Saiki's sudden intervention drew every eye on the battlefield.
The effortless way he neutralized the boulder and the steam wall acted like a shot of adrenaline for the struggling Konoha ninja. The rumor that Saiki had killed Hanzo had already circulated, but seeing his power in person was another matter entirely.
"It's Lord Saiki!"
"The Lightning Fang is here!"
However, in the center of the storm, Saiki's heart remained cold.
He glanced at Han, who was recovering from the kick, and then cut a look toward Orochimaru's position. He could feel that snake's gaze—slimy, heavy, and full of avarice.
I can't reveal everything yet, Saiki thought.
With Madara lurking and Orochimaru watching for a weakness, he had to be careful. He needed to win this fight, but he had to make it look "difficult." It had to look "logical."
"Leaf brat..." Han's raspy voice came through his mask, vibrating with Tailed Beast chakra. "You're the one who killed Hanzo? You have some skill! Now, taste my Boil Release!"
The ground beneath Han shattered as he used a steam-explosion to launch himself. He became a blur, his fist wreathed in scalding vapor as it screamed toward Saiki's face.
Boil Release: Unrivaled Strength—Dash Attack!
The punch was fast, heavy, and covered a massive area. A standard Jonin would have been reduced to a red mist.
Saiki's eyes turned "grave." Lightning flickered at his feet as he "struggled" to slide backward. He drew his sword, the blade glowing with a seemingly "unstable" coating of Lightning Style chakra as he raised it to block.
BOOM!!!!
The steam-fist collided with the lightning-blade.
The screech of metal was deafening. A shockwave erupted from the point of impact, scouring the earth of stone and dirt.
Saiki's sword let out a groan of protest. He was "forced" back seven or eight steps, his sword-arm trembling visibly. A flush of red appeared on his face, as if the impact had internal shattered his composure.
"Hmph! Is that all?" Han, seeing his strike actually move Saiki, felt his confidence return.
He launched a flurry of punches—Boil Release: Consecutive Unrivaled Strength!
Each strike was backed by an explosion of steam. The air turned white-hot, distorting with the pressure and creating a literal death zone.
Saiki "scrambled" to evade. He twisted and parried, his lightning flickering as he "barely" moved out of the way of lethal hits. His blade and Han's steam-gauntlets clashed in a frantic, sparking rhythm.
Occasionally, Saiki would "desperately" counter-attack. A bolt of lightning would tear through the steam, only to be neutralized by Han's chakra-armor. A "sharp" lunge would be swatted aside, leaving only a shallow scratch on the steam-plate that was instantly repaired by fresh vapor.
To the onlookers, it was a brutal, even-matched struggle, with Saiki appearing to be slightly overwhelmed.
"Saiki-kun... is he struggling?" Minato wondered, stealing a glance while parrying Roshi. He felt Saiki's current performance didn't match the man who had supposedly erased an elite squad in seconds, but in the chaos of war, he couldn't be sure.
Kakashi's sharp eye monitored the movement. His speed is still insane, and his Lightning Style is perfect... but Han's Boil Release seems to have his number. Or is he still wounded from the Hanzo fight?
Rin clutched her hands to her chest, her eyes full of terror. Seeing Saiki "risking his life" against the rampaging Jinchuriki made her heart sink into her stomach. "Saiki-kun, please be careful..."
Even Obito, as much as he hated the guy, didn't want to see a comrade fall here. He hacked through a Stone grunt, muttering, "Don't you dare lose, you bastard!"
On the other side of the clearing, Manda—who had temporarily disengaged from Roshi—watched the fight with his cold, reptilian eyes.
Orochimaru's command hissed through the summoning contract: "Manda, find an opening. 'Assist' Saiki-kun. Make things difficult for the steam monster, but ensure the brat pays a price as well..."
Orochimaru was playing a double game. He wanted to drain Han, but he also wanted to see exactly how much Saiki had left in the tank.
Manda hissed in compliance.
The giant snake's tail whipped around. It looked like a strike at Han, but it was actually calculated to block Saiki's only path of retreat. Simultaneously, Manda spat a volley of toxic bile that blanketed the entire dueling area.
Han roared, his steam exploding outward to vaporize the poison.
Saiki was "forced" to spin his blade to deflect the remaining droplets, his movements looking increasingly "frantic."
"NOW!"
Han saw his opening—the split second where Saiki's guard was "fragmented." He funneled a massive volume of chakra into his right fist, the steam compressing until it glowed with a lethal, white light.
Boil Release: Super Unrivaled Strength!
The power was triple what he had used before.
Saiki appeared to be "trapped." He gritted his teeth and held his sword horizontally, his lightning flaring to its "maximum" as he braced for the impact.
BOOM!!!!!!
The explosion was apocalyptic.
This time, Saiki's sword was bent into a terrifying arc by the sheer force. He was launched backward like a broken doll, a spray of "blood" erupting from his mouth. He slammed into a massive rock formation, shattering the stone before sliding to his knees. He coughed violently, using his bent sword to keep from collapsing.
"Saiki-kun!" Rin shrieked, starting to run toward him, but Kakashi caught her arm.
"Dammit!" Obito growled.
Minato's face went grim. He tried to move to help, but Roshi lunged with a Lava Release: Scorching Stream Rock Jutsu, pinning him down.
