Golden flames surged forward like a towering tidal wave, instantly heating the air.
Facing this blazing inferno head-on, Orochimaru and Danzo's flying strands of hair curled slightly while their expressions turned grim.
They both understood that these blazing golden flames weren't just a dazzling spectacle—they were lethally dangerous.
Manda's enormous snake eyes gazed at the blazing firestorm with a rare sense of trepidation. If not for Orochimaru's promise of sacrificial offerings, he would have already retreated back to the Summoning Realm.
Yumemamushi angrily slammed its massive front paw, clearly sensing the threat posed by the blazing firestorm.
Standing atop their summoned beasts, Orochimaru and Danzo recognized there was no way to evade this Fire Release technique.
Even if they could survive the firestorm, their summoned creatures would surely be injured and return to their realm, leaving them unable to break through the barrier.
So, with silent understanding, the two exchanged glances before rapidly forming hand seals to activate their jutsu.
[Water Release - Great Waterfall Technique!]
[Wind Release - Great Vacuum Cannon!]
Then Yumemamushi roared, swinging its trunk to spew massive quantities of water vapor.
Their immense chakra spread into the air, instantly creating swirling winds and spiraling water ripples that radiated outward in huge circles, combining violent wind blades with surging water waves.
The water vapor and fierce wind merged, quickly forming a colossal whirlpool of water stretching straight into the heavens around them.
Boom boom boom!
Hiss hiss hiss!
Wave after wave of fire slammed against this waterspout, thunderous explosions mixing with steam's roaring sounds.
The endless flames were extinguished by the deluge, but the Spiral Water Wall conjured by Orochimaru and Danzo also vanished completely.
A massive amount of steam burst forth from the collision zone, expanding outward like a rising mushroom cloud, sweeping away dozens of large mansions surrounding the area. Even Gamaken, who had been watching the battle, was blasted backward more than ten meters by the shockwave.
Jiraiya steadied himself by adjusting the chakra beneath his feet, barely avoiding a fall onto Gamaken. Shock showed clearly on his face.
"Is this really a ninjutsu a thirteen-year-old should possess?"
He had seen countless prodigies in his lifetime—ninja genius Orochimaru, Rinnegan Nagato, Golden Flash Minato Namikaze, Copy Ninja Kakashi... Each of these extraordinary individuals far surpassed their peers at a very young age. Yet he had never encountered any ninja possessing Kage-level strength at just thirteen.
And even for him, summoning such a devastating Fire Release technique would have required partnering with two legendary Sannin-level sages.
Confused, Jiraiya wondered—if he had known Aozora possessed such power earlier, would he even have needed to use Sage Mode?
Then he recalled how Hiruzen Sarutobi had suppressed the Uchiha clan. Without Fugaku Uchiha becoming the Fifth Hokage, conflict between the Hokage faction and the Uchiha clan seemed inevitable. During such a war, Konoha itself might have been instantly annihilated.
Suddenly, he found himself feeling strangely relieved that Fugaku had become the Fifth Hokage.
The night sky, once illuminated by fire, returned to darkness—but now, instead of clear moonlight shining down, everything became obscured under thick mist covering the center of the Sarutobi Compound.
Aozora hovered atop his Keshin, standing tall above the thick mist gathering at the center of the Sarutobi clan grounds.
Having been caught once before, he wouldn't dare enter the mist this time. Who knew what new horrors Orochimaru and Danzo might have added into the fog?
[Blade Light Differentiation!]
His body wasn't ready for prolonged use of powerful fire techniques yet, so after the Great Fireball Technique, he opted for the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique—it had a wide area and devastating effect too.
The Flying Dagger Capable of Slaying Immortals flew from his sleeve again, splitting beneath the bright moon into countless streaks of azure light that angled downward into the thick mist.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!——
In moments, the burning night sky was crossed by a meteor shower of blue streaks, like an endless hail of bullets raking across the Sarutobi Compound concealed by the thick mist.
