Just as Orochimaru had predicted, Rasa realized upon seeing the enormous summoning beast that he couldn't let Manda ruin the Sunagakure's retreat plan.
He endured his injuries and continued to use his Ninjutsu. He clasped his hands together and shouted.
" Magnet Release - Gold Dust Burial "
The ground where the Manda was located began to turn into Gold Dust fluid, causing the enormous Manda to involuntarily sink into the ground.
Manda sensed the danger of the technique and struggled to break free, but several rolls failed to free him. As the sense of danger intensified, Manda could only fearfully dispel the Summoning Technique. However, before leaving, he stubbornly left behind a threatening message for Orochimaru.
" Orochimaru, next time you summon me, I need four hundred sacrifices, or you know the consequences."
After saying that, he disappeared on the spot with a "bang" and a thick cloud of white smoke.
Orochimaru, who was standing atop Manda's head, fell to the ground as Manda disappeared.
However, he did not stop. After seeing that Manda could not cause any trouble for Rasa, he continued to chase after the fleeing Sunagakure.
Rasa in the sky saw Orochimaru's actions. Just as he was about to make a move, he involuntarily spat out another mouthful of blood. His injuries severely hampered his movements.
Moreover, as time went on, his injuries worsened. He was once clear-headed but now felt somewhat dazed, and his vision began to blur. He knew he had to hurry.
Rasa shook his head violently, forcibly gathering his strength. His Chakra continued to surge within him. He shakily extended his right hand, clenched his fist tightly, and then raised it upwards.
" Magnet Release - Gold Dust Barrier "
Orochimaru and his companions felt the ground beneath their feet shake violently, and then with a "crack," a small crack appeared in the ground in front of them.
Just as the Konoha Ninja were about to continue their pursuit of Sunagakure, some Gold Dust began to spread from the crack in the ground. Then, in the next second, countless Gold Dust gushed upwards, shooting straight into the sky. The gushing Gold Dust formed a huge wall of Gold Dust in front of them.
This move caught the Konoha team, who were pursuing Sunagakure, completely off guard.
Upon seeing the towering, Gold Dust wall, the Konoha Ninja stopped and shook their heads in resignation.
"No, we can't get through this."
"Hateful!"
Orochimaru was also quite surprised; he hadn't expected that the heavily injured Rasa could still use such a technique.
He looked up at Rasa in the air and saw that Rasa's face was pale, his mind was in a daze, and his body, which was kneeling on the Gold Dust, was trembling and swaying.
This pleased Orochimaru. Even if they couldn't completely defeat Sunagakure, it wouldn't be a loss to gain a leader from Sunagakure.
In his eyes, Rasa could no longer hold on; now he only needed to wait a little longer to obtain the Magnet Release's base form.
However, to Orochimaru's surprise, Rasa, whom he thought was already beyond saving, continued to control the Gold Dust with astonishing perseverance, flying towards the direction of the Sunagakure Village's base.
Are we just going to let the cooked duck fly away like that? Orochimaru wouldn't allow it. Even if Rasa is flying in the air, Orochimaru is not without options. He continues to control the Kusanagi Sword in his hand, shooting it towards Rasa at an unbelievable speed.
In a very short time, the Kusanagi Sword got closer and closer to Rasa. Just as it was about to hit Rasa, a strong hurricane suddenly appeared and blew the Kusanagi Sword away.
An aged voice came from behind the Gold Dust wall.
" Three Treasures Suction Crush "
Then, Rasa in the sky seemed to see hope. His tense nerves relaxed, his vision went black, and he completely fainted.
The Gold Dust beneath his feet vanished uncontrollably, and he plummeted straight down from the sky. However, the Rasa seemed to be drawn by a mysterious force, falling in a strange manner.
At the same time, because Rasa was no longer in control, the Gold Dust wall in front of Orochimaru and the others also disappeared.
Just as they lifted their feet, intending to continue their pursuit of Sunagakure, three puppets appeared before them, each bearing the characters "Buddha," "Dharma," and "Sangha" on its forehead.
And behind the puppet, there were countless Sunagakure.
" Orochimaru brat, does Konoha still want to continue? If so, then let this old woman experience the skills of Hiruzen Sarutobi's disciple."
An aged figure slowly emerged from behind the three puppets representing "Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha," his calm tone revealing a hint of contempt for Orochimaru.
Upon seeing this figure, Orochimaru's expression changed slightly, and a hoarse voice came from his mouth. "I didn't expect even you, Chiyo, to step onto the battlefield. This is truly beyond my expectations. Is there no one else in Sunagakure? Do they need you, Chiyo, to take action?"
Orochimaru's expression was somewhat grim. He knew that the opportunity to pursue Sunagakure was gone. The previously routed Sunagakure had regained Chiyo as their leader, and their morale was incomparable to what it was before. It was uncertain who would win or lose if a real fight broke out, but it was certain that neither side would benefit.
"What a sharp-tongued brat. I don't have time to waste words with you. I only have one question for you: do you want to fight? If you do, then do it now."
Chiyo finished speaking, the Sunagakure behind her tensed up. Although they did not want to start a war, since Chiyo had said so, they had to show that they were not afraid of trouble.
Orochimaru, on the other hand, wasn't easily intimidated. He wasn't deterred by Chiyo's words and immediately said, "Since you 'Chiyo such a warm invitation, Chiyo, we of Konoha cannot be impolite. If you want to fight, then fight. We of Konoha are not people who are afraid of trouble."
As soon as Orochimaru finished speaking, the Konoha Ninja behind him gripped their weapons tightly.
Their condition wasn't great either, after all, they had just fought a fierce battle. They could manage to hunt down the defeated Sunagakure, but they were no match for the Sunagakure whose morale had recovered. However, they didn't back down at all, and their eyes were still full of killing intent.
A tense atmosphere quickly spread between the two sides, but strangely, despite both sides making threats, neither dared to make the first move.
"Hehehe, this old woman only wanted to test the level of Hiruzen Sarutobi's disciple. After seeing it today, Orochimaru, you really haven't lost your teacher's demeanor." Chiyo, seeing that her words hadn't intimidated Orochimaru, smiled sheepishly and began to soften her stance, her attitude no longer as tough as before.
Because she knew that a war with Konoha would only result in mutual destruction, not to mention that their Sunagakure side still had an important figure Rasa, who needed to be treated.
She only wanted to scare Orochimaru and save face for Sunagakure; she didn't actually want to start a war. However, she hadn't expected Orochimaru to be so resolute, which put her in a difficult position.