Zou Hyuga and Orochimaru maintained an eerie calm, neither willing to break the stalemate first.
Against Orochimaru, who bore the title of Sannin, no amount of caution was excessive. What worried Zou Hyuga most was his seemingly endless arsenal of forbidden techniques.
In terms of raw strength, Orochimaru could not even match many of the weaker Kage.
His Summoning Beast Manda and the secret techniques of the Orochimaru style were of limited use in clashes between powerful opponents.
Even within the Akatsuki, Orochimaru ranked near the bottom in raw strength. He could not even beat a child.
But if Orochimaru used forbidden techniques, especially Impure World Reincarnation, the situation would turn around.
Even if the reincarnated First and Second Hokage retained only a tenth of their strength, Zou would be no match for them.
Still, Orochimaru's research into Impure World Reincarnation at this point should not have reached the level Zou remembered.
Rumble...
Compared with the calm on this side, the battlefield where Kakashi and the others fought Sasori was far livelier.
Kakashi, who had mastered Lightning Blade, and Yamato, who had mastered Wood Release, were both elite Jonin. They also had Shisui, who had yet to use his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Against such a lineup, even Sasori inevitably fell behind.
The puppets he controlled were effective against Ninja, but helpless against Wood Release. As vines wound around them, the puppets lost their ability to move.
At the same time, he had to remain constantly alert for attacks from Kakashi and Shisui.
Lightning Release that tore through puppets with ease and a Body Flicker Technique so fast it left afterimages kept him scrambling to respond.
After a moment's thought, Sasori stopped hesitating and summoned the Kazekage Human Puppet. He manipulated iron sand into a metal storm that battered the vines like