Not far from Jiraiya, his old comrade Orochimaru wasn't one to be outdone. He summoned Manda without hesitation.
As one of the mighty summoning beasts from Ryūchi Cave—the strongest among the Three Great Sanctuaries—Manda was never known for being easygoing.
"Orochimaru, if you want me summoned, I demand one hundred sacrifices!"
"Eat as many of these as you want!"
Rarely generous, Orochimaru waved his hand grandly—no haggling, no fuss, he even threw in a bonus.
Unlike Jiraiya, Orochimaru showed no mercy. The number of people who had died by his hand was at least three times that of Jiraiya.
But poor Manda… facing the tens of thousands of Hidden Cloud shinobi, he barely had time to stretch out before countless jutsu rained down on him.
He didn't even have time to scream before he was severely injured and poofed back to Ryūchi Cave in a cloud of smoke.
Watching this, Sora couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth. Who would've thought Orochimaru had such a twisted sense of humor?
There was no way Orochimaru didn't know what would happen—he did it on purpose!
Of all the heavy hitters wreaking havoc, only poor Hiashi Hyūga was left struggling.
Though an elite jōnin, the Cloud had no shortage of elites themselves. He wanted to kill, but lacked the strength—so he had no choice but to stick close to Orochimaru, seeking protection.
After scanning the battlefield and confirming everyone was still holding up, Sora made his way toward the densest cluster of enemies.
Flying? Out of the question. That'd make him a sitting duck—he'd be blown out of the sky in seconds.
"Water Style – Great Waterfall Technique!"
"Lightning Style – Ground Walk!"
"Fire Style – Fire Annihilation!"
"Wind Style – Vacuum Sphere Barrage!"
Sora transformed into a mobile artillery platform, launching jutsu after jutsu in all directions. The sheer area-of-effect devastation created a no-go zone—no one could get within ten meters of him.
[Blue Card: Lightning Style – False Darkness! Fuse it?]
[Red Card: Lightning Style – Lightning Armor! Fuse it?]
[Purple Card: Lightning Style – Black Panther! Fuse it?]
[Red Card: Lightning Style – Thunder Burst! Fuse it?]
Looking at the glowing cards appearing before him, Sora couldn't help but grin, a small dimple forming on his cheek.
That adorable expression struck terror in the Hidden Cloud shinobi—it was like staring into the face of a devil.
The fusion had to wait until after the battle, but that didn't affect his mood in the slightest.
All the while, he kept one eye on Uchiha Fugaku.
Just as he expected, facing Killer Bee, it wasn't long before Fugaku could no longer hide his power—his Sharingan spun rapidly, the tomoe linking into a full Mangekyō.
Knowing full well that Killer Bee was a jinchūriki—an Eight-Tails jinchūriki, no less—Fugaku wisely chose not to use genjutsu.
"Amaterasu!"
The inextinguishable black flames of Amaterasu, a signature power of the Mangekyō Sharingan, ignited from his eyes. Once it touched its target, it wouldn't stop until it burned everything to ash.
Fugaku had complete confidence in the technique—until the next second, when he was sent flying and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Killer Bee had instantly shed the flaming chakra and kicked Fugaku hard in the chest.
In his partial transformation state, Bee's body was cloaked in the Eight-Tails' chakra, which he could abandon at any moment.
"Cough! Cough! Susanoo!"
Cradling his chest, Fugaku erupted in fury. A giant ribcage-like structure burst forth around him—the initial form of Susanoo.
It was only the first stage, but it would be enough to survive against Killer Bee.
Everyone—Sora, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Minato—saw it happen.
Having achieved his goal, Sora lost interest in Fugaku and went back to farming cards in earnest.
The battle raged for about half an hour before finally concluding. Over a thousand Hidden Cloud shinobi lay dead.
During the Third Great Ninja War, their total casualties had been four to five thousand. To lose over a thousand in a single engagement now was a massive blow.
When it became clear they couldn't defeat Minato, and Bee couldn't take down Fugaku either—
Seeing Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Sora mowing down enemies by the dozen, the Raikage had no choice but to suppress his rage and call for a ceasefire.
As the dust settled, Sora and the others remained calm, while the Cloud shinobi glared at them with murderous hatred, wishing they could tear them limb from limb.
Especially Sora and Orochimaru—between the two of them, they had slaughtered nearly a thousand of the fallen.
"So? What kind of compensation do you want?" the Raikage growled.
Hot-headed as ever, he wasn't stupid—otherwise, he wouldn't be the Raikage.
Though furious, he knew he couldn't afford to throw more lives away. He had seen firsthand the enemy's power.
Aside from Hiashi, every one of the intruders was Kage-level.
Sure, they could try throwing bodies at the problem—but it would cripple the entire village.
And with Minato's Flying Thunder God, there was no guarantee they could even capture them.
"One price. One billion ryō."
This had been pre-arranged—it was roughly equivalent to the Hidden Cloud's entire annual budget.
Konoha didn't need the money, but the Hidden Cloud needed a harsh lesson—they had done this kind of thing too many times before.
Despite his sour expression, the Raikage agreed without hesitation.
He knew better than anyone—they weren't in a position to negotiate. Either pay up, or die.
Once terms were settled, Minato's group prepared to leave. One billion might not mean much to Konoha, but to other villages, it was a staggering blow.
It would take them a while to cough up the payment. Eventually, they'd have to come groveling back.
Unless they somehow gained the strength to rival Konoha—but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.
"I hope you live long enough to regret this," the Raikage snarled at Sora, eyes bloodshot with hatred.
This boy alone had killed more than half the fallen Cloud shinobi.
Sora turned and gave him a sweet smile. "Thanks for the blessing."
And with that, the group walked away from the Hidden Cloud Village, unfazed by the thousands of murderous glares behind them.
In a world where power reigns supreme, strength is everything. With it, you can do as you please—without it, you're just a stepping stone.
This thought deepened Sora's resolve.
He would never allow himself to be stepped on—not in this life.
His thirst for power grew fiercer—not out of arrogance, but the desire to control his own fate.
Especially with that person still out there.
Sora had expected such a clean, decisive resolution.
Negotiation only works when both sides are evenly matched. When one side holds your life in their hands, you give them whatever they want—no questions asked.
Had they not possessed overwhelming strength, the Hidden Cloud would never have surrendered so quickly.
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