"It's over, brat!"
Han didn't give him a second to breathe. He strode forward, his armor hissing as he prepared to deliver the final, crushing blow.
As Han passed by Manda—who had moved closer to "assist" in the kill—something shifted.
The air turned cold.
Saiki, who had been "exhausted" and "broken" on his knees, suddenly looked up. The fatigue vanished from his eyes, replaced by a freezing, lethal light.
The bent sword he was leaning on began to glow. At the very tip of the blade, a single, microscopic point of pure, blinding white energy manifested.
At that exact moment, Manda—acting on Orochimaru's orders to "accidentally" disrupt the finish—slid his massive body between Saiki and Han.
Now.
Saiki moved.
It wasn't a retreat or a dodge. It was the strike of a starving leopard. He exploded forward at a speed ten times faster than his previous "struggle."
He swung his blade in a casual, lateral arc.
The strike was silent. There was no lightning. No thunder.
The target wasn't Han. It was the legendary snake, Manda.
SQUELCH—
The sound was tiny, almost lost in the roar of the wind. It was the sound of a hot wire cutting through chilled butter.
The mockery in Manda's golden eyes froze. It was replaced by a primal, soul-deep horror.
He felt a power he couldn't name—a power of absolute annihilation—sweep through his massive frame.
A heartbeat later, in front of the stunned Han, the livid Orochimaru, and the frozen soldiers of Konoha, Manda's purple scales—harder than steel—along with his massive muscles and bone, were perfectly and cleanly bisected.
The cut was a mirror-smooth plane. There was no blood-spray, because the white light had vaporized every cell it touched instantly.
The mountain-sized snake collapsed into two separate halves, the massive weight of the body slamming into the earth and throwing up a tsunami of dust.
One of the Great Sages of Ryuchi Cave, a beast that had terrified the world for centuries, had been one-shotted by a casual flick of a boy's wrist.
"MANDA!!!"
Orochimaru bolted upright in the command post, his face ashen. His eyes were a mess of heartbreak, fury, and—for the first time—genuine terror.
He hadn't expected Saiki to be this ruthless. He hadn't expected the "wounded" boy to possess a strike that carried the scent of the Six Paths.
The loss of Manda was a catastrophic blow to his power.
Han's charge died instantly. He stared at the bisected remains of the giant snake, then at the boy who was slowly standing up. Saiki wiped the "blood" from his lip, his gaze no longer "tired." He looked at Han with a dark, mocking amusement.
"You... you were faking?!" Han gasped.
Saiki didn't answer. He flicked his sword—the blade had already reverted to its perfect, straight shape. His voice was "weak" but carried a lethal edge.
"Now... where were we?"
Han roared, his anger overriding his fear. He pushed his Boil Release to the absolute limit, his steam-armor becoming a physical shell of white fire. "I WILL RIP YOU APART!"
This time, Saiki stopped "dodging."
He wove through Han's punches with a grace that was insulting. Every parry was a masterclass in efficiency. He was no longer a victim; he was a surgeon.
The battle raged for another minute. To the untrained eye, it was still a desperate struggle. But the top-tier ninja saw the truth: Saiki was playing with his food.
Saiki allowed himself to take a few "minor" hits, trading them for deep, bone-exposing gashes on Han's steam-armor.
Konoha's soldiers cheered. "Look at his spirit! He's wounded and he's still fighting!"
Finally, Saiki "spotted" a gap.
He let out a guttural roar, funneled his "last" reserves into his blade, and the steel erupted with a blinding lightning flash. He and the sword became one—a bolt of divine judgment.
Lightning Style: Flash-Flicker Pierce!
The strike was a scream of light.
Han's eyes dilated. He tried to focus his armor on his chest.
CHIIING—!
The lightning-blade tore through the boiling steam as if it weren't there, burying itself deep in Han's right lung. It wasn't a heart shot, but it was a neutralizing strike.
"GAH!" Han let out a broken groan. The kinetic force sent him tumbling backward, his steam-armor sputtering and dying as blood geysered from the wound. He hit the ground and didn't move.
Saiki stayed in the follow-through pose, kneeling in the dirt. He panted heavily, his face bone-white. He looked like a man who had burned every last drop of his soul to win.
Silence fell over the field.
Everyone was staggered by the sight of the "exhausted" victory.
Then, Konoha erupted.
"HE DID IT! LORD SAIKI WON!"
"THE FIVE-TAILS HAS FALLEN!"
Rin wept with joy. Kakashi's eyes were full of awe. Even Obito shouted, "Fucking finally!"
Minato let out a breath of relief, his gaze on Saiki full of gratitude and a deep, lingering unease.
And Orochimaru...
He watched the "broken" Saiki from afar. The greed in his eyes was a forest fire. The boy was ripe for the picking—a literal godling lying helpless in the dirt. But the image of Manda's bisected body acted like a bucket of ice.
"Saiki-kun... you truly are... a treasure trove of 'surprises'..." Orochimaru whispered, his tongue flickering as he recalculated the risk.
Saiki kept his head down, listening to the cheers. He felt Orochimaru's burning, hesitant gaze.
The bait was set. The trap was armed.
Now, he just had to wait for the snake to slither into the light.