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"Looking down on me?"
Kagaya furrowed his brow. The golden skeletal arm suddenly exerted force, instantly sending Sasuke flying backward.
"Sasuke... why would you think I'm looking down on you? No... how should I put this? Having drive is a good thing. Having courage is also a good thing. But lacking self-awareness... that is not a good thing."
Dressed in a white robe, gripping the Kusanagi Sword bestowed by Orochimaru, Sasuke glared fixedly at Kagaya. Before this moment, he had truly never imagined that a simple training trip—right when they were about to reach their destination—would lead him to encounter this bastard!
The very instant he laid eyes on this bastard, Sasuke had chosen to attack without the slightest hesitation. Even though Orochimaru had tried several times to stop him, Sasuke had completely ignored Orochimaru's dissuasions and resolutely launched an assault on Kagaya.
How could he... just stand by and watch this bastard slip away right before his eyes?!
"Self-awareness? You think I lack it, do you? Fine! I'll show you my self-awareness right now!"
Just as Sasuke finished speaking, Kagaya used a Body Flicker Technique. At a speed surpassing human reaction, in an instant, a colossal golden hand slammed Sasuke face-down into the ground.
Thud!
The force was so immense that it even kicked up a considerable cloud of dust and debris.
The giant golden hand pressed down on Sasuke, who was sprawled on the ground. Kagaya sat directly on the golden hand and spoke leisurely.
"You probably didn't expect to run into me, did you? To be honest... neither did I. What I expected even less... was that you would be so utterly foolish as to attack me without a care for anything else. No... wait. That much, I suppose, was to be expected. Although this action was exceedingly idiotic, coming from you... it seems somewhat understandable. However..."
Kagaya slowly shifted his gaze toward Orochimaru.
"It's one thing for Sasuke to be a fool. But how is it that even you have become a fool, Orochimaru?!"
His tone was laced with a chilling coldness.
The fact that Sasuke could appear before Kagaya—there was no need to guess. Orochimaru had definitely brought him here. Even if Orochimaru might not have known Kagaya was here, when Sasuke tried to attack Kagaya, Orochimaru should have stepped in to stop him. Yet, in the end, Sasuke still made it before Kagaya.
Had Orochimaru tried to stop him? Kagaya didn't know. His guess was... perhaps he had. But only verbally. In action, Orochimaru had absolutely not used his full strength to stop Sasuke.
Sasuke was very powerful right now, but Orochimaru hadn't yet grown weak. Sasuke was still no match for Orochimaru. The fact that Sasuke could reach Kagaya could essentially be taken as Orochimaru's tacit approval.
Why would Orochimaru tacitly allow Sasuke to come before Kagaya?
Kagaya figured it out instantly. This was, in all likelihood, Orochimaru using Sasuke to probe his strength. Having vanished for an entire year—had his strength regressed? Advanced? Or stayed exactly the same?
This was a mystery to Orochimaru. Orochimaru didn't like the feeling of the unknown. Especially when the person in question was Uchiha Kagaya, someone he might have to deal with frequently in the future. Orochimaru was all the more eager to ascertain Kagaya's strength. But acting personally was far too dangerous. Regardless of Kagaya's current strength, at the very least, in terms of status, Orochimaru and Kagaya were currently equals. If Orochimaru made a move himself, it would essentially mean completely tearing off all pretenses.
Facing this Uchiha Kagaya, Orochimaru truly didn't want to do that. Thus, using someone else's hand to probe was an excellent choice. No matter the outcome, it shouldn't lead to a complete break with Kagaya.
Encountering Kagaya here had been unexpected for Orochimaru. But he had cleverly seized this opportunity. On the surface, he had verbally dissuaded Sasuke. In reality, he had tacitly allowed Sasuke's actions, letting him proactively attack Kagaya.
This way, he could roughly gauge Kagaya's general level of strength.
Even in the worst-case scenario, with Orochimaru himself nearby, he could escape with Sasuke and avoid losing his next vessel.
So, after much deliberation, Orochimaru had allowed Sasuke to launch his attack on Kagaya.
Everything had been executed perfectly. It seemed as if Orochimaru himself was truly innocent, and if there was any fault, it lay entirely with Sasuke.
But what a pity... Kagaya had never been a fool. After some careful thought, he immediately saw through Orochimaru's intent.
Truthfully, if Orochimaru had openly come to probe his strength, Kagaya probably wouldn't have even gotten angry. After all, his strength had already reached a level where he simply didn't fear others gathering intelligence on him. You want to know my strength, Orochimaru? Fine! I'll tell you everything outright! I'll scare you to death!
So what if all his intelligence was known? Could Orochimaru still pose a threat to the current Kagaya? That was already impossible. The only possibility was if Orochimaru summoned the First Hokage. But the question was... would he dare? After learning Kagaya's true strength, would Orochimaru still dare to provoke Kagaya at such immense risk? Absolutely not.
Thus, Kagaya was not the least bit afraid of Orochimaru knowing his strength.
