The red Tailed Beast Cloak enveloped Takeshi's entire body. Witnessing all of this, Yōwan knew clearly—no matter what he did today, it was impossible to completely kill Takeshi.
Letting go of his ninja blade, Yōwan immediately turned around and fled into the distance without looking back, still leaving behind a line that clashed with his actions:
"Then I'll let you live a little longer, Shimura Takeshi!"
Takeshi, now fully cloaked in Tailed Beast Chakra, didn't respond. He simply reached for the ninja blade stabbed into his body, pulled it out, and tossed it aside.
No blood flowed from the wound—thanks to the Tailed Beast Chakra, it was healing at an astonishing speed.
Takeshi wasn't the type to let someone go just because they managed to stab him once.
With Isobu's help, a Tailed Beast Bomb rapidly formed, then shot off with a sharp "whoosh" in the direction Yōwan had fled.
No one knew exactly where it hit, but a massive explosion erupted in an instant, making the already-scarred forest resemble the landscape of Sunagakure.
"Not sure if that hit or not."
Watching the explosion gradually fade, Takeshi finally deactivated his Tailed Beast Cloak and collapsed to the ground with a plop.
"Are you okay, Takeshi?"
Obito rushed over first, pulling out the medical kit Rin had given him. Beside him, Kakashi quickly started undoing Takeshi's jōnin vest, preparing to check the wound.
"Hey hey hey, what are you doing unbuttoning my clothes?"
Takeshi swatted Kakashi's hand away and rolled his eyes.
"Didn't that guy stab you just now...?" Kakashi was clearly stunned.
"Oh that? Already healed. Don't believe me? Take a look."
Takeshi waved his hand to show he was fine. Still, both Kakashi and Obito looked unconvinced. Left with no choice, Takeshi lifted his shirt and revealed the spot where he'd just been stabbed.
"As long as you're okay. Damn, if my vision hadn't been messed up back there, I swear I would've used Kamui to twist that guy's head right off!"
After confirming Takeshi was fine, Obito rolled up his sleeves and started spouting threats on the spot.
"Enough. Stop talking. We don't even know where he ran off to."
Kakashi didn't forget the more pressing matter: "We need to hurry and find Captain Minato's team."
"Boom—!"
Another deafening explosion rocked the ground.
"What was that?"
Obito quickly scanned for the source and spotted rising smoke in the distance.
"Could it be Captain Minato's team?"
A bad feeling crept into Kakashi's chest.
"Let's go check it out first!"
Takeshi didn't dare take it lightly. Judging from the scale of the explosion just now, it was on par with the Tailed Beast Bomb he had fired—it could very well be related to the Nine-Tails.
...
The explosion outside the village didn't affect Setsuna's actions. At this moment, he had already arrived at Orochimaru's research bureau.
Most of the village's forces were concentrated at the main gate, so the entrance to the research bureau was completely unguarded.
With an invisible slash, the door was horizontally cut open and forcefully blasted inward by Setsuna.
Contrary to expectations, the interior of the research bureau was eerily empty. The machines and equipment were powered down, and all the test tubes and beakers on the tables were empty.
Something's not right.
Even with Setsuna's intellect, he could sense the hidden danger within the research bureau.
"Sharingan? I see. So you're that nameless Uchiha?"
A hoarse voice came from behind. A giant snake opened its bloody maw and lunged for Setsuna's neck, but he easily dodged and severed it with Sky Slash.
"Interesting."
The hoarse voice didn't cease—it came again from another direction.
Then, another white snake appeared, lunging at Setsuna just like the first.
"Petty tricks!"
The successive sneak attacks were starting to annoy Setsuna. He immediately increased the output of his ocular power.
The massive slash not only cut the snake in half but also cleaved the research bureau's wall in two. Through the gap, the scenery outside was even visible.
Fortunately, the building's main structure wasn't too badly damaged, and the research bureau could still hold together.
After a brief probe, Orochimaru, hiding in the shadows, had already figured out the nature of Sky Slash.
Orochimaru turned to Nagato behind him. Receiving his glance, Nagato nodded to confirm he understood the message.
"Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes!"
Orochimaru opened his mouth and pressed himself to the ground. From his throat surged a dense swarm of snakes, rushing toward Setsuna at high speed.
Setsuna swung his ninja blade to cut down the first wave of snakes, but the following swarm charged forward fearlessly. Even with Sky Slash, he couldn't fully eliminate them all.
When the first snake slithered into his pant leg and bit hard, Setsuna realized just how troublesome this snake swarm was. Gritting his teeth through the pain, he quickly formed hand signs:
"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"
A roaring inferno erupted inside the research bureau. Beside him, the expressions of the three—Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko—darkened at once.
"Water Style: Water Surge Wave!"
Yahiko didn't dare hesitate and immediately used a Water Style technique to counteract Setsuna's Fire Style.
"Found you!"
Relying on instinct, Setsuna swung Sky Slash toward the origin of the Water Style technique, but the empty space he sensed made him pause.
With Hashirama cells in his body, his sensory abilities should have been significantly enhanced. Yet he still couldn't sense who was attacking him from within the research bureau.
Nagato didn't give Setsuna time to think. As mist spread through the research bureau, he opened his eyes, revealing the mechanical eye Orochimaru had transplanted into him.
This eye, developed during Orochimaru's research into prosthetics, had various functions: night vision, heat sensing, the ability to cast all Five Styles, and even use Storm Style.
"Storm Style: Thundercloud Pulse!"
Lightning mixed with black clouds shot from Nagato's eye, catching Setsuna completely off guard.
What the hell?
Even his Mangekyō Sharingan couldn't fully penetrate the mist—how was the enemy still able to land a precise hit?!
Enduring the paralyzing effects of the lightning, brown chakra surged from Setsuna's body and then condensed into the second form of Susanoo.
Susanoo's head pierced straight through the roof of the research bureau. The already-damaged building finally collapsed, fully exposing Orochimaru and the others.
"Found—you—all!"
Underneath his mask, Setsuna's aged face twisted into an ugly grin. Susanoo's massive fist smashed down toward Orochimaru.
Konan and Yahiko, though full of fear, stood firmly by Orochimaru's side, ready to use ninjutsu to block the attack.
"You're not running?"
Orochimaru looked at them in mild surprise.
"You gave Nagato new eyes. We should be thanking you. There's no way we'd run and leave you behind."
Yahiko smiled at Orochimaru as he spoke.
Konan didn't say anything, but she nodded firmly in agreement.