74: Chapter 74 The Blackness That Swallows the Light and the Undying SerpentThe light disappeared.
The moment the high-density black chakra sphere in Naruto's mouth was fully formed, the space where the Tenchi Bridge was located seemed to be gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand.
All colors around were stripped away, leaving only the purest and most oppressive black.
There was no indication of a launch.
There was no sound at all.
Because it was moving so fast, the sound was left far behind.
At that moment, Orochimaru's pupils shrank to the size of pinpoints, and a tremor from the depths of his soul made every cell in his body scream—he was going to die!
"Spirit Summoning Technique: Triple Rashomon!"
Orochimaru slammed his hands into the ground, his pale skin cracking and bleeding from extreme chakra depletion.
Boom!Boom!Boom!
The earth trembled, and three giant steel gates painted with hideous ghost faces burst forth from the ground.
Each of these walls weighs tens of thousands of tons and exudes an ancient and sinister aura, like a wall of sighs that separates life and death, firmly blocking the inevitable path of that black beam of destruction.
This is Orochimaru's strongest absolute defense, an impenetrable wall capable of withstanding a direct attack from a tailed beast.
However.
The moment that black beam of light touched the first Rashomon.
There was no explosion.
There was no stalemate.
It was like a red-hot iron bar piercing through a sheet of soaked rice paper.
The supposedly indestructible Gate of Asura couldn't even withstand a fraction of a second of resistance; it was silently annihilated by the black light, turning into countless flying iron filings and dust.
Next is the second door.
The third door.
Completely destroying everything in its path.
The black light didn't slow down at all; with its earth-shattering power, it pierced through the triple defenses and fiercely plowed across the ground where Orochimaru was standing.
Rumble, rumble, rumble—!
Only then did the belated explosion finally catch up with the beam of light.
A semi-circular shockwave, hundreds of meters in diameter, exploded across the earth.The violent blast, mixed with rock fragments, uprooted all the forest vegetation within a radius of several kilometers.
Smoke and dust blotted out the sky, and the whole world seemed to groan under this blow.
After a long while, the dust settled.
The once lush forest has disappeared.
Instead, there is a huge ravine that is bottomless and hundreds of meters wide.
The scar stretched to the horizon, as if the earth had been lashed hard by the whip of a god.
"Is.is this really ninjutsu?"
Hundreds of meters away, Sakura, protected by Wood Release, collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at the ruins before her.
Her lips trembled, and her mind went blank.
This power was beyond her understanding of the profession of "ninja".
Yamato removed the charred wooden ingots from the wall, his face ashen white.
He stared at the ravine, his throat so dry he couldn't make a sound.
If that attack had been slightly off target.they would be a pile of atoms by now.
"Is it over?" Sakura asked, her voice trembling with tears.
No one answered.
Because at the edge of that enormous ravine, a bloody, mangled mass was writhing.
Orochimaru's lower body has completely disappeared.
His upper body was reduced to half, his left arm and half of his shoulder were gone, and the cut was as smooth as a mirror, a trace of being instantly vaporized by high-density chakra.
But he is still alive.
"Cough.cough cough."
The mangled body emitted a sickening cough.
Immediately afterwards, Orochimaru's mangled mouth suddenly opened wide to an exaggerated limit.
A pale, slippery hand emerged from his throat and ripped open the corner of his tattered human skin mouth.
Tear.
It sounded like a snake shedding its skin.
A perfectly intact Orochimaru, covered in slime, emerged from the wrecked body.
"It's.so wonderful."
The newly reborn Orochimaru stood atop the ruins, soaking wet and looking disheveled, but the fervor in his eyes grew ever stronger.
He stuck out his long tongue and licked the sticky liquid off his cheek, his eyes fixed on the dark red figure in the distance.
"Is this the ultimate power of a Jinchūriki?Just the Four-Tails."
Before he could finish speaking.
A dark red afterimage tore through the air.
Naruto has arrived.
In his four-tailed form, he is as fast as a red lightning bolt.
