Orochimaru's voice carried across the battlefield, low and venomous:"You children… you are not mere shinobi anymore. You are anomalies. And anomalies… must be dissected."
His hands moved in a blur, slamming together into a seal. The giant serpent beneath him reared, its shadow stretching across the cracked earth.
"Ten Thousand Snakes Wave!"
From his sleeves burst an endless torrent of serpents—black, venomous, their fangs dripping with poison so corrosive the soil sizzled when it touched the ground. The wave of reptiles surged forward like a living tide.
Soka reacted first. Her chains snapped outward, golden arcs intercepting the serpents mid-air, crushing skulls and coiling around others to slam them into the earth. She whirled, her movements deliberate but slowing—her stamina burning away. A snake slipped past, its fangs sinking into her calf.
"Ah—!" She ripped it away, blood gushing down her leg, venom searing into muscle. Her vision blurred, but she forced her hands into a seal, spewing water from her mouth.
"Water Release: Tidal Surge!"
A wall of water crashed into the incoming snakes, sweeping many aside. For a brief instant, the battlefield was a whirlpool of hissing bodies and broken scales.
Kaito didn't retreat. He sprinted into the chaos, blade flashing. Kibō to Shinkō carved through snake after snake, his arms slick with reptilian blood. He felt fangs pierce into his forearm, another tearing into his shoulder. Pain ripped through him, his breath choked with fire.
And then the crimson chain reacted.
It lashed outward, wrapping around three serpents at once, constricting. Their bodies split like overripe fruit, blood spraying across the battlefield. The chain swung again, smashing through Orochimaru's wave, an extension of Kaito's hatred.
The Sannin watched, fascinated. His lips parted, his tongue sliding across them with obscene hunger. This… this is not chakra control. It is pure intent given flesh. A chain born not of discipline, but of wrath. What a delightful abomination.
Yet even as fascination burned in him, his pupils narrowed. The chain moved too fast, too violently. He raised his hand, slamming it into the earth.
"Summoning: Rashōmon!"
The massive demonic gate erupted from the ground, its snarling visage towering above the battlefield. The crimson chain crashed against it—BOOM!—the ground shook, stone splintered, but the Rashōmon endured.
Behind its shadow, Orochimaru leapt forward, his kunai flashing. He appeared at Soka's side before she could react, his blade slicing across her shoulder. Blood erupted, spraying across her face. She gasped, staggering back.
But she didn't falter. Her chains lashed out instinctively, forcing Orochimaru to backpedal before they skewered his torso.
Kaito roared, his eyes glowing with fury. He dashed forward, his tanto clashing against Orochimaru's kunai. The Sannin's strength was monstrous—each strike reverberated up Kaito's arms, bones aching as sparks burst from the impact. Orochimaru slammed a kick into his stomach, sending him crashing back into a shattered tree.
The boy coughed, blood splattering his lips. His ribs screamed—fractured now, maybe broken. His vision dimmed for a second, but he pushed himself up, trembling.
The crimson chain writhed, shrieking in his mind. It wanted blood. It wanted Orochimaru's flesh.
Kaito let it loose.
The chain ripped through the battlefield, gouging trenches into the earth, shattering stone, ripping apart the few serpents still alive. It struck Rashōmon again, the demonic gate splintering under the ferocity. Cracks spiderwebbed across its surface.
Orochimaru's smile vanished. His golden eyes sharpened, snake-like, no longer playful.
This time, the chain caught him off guard. It lashed across his chest, tearing flesh. His pale skin split, blood spraying across his robes. He slid backward, his breathing ragged for a moment, his tongue flickering.
"…So it can wound me." His voice was quiet, almost reverent. He placed a hand on the bleeding cut across his chest, his fingers painting crimson across pale skin. "Perfect… truly perfect."
Soka stumbled beside Kaito, her golden chains flickering weakly. Her leg burned with venom, her shoulder slick with blood. Yet her eyes burned with the same defiance as his.
"Kaito…" she rasped. "Don't… lose yourself to it. You're still you."
But Kaito's gaze was locked on Orochimaru. His hands trembled, his jaw clenched, his thoughts drowned in hatred.
He can't live. Not this monster. Not after what he's done. Not after what he'll do. I'll kill him here.
The crimson chain howled as if it heard his vow, striking again—wilder, sharper, faster. Each swing shredded the ground, each strike closer to piercing Orochimaru through.
The Sannin's breathing slowed. His fascination was still there, but it was coated now with a rare seriousness. His body coiled like a serpent ready to strike.
"You would kill me, little boy?" His voice was colder now, stripped of mocking amusement. "Then come. Let us see if your hatred can devour a snake that has shed countless skins."
Blood dripped from Kaito's lips as he raised his blade. Soka dragged herself upright, her chains weaving beside her.
The battlefield pulsed—blood, venom, shattered earth. The crimson chain thrashed, alive with killing intent.
And then Kaito's pupils shifted.
The Eye of Reality flickered open.
For five seconds, the world slowed into clarity. He saw everything—the way Orochimaru's muscles tightened before a strike, the weakness in his left leg from the chain's cut, the shadow of Rashōmon trembling under strain.
His heart thundered. His breath burned. His hatred sang.
The chain screamed forward one final time—hungry for the Sannin's blood.