Chapter 463: One Man vs. One Village
Land of Whirlpools.
After receiving Nagato's orders, Sasori and Kakuzu headed straight for the new ninja village Orochimaru had established.
They were intercepted by Orochimaru before they even got close to the village.
Neither of them cared. They were here for Orochimaru himself; that so-called ninja village didn't matter.
As former colleagues, the three naturally had things to discuss upon meeting.
Kakuzu, at least, was very dissatisfied with Orochimaru.
Last time, when Konoha came to the Land of Rain to "deliver money," if Orochimaru hadn't defected, the Akatsuki Organization could have killed many more Konoha ninja. And Ishiro paid Kakuzu for every Konoha ninja killed.
Because of Orochimaru, he had lost out on a lot of precious money.
Kakuzu said to Orochimaru, "Orochimaru, you betrayed the organization. The leader sent us to take your life. Don't resist."
Orochimaru chuckled. "Kakuzu, how much did the Tsuchikage pay you this time?"
Kakuzu's intentions had been exposed, but he felt no shame. "As long as you don't leave the Land of Whirlpools, I get your black market bounty."
"If you die at our hands, not only do I get to turn you in, but I also receive an additional fee from the Tsuchikage. That's triple the bounty!"
Orochimaru nodded, smiling. "Congratulations, then. You've found yourself another good deal."
He then looked at Sasori of the Red Sand. "Sasori, did the Tsuchikage pay you, too?"
Sasori said coldly, "If you don't leave the Land of Whirlpools, I get ten elite jonin corpses. If we kill you, I get one Kage-level corpse."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. "The Tsuchikage is truly generous."
He's offering a Kage-level corpse as payment? he thought. Or does Iwagakure just have Kage-level corpses to spare?
Kakuzu said, "I think Orochimaru's corpse will do just fine. If the Tsuchikage is willing to pay triple the bounty directly, I can skip taking the body to the bounty office."
Sasori nodded. "I'm also quite interested in Orochimaru's body. I'm sure the Tsuchikage won't be stingy with the cash."
"Hehehehe... and I'm quite interested in both of your bodies," Orochimaru said, licking his lips.
Kakuzu said, "Alright, the reunion's over. Sasori, let's do this."
With that, Kakuzu released his four Earth Grudge Fear hearts and, along with his main body, began casting ninjutsu.
They were old acquaintances; they all knew what each other was capable of. There was no need to hide anything.
Sasori was just as fast, immediately deploying ten human puppets, all at the elite jonin level.
Orochimaru was also quick: Ten Thousand Snakes Formation!
The snake-summoning was just an opening move to seize the initiative and restrict their offense. As expected, Sasori and Kakuzu were forced to focus their first attacks on their immediate surroundings, clearing a snake-free zone.
By the time they attacked again, Orochimaru had already retreated, putting distance between them. "Triple Rashōmon!"
Three demonic gates rose, blocking Sasori's projectiles and Kakuzu's five-element ninjutsu.
By the time the two broke through the gates, Manda had already appeared beneath Orochimaru.
Facing the giant summon, Sasori used an instant-cast jutsu from a special scroll. Kakuzu unleashed a combination jutsu.
Instantly, the battle between the three descended into white-hot intensity.
Taijutsu, ninjutsu, and weapons clashed. The scale and spectacle of their three-way battle directly surpassed any of the fronts in Kirigakure.
Returning to the Land of Wind.
Ishiro flew deep into the country alone, heading straight for the Suna main army.
His Light/Heavy Boulder Technique was extremely fast. The Iwa army was still far behind when Ishiro could see the Suna army with his naked eye.
"Lord Kazekage, someone is approaching from the sky," a sensory ninja reported to Rasa.
Rasa nodded, looking in Ishiro's direction. "One person? Here for reconnaissance? Flying... Is the Tsuchikage himself conducting reconnaissance?"
Soon, Rasa no longer had to wonder. Ishiro flew closer, and Rasa could just barely make out his face.
Without waiting for Rasa's order, the moment Ishiro got close, the Suna front line opened fire.
Ishiro wasn't flying particularly high. There were many jutsu and projectiles that could reach him.
"Wind Release: Sickle Weasel!"
"Wind Release: Tornado Hurricane!"
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
"Wind Release: Vacuum Bullet!"
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
"Wind Release: Sandstorm!"
"Sand Manipulation: Sand Coffin!"
"Sand Manipulation: Sand Drizzle!"
"Sand Manipulation: Sand Tsunami!"
"Sand Manipulation: Sand Lightning Needles!"
All alone, Ishiro flew from north to south, then south to north, weaving at low altitude over the Suna army, slipping between their ninjutsu.
Though Suna's jutsu were many, they couldn't hit the high-speed Ishiro. On the rare occasion a coordinated attack got close, Ishiro's Porcelain Release easily blocked it.
After one full pass, not a single corner of Ishiro's robe was torn. Since his Light/Heavy Boulder Technique and Porcelain Release required no hand seals, the entire time, Ishiro didn't even move a finger.
