"You want to stop ? Instead of helping deal with the Nine-Tails?"
Zoro slowly removed the silver-white demon mask from his face.
After killing Danzo, there was no longer any reason for him to continue hiding his identity.
Not to ntion—
His swords and swordsmanship were simply too distinctive.
In the entirety of Konoha, there was only one person who fought like him.
When wearing the mask, Zoro generally avoided using his true sword techniques precisely because of that.
"The Nine-Tails? Wasn't the Nine-Tails summoned by you?"
Standing atop the enormous purple serpent Manda, Orochimaru looked down at the now-unmasked Zoro with a teasing smile.
"The Nine-Tails? Sorry, but you guessed wrong. I'm not the one controlling it."
Zoro casually shrugged, his expression calm.
Naturally, there was no way he would admit to controlling the Nine-Tails himself.
The current Third Hokage still possessed considerable strength. Combined with the elite shinobi of Konoha, suppressing the Nine-Tails was not impossible.
"Hmph."
Orochimaru rely let out a faint snort, clearly unwilling to believe Zoro so easily.
Seeing that Orochimaru still had no intention of letting him leave peacefully, Zoro remained completely unhurried.
Right now, Kushina was still in a weakened state after losing the Nine-Tails.
Resealing the beast would not be easy.
As for whether Hiruzen would eventually use the forbidden Dead Demon Consuming Seal—
Even Zoro himself could not say for certain.
After all, Konoha currently still had Might Duy, the man capable of stepping into Kage-level territory after opening the Eight Gates.
So defeating the Nine-Tails was ultimately only a matter of ti.
Moreover, Zoro had deliberately prevented the Nine-Tails from using Tailed Beast Bombs from the very beginning. Even the attacks he forced it to use had been intentionally restrained.
After all, many mbers of his clan still lived within Konoha.
The only people Zoro truly wanted dead were Danzo and the Third Hokage.
As a result, the Nine-Tails had basically spent this entire battle being beaten around passively.
Current inner thoughts of the Nine-Tails:
You dragged out here just to beco a punching bag?! Damn humans!!
Only when facing the Third Hokage did the Nine-Tails beco noticeably more violent.
That strange behavior also left Hiruzen rather helpless, forcing him to conclude that the Nine-Tails was instinctively targeting the strongest person present on the battlefield.
"I'm very interested in your eyes. How about letting remove one for research?"
Standing atop Manda, Orochimaru grinned sinisterly, golden snake-like pupils fixed directly on Zoro's eyes.
Naturally, he was not afraid of Zoro.
And Zoro understood clearly—
Unless he gave Orochimaru a painful enough lesson tonight, this man would continue obsessing over him endlessly.
"Clang!!"
Zoro casually unsheathed all three swords.
Wado Ichimonji slid horizontally into his mouth.
The instant the three blades appeared—
A terrifying pressure erupted outward from his body.
"Eh?! Zoro-kun, there's no need to attack the mont we disagree. It's not as though I wouldn't return it afterward."
Sensing the overwhelming aura radiating from Zoro, Orochimaru imdiately forced out a joking tone.
Though he was not afraid of Zoro, that did not an he genuinely wanted to fight him head-on.
"I'll give you Hashirama cells. In exchange, let study those eyes of yours."
Just as Zoro was preparing to unleash a Three-Sword Style technique, Orochimaru imdiately revealed his true objective.
"Clack."
The swords slowly returned to their sheaths.
Observation Haki spread outward to its limit, allowing Zoro to clearly sense that Orochimaru's hostility toward him was actually not very strong.
Hashirama cells...
Those things were supposedly one of the necessary conditions for awakening the Rinnegan.
Although Zoro did not know whether his body could successfully fuse with Hashirama's cells, he certainly had no intention of rejecting an opportunity to beco stronger.
"We'll discuss that proposal another ti."
Zoro's voice remained cold and indifferent.
"And don't stand in my way again."
His crimson eyes narrowed slightly.
"Otherwise, next ti, I won't give you the chance to speak."
Naturally, Zoro knew Orochimaru was not trustworthy.
But with Observation Haki, sneaking up on him was practically impossible.
