"Let me show you."
"What a real... legion looks like!"
Shengu Xuan's cold, utterly emotionless voice echoed through the deathly silent forest like a decree from a demon king in the deepest abyss.
As his words fell.
The shadow beneath his feet, originally only large enough for one person, began to boil, twist, and swell wildly, as though life had been breathed into it!
"Bubble... bubble..."
The black shadow bubbled eerily like boiling asphalt, spreading in every direction at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In an instant, it stained the ground within a hundred-meter radius a black so deep that one could not see a hand before one's face!
This pitch-black shadow swamp exuded a terrifying aura millions of times colder and more sinister than Orochimaru's killing intent!
Orochimaru's pupils contracted violently.
"This... what is this now?!"
He could sense that something terrifying was about to awaken within that eerie shadow!
"Hiss, hiss!"
The venomous serpent legion that had surrounded Shengu Xuan so menacingly now grew restless, as though confronted by a natural predator.
They arched their bodies and hissed at the pitch-black shadow in fear.
Quite a few of the weaker venomous snakes even began retreating uncontrollably.
Noticing the snakes' unusual behavior, Orochimaru immediately formed hand seals, forcibly commanding them to attack.
"Useless things!"
"Attack!"
"Tear him to pieces!"
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Thousands upon thousands of venomous snakes sprang into the air from every direction like a rain of black arrows.
Baring fangs steeped in deadly venom, they blotted out the sky as they lunged to bite Shengu Xuan, who stood at the center of the shadows!
Even a member of the Uchiha who had activated Susanoo would have had to retreat before an attack of this scale!
Yet.
Facing a sea of snakes capable of devouring a small mountain in an instant, Shengu Xuan did not even lift his eyelids.
He merely snapped his fingers lightly.
"Snap."
Amid the clamor of ten thousand hissing snakes, the crisp snap sounded so insignificant, yet so clear.
At the very instant the snap rang out!
"Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!"
From the boiling black shadows, claw after claw made of pure shadow and gleaming with an eerie blue light suddenly thrust upward!
Then.
One tall black figure after another, each with a different form, slowly rose from the shadow swamp!
Some held katanas, some wielded enormous axes, and others were bare-handed.
But without exception, every one of them radiated an aura of pure death and slaughter!
Shadows shrouded their faces, leaving only pairs of eyes glowing blue, red, yellow, and other colors visible!
The Shadowkhan!
Had arrived!
In the blink of an eye, over a hundred Shadow Ninjas appeared around Shengu Xuan.
Like the most loyal imperial guards, they protected him at their center without leaving a single gap.
And now, Orochimaru's sea of snakes descended!
"Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!"
Yet what happened next nearly made Orochimaru's eyes pop out of their sockets!
The instant those vicious venomous snakes bit the Shadow Ninjas, it was as though they had bitten empty air.
They passed straight through their bodies!
Physical attacks.
Were completely useless!
The Shadow Ninjas, meanwhile, seemed entirely unaffected.
Wielding their weapons or fighting bare-handed, they launched the coldest, most merciless slaughter upon the oncoming sea of snakes!
One Shadow Ninja gripped a katana in both hands and spun like a top, whipping up storms of pitch-black blade light!
Every venomous snake that approached him was instantly sliced into countless scraps of flesh!
A burly shadow general wielding a massive axe suddenly slammed it into the ground!
With a boom.
A shock wave of pure shadow energy spread outward in a fan.
Dozens of venomous snakes in its path were blasted straight into bloody mist!
More shadow soldiers used their razor-sharp claws to seize each attacking venomous snake with precision, reacting far faster than the snakes could.
Then they squeezed hard!
"Splat! Splat!"
The sounds of exploding snake heads came thick and fast, crisp and unending like firecrackers set off during the New Year!
This was no battle at all!
It was a one-sided slaughter with no uncertainty whatsoever!
Before Shengu Xuan's Shadowkhan, the Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes that Orochimaru took such pride in was like a group of unarmed infants.
