With the power of Susanoo's armored form reinforcing him, Gamabunta's strength surged to terrifying levels, overwhelming Manda with sheer might.
Realizing the vast difference between them, Manda immediately concluded that retreat was the wisest course of action.
Neither he nor Orochimaru, in their current state, were a match for Senju Haruto and Gamabunta together.
Orochimaru clenched his teeth, tilting his head slightly upward as he glared at the massive toad descending rapidly from the sky.
As one of the Legendary Three Sannin, how could Orochimaru fail to understand what even Manda had realized?
Wood Release and the Sharingan—either of these kekkei genkai were already formidable and difficult to counter.
But Haruto could wield both.
That fact alone made him a terrifying opponent.
And yet… it was precisely this terrifying power that made Haruto irresistible to Orochimaru. The temptation was far too great. He couldn't bring himself to retreat so easily.
After only a moment's hesitation, Orochimaru decided to unleash his most forbidden technique.
Even if he had to withdraw in the end, he was determined to tear off a piece of Haruto—whether his body, blood, or flesh—to take back to his laboratory for research.
"Yamata no Jutsu!"
Orochimaru leapt down from Manda's head, summoning eight enormous, pale-white serpents covered in sharp spikes.
Though smaller in size than Manda, their appearance was far more savage and nightmarish.
And if one looked closely, it became clear that these weren't eight separate serpents at all, but rather a single monstrous body with eight writhing heads.
"This… what kind of creature is that…?"
"It has… eight heads!"
The surviving Grass shinobi felt their entire worldview shatter.
Wasn't this supposed to be the shinobi era?
Why did it suddenly feel like they had been thrust into a world of monsters and yokai?
"What the hell is that thing?" Gamabunta growled midair, adjusting his posture. He had been ready to crush Manda, but now something even more terrifying had appeared out of nowhere.
Though smaller in bulk than Manda, the aura radiating from it was far more dangerous.
"It's the Yamata no Orochi," Haruto said calmly, recognizing the technique at a glance.
This was one of the two forbidden jutsu Orochimaru had stolen before defecting from Konoha—the other being Edo Tensei.
Later, during Sasuke and Itachi's battle, Orochimaru had broken free from the Cursed Seal of Heaven and attempted to use this very technique.
But Itachi's foresight had run deeper; he had sealed both Orochimaru and the Yamata no Orochi with the Totsuka Blade.
No one knew the full scope of the jutsu's power—only that it was truly monstrous.
"According to myth, the Yamata no Orochi was one of the great demons of legend… in the end, slain by Susanoo with the Totsuka Blade."
"If I'm right, its abilities should be—"
Before Haruto could finish, Gamabunta crashed down onto the earth like a falling meteor, the impact sending shockwaves rippling across the battlefield.
Feeling the crushing pressure of Gamabunta's strength, Manda recoiled instantly, slithering back to hide behind the Yamata no Orochi.
"That's not like you at all, Manda," Gamabunta sneered, mocking his old rival.
He then swung Susanoo's colossal blade in both hands, unleashing a sweeping strike that cleaved through seven of the Orochi's eight heads in a single stroke.
The blade of Susanoo was sharper than any weapon Gamabunta himself could wield. Against it, the Yamata no Orochi's heads were severed as easily as stalks of grass.
But to Gamabunta's shock, the mutilated body didn't collapse.
Instead, the headless necks writhed violently, and within moments, each stump sprouted a new serpent head. Its entire body seemed to swell, growing thicker and more grotesque.
Haruto's eyes narrowed, realization dawning.
Long before stealing the Second Hokage's forbidden techniques, Orochimaru had already been obsessed with immortality.
"No wonder he chose both Yamata no Jutsu and Edo Tensei… this jutsu suits his obsession perfectly."
But Yamata no Jutsu wasn't merely a summoning—it was a fusion technique.
As Haruto analyzed the situation, one of the new serpent heads opened its massive jaws, revealing Orochimaru himself inside.
With a flash, he fired the Kusanagi Blade straight toward Haruto, his own snake-like body lunging close behind.
Seeing this, Gamabunta instinctively gripped his dagger, sweeping it in a wide arc to intercept Orochimaru's real body.
But at that precise instant, Manda—who had been cowering—suddenly lashed out with astonishing speed.
Launching himself like a spring, Manda clamped down on Gamabunta's blade with his fangs, stopping the strike.
In that instant, Orochimaru had the one opening he needed to reach Haruto.
"Even if I can't take your whole body, I'll at least—"
Orochimaru's words cut off abruptly.
His body froze midair, completely immobile.
His wide, disbelieving eyes locked onto Haruto.
"You have impressive knowledge and mastery of forbidden jutsu," Haruto said evenly.
"But every technique has its weaknesses. Your body-switching method may grant you immortality, but it leaves your vessel weak."
"That weakness makes you incapable of withstanding senjutsu—or resisting the genjutsu of the Sharingan."
"What a pitiful fate, Orochimaru."
Haruto shook his head slowly, a faint, sympathetic smile curving his lips.
"You'll never grasp the things you chase."
As his words fell, the iron sand left behind by the Third Kazekage's earlier battle surged across the battlefield, rushing toward the Yamata no Orochi.
Perhaps the reason this jutsu was classified as forbidden was its undying nature.
But even immortality had a weakness—sealing.
And within Haruto flowed both the chakra of Shukaku and the blood of the Uzumaki Clan.
Either alone possessed powerful sealing arts. Together, their effectiveness was unmatched.
Within moments, the iron sand converged into a massive black pyramid, encasing the Yamata no Orochi in an unbreakable prison.
At the same time, Gamabunta released his dagger, grasping Susanoo's great blade in both hands. With a thunderous strike, he severed Manda's head from his body.
"Another Sharingan illusion…"
Orochimaru could only watch helplessly as his Yamata no Jutsu was sealed and Manda was slain.
Against Haruto's Mangekyō Sharingan, he was nothing more than prey on the chopping block.
And yet Haruto did not kill him.
He still intended to use Orochimaru to assassinate Sarutobi Hiruzen, in order to maintain his carefully crafted image.
Instead, Haruto engraved a special jutsu into Orochimaru's body with his Mangekyō Sharingan, a seed that would activate at the proper moment.
Then, drawing his Zanpakutō, Haruto slashed in a crossed arc, leaving a large X-shaped wound across Orochimaru's chest.
The force of the blow sent Orochimaru hurtling backward, crashing into the black pyramid that sealed the Yamata no Orochi.
"Sharingan…" Orochimaru wheezed, ignoring his injuries as he weakly raised a trembling hand, reaching out as though to seize Haruto's Mangekyō for himself.
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