Inside the mist, Orochimaru and Danzo had barely managed to defend against Ao's Great Fireball Technique with a combined ninjutsu when suddenly they sensed the unending sound of something slicing through air.
Danzo's face darkened. "Damn it!"
Orochimaru shook his head and said, "Let me hold them off for a moment!"
With that, his hands moved quickly through seals before he blew fiercely from his mouth, sending forth a violent gale.
Clang! Clang! Clang!——
Boom! Boom! Boom!——
Hearing the metallic clashing sounds and explosive bursts in the air, Danzo warned, "This is Hiruzen's Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique—but unlike Hiruzen's, it contains a single Flying Dagger Capable of Slaying Immortals!"
No sooner had his words finished than a streak of blue light pierced through the mist, flying straight past Orochimaru and cutting through Manda below him.
The Wind Blade shredded flesh near where the dagger passed, tearing open a huge wound in Manda's body. The weapon then curved within Manda and flew back into the night sky.
The small size of the immortal-slaying dagger meant the wound wasn't serious, but the intense pain drove Manda into a rage.
It roared furiously, "Damn it! I'll kill him! I have to eat him!"
With that, Manda slammed its giant tail down, shaking the earth violently, then burrowed underground.
Seeing this, Danzo directed his Yumemamushi rapidly toward the barrier wall at the village outskirts.
Jiraiya activated his Sensor ability to detect Danzo's direction and, after a brief consideration, sent Gamaken to intercept.
Listening to the powerful noises coming from the earth, Ao created numerous clones of the immortal slaying daggers using Bunshin technique, launching them toward the source of the sound.
While skillfully controlling the immortal slaying daggers by instinct, Ao suddenly heard a tremendous noise rise up from below.
Boom!
In the next instant, the ground cracked open with a large hole, and a massive serpent shot up from within, opening its gigantic jaws directly toward Ao standing under the moonlight.
In that same moment, compared to the serpent's massive form, Ao and Taiyi beneath him looked like mere specks—as if the snake didn't target Ao at all, but sought to swallow the full moon itself.
In a flash, Ao and Keshin exchanged thoughts mentally.
The next moment, Keshin transformed into a human form—the two pressed their feet together, immediately erupting with powerful chakra as they flew backward in opposite directions.
Orochimaru, standing atop Manda's forehead, glanced curiously at Taiyi now in human form, then redirected his gaze toward airborne Ao.
[Grass Cutter - Tachikaze no Ken!]
At Orochimaru's low shout, his neck stretched forward as he spat from his mouth a continuously extending blade, stabbing directly toward Ao in midair.
Targeted by the Grass Cutter, Aozora felt a chill run through him. Even from afar, he could sense the sword's razor-sharp aura. Despite his *Lightning-Fire Golden Body* having reached a certain level of mastery, it still couldn't withstand such a divine weapon.
[Drinking Blood Sword!]
Aozora called out in a low voice. The long sword behind him immediately flew out of its sheath and swiftly soared into his hand, blocking in front of his body.
Clang!
The Grass Cutter and Drinking Blood Sword collided, instantly producing a thunderous metallic clang that rang sharply in Aozora's ears.
At the same time, a force like a crashing mountain surged from the Grass Cutter, pressing down on his body relentlessly.
In just moments, he was dragged down by this immense power and slammed deeply into the ground, creating a massive crater laced with cracks spreading like a spiderweb.
Without hesitation, Orochimaru drove the Grass Cutter through Aozora and deep into the heart of the Sarutobi Compound, straight toward the Barrier Wall until the barrier itself trembled violently.
A sharp stab of pain shot through his back — Aozora bit his lip, drawing blood, and inhaled sharply through his teeth.
Since refining his *Lightning-Fire Golden Body*, this was the first time he had suffered such a severe external wound.
A sharp gleam of malice flashed across his eyes. Aozora released the Drinking Blood Sword and then tightly gripped Orochimaru's Grass Cutter with hands wrapped in thin chakra filaments.
"Now that you've spat it out, don't try to take it back!"
He wasn't some pushover like Naruto, letting himself get stabbed without taking anything in return.
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