"Alright, alright. We'll talk another ti."
A smile slowly spread across Orochimaru's face.
If his guesses were correct, then Zoro had already awakened the legendary ultimate eyes of the Uchiha Clan—
The Mangekyō Sharingan.
At Orochimaru's command, Manda reluctantly twisted its enormous purple body aside and opened a path.
Deep inside, Manda secretly let out a huge sigh of relief.
Earlier, the terrifying black pressure Zoro had unleashed had been directed almost entirely at him.
That horrifying aura had made Manda feel as though Death itself had personally appeared before him.
Manda was certain—
If Orochimaru's final offer had failed to interest Zoro, then tonight he probably would have been finished for good.
Watching Manda move aside, Zoro coldly vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.
anwhile, outside Konoha, the gigantic Nine-Tails was violently smashed out of the village by Hiruzen's extending Enma staff.
"Lord Hokage, what do we do?! The Nine-Tails is too durable! Our attacks are barely scratching it!"
The mont the shinobi finished shouting—
He suddenly felt an incomparably terrifying gaze lock directly onto him.
Turning his head stiffly, he saw the Nine-Tails glaring at him viciously, crimson eyes overflowing with savage fury.
Instantly, the shinobi who had called the Nine-Tails thick-skinned collapsed onto the ground in terror.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Fla Bombs!!"
To stop the Nine-Tails from advancing any further, Hiruzen rapidly ford hand seals.
Violent flas surged outward like roaring dragons, crashing toward the gigantic beast.
"Hold it back! Once Kushina recovers, we'll reseal it together!"
Hiruzen's expression remained grim.
He could clearly tell that the Nine-Tails was not fighting at full power.
Those Tailed Beast Bombs comparable to natural disasters—
Just a few alone could likely reduce all of Konoha to ruins.
"Understood!!"
The surrounding shinobi imdiately responded and charged forward.
So unleashed ninjutsu.
So threw shuriken and kunai.
Others hurled explosive tags continuously.
Though completely lacking coordination, the relentless barrage still managed to force the Nine-Tails backward slightly.
At this mont, the Nine-Tails felt utterly miserable.
That damned human had controlled it—
Yet also restricted it from using its true strength.
For this entire battle, it had practically beco nothing more than a living punching bag.
Suddenly—
The Sharingan within the Nine-Tails' eyes rotated faintly, as though the suppression controlling it had weakened considerably.
"ROOOAAARRR!!!"
All the fury it had accumulated until now instantly erupted outward.
The Nine-Tails released a deafening roar toward the shinobi below.
The terrifying shockwave tore across the battlefield, cracking the earth apart and uprooting countless trees.
The violent blast instantly sent the shinobi suppressing it flying backward.
The battle between Konoha's ninja and the Nine-Tails was fully visible from the ergency shelter where the younger shinobi had gathered.
Worry uncontrollably spread across many faces.
If the Third Hokage and the others failed to stop the Nine-Tails—
Konoha would suffer devastating losses.
"Kakashi, have you seen Zoro-kun?"
Nohara Rin had also been evacuated into the shelter. She turned toward Hatake Kakashi, who was silently observing the battle outside.
"Hm? Zoro? He didn't co here?"
Kakashi frowned slightly.
Then his expression suddenly changed.
"Wait... where's Obito? Where did that idiot run off to?"
A trace of confusion appeared in Kakashi's eyes as he completely ignored the hot-blooded Might Guy shouting nearby.
Not only had Zoro disappeared—
Even Obito was nowhere to be found.
"Obito?"
Rin hurriedly looked around as well.
Sure enough, Obito had not arrived either.
Just as Rin was searching through the crowd, a shocked voice suddenly rang out nearby.
"Wait... is that the Second Elder?!"
The younger shinobi imdiately turned toward the source of the voice.
They saw several mbers of the Konoha Police Force standing guard around the shelter activate their Sharingan simultaneously, their faces filled with disbelief and shock.
Many of the younger ninja exchanged puzzled glances.
Second Elder?
Who exactly was the Uchiha Clan's Second Elder?
And why did his appearance shock the Uchiha mbers this much?
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