anwhile, in another sector of the battlefield, Orochimaru clashed with Mū's Edo Tensei.
Despite its youthful appearance, Orochimaru's new vessel was a masterpiece, engineered from birth to harmonize with natural energy.
His soul had settled into it flawlessly, and he could already effortlessly enter and maintain full synchronization for dozens of minutes without strain.
So, the mont the fight began, his eyes shifted to a predatory gleam, and a cyan-green aura flared around him, his advanced Dragon Sage Mode.
It was neither the incomplete Snake Sage Mode nor the unstable Sage Transformation of the clan near Ryūchi cave, but sothing between, refined and balanced.
It wasn't even the ordinary perfect Snake Sage Mode, but much more powerful and versatile.
A single horn rose from his forehead, his features sharpened into more draconic kind of contours, and serpentine, green tendrils of chakra writhed around him like living snakes.
His young fra pulsed with raw power. Every movent carried the heightened senses, speed, and strength of a true Sage Mode user.
Natural energy amplified his reflexes beyond human limits, and through it, he could sense even the subtlest shift in the environnt, the faintest pulse of Mū's chakra, despite his signature Dustless Bewildering Cover, the ripple of a Dust Release wave before it ford.
Mū's body flickered in and out of sight, slipping through the ground and solid terrain as if phasing between worlds thanks to his weight-manipulation techniques, on his own body.
The air barely distorted around him each ti he moved, and his Dust Release carved through the battlefield in blinding white shapes that erased everything they touched.
But Orochimaru saw it all through the flow of nature itself.
He weaved through the destruction effortlessly, each dodge more precise than the last.
"So this is the Second Tsuchikage," Orochimaru murmured, voice calm, almost pleased.
"Perfect," he murmured with a faint smile. "A test subject worthy of helping get used to this new body, and refine my arsenal properly."
This was the real reason he'd co this ti, beyond simply aiding Ryusei and his group.
Mū, the Second Tsuchikage, in this Edo Tensei form, had a power of at least 'Peak Kage'.
That made him the ideal opponent, strong enough to pressure the current Orochimaru in real ti very much.
So, he began pressing forward, flicking through hand seals as his aura thickened.
Mū retaliated with volleys of Dust Release, large-scale cones of disintegration, and smaller precision bursts.
Orochimaru countered with his own nature release techniques, shaping them around him as he swiftly advanced.
Now infused with senjutsu chakra, his attacks struck with far greater power and precision, each movent carrying the force of nature itself.
Each ti he landed a hit, Mū's body would break apart and reform, regenerating endlessly through the Edo Tensei's curse of immortality.
It didn't take long for Orochimaru to understand the issue.
His chakra reserves, abnormally impressive for a thirteen-year-old body, were still finite.
Mū's were not.
The difference was clear.
He smiled faintly. "Infinite chakra… how envious for a dead guy. But let's see how well you handle infinity when it's buried."
He knew he'd run out of chakra eventually first, so experience told him to stop holding back; better to unleash everything now and hopefully end it quickly.
However, Orochimaru also quickly realized that using his own unique, evolved Sharingan's special abilities here on top of his current Sage Mode output would push his current limits too far, and it was simply too much here, so he set them aside for now.
Instead, he opted to test his current newfound Wood Release ability in this battle. Though far weaker than Hashirama's, it was still remarkably stable and complete compared to the crude versions now wielded by Danzō or once by his own failed test subjects.
With that thought, Orochimaru prepared to unleash his strongest Wood Release techniques.
So, he slamd his palms into the ground.
Wood Release: Root Surge Burial.
The earth split apart, and massive roots burst upward, lashing toward Mū like serpents of hardened bark.
The roots twisted, then collapsed inward, trying to drag the Tsuchikage underground.
Mū phased through them easily, half-transparent, his form dissolving into air.
Orochimaru followed imdiately with Wood Release: Verdant Spear Barrage!
