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Chapter 747 : A Blade of Wind...
🕑 Added 2024-09-11 20:44:30 +0000 UTC[A/N : Hey guys. This chapter is Sponsored by Zero1995. You can thank him for the double release.]
‘Ninja Art: Shadow Stitching jutsu’
Several sharp tendril-like needles rose from the shadow under Orochimaru's feet and pierced through his body, binding him in one spot!
At the same time, Hiruzen's figure became visible as he moved through Orochimaru's Gale River jutsu. Even though the jutsu failed to stop him, the flames on Hiruzen's body were significantly weaker.
Orochimaru cursed, ‘Shit! I was too focused on the mysterious jutsu he used to seal the Kages and the flames around his body. He noticed it and used my own jutsus to hide his real scheme. This won't be easy. I need to break this shadow first and then deal with those pesky flames while keeping him away…’
Orochimaru began exerting his chakra. A large amount of Yang chakra was released from his chakra points and began weakening the shadow's hold. At the same time, Orochimaru's body itself started transforming! His human features started fading away as he began looking even more like a white snake! Several snakes exited his mouth and began moving towards Hiruzen.
However, Hiruzen moved without any fear. The weakened flames around his body still had enough heat to burn all the snakes coming towards him. Before Orochimaru could fully transform, Hiruzen appeared in front of him and punched Orochimaru's abdomen with all his might.
All the remaining flames on his body transferred onto Orochimaru's body, burning him! However, his snake body was far more resilient than a normal human body. Along with the fact that the flames had weakened a lot, Orochimaru wasn't hurt. A grin appeared on Orochimaru's face as he exclaimed, “Such a weak flame will not burn me…”
Suddenly, his eyes widened. He failed to release any more Yang chakra. His transformation also stopped. Orochimaru wondered, ‘What the hell? I can't initiate any jutsu?’
He suddenly exclaimed fearfully, “What is that?”
As the God of Death's arm entered his body and began extracting his soul, Orochimaru finally saw the God of Death behind Hiruzen! Hiruzen chuckled and replied, “This is the jutsu the Fourth Hokage used to seal the Nine Tails.”
With a grin on his face, Hiruzen exclaimed, “I will now fix the mistake I committed a decade ago. I will now pull out your soul from whoever's body this is. You'll be sealed inside the God of Death and suffer inside his belly for eternity!”
Hiruzen immediately began extracting Orochimaru's soul while Orochimaru analyzed, ‘So that's the God of Death? No wonder he was able to seal them so easily. However…’
Orochimaru immediately exerted all his strength. Though he couldn't move nor use any jutsus, he managed to pull his soul back into his body! He chuckled and said, “You won't get your way, old man! You don't have the chakra to seal me! Hehe, I admit, you nearly scared me by putting up a strong front. However, you used up most of your chakra while sealing them.”
Hiruzen's grin disappeared. He realized, ‘Ugh! I reached this stage and fell short on chakra?’
Hiruzen was livid. He was one step away from sealing Orochimaru but fell short as he was about to run out of chakra! Had he been a few years younger, he'd have done the job. Unfortunately, that was no longer the case. Sealing twelve Kage had drained him!
He quickly analyzed, ‘I don't have the chakra to completely seal him inside of me. The only way I can do that is if…’
Suddenly, the entire barrier shook! Both Hiruzen and Orochimaru glanced above and saw it being hit by another Wind Breath from Ryu! The Sound Four fell to their knees and began coughing blood violently! They immediately began inserting all their chakra into the barrier while thinking, ‘This is the last time! If another attack hits the barrier, it'll collapse. However, how can he stop another round of attack by himself?’
While Hiruzen dealt with Orochimaru and the reanimated Kages, the Third and Fourth Kazekages blocked three more rounds of attacks from Fujin and the Konoha ninjas. However, Fujin and Ryu finally got the opening they were looking for.
Ryu immediately fired a Wind Breath through the opening, which first hit the defenseless Third Kazekage and obliterated him! His body had been minced into minute particles as the Wind Breath passed through it before the Wind Breath hit the barrier.
The Konoha ninjas immediately cheered, “The Third Kazekage is dealt with! Only the Fourth Kazekage and that barrier remain! Huh? What's that?”
The Konoha ninjas suddenly noticed a blue light shining on top of the barrier! The morale of the ones with a keen eyesight suddenly increased as a massive Rasengan smashed into the barrier!
The Hyuga ninjas immediately exclaimed, “Lord Jiraiya is here as well! Orochimaru is dead!”
The morale of every Konoha ninja shot through the roof. Needless to say, it was the opposite for the Sound Four. Ryu's attack itself was too much for them. They were barely hanging by a thread. Jiraiya's attack finally broke that thread!
