru.

"Heavenly Dominion..."

Orochimaru's smile faltered slightly.

In the next moment, the space around him violently warped.

That entire invisible stretch of space seemed to be seized by an unseen hand and crushed inward.

Orochimaru's smiling face abruptly stiffened.

Before he could make a sound, Orochimaru's body was instantly compressed out of shape.

The air erupted with a muffled blast, and Kabuto sharply turned his head, his expression changing for the first time.

"What?!"

Orochimaru's body was pinned in place by that force. He tried to turn into a snake and escape, but the entire space around him seemed sealed, leaving him unable to move.

Blood ran down Chiya's cheek from his right eye.

He gritted his teeth and clenched his hand tighter!

"Break!"

The space tightened again.

Bang!

Orochimaru's body was brutally crushed, flattened into a thin shape.

Kabuto froze where he stood.

Even Tsunade briefly came to her senses at the deafening sound and looked blankly toward Chiya.

Chiya covered his eye as agonizing pain surged over him like a tide.

Blood seeped through the gaps between his fingers and dripped into the dirt.

Then Kaguya's voice sounded in his mind.

"He isn't dead."

Chiya panted.

"I know. That snake has plenty of tricks for staying alive."

The dust dispersed.

The crushed body lay on the ground, completely motionless.

Kabuto was just about to speak when the corpse's mouth suddenly split open.

A pale, cold, damp figure slowly crawled out, covered in viscous fluid.

Orochimaru stood up again. His expression was uglier than before, but a smile still hung from the corner of his mouth.

"What terrifying eyes."

He looked at Chiya, his voice hoarse.

"The Uchiha Clan always brings me surprises."

Kabuto unconsciously took half a step back.

He had just watched Orochimaru-sama's body get crushed by that force.

If it had been him...

Kabuto's Adam's apple bobbed.

Chiya slowly raised his head.

Blood dripped from his chin.

He wanted to stand, but discovered that his legs had little strength left.

Orochimaru noticed this.

"What a pity. How many more times can you use it?"

Chiya smiled. "I have plenty of methods. More than enough to kill you."

Tsunade stood where she was, still trembling.

The next instant, Orochimaru charged at Chiya again!

Chiya's right eye hurt too badly to open.

It felt as though a ball of fire had been stuffed into his eye socket. Even the slightest movement made his head throb with pain.

Orochimaru's figure closed in again.

"Left."

Kaguya's voice echoed in his mind.

Chiya suddenly threw himself aside.

In the next instant, Orochimaru's attack brushed past his shoulder, blasting a patch of dirt from the ground with a bang.

Chiya gritted his teeth, rolled over, and rapidly formed hand seals.

"Earth Release! Earth Flow Spears!"

Several earthen spikes shot up beneath Orochimaru's feet.

Orochimaru twisted his body and slipped between the spikes like a snake, the smile on his lips growing wider.

"Chiya-kun, this body of yours is even more interesting than I imagined."

Chiya had no time to pay attention to him.

His right eye could not open. He could only rely on his left eye and Kaguya's warnings to barely judge their positions.

Then Kabuto's gaze fell on Chiya's face.

More precisely, on his right eye.

That eye had already closed.

Blood still flowed through his fingers.

Kabuto adjusted his glasses, and the corner of his mouth slowly lifted.

"I see."

He had not dared approach recklessly just now.

Anyone would be frightened by an ocular technique capable of flattening Orochimaru's body outright.

But now, it seemed that eye could not be used again anytime soon.

Kabuto glanced down at the blood in his palm, then looked at Tsunade, who was still standing there trembling.

"Tsunade-sama, your current condition does not seem very suitable for fighting."

The moment he finished speaking, he flashed forward and charged directly at Tsunade.

Shizune's expression changed.

"Tsunade-sama!"

A chakra scalpel formed over Kabuto's palm as he slashed toward her shoulder.

Chiya did not turn his head. His left eye shifted.

"Void Crossing!"

Kabuto's movements abruptly slowed for an instant.

Chiya flashed forward and yanked Tsunade behind him.

Then, clang!

Kabuto's chakra scalpel struck the bone framework but failed to cut through.

Chiya raised his head, fury burning in his eyes. In the next instant, Susanoo's skeletal arm smashed down viciously!

Kabuto dodged with incredible speed, fleeing far away in an instant.

Then Orochimaru's voice rang out from the side.

"Summoning Technique!"

