After unleashing Amaterasu, Itachi felt a slight stinging in his eyes.
He deactivated his Mangekyō Sharingan and charged straight at Orochimaru, sword in hand.
"Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique!"
Orochimaru endured the excruciating pain and opened his mouth wide.
As his body became a grayish-white snakeskin, he spat out a soaking-wet version of himself.
"Aaarghhh!"
Although the black flames on his body had faded away,
the golden flames affecting his soul continued to burn it relentlessly.
Orochimaru rolled aside, dodging the long sword Itachi hurled at him.
He shouted desperately at Manda nearby.
"Lord Manda, please take me to Ryūchi Cave! Afterward, I will offer you a thousand living sacrifices!"
Hearing this, Manda slithered aside with a deft maneuver, dodging Gamabunta's short sword.
He swiftly swung his body, dozens of meters long, bringing his head toward Orochimaru.
"As you wish. Let's go!"
He did not want to keep fighting Gamabunta either.
He could not win the fight, and he could not even win the argument.
There was no point. The longer he fought, the more frustrated he felt!
Since taking Orochimaru back to base would earn him so much fresh meat,
why would he stay here?
Orochimaru forced himself upright.
After evading Tsunade and Itachi's pursuit, he leaped into Manda's mouth.
"Uchiha Itachi, aaarghhh!"
Had he not prepared defenses around his soul beforehand, he would not have survived even the first wave of golden flame.
But those defenses only delayed the inevitable.
He had no means whatsoever of extinguishing these strange, intangible flames.
If he let the golden flame keep burning, he would be dead within five minutes.
"Only the White Snake Sage can save me now! Aaarghhh!"
Orochimaru endured the unbearable agony of his burning soul
while trying to figure out how to persuade the White Snake Sage to save him.