Hashirama was, after all, different from Madara.
Natsuki had fought Madara several times already, and his moves were well known to Madara. But Hashirama knew nothing about Natsuki, and that was something he could exploit.
The key issue was how to bait Hashirama into a trap.
A spark flashed through Natsuki's mind. He suddenly thought of an idea and immediately grinned. "Shodai-sama, do you want to know who Tsunade-sama's partner is?"
"Tsunade's partner? Who, who?" Hashirama's interest was instantly piqued, and he looked over at once.
Natsuki seized the opening and clapped his hands together. "Mokuton: Jubaku Eisō (Wood Release: Binding Eternal Burial)!"
It was Yamato's technique. It was fairly practical, and with a sneak attack it was even easier to land. Sure enough, Hashirama froze in surprise for a split second, and vines immediately wrapped around him.
The vines swelled in an instant. In the blink of an eye, they grew into a massive tree that bound Hashirama tightly in place.
Hashirama blinked. "Kid, you can use Wood Release too. But forget that. Hurry up and tell me who Tsunade's partner is. Do I have great-great-great-grandkids already?"
"In your dreams, Shodai-sama. Tsunade-sama is still single!" Natsuki shot back.
That single sentence left Hashirama completely stunned. Tsunade was no spring chicken. She was old enough to be a grandma, and she was still single?
That was simply unbelievable.
Natsuki took advantage of the moment and summoned a coffin. Then he thrust both palms toward Hashirama and detonated chakra.
"Fūinjutsu: Mafūba (Sealing Technique: Demon Sealing Wave), ha!"
Spiraling chakra instantly swept Hashirama up and stuffed him straight into the coffin. With a loud bang, the lid slammed shut.
The rapid-fire sequence left everyone watching in utter disbelief. No one expected Natsuki to take Hashirama down that quickly, and for a moment, they couldn't believe their eyes.
Natsuki was just about to slap on a few sealing tags when, the very next second, the coffin lid bulged—and was forced open.
A snake head emerged from inside, coiling around Hashirama and dragging him out.
The sudden change even stunned Natsuki.
Hashirama was also momentarily dumbfounded.
In the next second, Natsuki exploded. "Orochimaru, you damned long worm! Why would you stick a snake on Shodai-sama in the first place? You ruined everything!"
Orochimaru let out a hoarse chuckle. "Hehehe. Just in case. I learned quite a few of your methods from Anko's curse mark, so of course I took precautions. Looks like I was right."
That guy really was a clever venomous snake.
Now it was over. A perfectly good Mafūba was wasted, and now that Hashirama had seen it once, he would never fall for it again.
Hashirama shoved the snake away from his neck and laughed loudly. "Hahaha! Natsuki, that was a great move. I wasn't paying attention and I got caught. How about you do it again? This time I definitely won't have any snakes on me. You'll be able to seal me for sure!"
Natsuki rolled his eyes. He genuinely didn't even have the energy to complain.
Everyone else was also speechless, and all they could think was what a shame.
If not for Orochimaru, Natsuki would have successfully sealed the most troublesome Shodai-sama, freeing his hands to deal with the others.
"Orochimaru, that bastard!" Tsunade couldn't help cursing.
"That sealing move was solid," Tobirama agreed. But then his tone shifted sharply. "Tsunade, what is going on with you? You're already in your fifties—why are you still single? Was Natsuki telling the truth?"
Tsunade instantly turned beet red. "It's none of Nidaime-sama's business! Just go back with Grandpa already!"
As she spoke, she abruptly increased her offensive pressure and punched Tobirama so hard his cheek cracked.
A granddaughter beating up her grandpa. Filial piety, taken to terrifying heights.
Over on the other side, Neji saw Orochimaru ruin the plan and couldn't help getting angry. He decisively unleashed "Hakke Rokujuuyon Shinkūshō (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Vacuum Palms)," his hands whipping in a flurry as a terrifying repulsive force erupted, blasting Orochimaru cleanly into two pieces.
Guren cried out in shock, "Orochimaru-sama!" and was about to rush forward, only to be knocked back by Hiashi with "Kaiten (Rotation)."
The other Hyuga clan members were filled with fervor and pride. Their clan head was overwhelming—one burst of power, and Orochimaru was defeated. Who else could do that?
Of course, Orochimaru wasn't that easy to kill.
Hands tore open the corpse's mouth from the inside, and Orochimaru crawled out of it.
The "Daija-ryū Chikushin no Jutsu (Great Snake Style Body-Shedding Technique)" looked disgusting, but it was extremely effective.
Now Orochimaru stared at Neji's azure eyes, greed flashing across his face. "As expected of the Sage Eye, it's incredible. Neji, give me your body."
Neji answered with his palm.
With a simple lift of his hand, a terrifying attractive force dragged Orochimaru into midair.
Then a burst of repulsion struck—and Orochimaru was split into two again.
But in short order, Orochimaru crawled out of a corpse's mouth once more, like an endless nesting doll. He simply wouldn't die.
The current Orochimaru was no longer the cripple who had lost the use of his hands. He had recovered, and he fought with effortless ease. Killing him would not be so simple.
Kabuto's side, however, looked far less smooth.
Shino stood with both hands in his pockets, cool as could be.
His swarms ravaged the battlefield without pause. Insects that had previously devoured all kinds of tailed-beast chakra had already been cultivated—these were unquestionably the strongest bugs now, far beyond even Fū's.
Facing Kabuto's Rinnegan, Shino showed not the slightest fear.
With a casual gesture, he directed multiple swarms to strike Kabuto from different angles.
Kabuto immediately used "Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push)," blasting one swarm away on the spot. But in the next second, other swarms surged in.
That was Shino's strength. He knew Shinra Tensei had a cooldown, so he layered his swarms in staggered waves. The moment Shinra Tensei was used and entered downtime, the swarms he held in reserve accelerated suddenly, closing the distance in an instant and leaving the enemy with no way to defend.
Sure enough, Kabuto could only retreat in a hurry.
At the same time, the snake head protruding from Kabuto's abdomen transformed into Kidōmaru, spitting webs that intercepted many of the insects.
"The Sound Four's techniques?" Shino remained calm. "In the past, that might have been troublesome. But I'm not who I used to be. My insects don't fear spider silk."
Kabuto watched as the insects stuck in the webbing simply ignored the adhesion, broke free with ease, and even gnawed the webs apart. It was absurd.
With the swarms lunging in again, Kabuto had no choice but to rely on the Rinnegan's power, expanding a repulsive barrier to protect himself.
But using the Rinnegan consumed chakra heavily, and it was completely unsuitable for prolonged fighting.
For a time, Kabuto's position became precarious.
Just then, a cleaving strike from the Executioner's Blade suddenly swept in, forcing Shino to dodge. Looking closely, he realized it was Suigetsu. Instead of helping over on Orochimaru's side, he had come here?
And Suigetsu wasn't alone. Jūgo and Karin were with him.
Those three seemed to be close and were moving together. They had chosen to come assist Kabuto.
(End of Chapter)
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