The next instant, a massive cloud of white smoke exploded across the wasteland.

Boom!

The ground suddenly sank.

A giant purple serpent raised its head from the smoke. Its enormous body coiled across the wasteland, and its head alone loomed down like a small house.

Chiya looked up. His vision was blurred, and all he could see was a vast purple-black shadow.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

"This thing is way too big."

He had never thought giant summons could be that large when reading the manga, but facing one in person made him realize just how enormous it was.

His Susanoo skeleton looked like a toy in front of Manda.

Kaguya's voice grew more solemn.

"Run. You can't beat it."

Chiya didn't hesitate. He grabbed Tsunade and retreated.

The next instant, Manda's tail swept toward them.

Whoosh!

The fierce wind slammed into his face.

Chiya's expression changed. The black-red Susanoo skeleton crossed its arms in front of itself.

Bang!

The snake's tail crashed viciously into the Susanoo skeleton.

The ground beneath Chiya's feet cracked instantly, and he was sent flying far away.

Orochimaru stood atop Manda's head and chuckled softly.

"Heh heh, Chiya-kun, didn't you say you had plenty of ways to kill me? Go ahead, then."

Before Chiya could speak, the enormous snake head suddenly dove down.

Chiya had no time to dodge. The Susanoo skeleton raised an arm with a bang.

The skeleton in its current state simply could not withstand such a heavy impact. After just one blow, cracks appeared across Susanoo's frame.

Chiya was anxious. He had already consumed an enormous amount of chakra. If this dragged on, he might really lose here.

Kabuto had already moved to Orochimaru's side when he suddenly spoke.

"Orochimaru-sama, his eyes are under great strain."

Orochimaru smiled.

"I can see that."

The next moment, Manda's head slammed down again.

This time, Chiya did not retreat.

The black-red Susanoo skeleton suddenly raised its arms and took the blow head-on.

Boom!

The ground beneath them collapsed.

The Susanoo skeleton creaked as though it were about to be crushed apart.

Chiya's eyes throbbed with pain. Tsunade stood behind him, staring at his back.

Again. Once again, he had stood in front of her.

Manda lifted its head, and Orochimaru's laughter came from above.

"Chiya-kun, how much longer can you hold on?"

Chiya did not answer.

The black-red Susanoo skeleton suddenly shuddered.

Crack, crack, crack!

A layer of black-red chakra began surging over the outside of the skeleton.

Within its previously empty ribcage, chakra patterns resembling slowly growing muscles began to form. Its arms thickened, and its shoulders broadened.

That Susanoo was still not particularly huge.

It was only four or five meters tall.

But compared to the skeletal form from before, its power had clearly increased by a great deal.

Orochimaru's eyes immediately lit up.

"It evolved?"

Chiya stood within the half-body Susanoo. He raised his head and looked at Manda's massive silhouette.

"Again."

Manda was enraged by those words and snapped its head down to bite him.

Chiya stomped down. The half-body Susanoo raised its fist and smashed it viciously into the side of Manda's face.

Bang!

That punch forcibly knocked Manda's head aside.

Its enormous fangs scraped past Susanoo's shoulder and came down with a crack, shattering the rocks beside them.

Chiya seized the chance to throw another punch at Manda's lower jaw.

Boom!

Manda recoiled in pain.

"You brat!"

Manda let out an enraged roar.

Its massive body churned the wasteland, sending stones tumbling everywhere.

Chiya panted, the half-body Susanoo standing in front of Tsunade.

Kabuto moved as well.

He did not charge at Chiya. Instead, he circled toward Tsunade's side.

Chiya immediately turned his head.

His left eye was about to move again.

Tsunade suddenly raised her head.

Enough. She had watched long enough!

The next instant, Tsunade stepped forward.

"Enough!"

Her voice exploded across the wasteland.

Chiya's movements paused.

Kabuto froze for a moment as well.

Tsunade stepped in front of Chiya, her golden hair flying in the wind.

Her hands were still trembling slightly.

But at last, she had stood up.

Boom!

She stomped the ground, and the entire surface instantly split apart.

Kabuto's expression changed, and he hurriedly retreated.

Standing within Susanoo, Chiya could not help letting out a sigh of relief.

Tsunade rolled her wrists, her voice still slightly hoarse.

"Step back."

Then Tsunade raised her head and looked at Orochimaru.

The fear in her eyes had turned into fury.

"Orochimaru."

She said coldly.

"Now, it's my turn."