Although the Third Hokage ignored the Manipulator, the Manipulator, who had been taking a beating all this time, could hardly pretend he had not seen them...
After being kept under control and beaten nonstop, the Manipulator vented all his pent-up anger on the Third Hokage and his group.
A shock wave spread from the Manipulator, blasting away the Third Hokage and the others passing by, along with several solo players who still refused to leave.
Freed from the crowd control, the Manipulator immediately fixed his gaze on the solo players, since they had the highest aggro.
The Controller swung his arms, sending threads winding around those solo players. Then he tugged on the threads, instantly killing them on the spot.
"Damn it..."
The Third Hokage, who had been sent flying, watched Orochimaru disappear into the distance, seething inwardly.
Then he turned his murderous gaze on the Manipulator, who had just gotten up.
"Everyone, listen up! Use Orochimaru's strategy from earlier and keep this boss locked down!"
"Yes... Lord Hokage."
Everyone spread out, copying Orochimaru's earlier commands in an attempt to keep the Manipulator under control.
But... the Manipulator had already been caught out once. How could he let himself be controlled so easily again?
In fact, if Orochimaru had not seized the right moment for a surprise attack and pinned the Manipulator down with a Swamp of the Underworld first, that ragtag team would never have escaped unscathed.
And now... it was practically impossible for the Third Hokage to replicate Orochimaru's success.
The Manipulator dodged the crowd-control ninjutsu while attacking the Third Hokage and his subordinates.
After all, they were battle-hardened Anbu and a Hokage. They were nowhere near as easy to handle as those civilian solo players from earlier.
It took several attacks before the Manipulator managed