Sensing the rapidly approaching pursuers, Orochimaru gave a wry smile. A flash of resolve passed through his dark-golden pupils, and he stopped.
Jiraiya and Tsunade halted in surprise.
Orochimaru offered a desolate smile, took the sleeping Yamata out of his shirt, and placed it, along with the crucial intelligence map scroll, into Tsunade's hand. He spoke with a false sense of ease: "You take Yamata and go first. I'll wait for them here!"
Jiraiya listened to Orochimaru in disbelief and cried out, "What are you talking about, Orochimaru..."
"I said, I told you to go!" Orochimaru interrupted Jiraiya, roaring loudly.
Jiraiya and Tsunade both flinched.
Yamata, unable to sense the chakra emanating from the Yamata Seal, woke up from its slumber. Seeing that it was in Tsunade's hands, it immediately shot back onto Orochimaru's shoulder, licked his face affectionately, and lowered its head, preparing to slither back into his clothes.
Tsunade hesitated for a moment, then spoke, "Orochimaru, are they coming soon?"
Jiraiya looked at Tsunade in surprise, then immediately turned and pressed Orochimaru for an answer.
Orochimaru gave a bitter smile, looking at Tsunade. Untouched by tragedy, this Tsunade was so meticulous and perceptive. She didn't need to mask herself with drinking and decadence; she was still the generous and wise Princess Tsunade.
Orochimaru nodded: "I sense that they will catch up to us in one minute at the most. In your current physical condition, you can't fight at all. You are just a burden, do you understand?"
Orochimaru grabbed Yamata as it tried to slither into his clothes and spoke to it seriously: "Yamata, you go with them!"
Yamata seemed to realize what was happening. Its scarlet snake eyes showed a human-like expression of stubbornness. It shook its head desperately, like a child about to be separated from its parents!
Orochimaru gently stroked its small snake head and said softly, "Go. I will catch up to you soon!"
Orochimaru paused: "Yamata, if I'm not around, you must protect the little genuine one (Chi), okay?"
Yamata's half-meter-long body suddenly stiffened. It slowly coiled up and lay motionless in Tsunade's hand, as if it had died.
From the forest not far behind them, the sound of rustling leaves suddenly reached them. All three of their hearts sank.
Orochimaru turned his back on Jiraiya and Tsunade, his eyes locked on the direction from which the pursuers were coming. With a soft "Hoo—," an astonishing aura burst forth from his entire body. In addition to the overwhelmingly powerful, blade-like killing intent, there was a firm, indescribably strong will.
"Orochimaru..." Jiraiya wanted to say more.
"Go!" The response was a furious shout from Orochimaru.
"You have to come back!" Jiraiya said in a low voice, then ran toward the Leaf Village with Tsunade, constantly looking back.
Why did I choose to stay? Orochimaru himself didn't know. It was sudden and without reason, done without conscious thought, as if thought wasn't even necessary.
In his mind, he recalled the scene of being betrayed and abandoned in his previous life: Did I want that again? No.
He recalled the deathly loneliness and icy solitude he felt deep within his heart every time he faced the faint candlelight in a dark room in his past life: Did I want that again? No.
His mind was also flooded with images: Chi's innocent smile in this life, Hiruzen's smile before his death in his past life, the peace he felt lying on Tsunade's lap in this life, the tearing pain in his heart when he witnessed Tsunade's grief and change of character twice in his past life...
Past life, present life. Scene after scene, like a movie reel, flashed quickly through Orochimaru's mind. His focus blurred, and he murmured inwardly.
That's why I have to stay!
Orochimaru's aura grew stronger, whipping up countless falling leaves. A strange feeling of spiritual integration surged from the depths of his soul. The chakra inside his body began to increase rapidly, starting to boil like heated water!
I am reborn from the endless darkness. I have drunk the solitude and pain of a lifetime. I have buried the hardship and sorrow of an era!
Yamata Seal, Release!
Chakra surged out from the pale-gold Yamata Seal once more. His peak-condition chakra was forcibly elevated a notch. Orochimaru felt a stinging pain throughout his body. His entire chakra network, unable to withstand the chakra that exceeded his physical limits, violently surged against his pathways. The already strong aura around him became even more ferocious, and faint blue specks of chakra began to dissipate outside his body!
I have returned. I stand here. I will change everything!
Eight Inner Gates, First Gate: Gate of Opening, Open! Second Gate: Gate of Healing, Open!
The internal restraints were broken open one by one, releasing a powerful, beast-like, frantic strength. A strong, hurricane-like aura, coupled with the materialized blue chakra flow, surged toward the sky like a towering jade pillar. Due to the immense pressure, swollen, pale-blue veins bulged all over Orochimaru's body, making him look grotesque and terrifying, like a deformed person!
I—am—O—ro—chi—ma—ru!!!
Eight Inner Gates, Third Gate: Gate of Life, Open!
The body, already bulging with veins, was further pressurized. Several areas of his skin immediately tore open, forming bloody gashes several centimeters long. Orochimaru's whole being was like a broken doll. The tragic aura, rushing towards the sky like a hurricane, instantly radiated outward.
Boom! Boom! Boom!—
A Category 12 storm seemed to sweep across the ground. Trees snapped, branches and leaves flew everywhere, leaving a scene of devastation!
He raised his head. In the deep blue, surging, materialized chakra storm and airflow, the only thing clearly visible were Orochimaru's dark-golden, god-like, ruthless snake eyes. They swept over the dumbfounded pursuing ninja, showing intense mockery. On his obscured face, the habitual, contemptuous, evil smirk stretched across his lips. He spoke clearly and indifferently: "You are all ants!"
Boom—
With a sudden explosive sound on the ground, Orochimaru directly stomped, snapping a thick tree that required three men to hug. The powerful recoil transformed him into a ghostly black shadow, and he suddenly appeared next to a Chūnin who had been trying to escape. His right hand clamped onto the Chūnin's utterly terrified face and gently squeezed.
Pum! Puch!—
The large head burst open like a watermelon. Brain matter and blood flew everywhere, splattering over ten meters away!
He moved again. A leg-sweep from the air cut a black streak.
Krack!—
The streak sliced a Genin in two. Fragments of internal organs mixed with blood were scattered, spraying a vicious, ten-meter-wide flower of blood!
His figure flashed again. The two Chūnin had already adopted their most precise defensive stances, but their speed and strength were far inferior to Orochimaru, who was in a rampaging state.
Krrrrk! Krrrrk!—
Orochimaru's two hands wasted no time. His fierce punch directly shattered the arms they had raised in defense. He instantly grabbed their vulnerable necks, and under their terrified gaze, he twisted sharply. Krrk! Krrk!— Their necks were broken.
The two lifeless corpses fell powerlessly toward the ground beneath the tree. Orochimaru's body, which was constantly tearing open and bleeding, erupted with an even stronger flow of materialized chakra. Furthermore, after instantly killing several people, this materialized chakra flow seemed to have been stained with a hint of blood, making it even more murderous.
Orochimaru slowly turned to face the last and only Special Jōnin. Icy light that seemed to freeze everything shot from his eyes. Overwhelming, omnipresent killing intent surged around him, making Orochimaru look like a descending Demon God, radiating a sinister power that dominated the world!
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