But now, Orochimaru had resorted to this underhanded method, which had somewhat irritated Kagaya. Using Sasuke to probe me? What's the meaning of this? Do you think I'm some idiot who can't see through it? Or... are you simply provoking me?
Whichever it was... it was enough to make Kagaya genuinely angry.
The arrogance within Kagaya wasn't as blatantly obvious as it was in other Uchiha clansmen. But Kagaya was still an Uchiha, after all. He, too, possessed a certain degree of arrogance! The pride and dignity of one who stood among the strong!
Playing petty little mind games, scheming to toy with Kagaya—this kind of behavior was, in and of itself, a provocation!
Faced with provocation from someone whose strength was inferior to his own, Kagaya had absolutely no intention of holding back. He directly let a hint of his fury show.
If it were an opponent of equal strength, Kagaya might have tolerated it slightly, granting the opponent a measure of respect first—after all, they were of equal standing.
But Orochimaru? No! Kagaya and Orochimaru were no longer opponents of the same caliber!
Orochimaru remained silent, not answering Kagaya.
He had been far too careless. The very encounter with Kagaya had been sudden. Sasuke deciding to attack Kagaya had been equally sudden. Thus, in that short period of time, Orochimaru had only been able to devise and execute a plan that seemed decent on the surface.
Everything about this plan had been perfect. Except for one thing—Orochimaru had forgotten that the man before him was also an exceedingly, frighteningly intelligent individual!
It wasn't entirely Orochimaru's fault for not considering everything. It could only be said that things had happened far too abruptly. No one could have accounted for every angle in such a short time.
"Kagaya-kun... I apologize. I will take Sasuke and leave."
Orochimaru offered his apology cleanly and decisively.
When dealing with a smart person, quibbling and making excuses was utterly pointless. No matter how much you tried to argue... did you really think he wouldn't see through it?
Moreover, Orochimaru had also come to understand something else: the fact that Kagaya had subdued Sasuke in an instant proved that this bastard wasn't just sharp of mind—his strength was even more formidable. If Orochimaru didn't "use his mouth" properly right now, the man before him might just decide to "use his hands" instead.
Kagaya continued to stare coldly at Orochimaru, completely unmoved.
Orochimaru gave a bitter smile. He knew it. This man before him wasn't someone who could be brushed off with a simple apology!
"One time!" Orochimaru extended a finger.
"As long as it doesn't violate my principles... I am willing to do one thing for Kagaya-kun, without asking for any compensation whatsoever. Perhaps my current strength can no longer be of much help to Kagaya-kun. But Kagaya-kun should know—my greatest asset has never been my combat strength. It has always been my research."
Kagaya inquired. "Your principles? What are those?"
Orochimaru answered.
"My plan for eternal life and immortality... and my research."
Kagaya nodded. "Fine. I accept your apology. Then, let's put this conversation on hold for now. I'll deal with this guy first."
With that, Kagaya slammed himself down heavily.
Poof!
The Sasuke beneath the giant golden hand transformed into a section of log. A Substitution Jutsu.
Kagaya rose to his feet expressionlessly. He had, of course, known it was a Substitution Jutsu. He also knew exactly what Sasuke had been doing while he and Orochimaru were conversing.
Lifting his head, he gazed at the gradually darkening sky. Inwardly, he thought:
Kirin, huh... But... when did he execute the Fire Release jutsu?
With a few leaps, Karin quickly reached Kagaya's side.
"Kagaya! What's going on?! Earlier, I only sensed two chakra signatures that posed almost no threat to you, so I didn't bother warning you. But just now... why did I suddenly sense a massive surge of chakra?! It's completely disproportionate to those weak chakra signatures from before!"
Kagaya pointed at the increasingly overcast sky.
"There. That's it. Sasuke's doing."
Karin pushed up her glasses in disbelief. "This immense chakra... is that from Sasuke?! But... when I saw him two years ago... he was so pathetically weak it was almost laughable!"
From the side, Orochimaru smiled faintly.
"Karin... that boy's rate of progress... cannot be measured by common sense."
Karin glanced at Orochimaru, not surprised. She had sensed the presence of both Orochimaru and Sasuke long before. But compared to Kagaya, who now possessed the Five-Tails, their chakra signatures were far too insignificant. So Karin had been too lazy to come and warn Kagaya.
Kagaya inquired.
"Karin... before this, did you sense any fluctuations of ninjutsu?"
Kagaya had been deeply focused on his training earlier and had inevitably lowered his perception of the outside world. He had only noticed the snake driven by Sasuke when it was already right beside him.
Karin immediately answered.
"I won't bother mentioning the minor jutsu. There were a few relatively large ones—all Fire Release. They felt quite powerful to my senses, but compared to you, they were nothing. Besides, those jutsu weren't aimed in our direction, so I didn't pay them any mind."
Kagaya suddenly understood.
"I see. So... Sasuke had already begun preparing his trump card before even coming to see me."
Sasuke was nowhere to be seen now. What was he doing?