Before Orochimaru could even form hand seals, a giant chakra claw slammed down on his head.
"Kusanagi Sword: Sky Blade!"
Orochimaru reacted extremely quickly, opening his mouth and spitting out a gleaming, divine sword.
The sword extended instantly under the control of chakra, piercing straight into Naruto's chest.
This legendary weapon is said to be able to cut through anything.
bite!
A clear, metallic clang rang out.
The Kusanagi sword pierced Naruto's dark red chakra cloak in his chest, sending up a string of dazzling sparks, but it couldn't penetrate even an inch.
That layer of high-density chakra armor was even harder than diamond.
"What?" Orochimaru's expression changed.
The next second.
Bang!
Naruto's chakra-infused giant hand slammed down on Orochimaru.
Orochimaru was like a ball, slammed hard into the ground.
The rocks crumbled, and the ground collapsed again, creating a large crater.
But that's not all.
Naruto's four tails, like flexible whips, instantly plunged into the ground, pinning Orochimaru's limbs firmly in place.
"Gotcha, little snake."
That deep, hoarse voice, echoing with the roars of wild beasts, rang in Orochimaru's ears.
Naruto's skinless, beast-like face drew closer to Orochimaru, his empty white eye sockets filled with mockery.
He stretched out a hand—that hand rapidly expanded, transforming into a gigantic chakra beast claw—and grabbed the Kusanagi sword that was suspended in mid-air.
Sizzle sizzle—
The Kusanagi sword emitted a mournful cry under the intense heat of chakra.
"Here you go."
Naruto gripped the sword in a reverse grip, his movements so brutal it was as if he were using a fire poker to plunge it into Orochimaru's heart.
Pfft!
Although Orochimaru desperately twisted his body to avoid vital organs, the Kusanagi sword still pierced through his abdomen, pinning him to the ground like a specimen.
"Hmm!"
Orochimaru let out a muffled groan, and blood gushed from his mouth.
pain.
The long-lost excruciating pain.
But this body.has reached its limit.
Orochimaru could sense that this already imperfect vessel, after the severe injury just now and the continuous attacks now, was beginning to collapse.
The rejection reaction came like a tidal wave; his hands began to tremble uncontrollably, and black lines resembling lividity appeared on his skin.
"Damn it.why did it have to happen at this time." Orochimaru gritted his teeth.
Just then.
A barely perceptible ink stain quietly spread along the edge of the battlefield.
On the other side of the battlefield.
Sai hid behind a boulder, clutching the scroll tightly in his hand.
His forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to explode.
That's terrifying.
Is this what battles between "monsters" look like?
Faced with these two inhuman beings, his so-called elite strength in the Dark Guard was as insignificant as an ant that could be crushed at any moment.
"Task..."
Sai took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the fear in his heart.
Lord Danzo's orders are absolute.
Even if it means death, the letter must be delivered.
In the center of the battlefield, Naruto seemed to have "gotten tired of playing."
He raised his enormous beast claw, and in his palm, a small Rasengan was rapidly condensing.
Although it is not large in size, the density of chakra contained within it is enough to completely obliterate Orochimaru.
"it's over."
Naruto's voice was cold and ruthless.
At this critical moment.
"Ninja Technique·Super Beast Pseudo Painting·Snake!"
Dozens of black snakes made of ink suddenly sprang from the ground, not to attack Naruto, but to wrap around Orochimaru, who was pinned to the ground, and pulled him backward sharply.
At the same time, a figure rushed out from the smoke and dust, blocking Orochimaru and Naruto.
It's Sai.
He did not adopt a fighting stance, but instead raised his hands high, holding a scroll in his hands.
"Lord Orochimaru!"
Sai didn't dare look at the dark red monster even once, but stared intently at Orochimaru, who was covered in blood, and shouted at lightning speed, "I was sent by Shimura Danzo!I have important information to give you!It's about the plan to destroy Konoha!"
The air froze.
The Rasengan in Naruto's hand did not dissipate, but his movements stopped.
