As the smoke cleared, the battlefield revealed countless craters and ravines.
In the center of this vast expanse of pits and trenches, Shinji was panting heavily: "I never thought the 'Yamata no Jutsu,' which Itachi took down in one move, would be this troublesome."
No doubt.
This area was the battleground between Shinji and Orochimaru.
After Shinji used black rods to prevent Orochimaru from performing his Summoning Jutsu, Orochimaru decisively unleashed the 'Yamata no Jutsu,' transforming into a colossal white serpent with eight heads.
At first, Shinji didn't pay it much mind.
After all, in the original timeline, the moment Orochimaru used this technique, Itachi's 'Totsuka Blade' took him out in one strike, resulting in a spectacular defeat. This led Shinji to underestimate the 'Yamata no Jutsu.'
But when Shinji actually faced the Yamata serpent, he realized this thing was unexpectedly difficult to deal with.
Be it its size or strength, the 'Yamata serpent' Orochimaru transformed into with his forbidden jutsu was no less formidable than a Tailed Beast. Even more troublesome was its unimaginable regenerative ability. No matter how many heads Shinji severed or how many times he cut them, the serpent effortlessly regenerated.
Having only recently awakened his Rinnegan, Shinji wasn't yet proficient with its abilities, at least not enough to handle a battle of this intensity. After a fierce struggle, it cost him over half of his dojutsu power.
Steadying his breath, Shinji slowly walked toward Orochimaru.
At this point, Orochimaru had dispelled the 'Yamata no Jutsu' and returned to human form. His previously severed arm had somehow regenerated, showcasing his formidable recovery ability.
However, he looked utterly disheveled, with both legs and arms pinned to the ground by Shinji's black rods, rendering him immobile.
Seeing Shinji approach, Orochimaru gave a sinister grin: "Was it worth it, missing the chance to capture the Nine-Tails just to deal with me?"
Shinji looked down at him: "I don't like surprises, and you always bring me surprises!"
Orochimaru clearly hadn't expected Shinji to say that. After a brief pause, he chuckled: "You think you can kill me?"
Shinji fell silent.
He knew that during Orochimaru's research on the Cursed Seal, he had infused his chakra into it. Even if Shinji killed the Orochimaru before him, Orochimaru could revive through the Cursed Seal, at the cost of losing a significant amount of chakra.
Suddenly, a thought struck Shinji, and he smirked: "Then I'll hand you over to Hidden Leaf! I'm quite curious whether the Third Hokage will still show leniency to a traitor who desecrated the First and Second Hokage!"
Orochimaru was nearly impossible to kill, and sealing him was too time-consuming and troublesome. So, Shinji decided to let Hidden Leaf deal with this headache instead.
After all, after this battle, the Third surely had no reason to spare Orochimaru anymore.
What Shinji didn't know was that by using the black rods to subdue Orochimaru at a critical moment, preventing him from channeling chakra and interrupting his 'Impure World Reincarnation,' he had inadvertently saved the Third's life. Had he been a moment slower, Hidden Leaf would've been choosing its Fifth Hokage.
Hearing Shinji's words, Orochimaru's expression darkened.
He wasn't afraid of falling into Hidden Leaf's hands; he just couldn't fathom why 'A' went to such lengths to subdue him.
It couldn't just be to protect Sasuke, could it?
Having made up his mind, Shinji wasted no more words with Orochimaru. With a flicker, he vanished from the spot.
This time, he had appeared as 'A' of the Akatsuki solely to ensure his subordinates' safety. If Orochimaru hadn't repeatedly attacked Sasuke, Shinji wouldn't have bothered dealing with him.
Now that the situation was stable, his subordinates were safe, the Akatsuki had successfully taken the One-Tail and Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, and Orochimaru was subdued, lingering here as 'A' would only make himself the problem.
After Shinji left, Orochimaru struggled fiercely.
Though he recognized the black rods pinning him as similar to the black metal on the 'Path of Heaven's' face, he hadn't expected something so seemingly fragile to completely block his chakra, pinning him firmly to the ground.
Swish.
At that moment, accompanied by the sound of breaking air, a figure landed in the area.
Orochimaru looked up and, seeing it was Kakashi, let out a faint sigh.
Kakashi had originally come to check on Naruto and Sasuke's safety, only to stumble upon the battle between Akatsuki's 'A' and Orochimaru. He had hidden in the distance, observing quietly.
Only after Shinji subdued Orochimaru and left did Kakashi reveal himself.
Confirming Shinji was truly gone, Kakashi cautiously examined Orochimaru, pinned to the ground by the black rods.
"What are those?"
Kakashi's attention was instantly drawn to the black rods.
Having experienced Orochimaru's abilities firsthand, he was naturally curious about something capable of subduing him so easily.
But he knew this wasn't the time to satisfy his curiosity. He immediately fired a signal flare into the sky.
Whoosh. Boom.
As the signal flare exploded in the air, Kakashi remained highly vigilant, neither speaking to Orochimaru nor approaching to inspect the black rods.
Moments later, a large group of Hidden Leaf shinobi arrived at the battlefield.
Uncertain of the black rods' properties, the arriving shinobi, like Kakashi, refrained from acting recklessly and instead stood guard around the area.
Kurenai, who had rushed over, looked at Orochimaru pinned to the ground by the black rods, her face full of astonishment: "Kakashi, what happened?"
Kakashi explained: "It was Akatsuki's 'A.' He defeated Orochimaru here and then left the battlefield!"
"Him?"
Kurenai was surprised. She hadn't expected 'A' to fend off Hiruko and Ranmaru on their side and then subdue Orochimaru here.
Swish swish swish.
Another series of air-breaking sounds followed as the Third, leading a group of Anbu, arrived at the battlefield.
With Hiruko and Ranmaru's escape, Orochimaru's subjugation, and the disappearance of the First and Second's 'Impure World' bodies, the fighting within the village had mostly ended. This was now the only battlefield requiring attention, so the Third, despite his injuries, hurried over upon receiving the news.
"Hokage-sama!"
Seeing the Third missing his entire left arm, everyone present gasped in shock.
The Third waved his hand dismissively, then, surrounded by the group, approached Orochimaru.
Orochimaru, pinned to the ground by the black rods, looked up at the Third and smirked: "Just lost an arm, huh? Not bad for an old man!"
The Third's face was grim: "Orochimaru, do you regret it?"