Reinforcements: Orochimaru Appeared

"All you study is Mouth Release. Your endless yapping is annoying."

"You brat, you're asking to die!"

The two Special Jōnin had only meant to provoke Yechen, but instead, they were the first to lose their tempers.

Clang, clang, clang...!

The piercing clash of weapons rang out all around them.

With his senses fully engaged, Yechen fought both men at once, only slightly on the back foot.

After two or three minutes of fighting, one Special Jōnin finally could no longer withstand Yechen's heavy blows. After another clash, he swiftly retreated to put some distance between them, apparently intending to finish his opponent with ninjutsu.

They knew they would gain nothing by continuing to fight this way. Yechen surpassed them in speed, reflexes, and strength. If they wanted to take him down quickly, their only option was ninjutsu.

Seeing this, Yechen thought, This is bad.

Although he had already guessed they would not keep trading blows with him forever, and he could not use his Sharingan's innate abilities, he had not expected them to lose patience so soon.

He had still been hoping to wear them down. After all, he had deduced that his stamina exceeded theirs, to say nothing of his strength.

Had the two Special Jōnin not possessed such extensive combat experience, they could never have held out against Yechen this long.

Yechen was about to create some distance, which would give him time to react even if they used ninjutsu, or even break away and retreat.

But the remaining Rock Ninja seemed to see through his intentions and blocked his escape, relentlessly keeping him engaged.

With the situation growing dire, Yechen wondered whether it was time to use some of his other techniques.

Even without his Sharingan's abilities, he was confident he could deal with the Rock Ninja before him.

The Myriad Forms Clone and Void Flash Evasion Technique gave him that confidence.

But doing so would make him stand out far too much, perhaps even drawing the attention of more Jonin. Keeping a low profile afterward would likely become impossible.

Just as Yechen was deciding whether to get serious, several rhythmic whistles sounded above the battlefield.

Upon hearing them, the Rock Ninja fighting him suddenly stopped. Their expressions shifted, and they quickly pulled back to regroup.

Then several of them formed hand seals and unleashed Earth Release ninjutsu. Dust billowed, the ground shook, and the Rock Ninja vanished from sight one after another.

Yechen was taken aback. They were retreating.

He sighed. If those two Special Jōnin had not tied him down at the end, he could have earned more evolution points.

A glance at the system's evolution points notification filled Yechen with delight. He had gained 950 evolution points.

This was the most evolution points he had ever earned in one go. Once he spent them all, his combat strength would soar again.

"They're running!"

"Everyone, after them!"

"Don't let them get away!"

Such cries rang out across the battlefield.

Clearly, Yechen was not the only one who had noticed the Rock Ninja's intentions.

Some tried to stop them, but Yechen had no intention of pursuing.

He had already stood out too much in this battle. It would be better to keep a low profile from now on.

Besides, pursuing them now would gain him nothing. If there was a trap, he would only be walking straight into it.

The hotheaded Abe Rō was about to join the others in pursuit when Ito Miyuki kicked him to the ground.

"Miyuki, why did you kick me?"

"You idiot."

With that, Ito Miyuki paid him no further attention and turned her gaze toward Yechen.

Suddenly, a thunderous crash came from the distance, followed by several screams. It seemed the Rock Ninja had suffered a devastating blow.

Yechen focused his gaze on the distance, his pupils contracting. A gigantic creature had abruptly appeared atop a distant cliff. Horns rose from his head, purple-patterned scales covered his body, and his eyes carried the oppressive presence of an apex predator.

The enormous snake, dozens of meters long, swept his tail across the canyon ahead. A vast section collapsed, and several Rock Ninja were reduced to clouds of blood.

With such a terrifying creature there, it was no wonder the Rock Ninja had fled at the first sign of trouble.

"Manda."

Yechen murmured the name.

A summoning beast this terrifying, and a snake at that-Yechen immediately thought of Orochimaru.

Remembering that man from the series, Yechen shuddered and hurriedly deactivated his visual jutsu.

Perhaps Orochimaru was not quite so evil yet, and still held some hopes for Konoha.

The moment his beloved disciple died before his eyes, leaving him powerless before a lifeless body, Orochimaru's personality would change.

Even now, Yechen wanted nothing to do with him. Orochimaru had been conducting secret research all along, and Yechen carried the Uchiha Clan's bloodline. He had no desire to become one of Orochimaru's test subjects.

Although Orochimaru would not openly act against him, being marked by someone like a venomous snake would inevitably leave him uneasy.

Until he had the ability to deal with Orochimaru, Yechen did not want to draw too much of his attention.

Everyone cheered because reinforcements had arrived. Many had also seen the figure standing atop the snake's head.

Between the two horns on the snake's head stood a chilling man with golden slit pupils, purple eye shadow, and deathly pale skin.

Who else could it be but Orochimaru!

As one of the Konoha Sannin, Orochimaru had already reached Kage Level. Yechen did not dare probe his strength carelessly. One wrong move might alert him.

What Yechen had not expected was that Orochimaru himself would lead the reinforcements.

Orochimaru was the commander-in-chief on the Land of Rain battlefield. Was he not afraid that taking the risk of leaving headquarters would give the enemy a chance to attack it, resulting in even greater losses?

There was only one explanation: they were already close to headquarters. A Kage Level powerhouse like Orochimaru could easily travel back and forth across the battlefield.

What happened next was just as Yechen had expected. The moment Orochimaru appeared, the Rock Ninja rapidly retreated.

Even so, the Rock Ninja suffered devastating losses in this attack.

They had never expected Orochimaru to come to the rescue himself. Even if several more Jonin had arrived, they could have withdrawn quickly. Instead, they had run into this god of slaughter.

As a result, more than half the Jonin sent on Iwagakure's raid were cut down, along with dozens of Chunin. This time, Iwagakure had tried to gain an advantage only to suffer a crushing loss.