Hundreds of high-density wooden spikes shot upward, cutting the air like arrows.
Several pierced through the afterimages of Mū's fading form, splintering harmlessly.
A flicker appeared behind him. Orochimaru reacted instantly, spinning with another jutsu.
Wood Release: Thorned Dragon Forest!
The ground erupted with coiling vines shaped like dragons, their bark lined with razor thorns, dripping paralyzing sap.
The entire terrain transford into a writhing forest of death.
Natural energy began to thrum through the air.
His Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation awakened, breathing life into the battlefield itself.
The vines and earth twisted violently, moving as if they possessed minds of their own.
The rocks, soil, and even fallen debris shifted toward Mū, converging on his presence.
Orochimaru's eyes followed the flow of energy through the world around him. "There's nowhere to hide."
He inhaled deeply and exhaled a blinding dragon of light.
Sage Art: White Rage Technique!
A dragon-shaped wave burst forth, clutching an orb in its claw.
The mont it uncoiled, a deafening roar and a blinding flash filled the battlefield.
The air vibrated violently, the very frequency of sound paralyzing everything within its radius.
Even Mū's invisible form faltered—his chakra flow briefly destabilized.
Orochimaru seized the chance.
His chakra snakes, which were coiling around his body, suddenly elongated and burst forward and wrapped around Mū's limbs.
Seals ignited across the ground.
"Fūinjutsu: Binding Earth Coffin."
The ground swallowed the struggling form, symbols spreading like wildfire.
The light of Dust Release flickered and died within Mū's palms as his body locked in place.
When the smoke cleared, the Second Tsuchikage's Edo Tensei form was sealed, buried beneath a solid layer of earth and dense wood, his chakra signature silenced completely.
Orochimaru exhaled slowly.
The cyan-green aura around him faded, leaving faint steam rising from his body.
His breath ca unevenly, his chakra nearly depleted.
He glanced at his hands.
The regeneration of his new body was powerful, his cells humming with amazing vitality, but exhaustion still weighed on him.
"Well," he murmured softly, sitting down amidst the wreckage.
"That was… efficient enough for a test run."
A few of Ryusei's slugs pulsed faintly nearby, carrying stored chakra reserves, but Orochimaru's expression hardened.
He ignored them.
The idea of taking foreign chakra, especially from slugs, disgusted him; it would taint the purity of his own vessel's balance.
Instead, he crossed his legs, resting both palms on his knees.
His breathing slowed, his chakra beginning to circulate naturally again, the regenerative ability of his new body gradually restoring him, its ingrained vitality still surprising him.
He turned his gaze and sensory mode toward the distant flashes of battle, Ryusei's group clashing against the forces of Konoha.
A faint smirk curved his lips. "I think I'll only watch for a while," he whispered to himself.
And there he sat, still as a serpent waiting to strike, his golden eyes gleaming faintly through the smoke, watching the war unfold.
His mind, however, was far from idle.
He began analyzing everything: the behavior of his body under stress, the precise limits of chakra output before senjutsu overload, the regeneration rate under exhaustion, even the resonance between his Sharingan and natural energy flow.
Every small piece of information was catalogued, dissected, and ntally stored away.
Eventually, he tilted his head, sensing a faint fluctuation of chakra far in the distance, familiar, steady, and imnse. Ryusei's.
The Senju heir's energy was climbing again, layered and expanding, his battle approaching its peak, and would soon have to be decided next.
"Ah…" Orochimaru murmured, a faint note of anticipation in his voice.
"You're reaching another threshold, aren't you? How intriguing."
He brushed a bit of dust off his cloak and stood, stretching slightly.
His movents were slow, unhurried, yet deliberate, like a predator that had eaten well but wasn't finished hunting.
"I suppose," he said softly, "I can give my body a few more minutes to recover… and then perhaps, I'll see what kind of monster that boy has been turning into while I was away."
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