Chapter 335: Sparring Partner
Before Masahiko's eyes was a 'beautiful' battle.
Ice~ piece by piece by piece by piece...
Crystal~ piece by piece by piece by piece...
Masahiko, however, had his brows tightly knit and a heavy expression.
"Great Elder, what's wrong? Is Haku in danger?" Karin noticed his expression wasn't right.
"It doesn't rhyme," Masahiko muttered to himself.
The next moment, a heavy chakra oppressive force emanated from his body, and the temperature in the air within a hundred meters dropped by over a dozen degrees. Haku, whose ice crystals were about to be shattered, gradually stabilized the situation.
Karin hurriedly pulled Kimimaro a few steps away to hide. Masahiko was now simply a walking humanoid block of ice.
"Great Elder, why have you suddenly... gone cold?" Karin murmured.
Masahiko rolled his eyes at her, looked at the sky, and two snowflakes drifted down.
"Snow~ piece by piece... Just two pieces? It seems I can't significantly affect the weather; I'm still not strong enough." Masahiko shook his head slightly, looking like someone who was invincible and lonely.
"Are those... snowflakes? Isn't it almost May?" Karin asked in confusion.
"This is God's power!" Kimimaro revealed a look of longing.
"It can indeed be called the power of a God." Orochimaru's figure appeared from the side. "Senior, you have grown stronger."
Masahiko nodded. After leveling up his Medical Skill, his chakra control had indeed become stronger. Previously, he couldn't do the delicate work of manipulating the weather with 'Ice attribute' chakra.
"You came quite fast. Are these three very important? Afraid I might strike too hard?"
Orochimaru shook his head. "They provoked you, Senior. How to deal with them is up to you. I'm just worried you might demolish the Sound Village again... rebuilding is quite difficult. The funds from the Daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields aren't that easy to swindle."
"Swindling funds? That's not your personality. You should have directly..."
"If I did that, the fact that a Konoha missing-nin like me established a village here would probably become known to everyone," Orochimaru interrupted.
Masahiko teased, "You're just afraid Jiraiya will find you."
Orochimaru didn't respond, instead saying, "Not many people in the Sound Village know I am the leader. I had to spend a long time cleaning up the aftermath of Senior's 'Lion's Roar'."
Masahiko felt slightly awkward and turned his head to change the subject: "You two go join in as well. Kimimaro, you can only use taijutsu; Shikotsumyaku is forbidden."
While he and Orochimaru were talking, Haku's Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals had shattered by another half. In terms of potential and the future, 'she' was indeed above Guren, but 'she' was too young right now. Even with Masahiko's 'temperature drop' assist, winning was impossible. Just holding on for a while was good enough.
Karin and Kimimaro joined the battle as instructed. Jirobo and Tayuya naturally found an opportunity to join the fight as well, but they were almost instantly defeated.
The 'Kunai Throwing Quick-Hand', Karin, raised her hand, and the space in front of the chubby Jirobo was occupied by a dense swarm of kunai. His 'yellow chubby face' instantly turned into a 'white chubby face'. At the crucial moment, an ice crystal shield still appeared in front of him, blocking the attack for him.
Tayuya had it worse. Sound genjutsu was completely useless against the 'firm-willed' Kimimaro, and she was instantly kicked flying. It was still Guren who took over the battle. The situation gradually turned into a one-versus-three. Tayuya and Jirobo could only find openings to attack, only to be sent flying by Kimimaro again...
"This girl using Crystal Release has pretty good strength," Masahiko nodded slightly. "But if they keep fighting like this, she might die here. Doesn't your heart ache for her?"
Orochimaru licked his lips. "Dying here only proves she isn't strong enough."
Masahiko shook his head and revealed a teasing expression again. "That girl looked up to you with great admiration when she mentioned 'Lord Orochimaru', and she's quite pretty. You're not young anymore, don't you want to find a partner?"
He was addicted to matchmaking; he even wanted to play matchmaker for Orochimaru.
"Isn't the attitude of that Kaguya child towards you the exact same?"
Masahiko's face darkened. Did Orochimaru really not care about the difference between men and women?
Within a few sentences, the battle on the other side ceased. It wasn't because a victor or death was decided, but because after Haku canceled the large-scale Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, the three Sound Village ninjas noticed Orochimaru standing there.
They stopped fighting, and Kimimaro's trio didn't continue either. They turned to look at Masahiko, waiting for his next order.
The three Sound Village ninjas ran over in unison, kneeling on one knee and greeting, "Lord Orochimaru!"
This movement was so synchronized that Masahiko almost burst out laughing. Orochimaru had a kind of 'local emperor' style about him.
"Lord Orochimaru, this guy... is this person really your guest?" Guren asked.
Even in front of Orochimaru, she remained indignant towards Masahiko. The taunting 'divine jutsu' from earlier had drawn a lot of hatred.
Orochimaru didn't respond, but looked at Masahiko. "Senior?"
Masahiko smiled. "I owe you my thanks for your help in treating Kimimaro's illness this time. This girl's strength is quite good, keep her. I would feel bad if I came to ask for your help and ended up causing you to lose your troops."
"However, I heard she came looking for me because of some ninja named Zaku inciting her. Investigate it yourself."
Orochimaru shook his head, implying something. "Zaku is inside my laboratory."
The conversation between the two was not kept hidden from the three Sound Village ninjas in front of them. Upon hearing this, they looked panicked and secretly observed Masahiko.
At this time, it was the Great Ancestor's turn to reveal his identity and make a shining entrance. Masahiko slightly puffed out his chest, but Orochimaru beside him waved his hand, signaling the three Sound Village ninjas to step down.
"Phew..." Masahiko deflated. He glared at Karin, who was snickering beside him, and turned to Orochimaru as if nothing happened: "Kimimaro will recover in another half month. Your book collection helped me a lot. I owe you a favor for this."
"God!" Kimimaro's face was full of emotion.
Orochimaru didn't recklessly demand Masahiko's blood. Instead, he licked his lips and changed the subject: "You said earlier that Danzo is dead?"
Seeing Masahiko nod, Orochimaru continued, "But I used the Edo Tensei, and I didn't successfully summon him."
Masahiko's expression suddenly changed. If Edo Tensei was ineffective, it meant Danzo's soul was either sealed or 'damned for eternity'.
"There aren't many people who can do something like this. Is it the Rinnegan?" Masahiko sighed. "So to speak, Danzo fell into that guy's hands. Karma, perhaps?"
Masahiko felt slightly distressed, but then relaxed.
As long as his strength held the advantage, those people would only dare to play little tricks behind the scenes. The most urgent task was to cure Kimimaro and, in passing, create his own fist technique to pass down the 'Masahiko Divine Fist' to his juniors, boosting their strength and preventing them from running into danger.
However, before that, he needed a sparring partner...
"Orochimaru, have Madara's cells been duplicated? If not, then summon Hashirama and Tobirama to chat with me and practice some martial arts."
Orochimaru nodded. "Senior, I will go prepare..."
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