A sense of powerlessness rose in the hearts of the Suna ninja.
Rasa's expression was even uglier. He recalled what the Fourth Raikage had said: Ishiro, alone inside Kumogakure's barrier, had faced the combined might of the entire village, handled it with ease, and then broke the barrier to escape.
Thinking of this, a terrible feeling bloomed in Rasa's heart. He felt that what was about to happen would exceed his imagination.
Sure enough, Rasa no longer had to guess Ishiro's purpose.
Ishiro's attack began.
"Sage Art: Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation! Sage Art: Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
As Ishiro deliberately shouted the names of the two jutsu, a massive gale, carrying a sky-blotting firestorm that seemed to encompass the entire Suna army, rushed straight for them.
Rasa was furious. "Tsuchikage, you go too far!"
Rasa understood Ishiro's objective. He wasn't here for reconnaissance. He was here to challenge an entire village! He was going to use Sunagakure to establish his dominance!
"Change of plans! Shoot the Tsuchikage down!" Rasa ordered his army. As he spoke, his Gold Dust surged toward Ishiro.
In truth, Rasa didn't even need to give the order. The Suna army's combined jutsu had already begun.
"Wind Release: Turbulent Airflow!"
Under the direction of their commanders, hundreds, even thousands, of Suna ninja unleashed a combined wind jutsu at Ishiro's attack, disrupting its straight path.
But it wasn't enough. After two months of studying Madara's notes and sparring with Nagato, Ishiro's five-nature ninjutsu had improved dramatically. An A-rank Sage Art already had S-rank power. Coming from the current Ishiro, its power was even greater. After combining wind and fire, the attack was pushing the limits of an S-rank jutsu. Suna's first volley was quickly dispersed.
But the well-prepared Suna army had more.
With almost no gap, Suna's second volley arrived.
"Wind Release: Wind Blade!"
Another wave of combined wind jutsu struck the firestorm, weakening it further.
Then the third: "Wind Release: Cast Net!"
The fourth: "Sandstorm Great Breakthrough!"
Wave after wave, Suna's combined ninjutsu whittled down Ishiro's attack.
Then came Rasa's Gold Dust defense.
A massive curtain of gold dust rose, intercepting the firestorm. Ishiro watched with envy. It must be nice to be rich.
The Gold Dust was effective, blocking a large portion of the attack. But even at full power, Rasa couldn't completely block the hit. Remnants of the wind and fire scattered toward the Suna army.
But Suna was prepared. Earth walls and sand shields rose to block the flames.
Ishiro's combination jutsu was completely neutralized. Aside from a dozen unlucky and slow ninja who were injured or killed, the rest of the army was unharmed.
The Suna ninja had just exhaled in relief, not even having time to cheer, when their faces changed.
Ishiro wasn't playing a turn-based game. While they were defending, he was preparing his second attack.
"Sage Art: Porcelain Release: Kunai Rain! Shinra Tensei!" This time, Ishiro used his specialty.
"Scorch Release: Triple Fire Curtain!" Pakura's voice rang out at the perfect moment. She had been holding her jutsu for this.
Three massive, golden-yellow flame barriers appeared in the path of the kunai.
When the kunai passed the first layer, Ishiro could still control them. After the second, he found his connection to the kunai was severed. In other words, his chakra in the porcelain was gone. The Kunai Rain had been reduced to mere stone kunai.
After passing the third layer, the stone kunai couldn't even maintain their shape, turning into clumps of soft clay.
"Oh?" Ishiro was surprised.
"Pakura has been improving, too. This move was clearly designed to counter me."
Her technique wouldn't be useful against real kunai, which were much harder. But it was extremely effective against his porcelain. Three layers was the perfect amount.
Ishiro tried to direct the kunai around the barriers, but to his surprise, Pakura's barriers moved.
Left with no choice, Ishiro could only continue the frontal assault.
The technique's duration was limited, however, and the barriers soon dissipated. By then, Ishiro's Kunai Rain had not yet ended.
But in that brief delay, Rasa's Gold Dust, which had been scattered by the firestorm, had already reformed. The Gold Dust once again formed a barrier.
Like Pakura's jutsu, the Gold Dust shield could also move. Only a small number of kunai broke through, and they were easily dealt with by the Suna army.
What surprised Ishiro, however, was that the kunai that got through were met not by earth walls, but by fire jutsu, which incinerated them.
Sensing his connection disappear, Ishiro understood Suna's intent. They were preventing him from seeding the battlefield with his porcelain.
Their intelligence is excellent, Ishiro thought.
Fine, no more porcelain.
Ishiro began weaving seals again. "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
He created four shadow clones.
This scene was, of course, seen by Rasa below. It looked familiar.
In the next moment, as if remembering something, Rasa's face changed. He roared, "All units, full defense! Pakura, attack!"
Ishiro smiled faintly. "Sage Art: Five Elements Great Consecutive Bullets Technique."
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