Inside the dim underground chamber, the smoke from the summoning jutsu slowly dispersed.
Orochimaru stood atop Manda's massive head, his golden snake-like pupils glinting coldly as he stared at 'Shura,' who had calmly retreated after landing his attack. A storm of emotions churned within his eyes.
Humiliation from being toyed with.
Fear of an unknown power.
And a boiling rage at having his pride trampled.
"Forget a hundred sacrifices—I'll bring you a thousand if I must!" Orochimaru hissed, his hoarse voice thick with murderous intent.
After being humiliated twice by Shura, the legendary Sannin had completely lost his composure.
"Hmph! You said it yourself!" Manda roared, massive body crushing against the cave walls as debris rained down. With a thunderous sweep, its enormous tail whipped toward Menma.
Menma looked up at the gigantic serpent that nearly touched the ceiling and frowned slightly.
"With a body that big, are you trying to collapse the entire cave?" he muttered to himself, realizing the fight needed to end quickly.
If Orochimaru couldn't win, he could always escape to Ryuchi Cave using reverse summoning. But if Manda brought the entire tunnel down, the Iburi clan—now Menma's prized asset—might be buried alive.
"Then let's use this."
Menma pulled several specially crafted kunai from his left hand while gathering chakra in his right to form a Small Spiral Ring Orb.
Unlike the standard Spiral Ring Orb—large as a Rasenshuriken—this one was only fist-sized. Yet its energy density was terrifying: extremely compressed dark chakra wrapped in a ring of wind chakra, radiating lethal power.
This was an enhanced version Menma had developed back in the Limited Tsukuyomi world.
The Spiral Ring Orb was like the base Rasengan. Compress it further and it became the Small Spiral Ring Orb. Compress it to the absolute limit—and it could evolve into the Great Spiral Ring Orb, rivaling even Shinra Tensei in destructive force.
As Manda's colossal tail tore through the air, the special kunai shot forward like streaks of silver light toward Orochimaru.
Standing on the serpent's head, Orochimaru simply shifted slightly to dodge them, letting the blades pass harmlessly by as he began forming hand seals for his next attack.
Even if he couldn't kill Shura, he intended to destroy this cave entirely—forcing the traitorous Iburi clan to pay with their lives.
But just as he was mid-seal—
Shura vanished.
An invisible killing intent erupted from behind him.
"What?!" Years of battle-honed instincts made Orochimaru's muscles tense instantly.
But it was already too late.
BOOOOOOM—!!!
The Small Spiral Ring Orb slammed brutally into Orochimaru's waist.
The hyper-compressed dark energy detonated, tearing through his already injured body. Wind chakra ripped at his flesh like a savage beast.
In an instant, half of Orochimaru's torso was nearly shredded apart.
Menma appeared directly behind him, holding a special kunai in one hand and the explosive orb in the other—knocking both Orochimaru and Manda flat to the ground.
The giant serpent howled in agony as its head smashed into the earth, cracking the floor like a spiderweb.
With the impact, the summoning jutsu collapsed.
"Cough…"
Orochimaru lay crushed in the crater.
But then—
His mangled body began to melt.
From within his own mouth, a pale white arm reached out, followed by an entirely new body emerging in a grotesque rebirth.
A fresh Orochimaru stepped out, coated in sticky fluid, brushing wet hair from his face to reveal burning, fanatical eyes.
The Great Snake Replacement Technique.
One of Orochimaru's signature lifesaving jutsu.
"Why… do you know the Flying Thunder God Technique?!" Orochimaru demanded, voice trembling—not from fear, but excitement.
He replayed every shinobi from Konoha in his memory—Tobirama Senju, Minato Namikaze, even Minato's guards.
None matched the man before him.
It was as if Shura had appeared out of thin air.
If Orochimaru hadn't prepared the replacement jutsu in advance, that attack would have torn him in half.
"Flying Thunder God… and that Rasengan-like technique…"
Orochimaru wiped blood from his lips, mind racing.
For a split second, he even thought of Minato Namikaze—the Fourth Hokage, dead for three years.
No… impossible… I saw Minato and Kushina's bodies myself…
As a medical genius, Orochimaru knew with absolute certainty they were dead.
He even possessed samples of Minato's cells.
None of it made sense.
But one thing he was sure of—
This man was connected to Konoha.
By now, the Death God and Heavenly Maiden had escorted the Iburi clan away. Only Menma and Orochimaru remained in the silent cavern.
"Is that all you've got?" Menma's footsteps echoed calmly through the tunnel as he approached.
With every step, the pressure surrounding him grew heavier.
Even Orochimaru—the mighty Sannin—felt suffocated.
It reminded him of his encounter with Hanzo the Salamander during the Second Shinobi War.
At the same time, Menma pondered how to make Orochimaru serve him.
Orochimaru's scientific genius was unmatched, but his pride was immense. He wouldn't bow easily.
He had dared to covet Nagato's Rinnegan and even schemed against Itachi Uchiha.
To control him would be extremely difficult.
Menma knew he couldn't fully dominate Orochimaru with his current power—unless he obtained Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan.
But still…
He slowly circled Orochimaru like a predator observing prey.
"I'd advise you to stop relying on the Living Corpse Reincarnation," Menma said casually.
Orochimaru froze.
"How could you possibly know about that…?" he muttered in disbelief.
That forbidden jutsu was his ultimate secret—never revealed to anyone.
"Interesting… so interesting…"
Orochimaru began laughing maniacally, clutching his stomach.
"Attacking Konoha, assaulting Kumogakure, impersonating Danzo, using techniques like the Rasengan, wielding Flying Thunder God, knowing about Hashirama cells and even my untested Living Corpse Reincarnation…"
Suddenly his laughter stopped.
He looked up at Shura with an expression of pure revelation.
"I understand now."
"You are indeed a Konoha ninja… but not one of this era."
Eyes blazing with manic joy, Orochimaru shouted:
"You came from the future… didn't you, Shura?!"
Menma: Huh?
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/ZoroTL442