There was no need to even guess. He was definitely hiding somewhere, waiting for the dark clouds in the sky—the cumulonimbus clouds—to fully gather. Once that happened, Sasuke could unleash his currently strongest ninjutsu—Lightning Release: Kirin!
To execute this technique, in weather conditions other than rainy days, one first needed to use Fire Release to drastically raise the temperature of the surrounding air, thereby generating powerful updrafts. The updrafts would then create cumulonimbus clouds. The cumulonimbus clouds would generate lightning. Thus, Sasuke could borrow the power of nature itself to form his strongest technique—Kirin.
Kagaya had been puzzled just moments ago: Sasuke clearly hadn't used Fire Release, so why had the weather suddenly changed? After Karin's explanation, Kagaya finally understood. Sasuke must have, upon discovering Kagaya's presence, first unleashed several Fire Release techniques to preemptively generate the updrafts. Only then had he come looking for Kagaya.
"So that's how it is. It seems he's not just all reckless courage, after all."
Kagaya simply stood where he was, watching the dark storm clouds gradually coalesce in the sky above.
At this moment, Kagaya could have asked Karin to pinpoint Sasuke's location and then crushed him directly, before he could even unleash Kirin.
But Kagaya didn't do that.
For one, Kagaya wasn't afraid of Kirin. He also wanted to witness with his own eyes this so-called "strongest Lightning Release" from the original story.
For another, Kirin wasn't a Kekkei Genkai or anything of the sort. It was just an ordinary ninjutsu—merely one of an exceptionally high level. And what did that mean? It meant Kagaya could use his Sharingan to copy it!
A strongest Lightning Release, delivered right to his doorstep for free—how could he possibly refuse?
It was perfect timing. Kagaya had recently been feeling somewhat dejected and discouraged from training Inorganic Reanimation. Using this "strongest Lightning Release" to boost his confidence was also an excellent choice.
The inner world.
"Do you want to come out and play?" Kagaya looked at the Five-Tails and spoke.
The Five-Tails swished its tail impatiently.
"I'm not your hired laborer. Don't come looking for me for things you can handle yourself. If you want to use my chakra, just take it yourself. But don't expect me to come out. That's absolutely not happening. Alright, leave now. I'm going back to sleep."
Kagaya: "..."
After over half a year of adjustment, Kagaya could now freely draw upon the Five-Tails' chakra at will, without needing it to specifically transmit chakra to him.
Outside.
Crack! Crackle!
In the sky above, flashes of blue lightning flickered intermittently.
From the side, Orochimaru offered a reminder.
"Kagaya-kun... this technique is extremely powerful. You'd best be careful. I'll be taking my leave now."
Kagaya glanced at Orochimaru.
"Fine."
As his words fell, Orochimaru's entire body dissolved into countless snakes, which dropped to the ground and immediately burrowed away.
This was only to be expected. Orochimaru wasn't Kagaya; he didn't possess a terrifying ability like the Susanoo.
Although Kagaya didn't take Kirin seriously, it was still, in the end, the strongest Lightning Release. Even one of the Legendary Sannin like Orochimaru couldn't possibly take this technique head-on—unless his brain had malfunctioned.
If Kagaya didn't have the Susanoo, he wouldn't be able to tank this technique either. To be honest, even before the attack had been launched, Kagaya could already feel the immense, colossal lightning contained within the sky above. This technique was truly, terrifyingly powerful!
It truly felt as if there was a Thunder God up in the sky, roaring furiously down at Kagaya without pause.
Why could Kirin be hailed as the strongest Lightning Release? It was very simple. This technique borrowed the power of nature itself. This technique, in and of itself, transcended the limits of what an ordinary shinobi could execute. The power of nature was not something that could be matched by human strength alone.
Even as mighty as Kagaya was, he couldn't help but marvel at this power of nature. Just some casually gathered storm clouds could exert such considerable pressure on him. Given Kagaya's current level of strength... this was truly remarkable!
This technique could not only incorporate the user's own chakra but also borrow the power of nature. Therefore, the power of Kirin would always, always exceed the maximum power the caster themselves could possibly produce!
A technique that perpetually surpassed the limits of one's own power—how could it not be strong?!
At this very moment, Sasuke finally revealed himself. He rapidly formed hand seals, then raised his hand and stared coldly at Kagaya.
"This... will be your burial ground! Uchiha Kagaya."
ROAR!!!
A colossal Kirin, formed entirely of Lightning Release, materialized above Sasuke and let out a thunderous, earth-shaking roar.
"Vanish!"
Sasuke brought his hand down. Immediately, the Kirin descended from the heavens, crashing straight toward Kagaya!
This was the might of heaven itself!
The strongest Lightning Release... Kirin!
"The technique is excellent. But the caster is far too weak."
A flash of golden radiance blazed forth. For a single instant, it even outshone the blue electrical light of the Kirin.
A gigantic golden fist materialized, swinging upward from below. With a single punch... it blasted straight through the Kirin's body!