Facing a well-equipped army of devils who did not fear death!
The snakes' numbers dwindled at a terrifying rate.
Foul-smelling snake blood and shredded flesh soon stained the ground red, mingling with the pitch-black shadows to form a hellish tableau!
Orochimaru staggered back two steps, his expression shifting from shock to utter stupefaction and incomprehension.
"Impossible... this is absolutely impossible!"
What exactly were these shadowlike monsters?
They were immune to physical attacks!
They could not feel pain!
They did not fear death and only carried out orders to slaughter!
And their numbers...
To his horror, Orochimaru discovered that no matter how many Shadow Ninjas his snakes killed, even more would rise from the shadow swamp the next second!
In reality, they had merely been scattered into shadows.
They... were endless!
Shengu Xuan's voice drifted over, carrying a hint of mockery like a cat toying with a mouse.
"What's wrong, Orochimaru?"
"Those prized collectibles of yours don't seem all that impressive."
"Should I call out a few more servants to have some fun with your little pets?"
As he spoke, Shengu Xuan snapped his fingers again.
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
Hundreds more Shadow Ninjas surged from the shadow swamp, joining this one-sided feast of slaughter!
The situation reversed in an instant!
The sea of snakes that had originally formed the encirclement was now surrounded by the even more numerous Shadowkhan.
Like chunks of meat trapped in a grinder, they were being crushed bit by bit!
Orochimaru let out a furious roar of defiance.
"Aaaargh! Bastard!"
He savagely bit his finger and formed hand seals again!
"Those small fry aren't my only summons!"
"Come out! Manda!"
"Summoning Technique!"
"Rumble!"
With a tremendous crash that shook the earth and mountains.
An enormous summoning formation, countless times larger than all the previous venomous snakes combined, unfolded in the middle of the battlefield!
A gigantic purple serpent over a hundred meters long, with a body thicker than a train, burst from the ground!
Two golden eyes with vertical pupils sat upon his enormous head, filled with brutality and majesty.
The aura he exuded alone was enough to terrify an ordinary ninja out of their wits!
He was none other than Orochimaru's strongest summon, Manda, the tyrant of Ryūchi Cave!
The moment Manda appeared, he let out a disgruntled roar in his thunderous voice.
"Orochimaru!"
"You bastard, summoning me on a whim again!"
"What's the sacrifice this time?"
"If there aren't a hundred living humans, I'll eat you first!"
Yet when his gaze swept across the battlefield.
And he saw the endless Shadowkhan slaughtering his descendants, his enormous serpentine pupils abruptly contracted!
"What... the hell are these things?!"
Orochimaru pointed at Shengu Xuan and screamed himself hoarse.
"Manda! Stop wasting words!"
"Crush that brat and all his shadow monsters!"
Although Manda sensed something was wrong, his pride as the strongest summon made him disdain further thought.
"Hmph! Just a bunch of shadows!"
He suddenly opened his enormous, blood-red maw wide enough to swallow a house and viciously lunged to bite Shengu Xuan!
An enormous shadow instantly engulfed Shengu Xuan.
As Shengu Xuan watched the giant serpent coming toward him, his expression finally changed slightly.
It was no longer languid and mocking, but a cold, indifferent judgment.
"No matter how many small fry there are, they're still small fry."
"And you, a slightly bigger worm, are nothing more than a slightly stronger small fry."
Shengu Xuan slowly raised his right hand.
In his palm, that explosive draconic might capable of burning all things gathered once more!
But this time, it no longer condensed into a beam.
Instead, it formed a pulsing mass of dark-red demonic fire that seemed to have a life of its own!
"Since you like being crushed so much."
"I'll burn you and your master into nothingness, without even ashes left behind!"
The dark-red light in Shengu Xuan's eyes blazed.
A destructive aura a hundred times more terrifying than the earlier dragon-breath beam erupted!
Before you continue