Sasuke glared coldly at Orochimaru as his Lightning Release pierced through Orochimaru's crossed arms in front of his chest.
"Orochimaru, you're too weak. My body is of no use to you anymore."
"Such bold words, brat of the Uchiha," Orochimaru mocked, glaring angrily at Sasuke with blood trickling down his cheek.
Sasuke gave a cold laugh.
"That's right. If I hadn't been so weak back then, I wouldn't have sought you out in the first place, would I? The only reason you've always wanted my body is because you couldn't get Itachi's, isn't it? Oh great Sannin? People call you a genius, but you know nothing about the power of the Uchiha clan. Compared to our might, your wretched talent means nothing."
Orochimaru sneered cruelly.
"Your only advantage is your Sharingan, boy. If you really think you're now on equal footing with me, why not return and fight Naruto again? Prove your strength to me. Oh, that's right—you were defeated by him once already. And before the second fight even began, you ran away."
"My eyes?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes, staring coldly at Orochimaru. "You, someone who doesn't even know the name of the Uchiha clan, dare to covet our power? How ridiculous. You keep consuming forbidden drugs and discarding bodies… Your methods are utterly pointless. Do you even have a true purpose anymore? You claim to seek the truth of this world, yet you toy with lives. You're just a pitiful worm trying to become a god!"
He unsheathed the blade from behind his back. "You disgust me." With that, he advanced on the weakened Orochimaru, ready to end him.
However, as he approached, Orochimaru opened his mouth wide and a massive white figure emerged from within—a giant serpent formed of countless smaller snakes.
Sasuke turned around, facing the disgusting monster before him.
"Is this truly your true form then—a giant white snake? Because you craved others' bodies so desperately, you modified your own flesh until in the end, you became neither man nor serpent, but a grotesque hybrid."
"Sasuke-kun…" Orochimaru hissed threateningly. "Give me your body!"
He lunged at Sasuke, who effortlessly dodged the strike. Orochimaru crashed into a bed, shattering it instantly. Several small snakes burst from the debris toward Sasuke midair. He sliced them down with his sword and landed on the ground, his back pressed against the wall. With a guttural snarl, Orochimaru unleashed a swarm of snakes at Sasuke.
Sasuke abruptly tore open his shirt, exposing his upper body, and activated the second stage of the Cursed Seal.
"Though snakes may dream of soaring through the heavens, they are doomed to crawl upon the earth!"
The snakes engulfed Sasuke. His skin turned a dark brown, and black cursed markings spread across his face. Suddenly, the writhing mass of snakes exploded outward, revealing Sasuke completely transformed, with a pair of wing-like arms sprouting from his back.
"I'll show you what flight truly feels like… in my grasp!"
Orochimaru lunged at Sasuke once more.
"Sasuke!"
"
***
##Naruto's Side##
The three ninja used their Body Flicker techniques to escape the encirclement. Naruto became a whirlwind, Sai transformed into an ink-like form, and Maki turned into a beam of light. The Root organization members immediately gave chase, but three shuriken flew through the air, blocking four of them. Forced to stop, they gave chase deeper into the woods.
[Lightning Release: Electric Cage!]
An electric field appeared at ground level, trapping the four Root members.
[Lightning Release: Thunderbolt Collapse!]
The field emitted dazzling flashes and crackling sounds. Then, the lightning dispersed, leaving behind four blackened corpses. Naruto emerged from his hiding place and confirmed their deaths.
"I told you long ago," he said, shaking his head as he stood up, "don't let personal vendettas interfere with your mission. You should value your lives instead of seeking revenge. Killing me won't accomplish anything—so long as there are those who believe in justice, Root cannot be destroyed. Thirteen remain."
With that, he turned back into the forest to help his allies.
***
##Sai's Side##
Seven Root members surrounded Sai, their swords flashing. Three leaped before him, cutting off his escape, while four landed behind. All seven stabbed at him simultaneously. Pain flashed across Sai's face—then suddenly he dissolved into ink, revealing himself as merely an Ink Shadow Clone.
[Ink Flush!]
Ink on the ground transformed into numerous poisonous snakes, coiling around their arms and legs, immobilizing them.
[Art of Super Beast Imitation!] Countless ink lions appeared on surrounding trees and pounced toward the trapped ninjas. Two managed to break free just in time, but others weren't so lucky—the lions knocked them down and tore them apart.
Two lions tore into two men's throats while another beast ripped into someone else's body. Soon they bled out and collapsed, unable to rise, one man's arm bone completely exposed.
The remaining two ninja successfully broke away using their comrades' sacrifices as distraction. At that moment, Sai emerged from the shadows and slashed one attacker's body.
Furious, the other ninja swung his sword at Sai, who blocked the strike.
"Die, filth of Root!" he shouted while trying to stab Sai's eyes. Sai parried the attack with his blade.
Sai twisted his weapon, snapping the man's fingers at the joints, then seized the opening to drive his tanto straight into the man's throat. Finally, he threw the corpse onto the ground and coldly stated,
"I really dislike being followed."
After saying this, he turned toward the last survivor and sighed helplessly.
They were already beyond saving—another had a gaping wound, entrails spilling from his midsection. Sai raised his tanto, stepping toward the dying man.
"
"I feel sympathy for what you've gone through. If you hadn't attacked my companion, I wouldn't have killed you. But my mission is to protect Naruto-senpai, and you've threatened his safety." He raised his tanto, ready to end this.
***
##Maki's side##
Maki was moving at an incredible speed—faster than Sai. To keep up with her, six Root ninjas were forced to split into two teams: one kept chasing her directly, while the other rushed ahead to intercept her.
In the end, their plan seemed to work because Maki had already spotted them. She stopped and turned around to look back at the pursuers. At that moment, a shaft of sunlight pierced through the gaps in the leaves, shining on their faces. In that instant, Maki's figure vanished, replaced by Naruto and Sai running side by side instead.
Seeing the three together, the three ninjas intensified their pursuit. They successfully caught up with Naruto's group and launched a surprise attack from behind. However, the trio simultaneously turned around, blocked the assault, and landed on the forest floor. Face-to-face, three against three, both sides drew their weapons and eyed each other warily.
"What are you doing?" Naruto shouted. "Have you gone crazy?"
"It's all your fault!" A Root ninja yelled back. "You're the reason we are what we are now! You're all going to die here today!"
With those words, both sides erupted into a fierce battle.
***
From her hiding spot among the trees, Maki listened to the sounds of battle echoing in the distance, a faint smile playing at the corners of her lips.
"You want to hurt my friends? Not so fast."
She had used Genjutsu to trick the three ninjas chasing her into mistaking their own comrades for enemies and attacking each other. That was how she successfully escaped. If everything went according to plan, they'd soon be killing each other without her lifting a finger. Perhaps she could use this chance to find Sai and Naruto.
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