Chapter 212: The Shadow of Absolute Justice!
At the same time, deep within the sacred Ryūchi Cave (Snake Sage Mode), the colossal purple snake coiled on a giant stone throne, currently napping, suddenly snapped open its cruel, savage, cold vertical pupils.
A contract connection spanning space was instantly established. It could feel Orochimaru calling for it.
But it wasn't a request for assistance in battle.
It was a plea for rescue!
"Hiss... Orochimaru?"
Manda's deep voice, full of undisguised mockery and greed, boomed through the spatial barrier, rumbling in Orochimaru's mind: "You want me to save your life? A hundred sacrifices won't be enough! If you want me to pull you over... Five hundred! And they must be live sacrifices! They must also be under thirty years old, or I'll swallow you whole!"
"...You truly are... insatiably greedy!"
Orochimaru's eyelids twitched violently.
Five hundred robust, living human sacrifices—that would require a considerable amount of work on his part.
After all, his subordinates had just been slaughtered by Ikeizumi Uchiha, leaving him to do the dirty work himself.
"...Deal!"
Orochimaru almost ground the word out.
He responded mentally.
In Ryūchi Cave, Manda let out a satisfied hiss. Its massive mouth opened, and it bit the tip of its own thick tongue!
Snake blood splattered like rain, accurately landing on the ground.
It quickly outlined a massive Reverse Summoning Barrier!
The summoning barrier in Ryūchi Cave instantly connected with the summoning scroll in Orochimaru's hand far away.
However, just at that moment.
WHOOSH—
A golden chain, carrying a shriek that ripped the air, shot out, accurately striking Orochimaru.
The warning in Orochimaru's heart instantly spiked to the extreme!
But it was too late to dodge.
Thunk!
The golden chain pierced through his left shoulder like a red-hot steel needle through tofu. The pain forced a muffled grunt from him.
"This is..."
A sense of dread gripped Orochimaru.
"An Uzumaki Clan Sealing Jutsu?!"
Orochimaru tried to sever his own left shoulder with the Kusanagi Sword, but there was no more time. He only managed to raise his hand. The next second, a "poof" of white smoke enveloped his entire body.
When the smoke cleared, the area was empty.
Orochimaru was gone; the golden chain that had pierced his shoulder was also gone.
However, what Orochimaru didn't know was... Ikeizumi Uchiha, on the other end of the golden chain, had also vanished without a trace!
Ryūchi Cave. The air was extremely moist and viscous, filled with the pungent smell of millennia of shed snakeskin, and a faint, natural poison gas.
"Hah... Hoo-chih..."
The cold air, mixed with strong stench and poison gas, rushed into Orochimaru's heavily heaving chest like ice water.
He knelt on one knee on the cold stone platform where Manda was coiled, one hand clamped over his still-bleeding left shoulder, the other braced on the slick ground, gasping for breath without a shred of dignity.
Cold sweat mixed with blood slid down his pale face, dripping onto the slime-covered rock surface.
"Heh heh... Finally rid of that righteous lunatic..."
In Orochimaru's mind, Ikeizumi Uchiha had already escalated from a "righteous brat" to a "righteous lunatic."
A sense of utter exhaustion and relief washed over him. His nerves, stretched to their absolute limit, could finally relax slightly. He breathed greedily. Although the air was foul, right now, it represented safety.
"Hah..." He managed a tired, twisted, momentary smile, muttering hoarsely to himself: "I exposed too many of my cards in front of him today... It won't be so 'easy' the next time I see him. Assuming, of course, that he survives the endless pursuit of the Akatsuki."
Orochimaru's definition of "easy" had cost him two body sheds, massive chakra depletion, countless clones and meticulously set traps, and the piercing wound in his shoulder.
Anyone else would have surely died!
"Orochimaru."
A voice like rolling thunder, filled with undisguised mockery and greed, crashed down from above Orochimaru's head: "Tch, I never thought I'd see the day you looked so wretched, like a stray dog fleeing back to its kennel."
Manda's massive purple head slowly descended, its cold vertical pupils focusing like spotlights on the diminutive Orochimaru.
"Remember, you promised five hundred live sacrifices, not one less. And they must be—"
Just then, Manda's words abruptly cut off!
Its gigantic head suddenly froze. The cold vertical pupils instantly narrowed into dangerous slits.
Because an incredibly unfamiliar presence, carrying an aura of destructive heat, had rudely intruded into Manda's perception of this familiar area, like a searing brand plunged into ice water!
Its gaze instantly shot past Orochimaru, locked onto a specific spot.
"Orochimaru!"
Manda's voice suddenly rose, laced with fury and alarm: "Who did you bring in? Who is this brat? How is he in Ryūchi Cave?!"
