"That size and chakra… is that Orochimaru's Manda?"
About ten kilometers from the battlefield, a sensory-type Root shinobi stared at the dust-choked forest in the distance and turned to ask Shimura Danzō,
"Danzō-sama, it seems Orochimaru isn't a match for Kaguya Ren. Should we move to support him now?"
"No rush," Danzō replied calmly as he rose to his feet. "Orochimaru has far more cards than just Manda. Let them clash a while longer—force both sides to reveal more of their hands. Then we'll enter."
"Should we notify the other teams?" another Aburame Root shinobi asked, a kikaichū perched on his finger. "Ryūma already sent word that they've engaged the target. If losses are too heavy, the fight afterward will be difficult."
"If they don't go, both Orochimaru and Ren will grow suspicious," Danzō said indifferently. "Consider it a necessary sacrifice for mission success."
Even hearing such cold-blooded words—openly condemning their comrades to death—the Root shinobi showed no reaction, merely nodding in unison.
"This is Root."
A secret force darker than even the Bloody Mist, more inhuman than ANBU who handled black operations.
As long as Sarutobi Hiruzen remained Hokage, Danzō knew Root would never truly be dissolved. And as long as Root existed, he could continuously draw in elite youths from every major clan, brainwash and train them into loyal pawns—generation after generation.
"Show me more, Kaguya Ren… your senjutsu, and the trump card that left the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki gravely wounded."
Feeling the tremors from the earth beneath his feet, Danzō tugged at the bandages over his right eye and muttered to himself.
…
"OROCHIMARU!!! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL DEFINITELY KILL YOU!!!"
Manda—its body forcibly dragged and impaled by Ren's Clematis Dance and a massively hardened bone spear—thrashed in agony on the ground. As it spewed lethal venom in all directions, it cursed Orochimaru relentlessly for summoning it only to be beaten.
Manda couldn't understand it. Orochimaru was one of the strongest shinobi in the world—how could the enemy he summoned Manda to fight be even stronger?
All Manda ever demanded was a hundred living sacrifices each time. Was that really worth provoking this monster in human skin?
Ren could literally grab Manda's nearly hundred-meter-long body, swing it around, and smash it into the ground.
Facing Manda's furious abuse, Orochimaru was filled with bitterness he couldn't voice.
He'd planned to use Manda as cover to freely unleash ninjutsu and gradually control the pace of battle—but once the fight began, he realized most of his attacks could be outright ignored by Ren.
Wind Release couldn't cut through the Shikotsumyaku's defense. Earth Release barely affected someone equally adept at it. Close combat only gave Ren chances to strike his true body. Summoned snakes were diced into meat in moments.
Even the Kusanagi Sword—capable of harming Ren—seemed insufficient against a body that could tank Manda's full-force charge.
As for genjutsu? Orochimaru didn't believe his was strong enough to affect a humanoid tailed beast from dozens of meters away.
Poison was the same. The compound toxin he'd once used on Namikaze Minato—the strongest he had—only froze Ren's body for less than a second.
"No wonder Minato couldn't deal with you… a human form with vitality rivaling a tailed beast. Techniques designed for humans or for beasts both fall short against you…"
"Kaguya Ren, you really are a special existence who broke the limits of your bloodline—just like Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama."
Watching Manda vanish in smoke, beaten beyond humiliation, Orochimaru sighed and retreated toward Danzō's position.
Calling Danzō had been the right choice.
Ren hadn't even activated Sage Mode yet, and Orochimaru already saw no hope of victory. If he'd come alone, he might've needed his incomplete Eight Branches Technique or Curse Mark Rebirth just to escape alive.
Ren, seeing Orochimaru withdraw, didn't immediately pursue. Surveying the shattered scales and Root corpses caught in stray AoE, he cheerfully spun the bone blade formed from his arm.
"Fourteen summoned snakes, eighteen elite Root shinobi—Dark Harvest stacks are maxed. A standalone 1.5x vitality multiplier plus reduced skill life cost… I can probably start using Grey Bone derivatives as standard trump cards now."
"And Manda really pulled his weight—dropped a Level 2 Ryūchi Cave Snake Summoning. That means I don't have to rely entirely on Orochimaru's curse mark to find Ryūchi Cave."
After tallying his gains, Ren followed the trail Orochimaru left, heading straight toward the obvious Root ambush.
He'd only planned to lure Orochimaru out and beat him up.
Didn't expect Root to tag along.
With so many Root shinobi deployed at once, Danzō himself must be involved.
At this point in time, Danzō didn't have a pile of Sharingan-based revival cards yet, nor Shisui's Mangekyō. If he showed his face…
Killing him wouldn't be difficult at all.
"But if I kill Danzō now… wouldn't that actually be helping Konoha?"
"Then again, without Danzō as a scapegoat, who among Konoha's higher-ups is really swimming naked will be laid bare."
"And after Danzō falls… who takes over Root? That alone would be a spectacle worth watching."
Lost in thought, Ren continued his silent pursuit through the darkness.
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