A menacing dragon spiraled through the sky, while an unfathomable beast lurked beneath the waves. For the first time, the Eight-Headed Serpent felt the presence of death looming over it.
Orochimaru was right—its power was no longer what it used to be. While it still retained strength on the level of the Six Paths, it was barely holding on.
Deidara estimated that if an Edo Tensei-revived Hashirama were summoned, he might be able to take the beast down single-handedly.
The key issue was that the Eight-Headed Serpent relied solely on physical attacks. Its most dangerous weapon was the Kusanagi Sword, but even that left its offensive capabilities too limited.
If capturing it alive weren't necessary, Deidara could have simply dropped a miniature sun on it and ended the battle in an instant.
"Damn humans! Die!" The Eight-Headed Serpent roared in fury. The three remaining serpent heads lunged toward Deathwing, desperate to free the head that had been caught.
One of the heads spewed out the Kusanagi Sword, aiming to slice the menacing dragon in half from above.
Splash!
A massive wave surged as Leviathan's tentacles wrapped tightly around the head that had just released the sword, yanking it toward the depths.
"Deathwing! Dragon's Breath!"
An unimaginably intense flame erupted from Deathwing's mouth. One of the snake heads, caught directly in the blast, didn't have time to evade. Its skin instantly charred black.
Despite the agony, the serpent head let out a shrill howl and, defying the searing pain, chomped down fiercely on Deathwing's neck.
At the same time, another head attacked from behind, sinking its fangs into Deathwing's back and thrashing wildly.
ROAR!
Even with its formidable defense, Deathwing was locked in a brutal melee. Under Deidara's control, it wrestled the Eight-Headed Serpent in a full-fledged brawl.
"Jiraiya-sama!"
"Got it!" Jiraiya responded immediately, seizing the opportunity to strike.
"Sage Art! Earth Style: Spears!"
Several enormous stone spears shot toward the head clutched in Deathwing's talons.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru was also on the move.
"Wood Style: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"
Two wooden serpents coiled around the throats of two upper heads, targeting their vital spots. Though the technique didn't cause much damage, the restriction on its weak points still affected the Eight-Headed Serpent.
The trapped serpent head let out a furious howl, thrashing desperately, but it couldn't break free from Deathwing's iron grip in such a short time.
The beast was fighting for its life, but Deidara's clay creatures had no such concerns. They didn't fear mutual destruction.
If worst came to worst, Deidara would just let the two remaining heads rip Deathwing apart.
"No!" A terrified roar echoed as another serpent head was torn apart.
Now, only three remained.
"I'll kill you all! I'll kill you all!"
"Bring it on!" Deidara taunted. With one head still submerged and restrained by Leviathan, the Eight-Headed Serpent only had two left to act freely.
Both remaining heads spewed out Kusanagi Swords and slashed in a crisscrossing motion, extending the blades even further than before—without any regard for its own body.
Wait—it really doesn't care?!
The blades missed Deidara and his allies but instead sliced off the submerged head.
Deidara froze for a second, then quickly realized the creature's intent.
"Damn it! It's trying to escape!"
Sure enough, the once-raging Eight-Headed Serpent suddenly turned slippery, darting toward the water like an eel, abandoning its lost heads in favor of retreat.
Under Deidara's control, Leviathan rushed to pursue, its tentacles reaching out to grab hold of the fleeing serpent.
But Leviathan's structure wasn't built for speed. When Deidara designed it, he had prioritized combat power at the expense of mobility.
Then, something unexpected happened.
Orochimaru, who had been following Leviathan closely, suddenly shouted toward Deidara in the sky,
"Deidara, throw me over there!"
Throw him?
Deidara had no idea what Orochimaru was planning, but how could he pass up the opportunity to fling the snake Sannin?
Leviathan extended a tentacle, wrapped it around Orochimaru's waist, and hoisted him up.
"Deidara, what are you—" Orochimaru frowned, sensing something was off.
Before he could finish, another tentacle slapped him hard on the rear, launching him at high speed past Leviathan and straight toward the Eight-Headed Serpent.
"Deidara, send me too," Jiraiya said. "But do it properly, or I'll tell your little girlfriend about your Icha Icha Paradise habits."
He had no intention of suffering the same humiliation as Orochimaru. He was over fifty—getting spanked like that would be beyond embarrassing.
"Fine, fine." Deidara sighed. Leviathan lifted Jiraiya and hurled him in a far more dignified manner.
By this point, Orochimaru was already nearing the ocean's surface. He plunged into the water without hesitation, turning to face the rapidly approaching Eight-Headed Serpent.
"Mangekyō Sharingan!"
His three-tomoe Sharingan spun into a pinwheel pattern. Orochimaru had awakened the Mangekyō!
Guh...!
The Eight-Headed Serpent let out an unconscious groan, its massive form suddenly freezing in place.
Unbelievable—despite facing a Six Paths-level opponent, Orochimaru's Mangekyō was strong enough to take effect.
Even with his cunning nature, a flicker of satisfaction crossed Orochimaru's face.
When he performed the soul transfer on Uzumaki Yusuke, the sheer mental impact had triggered his awakening of the Mangekyō.
Like all Mangekyō users, he had two unique abilities. The first was the genjutsu he had just used on the Eight-Headed Serpent.
Orochimaru called it Phantom Dream.
It wasn't quite a traditional genjutsu, as it simply forced the target's consciousness into a temporary slumber. A single attack would break the effect.
Though its potency was weak, that very weakness allowed it to affect targets far beyond its normal scope.
For Orochimaru, it was perfect. He could now initiate a soul transfer without first needing to subdue his target physically.
His second ability granted him near-immunity to genjutsu.
No doubt, this was fueled by his lingering resentment over how Itachi had humiliated him with genjutsu in the past.
This skill also made him exceptionally dangerous in the mental battles of the soul transfer ritual.
"Orochimaru! What are you doing?!" Jiraiya, watching from above, frowned at Orochimaru.
"Becoming a true god, of course." Without hesitation, Orochimaru lunged into the Eight-Headed Serpent's mouth, activating his soul transfer.
With the Mangekyō fortifying his soul, he no longer needed to abide by the three-year cooldown limit.
"Wait, that's an ancient god! Do you really think you can just take over its body?!" Jiraiya shouted in alarm.
Orochimaru's voice was calm and indifferent. "Jiraiya, you really are an idiot."
"On the path to truth, even death is a worthy price to pay."
The Eight-Headed Serpent was at its weakest. This was the perfect moment.
If he hesitated, the creature would likely choose self-destruction, denying him the chance to claim its body.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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