Those empty, white, beast-like eyes coldly stared at Sai, who was blocking his way.
The terrifying killing intent pressed down on Sai as if it were a physical force, making him feel his bones creaking.
If Naruto wanted to, one swipe of his claw would turn him and Orochimaru behind him into mincemeat.
Sai froze, his back instantly soaked with cold sweat.He was gambling.
I'm betting that this Jinchuriki, who's in a "rampaged" state, will hesitate a little when it comes to the name "Danzo."
Or perhaps Orochimaru still has a way to escape.
"Danzo?"
Orochimaru pulled the Kusanagi sword from his abdomen, and the wound was healing at a visible speed, but the lividity on his face was getting worse.
He narrowed his golden snake eyes, glanced at Sai, and then at the dark red monster that had stopped attacking.
"Hehe.Interesting."
Orochimaru laughed hoarsely, his laughter carrying a chilling undertone of relief after surviving a catastrophe.
Although he didn't know why the rampaging Nine-Tails Jinchuriki had stopped, he was a smart man.
Now that there's a way out, we have to take it.
This body can't hold on any longer; if the fighting continues, it really will die.
"Pack your things and come with me."
Orochimaru gave Naruto a deep look, his eyes filled with both greed and apprehension.
Then, his body quickly softened and merged into the soil beneath his feet.
Sai felt as if he had been granted a pardon and quickly activated his ninjutsu, following Orochimaru as they burrowed underground.
Kabuto Yakushi crawled out of the ruins in the distance, pushed up his shattered glasses, gave Naruto a meaningful look, and then quickly disappeared using Earth Release.
The wind blew once again across this devastated ruin.
Naruto stood still and did not give chase.
The Rasengan in his hand slowly dissipated, and the four tails behind him swayed lazily in the air.
"They run pretty fast."
In the mental space, Nine-Tailed Fox lay behind the huge iron gate, curling its lip in disdain: "Kid, you're just going to let them go like that?That little snake is at its weakest right now, I could bite it to death in one bite."
Naruto stood on the water in the sealed space, looking at the outside world, a cold smile curving his lips.
"Killing him is too lenient."
"Besides, if I don't let him take Sai away, how can I follow the trail and find that really interesting 'big toy'?"
Naruto's gaze pierced through the soil, as if he could see the three people fleeing in a sorry state underground.
On the system panel, a new coordinate system is slowly being generated.
[Target moving.]
The tracking marker is now active.
In reality.
The dark red chakra on Naruto's body began to slowly recede.
But he did not immediately return to normal.
He turned around, his face still bearing the features of a beast, and looked at Yamato and Sakura who had just arrived from a distance.
That look in his eyes was still cold, still unfamiliar.
Deep underground.
In the dark and damp passage.
Orochimaru clutched his chest, staggering.
His skin was peeling away, revealing bright red muscle tissue underneath, which looked extremely horrifying.
"Lord Orochimaru, your health." Kabuto anxiously supported him.
"It's okay.I can hold on for a few more days."
Orochimaru was panting heavily, his golden pupils gleaming eerily in the darkness.
He glanced back at the darkness behind him, as if he could still feel the suffocating dark red chakra.
"That brat."Things have changed.
Orochimaru's voice trembled with barely concealed excitement.
"That's not just power…it's some higher kind of will that can control chaos."
"Sasuke.I must obtain Sasuke's body as soon as possible."
"Only the Sharingan.only the power of the Uchiha clan can fight that monster!"
Sai, who was following at the back, listened silently to the conversation between the two, his fingers tightly gripping his paintbrush.
The last glance from that dark red figure still lingered in his mind.
That wasn't the look of someone watching prey escape.
That's watching.
The look in one's eyes when casting a long line to catch a big fish.
Sai suddenly realized that the so-called "classified information" he had in his hands might not even be considered bait in this scheme.
The real predator was never Orochimaru.
Instead, it's the one who's always been disguised as a fool.
A blond boy.
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