Immediately afterward, a white figure appeared beside Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Sarutobi-sensei, you really refuse to acknowledge your age."
"You're old, yet you still want to compete with me—your disciple—for speed."
As he spoke, Orochimaru bit his right thumb and began forming hand seals with both hands.
His right palm slammed into the ground, and black summoning symbols instantly spread across the earth.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
"Bang!"
A huge cloud of white smoke erupted on the battlefield. The nearby trees were instantly crushed beneath the sudden pressure.
A deep, resonant voice echoed from within the smoke.
"Orochimaru, you haven't summoned me in so long—I thought you were dead."
Orochimaru leapt atop the massive summoned serpent and gently stroked the purple scales beneath his feet.
Many of the Konoha shinobi immediately recognized the towering figure and erupted in cheers.
"It's Lord Orochimaru's summoning beast—Manda!"
"We're saved now! Manda is invincible!"
"Everyone! It's time to strike back—charge!"
Hearing the adoration from the little humans behind him, Manda, who hadn't been praised in years, actually felt his mood lighten.
His enormous tail began to sway lazily as he negotiated terms with Orochimaru above.
"Orochimaru, I trust you haven't forgotten the sacrifice for summoning me."
Orochimaru's gaze swept across the army of Kirigakure shinobi ahead.
"There are at least two thousand of them out there."
"I doubt you can eat them all."
"Hmph. Then I'll feast like a king today."
Before he even finished, Manda began slithering furiously across the ground, his massive body crashing through everything in its path.
Opening his maw, he spewed purple venom across the Mist shinobi, then began swallowing them whole—one by one.
To a creature the size of Manda, a human body was no more than a bite-sized snack. In his eyes, they were like chocolate beans:
Black. Small. Crunchy. Delicious.
Yes. Chocolate beans.
Seeing his former student's imposing figure standing tall atop Manda, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a surge of vitality, as if he had shed decades in an instant.
He bit his own thumb and formed seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
"Ape King Enma!"
A monkey over three meters tall appeared, covered in white fur, wearing a Konoha forehead protector and black shinobi garb beneath a tiger-skin vest.
"Hiruzen, after all these years, you finally call on me again?"
"To protect the village—I need you, Enma!"
"Then don't let your age stop you from dancing with me, Hiruzen!"
With that, Enma transformed into the Adamantine Staff—a thick, dark pole with yellow-golden ends.
Hiruzen caught it with both hands, spun it in front of him, and launched himself toward the Mist troops.
Wind chakra wrapped around the staff as he swung it forward.
"Adamantine Staff: Gale!"
The staff spun rapidly, stirring up a violent whirlwind.
Dozens of Mist ninjas were sucked into the gale and flung violently through the trees.
Manda saw the whirling crowd of shinobi forming a giant human sphere to his right. He opened his mouth wide and chomped.
Blood splattered from between his fangs, drenching the shattered trees.
"Gulp."
He swallowed the ball of meat in one bite, glanced back at Hiruzen, and muttered to Orochimaru:
"That old one's pretty useful. Makes my meals easier."
Orochimaru only scoffed, then began weaving hand seals again.
"Wind Style, huh? Let me show you a real Wind Style, Manda."
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
But this wasn't an ordinary version.
Instead of spreading the chakra outward, Orochimaru reversed the flow, concentrating the force inward—drawing his enemies in.
This unconventional chakra control was something he had learned from Sarutobi Hiruzen himself.
A vortex stronger than the previous one formed, pulling hundreds of Mist ninjas toward Manda's jaws.
Thanks to the modifications Uchiha Hikaru had made to Orochimaru's body using Izanagi, all of Orochimaru's Senjutsu chakra had been successfully converted into his own.
The power of his ninjutsu now far surpassed what it had once been.
Manda lunged again, swallowing the cluster of enemies whole.
Bigger! More! More! Juicier!
This time, the mass of flesh was so large, even Manda couldn't swallow it all in one bite—blood and viscera spilled out between his fangs.
But still, he was elated.
"Orochimaru, if you keep feeding me like this, I'll grant you three free summons in the future!"
Manda, once greedy and stubborn, was surprisingly generous now.
Orochimaru shook his head, amused.
"If you show up next time without demanding sacrifices, maybe I'll rename you Mandamaru."
"You bottomless glutton..."
At that moment, the full force of five thousand Konoha shinobi under Orochimaru and Sarutobi Hiruzen arrived, attacking the Kirigakure forces from the rear—forming a pincer movement.
Meanwhile, the Mist shinobi who had been chasing Sarutobi Shinnosuke's group vanished in the chaos.
Three miles behind the frontlines, a Kirigakure shinobi with a Byakugan eye jumped from a tree and landed beside his commander.
"Lady Mei—Konoha reinforcements have arrived!"
"So fast! It should've taken three days just to deliver the message, let alone get help back!"
"For them to arrive in under two days—something isn't right!"
Mei Terumi clenched her fists.
Her doubts were slowly becoming truth.
She exhaled and finally voiced the suspicion that had weighed on her heart for some time.
"This war... the reason behind it was flimsy."
"The manner in which it began was insane. The Kirigakure troops charged like rabid animals without strategy or discipline."
"I suspect..."
"The Mizukage—Lord Yagura—is under some form of control."
Ao went pale. Cold sweat beaded down his forehead.
He wanted to deny it—but all the evidence was right there before his eyes.
His lips trembled as he struggled to process the truth.
Mei turned to him, locking eyes with the pale Byakugan implanted in his right socket.
"Ao, I'm counting on you."
"Only your Byakugan can confirm whether the Mizukage is still... himself."
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Send Power Stones
Bonus Chapter at 150 Power Stone
Second Bonus Chapter - 300 Power Stones
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