As cracks spread throughout the barrier, Orochimaru finally panicked. If he was held down by Hiruzen when Fujin and Jiraiya entered, he would be dead without a shred of doubt. While Orochimaru believed that his old comrade might hesitate, he did not doubt that Fujin would go straight for his head.
Hiruzen quickly analyzed as well, ‘If they help, I can seal his entire soul inside the God of Death. However, my chakra is too low. I won't be able to do that… So, the question is, will that be more beneficial for Konoha than sealing his entire soul inside the God of Death?’
Thoughts clashed in Hiruzen's brain at the speed of light as he made his decision even before Jiraiya and Fujin broke the barrier. He decided, ‘Even if I seal him inside the God of Death, I am not sure if he'll be dead for good. That curse seal of his has a sliver of his soul. According to my calculations, it could be used to revive him.
If that happens, sealing him entirely wouldn't be the end of this battle. He'll continue to target Konoha. Even if his strength is far weaker, he could just use Edo Tensei to keep attacking us. That won't be good for the village.’
A smile appeared on Hiruzen's face. He said, “You're right. I have very little chakra left. I can't seal your entire soul in the belly of the God of Death. However…”
Hiruzen's grin became much wider, making Orochimaru feel extremely uneasy. Hiruzen suddenly exerted a lot of force and pulled out the arms of Orochimaru's soul from his body. The God of Death raised his blade as Hiruzen exclaimed, “Even though I can't seal your entire soul, I'll take away the thing that you value the most!”
‘Shadow Clone jutsu’
Fujin created a Shadow Clone, who immediately flickered to where the Third Kazekage's body was reforming and began sealing him. Rasa was about to intervene but was stopped by the jutsus launched by the Konoha ninjas.
At the same time, Jirobo shouted, “The barrier can't stand any longer! Orochimaru-sama is in a difficult spot too. Leave the barrier to me! You three rescue Orochimaru-sama!”
The others understood what the result would be. The Four Violet Flames Formation needed four ninjas to create it. If just a single ninja tried to sustain it while under intense attack, there would be just one result. However, understanding the situation, all three of them immediately flickered.
Jirobo sustained the barrier with his life, but could only buy a second before he collapsed dead! The barrier finally collapsed!
Fujin jumped off Ryu's back and immediately flickered towards the rooftop while wondering, ‘What in the hell? Why is Hiruzen so impatient? Is his chakra so low that he can't even keep Orochimaru tied for a few more seconds?’
Fujin wasn't entirely sure. After all, Hiruzen's battle was far more intense than what it was in the original story. However, he was more worried about another thing. He thought, ‘Even now, there was a chance for things to be different. Had Hiruzen waited, he could've sealed Orochimaru entirely with our help. Yet, at the very last moment, he made such an illogical move...
Are important events going to happen exactly like they did in the original story? Does that mean that my killing and sealing Kabuto will be useless too? Would someone else perform the Edo Tensei jutsu during the Fourth Great War? And, would it end with Naruto and Sasuke sealing Kaguya no matter what I do?’
Fujin was unwilling to accept this. Even though he wanted to keep the events the same, it was because he wanted to take advantage of certain opportunities to change the future in a way that would benefit him the most. However, if the events would stay the same no matter what he did, all his plans would be useless. Unlike Fujin, Jiraiya was more worried about Hiruzen's state. He immediately realized which jutsu Hiruzen was using!
A stunned expression appeared on Orochimaru's face as he realized, ‘Don't tell me…’
He shouted, “NO!”
As the blade began falling, Hiruzen shouted “I shall take away all your jutsu! SEAL!”
The God of Death's blade sliced through Orochimaru's soul, taking his arms away!
Orochimaru realized, ‘My arms! They're paralyzed!’
He shouted, “You useless old man! Give me back my arms!”
With a smile on his face, Hiruzen said, “It's over. You can no longer use your arms and hence, never weave any hand signs. You'll never be able to learn any new Ninjutsu. Even though you can perform many jutsus without any seals, good luck performing them without a part of your soul. Of course, that is if you managed to get away alive.”
Orochimaru continued screaming, but Hiruzen no longer heard his voice. The part of Orochimaru's soul, that had been cut by the God of Death, was pulled into Hiruzen's chest by the God of Death. He grabbed Hiruzen's soul as well and began extracting it out.
The cost of using such a deadly jutsu was the soul of the caster. Just like Minato and the twelve Kages he sealed inside the God of Death, Hiruzen's soul would also be sealed inside the God of Death!
Most of Hiruzen's soul had been extracted, however, before the God of Death could take his entire soul, a blade of wind appeared out of thin air and sliced through Hiruzen's soul!
[A/N: Next chapter: The Impact of Fujin's Existence!]
