"Lightning Release: Pseudo Darkness!"
A blinding white flash tore through the cave.
"Who the hell—!?"
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
Orochimaru didn't even pause to look. His instincts reacted first — lightning countered by wind!The air howled as his chakra erupted outward, forming a roaring gale.
In the real world, wind can't stop lightning — but at the chakra level, it was different.Wind-style chakra could disrupt lightning-style chakra flow, scattering it apart.
The two forces collided midair, sparking and thrashing until the lightning spear shattered in a burst of light.
"...Oh?"
The voice drifted through the dissipating wind.
Out of the shadows stepped a tall, stitched-together figure. Scars like surgical seams crossed his entire body, his red eyes gleaming faintly green in the stormlight — empty, cold, and merciless.
Five grotesque creatures stood behind him, their bodies masked and writhing with black tendrils.
Before anyone could speak, the man's hands blurred through seals.
"Fire Style: Searing Ashes!"
Flames exploded forward — a torrent of heat and smoke.If wind beats lightning, then fire devours wind. The attack was layered, deliberate.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed.A multi-element user… like the Third Hokage himself.Troublesome.
Sparks burst against the walls, licking at the wet stone. But Orochimaru didn't answer with water-style this time. His mastery of it was shallow, and even with the humid air of the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain, the odds weren't in his favor.
Instead—
"Summoning: Rashōmon!"
He slammed his palms down.A massive, demonic gate surged from the ground, intercepting the wave of flame. The wooden surface charred black, smoke curling upward.
But their enemy wasn't done.
"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!""Fire Style: Searing Ashes!""Lightning Release: Pseudo Darkness!"
The three techniques merged — a blinding storm of flame, wind, and lightning.
"Compound Jutsu: Final Shot!"
The explosion slammed into Rashōmon with deafening force, splintering its surface.
"Move! Now!" Orochimaru barked, springing backward and grabbing the three kids with his voice alone."This enemy isn't one you can handle!"
Hiroki ran after him, glancing back — and froze.
Black tendrils. Masked monsters. Stitched flesh.His blood ran cold.
Kakuzu.
A rogue ninja of legend. An S-class missing-nin who once threw a kunai at the First Hokage from miles away.He hadn't joined Akatsuki yet, but his obsession with money was probably already in full swing.
Wait—money?Don't tell me there's a bounty on us!
"Kid," Kakuzu's gravelly voice rumbled as he looked straight at Orochimaru, "you must be the one they call the Third Hokage's protégé. Tell me—did your teacher ever teach you how to deal with compound jutsu?"
"Oh?" Orochimaru sneered, his golden eyes narrowing. "You can find out for yourself."
That accent, those techniques… Orochimaru didn't need confirmation anymore.He'd read the intelligence reports.Kakuzu — the immortal mercenary, the man who had once battled the God of Shinobi himself.A true Kage-level monster.
"Then let me ask you a question…" Kakuzu's tone stayed casual, but his hands were already buried deep in the earth.
—!
"Tentacle Fist!"
Dozens of black tendrils burst upward from the ground behind Nawaki, moving with terrifying speed.
"Die, brat!"
"Wind Style: Vacuum Bullet!" Hiroki countered immediately.
"Get back, Hiroki!" Kushina yelled.
Two rapid-fire wind bullets blasted the tendrils apart — but a third one shot from behind, striking from Hiroki's blind spot.
Kakuzu grinned. "Then I'll kill you first, little pest."
Kushina lunged, shoving Hiroki sideways just in time. The tentacle only managed to snare his ankle.
"Tch—just a delay tactic!"
"Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld!" Orochimaru's voice cut through the chaos, the ground liquefying beneath Kakuzu's feet.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
Hundreds of shuriken filled the air, glinting like a rain of steel.
But Orochimaru wasn't finished yet. He charged forward, hand glowing with five shifting colors.
The Five Elements Seal…
"Troublesome," Kakuzu muttered, detaching both arms without hesitation as they shot past Orochimaru to continue attacking the children.
The separated limbs twisted midair, tendrils flaring as they struck again.
"What kind of jutsu is that!?" Hiroki shouted, stunned.
And then—
Ding!
[Another connectable device detected: "Kakuzu_Kakuzu2."Temporary link established via Chakra Communication Protocol.]
[Open file?]
Finally! Hiroki's mental HUD lit up instantly. Brain Overload — start!
"Huh?" Kakuzu froze mid-motion, watching one of his detached arms twitch and then go limp."What the—why won't my arm move?"
Hiroki blinked, stunned.Wait… why isn't Brain Overload affecting him directly? Only the tentacles?
Orochimaru didn't waste the distraction.
"Five Elements Seal!"
His glowing hand slammed against the monster wearing the Fire Mask — the one hurling flames nonstop.
"Water Style: Water Curtain Shield!"
Another masked beast leapt forward, firing a barrage of pressurized water bullets that shattered Orochimaru's assault midair.
Orochimaru's expression darkened.Five independent entities… each controlling a different chakra nature.They hadn't even seen the Earth Mask in action yet — but it was safe to assume it wouldn't be simple.
And that man — his limbs could detach and still fight independently.That meant Orochimaru wasn't facing one enemy… but seven or eight working in perfect coordination.
No wonder he'd once fought the First Hokage.
Kakuzu didn't even look at Orochimaru now. His eerie gaze fixed on Hiroki instead, a slow grin stretching his stitched face.
"That little trick of yours works on me too, huh? Interesting."He tilted his head. "Tell me, kid — what kind of ninja are you?"