"Hahahahahahaha... you think you can catch me?"
Orochimaru leaned close to Jiraiya's ear and sneered.
Jiraiya, however, felt like he couldn't keep up with Orochimaru's speed. Even though his destructive power was immense, the surrounding Konoha Ninjas gradually closing in made it difficult for him to act freely.
Team 7, observing from the corner of the battlefield, watched as Orochimaru moved effortlessly through the crowd, leaving only one impression in their minds, 'So strong.'
Jiraiya also found the situation extremely tricky. Not only was it hard to catch Orochimaru, but… why were some masked figures subtly creating opportunities for him?
'Anbu? No, it's Root!'
Seeing these Ninjas were under Danzo's command, Jiraiya shouted, "Everyone, widen the encirclement! Don't tighten it further!"
After a brief hesitation, the Root Ninjas followed Jiraiya's orders.
"Summoning Technique! I choose you, Gamabunta!"
Jiraiya quickly performed the summoning, and a giant toad appeared out of thin air.
Its sheer size instantly filled most of the encirclement.
Seeing this, Orochimaru merely sneered.
Just as he was about to make his move, a massive staff descended from the sky, striking Orochimaru with pinpoint accuracy.
"Yo, old man, you finally showed up."
Jiraiya grinned. Dealing with Orochimaru alone was too much for him.
Not that he couldn't win, but he couldn't keep up with Orochimaru's speed.
---
As Hiruzen went to inspect Orochimaru's 'corpse,' all he found was a pile of writhing snakes.
Jiraiya's expression changed drastically, "Damn it! Orochimaru escaped again!"
"You guys think you can catch me? Hahahaha..."
Then, a figure swiftly approached Sasuke. Hiruzen, reacting quickly, hurled his staff toward the figure.
At that moment, Orochimaru's main body remained still, but his arm elongated into a serpentine form, stretching dozens of meters!
Enma grabbed Orochimaru's body and slammed it into the ground, but it turned into another pile of snakes.
Orochimaru's main body had already used the serpent arm to reposition itself, closing in on Sasuke.
"You won't succeed!"
Jiraiya roared, and Gamabunta thrust his dagger in front of Sasuke to block Orochimaru's path.
Though it was a dagger to Gamabunta, to a normal human, it was more like a 40-meter-long blade.
Sasuke, paralyzed by Orochimaru's overwhelming presence, couldn't move.
Nearby, Naruto was also frozen in fear, nearly wetting himself at the sight of the massive dagger descending from the sky.
Orochimaru was getting closer to Sasuke.
When he's just a hair's breadth away, Sasuke suddenly stabbed his own thigh with a kunai. The sharp pain snapped him out of his paralysis, and he turned to flee.
But as Orochimaru reached out again...
He saw the space between his serpent arm and Sasuke distort visibly.
It twisted, forming a swirling vortex.
"Kamui!"
"Argh!"
Orochimaru screamed as his right arm was severed at the elbow.
The sudden turn of events caught even someone as sharp as Orochimaru off guard.
But with his keen perception, Orochimaru's slit pupils locked onto a distant figure, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
When he saw the culprit...
'Kakashi?'
Orochimaru's attention was entirely focused on Kakashi's left eye. The murderous intent in his gaze vanished, replaced by an almost tender... and indulgent expression.
'The black, sickle-like pattern... it's clearly not a normal Sharingan.'
"Mangekyo Sharingan? This power is truly extraordinary."
"Kakashi, though I don't know what you've been through, I must say... I'm very interested in you now."
Upon seeing Kakashi's eye, Orochimaru stopped chasing Sasuke.
At this moment, Orochimaru noticed Jiraiya and Hiruzen closing in behind him.
He knew he couldn't waste any more time, so he called out to Sasuke's retreating figure.
"Your destiny tells me... you won't settle for weakness. Konoha can't make you strong, but I can. I can make you as powerful as me, or even... surpass me."
"So... Sasuke-kun, will you stay in Konoha, doing trivial missions like catching cats and dogs, or will you follow me and become an absolute powerhouse?"
Hearing these words, Sasuke's steps faltered. Orochimaru's words had struck a chord deep within him.
"Become stronger... I want to become stronger."
Sasuke silently muttered to himself, no longer taking any steps forward.
"Then... come, Sasuke, accept this power that will make you stronger!"
Orochimaru, seeing Sasuke no longer resisting, grew excited and extended his snake-like hand to place the Cursed Seal on Sasuke when...
"Kamui!"
Orochimaru's left arm, which had just reached out, was twisted off by Kakashi again.
At this moment, Orochimaru shot a resentful glare at Kakashi.
With Jiraiya and Hiruzen closing in from behind, if he didn't run now, he would have no chance.
Orochimaru quickly regenerated his arm and pulled out a scroll, "Come forth, Manda..."
Instantly, a giant serpent appeared, blocking Jiraiya and Hiruzen's attacks.
Manda lazily said, "Orochimaru, you're in quite a predicament... the number of sacrifices this time will have to double."
Orochimaru smiled with a hint of pain, "Just get me out of here first."
With that, Manda charged forward, clearing a path for Orochimaru to escape.
Orochimaru glanced back at Sasuke, "Well then, Sasuke-kun, we'll meet again. I await your answer."
Sasuke watched Orochimaru's figure standing on Manda, feeling a tremendous shock.
"So... so strong..."
Sasuke muttered to himself, 'If I could have such a powerful summon, wouldn't that mean...'
Meanwhile, Jiraiya and Hiruzen watched Orochimaru's retreating figure with grave expressions.
"That guy Orochimaru... he's even more troublesome than before."
The last time they fought was when Orochimaru defected, and Jiraiya felt that even back then, Orochimaru wasn't as formidable as he is now.
Hiruzen recalled Enma and sighed, "It's all my fault for letting Orochimaru go back then. Otherwise, we wouldn't be in this situation."
"Let's tend to the wounded first. He probably won't come back."
---
Yuto, who had been watching the spectacle from the safety of his home, felt incredibly satisfied.
The anime Naruto was famous for its fighting scenes, but the visual impact on TV was nothing compared to witnessing it firsthand!
'I have to say, Orochimaru's survival skills were top-notch, truly befitting the title of the Immortal Snake.'
'While he might not necessarily be able to defeat Jiraiya, Jiraiya couldn't lay a finger on him either.'
'Among the Sannin, Tsunade leaned more towards a heavy tank, with strong self-healing and recovery abilities. Jiraiya was a versatile cannon, with a variety of terrifying, exaggerated large-scale Ninjutsu that boasted incredible destructive power.'
'As for Orochimaru... he was unkillable, couldn't be destroyed, could regenerate limbs, and even if he died, he could revive through Cursed Seals.'
'He probably only feared soul-based attacks, but by the later stages, not even the Shinigami could do anything to him.'
'He was truly a slippery snake!'
'It's just a shame that Jiraiya didn't activate Sage Mode in this battle, otherwise, the intensity of the fight could have been taken to another level!'