Chapter 10 Shukaku Jinchuriki vs. Orochimaru
The commander glanced to the side.
Although Asuma and Hyuga Kei were both geniuses and actually possessed Chunin-level strength, the enemies they faced were far stronger than them, and their combat experience was incomparable.
Even with Kurenai Yuhi's genjutsu interference and assistance, the two were still injured one after another and were completely suppressed!
Defeat is clearly only a matter of time!
"It seems things aren't looking good over there!"
The Souji looked at his opponent again and said softly:
"Excuse me, but I'm a man who's going to become Hokage. I can't leave a stain on my record here."
"So I have no choice but to deal with you as soon as possible!"
Souji's eyes flashed, and a large amount of chakra instantly covered his hands and kunai.
With the boost from a large amount of chakra, Souji's hands moved at an extremely fast speed, continuously delivering stabbing blows!
Mochizuki Ryu has no battle tactics - Hundred Strike!
"ah!"
The Sand Village let out a scream!
Every attack from the Souji was bound to hit, so under the instantaneous, high-density, explosive offensive, Sunagakure was stabbed hundreds of times in the blink of an eye!
Even if he reacts quickly enough and can always avoid vital or fatal wounds, hundreds of attacks, even if they all hit non-vital areas like the hands, feet, shoulders, and abdomen, would still be enough to be fatal!
Sunagakure was covered in bloody holes and collapsed in despair!
Souji ignored him and used Body Flicker Technique to attack the remaining Sand Village ninja!
"hiss!"
Seeing his companions fall one after another, the Sand Villager was shocked. He gritted his teeth and used the Substitution Jutsu to withstand the attacks from Asuma and Hyuga Kei, while his main body turned and ran!
Seeing this, the Souji was about to throw a kunai to pursue.
Suddenly, several figures appeared from the direction of the Konoha camp!
These people wore Sand Village headbands and moved extremely fast. When they reached the battle line, one of the female ninjas shouted, "Retreat!"
Although there were only a few of these people, they were all obviously very strong. However, they did not linger and broke through the battle line directly, heading towards the direction of the Sand Village camp.
Having received the order to retreat, the Sand Village troops also halted their offensive and withdrew from the valley.
"The battle between Kage-level experts has ended? It seems that Sunagakure suffered a loss this time?"
At that moment, accompanied by a rumbling sound and a violent earthquake, a dark purple python as large as a mountain appeared.
Standing atop the snake's head was none other than Orochimaru, the general of the Land of Rivers front and one of the legendary Sannin of Konoha!
Orochimaru ignored the Konoha ninja below and, controlling Manda, charged straight at the Sunagakure camp at an extremely fast speed!
Manda, a top-tier summoning beast, possesses power far exceeding that of ordinary ninjas.
The mere sight of its snake body passing by can inflict massive casualties on genin and chunin on the road!
Orochimaru stood atop the snake's head, his face bearing his usual sinister smile.
In the blink of an eye, Manda had already reached the Sunagakure camp!
However, the monstrous creature that had charged in with such an arrogant and domineering aura suddenly stopped.
Two enormous, sharp spikes made of sand grains stood facing the Thousand Serpents, one on the left and one on the right.
Between the two sharp spikes stood an old monk.
The old monk looked emaciated, as if he were a candle flickering in the wind.
However, his body exudes a chakra that is completely different from his appearance, and is extremely ferocious and immense.
It was precisely because Manda sensed this chakra that he stopped his attack.
The giant snake's eyes narrowed slightly as it coldly scrutinized the old monk.
"What's wrong with this old man? He seems different from the other trash."
Orochimaru, however, looked down at the old monk with great interest.
"I heard that the Sand Village's tailed beast is Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast, and Shukaku's jinchūriki is an old monk. It seems that you are the one?"
The old monk kept his hands clasped together and bowed slightly in respect.
"Indeed, this old monk is fortunate to serve as the Jinchūriki of Shukaku for Sunagakure."
"Huh?" Orochimaru sneered as if he'd heard a joke. "Are you mistaken? Becoming a Jinchuriki shouldn't be considered a good thing, right?"
"This is a fortunate thing for the old monk."
Bunpuku, neither arrogant nor humble, looked up at Orochimaru and said:
"You must be Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin of Konoha. Forgive my boldness, but may I ask you to turn back now?"
"What if I refuse?"
"Then the old monk had no choice but to use Shukaku's power."
Orochimaru did not answer, but coldly sized up Bunpuku.
At this moment, Manda spoke in a hoarse voice:
"Hey! Orochimaru, I'm telling you upfront, if you're going to fight a Tailed Beast, the blood sacrifice will have to be ten times what we agreed on, otherwise I'm not going to play along!"
"Manda, you…" Orochimaru's eyes were filled with displeasure.
"What? The price is different depending on the guy we're dealing with. My demands are perfectly reasonable!"
"..."
Orochimaru cursed inwardly, thinking that Manda was indeed unreliable at crucial moments.
After pondering for a while, Orochimaru smiled coldly again.
"Very well... It's a bit of a pity that we can't directly defeat Sunagakure, but fighting a battle we're not confident of winning isn't my style!"
"Retreat, Manda!"
Manda remained silent, slowly turning around and returning to the Konoha camp.
"..."
No one in Sunagakure, including Shukaku's jinchūriki Bunpuku, dared to intervene.
The outcome of the battle between Orochimaru, one of the Three Legendary Sannin, and Manda, the top-tier summoning beast, and Shukaku, the tailed beast, is uncertain.
Orochimaru was wary of him, and Bunpuku was equally wary of Orochimaru.
After the ten thousand snakes have gone far away, Bunpuku communicates with Shouhe and regains his power.
The sharp sand grains dissipated, and Bunpuku swayed slightly before falling to the ground. Several disciples rushed over to help him up.
"Master!"
"I'm fine..." Bunpuku replied weakly.
Although it was only for a short time and the amount of Shukaku chakra released was not much, it was still a huge burden for the elderly Bunpuku.
"I've heard that Orochimaru of Konoha is a cunning strategist... This time, Pakura's assassination attempt on Orochimaru failed, and several elite Jonin were also lost. My body also can't withstand using Shukaku's power multiple times... It seems the situation is quite unfavorable..." Bunpuku analyzed in his mind.
Thus, with Orochimaru's return, the first battle between Kage-level shinobi on the Land of Rivers front came to an end.
At the beginning of this battle, Sunagakure took the initiative to attack.
Pakura, an elite Jonin with the bloodline limit of Scorching Release, led ten elite Jonin to infiltrate Konoha's camp and assassinate Konoha's general Orochimaru.
However, Orochimaru was prepared. As soon as Sunagakure made his move, several of Konoha's elite soldiers, led by Sarutobi Shinnosuke, appeared and surrounded him.
Pakura summoned the summoning beast Red Sand , and Orochimaru also summoned Manda.
A great battle broke out, and in the end, at the cost of Red Sand being seriously injured and five elite Jonin dying on the spot, Pakura and the others managed to escape back to the Sunagakure camp with great difficulty.
Orochimaru, using Manda as his weapon, pressed his advantage and fought his way to the Sand Village camp.
At the last moment, Shukaku's jinchūriki, Bunpuku, appeared and forced Orochimaru to retreat, but was also injured himself due to using Shukaku's power.
Although Sunagakure outnumbered Konoha on the battlefield in the Land of Rivers, the loss of elite Jonin, the injuries to Pakura and Bunpuku, and the resulting disadvantage in high-level combat power forced Sunagakure to hold their ground and not venture out.
At this point, Konoha gained the upper hand and began to switch from defense to offense.
End of this chapter...