The thunderous roar stabbed like a needle into Orochimaru's relaxed nerves.
It was only at this moment.
That Orochimaru belatedly realized...
The pungent smell of sulfur, which should have dissipated with the execution of the Reverse Summoning Technique, had not only not diminished but was clinging to his nostrils like a phantom!
A wave of icy dread instantly shot from his feet to the crown of his head. He violently looked down at his throbbing left shoulder.
The golden chain that had pierced his shoulder was still there!
The other end of the chain seemed to stretch toward...
He looked in a certain direction, disbelief etched across his face.
In the shadows, a figure stood silently, like a demon god that had emerged from the fires of hell. Crimson magma slowly flowed and dripped across his body. The scorching heat constantly steamed the surrounding moisture, making the air around him emit a "sizzling" sound.
The magma figure's cold eyes pierced through the thin smoke.
And locked firmly onto Orochimaru!
"...Ikeizumi Uchiha!"
Orochimaru's voice was twisted with extreme shock and absurdity.
The next second, Orochimaru instantly grasped Ikeizumi Uchiha's method.
The sinister, relieved smile on his face vanished.
His eyes flickered between uncertainty and fury.
"You used some form of the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu to forcibly 'bind' your body to mine, thereby tricking the Reverse Summoning Technique's criteria. In other words, you used my jutsu to bring yourself to Ryūchi Cave?!"
"Correct."
Ikeizumi Uchiha finally spoke, his voice cold and devoid of emotion. Every word hammered on Orochimaru's very soul: "You may be rewarded by dying quickly."
The golden chain instantly disintegrated. Ikeizumi Uchiha raised his magma-flowing arm, and killing intent surged out like a tangible tide.
Orochimaru's face was ashen.
Being targeted by this righteous fanatic, obsessed to the point of madness, was even more disgusting than being bitten by the world's most venomous snake.
Orochimaru found himself unable to understand why the Third Hokage allowed such a maniac to remain in Konoha.
Wasn't sensei Sarutobi afraid of being devoured by Ikeizumi Uchiha?
This guy certainly didn't seem the type to hold the Hokage in high regard.
Suddenly, the alarm bells in Orochimaru's mind screamed violently.
Orochimaru's body exploded with superhuman speed, his feet kicking off the ground.
Ignoring the tearing pain in his left shoulder, he retreated backward in a frantic, undignified scramble.
At the same time, Orochimaru immediately yelled at Manda: "Manda! He is the enemy I told you about! Help me kill this brat, and I will immediately deliver the five hundred sacrifices I promised! No! Not just five hundred, one thousand live sacrifices!"
Manda's eyes narrowed, its savage nature instantly ignited.
Its enormous snake tail, like a purple steel whip suddenly appearing mid-air, whistled as it violently struck toward... Orochimaru!
Snap!
The tail precisely wrapped around Orochimaru's waist as he was mid-flight. The immense force elicited a muffled grunt from Orochimaru, but it also narrowly yanked him away from his original spot!
The instant Orochimaru was pulled away—
RUMBLE!!!
The ground where Ikeizumi Uchiha had stood exploded like a volcanic crater!
A torrent of magma, containing destructive energy, roared outward, carrying terrifying high temperatures and shockwaves that threatened to burn everything to ash.
Where the horrifying molten rock passed, the slick rock was instantly scorched into dark-red glass. Giant snake skins turned to dust.
Even the millennia-old poison gas filling the air was instantly ignited.
An area of the stone forest, once covered in moss and strange fungi, instantly transformed into a volcanic hell of bubbling magma and black smoke!
On the other side, Manda placed Orochimaru safely on its gigantic head with its tail.
Its cold vertical pupils stared intently at the newly created molten hell and the figure bathed in the center of the magma.
Manda slowly raised its massive upper body high. Its huge shadow covered nearly half the platform, looking down at the tiny intruder.
Its deep voice rumbled like thunder, carrying the characteristic hiss of a snake and icy killing intent: "Hiss... Insolent brat! How dare you desecrate the sacred Ryūchi Cave with such a jutsu!"
Manda's tongue flicked out dangerously, and dark green venom seeped from the tips of its fangs.
Even without Orochimaru's "sacrifice" cajoling.
Manda had become unusually volatile and furious.
"To cause this level of destruction in Ryūchi Cave, even if I swallow you whole today, bones and all... the White Snake Sage would not utter a single word of blame to me!"
Ikeizumi Uchiha slowly lifted his head.
He looked up at the colossal Manda.
"You... are also a Red-Name Evildoer."
"It seems I've come to the right place."
Ikeizumi Uchiha stated indifferently.
......................
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