The rain hammered against the battlefield as if the heavens themselves sought to drown out the clash of monsters. Soka was the first to move, her body cutting through the storm like a shard of steel. She darted forward, chakra scalpel igniting her hand with azure light, aiming directly for Orochimaru's chest. Her eyes, sharp and unblinking, studied him in those opening seconds, searching for patterns, for flaws, for the rhythm hidden in his movements. Every shinobi had one—even legends.
But Orochimaru was not a man bound by the rhythm of mortals. He slithered instead of stepping, his body bending and twisting with a grotesque elegance that defied human anatomy. His spine seemed liquid, his limbs unnatural, his strikes weaving like serpents through the rain. Soka's mind calculated every twitch of his muscles, every shift in his golden eyes, but before she could decipher more than his inhuman fluidity, his fist crashed into her ribs.
The force of the blow ripped her from the ground. She sailed backward, breath torn from her lungs, the world spinning in a blur of rain and mud until her body slammed into the shattered remains of a stone wall. Pain flared across her chest, sharp and suffocating. For a heartbeat, her vision flickered black.
Kaito, watching, did not flinch. He had seen Soka fall before, and he knew better than to assume defeat. She was too stubborn, too unyielding, too much of an Uzumaki to die from a single strike—even from Orochimaru. His eyes narrowed, his tanto vibrating in his grip.
Without hesitation, he charged.
Kaito's movements were fast, vicious, born of scars and survival. He struck at Orochimaru in a blur of steel and sparks, Kibō to Shinkō slicing through the rain with every swing. The serpent met him head-on, their clash erupting in a storm of sound and pressure. Orochimaru's hands moved with surgical precision, blocking, deflecting, countering with a rhythm Kaito could barely follow.
Punch. Kick. Elbow. Knee. Orochimaru's taijutsu pressed down like the coils of a snake, tightening with every exchange. Kaito's chest burned as he parried one strike only to be caught by another, his body shoved back against the storm of blows. His arms ached, his lungs screamed.
Damn it, he thought, gritting his teeth as his tanto intercepted a crushing kick. He's so strong—and this isn't even his peak. He's not at full power, and yet… this is like fighting against the weight of the entire world.
His muscles trembled, his blood roared. He knew the truth in his heart: Orochimaru was already hovering near the level of a Kage, a monster dressed in the skin of a man. Against him, two children were nothing but prey.
But prey can still bite.
Soka's chains erupted from the rubble where she had landed, glowing with golden brilliance. They whipped through the rain like vipers, their sound sharp and metallic, each link promising destruction. Orochimaru's eyes widened for the briefest moment. He knew these chains. He knew what they were capable of. Even the mighty Tailed Beasts could be bound by such power. His lips curved into a smile, thin and dangerous.
"Uzumaki chains… fascinating."
He moved with sudden urgency, his body twisting to avoid the bindings that lashed out at him. Each chain cracked the ground where it struck, gouging deep trenches into the battlefield.
And then Kaito was beside her, pushing forward with the same unbreakable fire. Together they moved as one. If a punch came, a kick answered. If a knee cut through the air, an elbow crushed back. Their coordination was born not from training manuals or instructors but from years of surviving side by side, two broken souls teaching each other how not to die.
The rain turned their hair into dark whips, their eyes burned with fury, and their movements created a rhythm that was theirs alone. For a moment, even Orochimaru's inhuman agility was pressed by their tandem assault.
But monsters do not falter forever.
Kaito's focus slipped for a fraction of a heartbeat, his defense opening like a single broken scale in armor. Orochimaru struck like lightning, his fist slamming into Kaito's chest with enough force to send him stumbling back, coughing blood. Before the serpent could press the advantage, Soka's fist crashed into his side, the impact rippling through his body with surprising force.
Orochimaru chuckled low, almost delighted, as though pain were nothing more than a curious sensation. "Yes… yes… show me more."
Soka didn't answer. Her hands flew through seals, her chakra flaring as the rain thickened around her.
"Water Style: Water Shockwave!"
A torrent of water burst from her lungs, surging forward in a cresting wave that tore through the battlefield. Orochimaru leaped back, his body twisting midair with predatory grace, but the water still splashed across him, soaking his robes, slicking his hair.
And in that instant, Kaito's voice thundered through the storm.
"Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder!"
Electricity crackled violently through his arms, snapping and snarling like caged beasts before leaping into the soaked earth and water. The battlefield lit up in an explosion of light and sound, a violent symphony of thunder and screams. The current raced through the torrent, exploding outward in a devastating burst. The smell of ozone filled the air.
Sssstttttt… BOOM!
The explosion rattled the ground, the rain momentarily turned to steam. For a heartbeat, silence followed, broken only by the crackling hiss of fading lightning.
Kaito's chest heaved as he straightened, his tanto trembling in his grasp. His eyes narrowed. He wasn't celebrating. He wasn't smiling.
No way he goes down from something like that.
And he was right.
From the haze of steam emerged Orochimaru, his skin blistered but already mending, his golden eyes gleaming with something between hunger and ecstasy. He licked his lips, his tongue sliding grotesquely across his chin.
"Marvelous…" he whispered. "You will be magnificent experiments"
Kaito cursed under his breath. He had to anticipate the next move. He focused, blood rushing to his eyes, the veins around them burning as his Eye of Reality flickered to life. The world shifted, sharpened, the flow of chakra patterns unveiled like strings of fate.
One second. Two seconds. His limit was three.
And then he saw it. A strike from behind—serpents lashing through the air, their fangs aimed at his spine.
He spun, Kibō to Shinkō cutting through the storm with a gleaming arc. The blade met scale and flesh, severing the snakes in a spray of black ichor. His body screamed in pain from the strain of the eye, but he endured, snarling through clenched teeth.
Soka's chains cracked like thunder, golden light tearing through the storm. They lashed toward Orochimaru, the sound like war drums echoing in the rain. But when the chains struck, the serpent dissolved into smoke. A Shadow Clone.
Soka's eyes widened. Too late.
The real Orochimaru appeared behind her, his foot slamming into her side. The impact drove the air from her lungs, ribs splintering under the force. Her body flew across the battlefield, tumbling through mud and stone before she skidded to a stop, coughing blood.
Kaito's rage boiled over. His scars burned, his veins thrummed. He refused to stand idle. He refused to watch her fall again.
Something stirred deep within him. Something ancient. Something crimson.
From his back, a single chain emerged, glowing like molten steel, its links forged from blood and fury. It writhed behind him, alive, hungering. Unlike Soka's golden bindings, his was raw, violent, carmine in hue, a promise of chaos.
He turned his head slightly, his eyes locked on Orochimaru. The serpent's smile faltered, curiosity flickering into something sharper.
The crimson chain swayed in the storm, gleaming against the rain.
And the battle was far from over.
-------------
I saw that most of the votes were for Kaito to be a villain and to explore the world or form his organization, so I'll do that. I'll see if he will form his organization or not depending on your votes.
If you review or give a Power Stone, I'll give you an extra chapter.
A Power Stone: an extra chapter.
A positive review: an extra chapter.
This would help me a lot and would also attract more people, so I'd make more chapters per day.