Obito, who had been desperately trying to stop Tenten from cutting down the Kotodama, was drawn by the commotion over there. He flicked his gaze over, and his expression went blank for an instant.
He had not expected that the moment he sent Minato to the Island Turtle to leave a formula mark, the Jinchūriki would suddenly appear on the main battlefield. It seemed the Allied forces had been running a targeted operation against him the whole time.
Then he looked toward the rear of the Alliance and sure enough, he spotted Naruto, Sasuke, and Fū.
Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) really was absurd. There was no defending against it.
But fine. It was better this way. If the Jinchūriki were all here, then he did not have to waste time searching. Next, he just had to capture them with everything he had and let the Gedō Mazō absorb them all.
"Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push)!"
Obito forced Tenten's squad back again.
No matter what, he could not allow Tenten to get through. If Tenten reached the Gedō Mazō, and the Gedō Mazō got hit by the Kotodama curse, it would end up like Madara. And if that happened, what was even the point of continuing?
Over here, Shikamaru kept issuing assignments. "Sasuke, Naruto, you two join the Allied forces against the Gedō Mazō. Fū, you go link up with Shino. The two of you are good with insects. If you coordinate, you can bring out the strongest effect!"
"So that ugly thing wants to absorb Isobu? Then we just kill it," Sasuke said coldly.
Over these days, his relationship with the Three-Tails, Isobu, had only gotten better. Especially after they came to understand one another, they had become friends.
There was no way he would let Isobu be absorbed now.
Naruto cracked his knuckles, eager to move. "Then now it's our time to shine, dattebayo!"
Fū answered with action. Small wings spread from her back, and she flew straight toward Shino at top speed.
Natsuki still found time to emphasize it one more time. "Be careful of the Gedō Mazō. Don't get hit by its techniques. If you do, the Bijū inside you might get ripped out!"
"Understood!"
Sasuke and Naruto responded seriously, then immediately charged toward the Gedō Mazō.
Natsuki looked back to Shikamaru. "Keep an eye on the Jinchūriki. If anything happens you can't handle, call me. I'm going to deal with Hashirama alone. Gaara and Ōnoki can't hold much longer."
Shikamaru nodded. "Go fight. The Allied forces aren't useless."
Natsuki did not delay. With a whoosh, he returned to Gaara's side and silently watched Hashirama. Hashirama was clearly restraining his strength as much as possible, but the pressure Gaara and Ōnoki were under was no joke.
"Natsuki, you're back!" Gaara said with relief.
"Yeah. From here on, leave it to me. You two go coordinate with the Allied forces. Focus on destroying the Gedō Mazō and Obito, and stay alert for the Fourth Hokage coming back at any time!" Natsuki stepped in front of the two of them, facing Hashirama.
"Alright. Be careful!"
Gaara and Ōnoki did not hesitate. They truly could not beat Hashirama. The fact they had held on for that long was already impressive.
That was the massive gap between Kage-level and beyond-Kage. And there were two of them. Against a bugged existence like Hashirama, it was genuinely brutal.
As the two withdrew, Hashirama did not bother with words. He looked utterly unreliable—yet in the next breath, his foot snapped out, striking Natsuki's ankle. Then both palms shot straight for Natsuki's face at terrifying speed.
Natsuki dropped his stance and slipped the strike, reaching to plant a formula on Hashirama's arm—only for Hashirama to evade just as quickly.
But Natsuki clapped his hands together. The ground erupted with a massive quantity of iron sand. Under Magnet Release control, it wrapped around Hashirama's legs and began a frenzied grinding kill, attempting to shred his lower body to pieces.
In the very next second, Hashirama turned into a Mokuton Bunshin (Wood Release Clone).
Natsuki looked utterly exasperated. "First Hokage-sama, could you not be that fast? Or be even faster. Show more of your strength, like you did against Madara earlier."
He did not actually accept that "request" in earnest.
He still needed to preserve chakra for what came next.
So for him, the best approach was to fight Hashirama slowly, minimizing expenditure. Once Neji defeated Orochimaru, everything would naturally be settled.
With that in mind, Natsuki drew the Demonic Blade: Senbon and began a measured, deliberate battle.
On the other side, Neji unleashed a surge of gravitational pull, yanking Orochimaru straight into midair. Orochimaru looked as if he had no way to resist at all.
"Orochimaru-sama!"
Guren was frantic and charged in.
Hyūga Hiashi seized the opening and used Kaiten (Rotation) to blast Guren away. Hinata also seized the opening and used Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms), sealing Guren's chakra points completely.
It was rare for Hinata to have mastered the Sixty-Four Palms. It was a substantial improvement.
But now that Neji was Clan Head, she no longer had to shoulder that burden. The clan's atmosphere was good, and she intended to protect her Neji-onii-san. She could not let their hard-won change be shattered.
Orochimaru ignored Guren completely, still staring greedily at Neji's blue eyes.
He sighed in admiration. "So beautiful. Such beautiful eyes. The more I look, the more I want your body, Neji."
Neji felt his skin crawl. He raised a hand and fired a violent repulsive force, blasting Orochimaru into multiple pieces on the spot.
"This guy really can run," Neji could not help muttering, and he almost felt a grudging respect.
Ever since he first learned of Orochimaru, he had known one thing: Orochimaru's survival skills were first-rate. Whether it was Tenten's Tiandun Ōgi (Heaven Release Secret Art) or Natsuki's Hachimon Tonkō (Eight Gates Technique), nothing could finish him off.
Only later, after Orochimaru lost the souls in his arms, did he become easier to handle and was quickly suppressed.
Who would have thought he did not die, and had even recovered?
Neji desperately wanted Orochimaru dead. If Orochimaru died, the four Hokage could break free of control and the enemy's strength would drop drastically. But no matter how many killing moves he used, no matter how many times he shattered Orochimaru, he could not kill him.
Even with the Byakugan active, he had no idea how Orochimaru was preserving his life.
And now, Orochimaru simply vanished.
"This poisonous snake has real tricks. Looks like killing him isn't happening for me. I'll go help the others."
(End of Chapter)
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