"Space–time ninjutsu really is a cancer."
Uchiha Sasuke was now experiencing firsthand the truth of what Link had repeatedly stressed.
What was that even?
He felt he had performed at his very best, yet it still wasn't enough to do anything to his opponent. In the end, he could only watch helplessly as his enemy escaped.
This was someone who had helped Itachi annihilate the Uchiha clan—an enemy with no room for excuses.
The direct perpetrator (Itachi) was dead, and the instigator (Danzō) was dead, so why should an accomplice still be alive? Enemies were enemies; to Sasuke, there was no difference. And that kind of space–time ninjutsu posed too great a threat to Link—enough that Sasuke believed it had to be eradicated.
But what could he do?
[Better go find Link.]
Sighing in frustration, Sasuke dispelled his Susanoo. If there was no way to deal with this enemy for now, he would have to prepare himself for a long stretch of standing guard close to Link at all times.
From what he could tell, using that mysterious Uchiha's space–time ninjutsu required a brief moment—not much, but enough that he could at least react to it.
With that thought, Sasuke leapt onto a high vantage point. From there, he spotted Utakata off in the distance, standing on top of the rubble, frowning in thought. He stood out too much—glowing like that. After a few leaps, Sasuke landed nearby and asked directly:
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Utakata's tone was curt. It wasn't as if he would talk about how he failed to catch Zetsu.
That thing had moved so quickly, left no trace of its presence, and disappeared from his sensory range in a flash. What a dangerous foe—Utakata realized he, too, might need to guard Link closely for some time to come.
Sasuke didn't press him. Without another word, he left.
They had never gotten along from the start, and it was no better now. Utakata held a grudge because at one point he'd been controlled by a genjutsu and accidentally injured Link; since then he had never shown Sasuke a friendly face, and Sasuke had no intention of forcing the issue.
Unfortunately, Sasuke wasn't a sensory-type ninja. After scouting around the ruined Amegakure without finding anyone else, what he did stumble upon was a chase between Tsunade and Orochimaru.
Boom!
Sasuke, wasting no time, slammed Orochimaru with Susanoo right off the bat.
Susanoo's massive hand cleared the ruins in a single sweep. Orochimaru, knocked away like a flea, crashed into a half-collapsed building.
To put it mildly, Sasuke was in a mood where even a random rabbit darting by might get hit with Susanoo.
Tsunade followed up with a crushing punch, smashing the remains of the building into dust. Orochimaru, who had tunneled into the ground using Earth Release, could only emerge through the cracked earth.
The moment he landed, Sasuke moved to continue his assault, but Tsunade shot him a look to hold back. Orochimaru, naturally, showed no interest in attacking and simply stood there quietly, observing.
None of the three made another move. They were at a stalemate.
[This is troublesome… I really can't let Link catch up to me,] Orochimaru thought with a tinge of exasperation.
Both he and Tsunade were using Sage Mode, which greatly boosted their sensory abilities—too high for any conventional method of hiding or avoiding detection. Every move was locked on instantly. They both knew exactly what the other was doing and thinking, making things extremely tricky.
To make matters worse, Tsunade's speed had skyrocketed in Sage Mode. Her monstrous strength, already absurd before, was now multiplied many times over. Whenever Orochimaru tried to pause long enough to cast a Reverse Summoning, he'd be greeted by a punch so powerful it smashed through the air itself. If he didn't dodge, he'd be gravely wounded on the spot.
Fortunately, with Sage Mode's enhancements, Orochimaru had drastically amplified his super-speed regeneration. Even without shedding his skin, losing half his body would only take a second or two to regrow. Drawn out, this kind of stalemate would favor him, especially since Link's sealing technique was still restricting him. Under these circumstances, he wouldn't lose.
But Link was nearby, and that seal could certainly be undone. If it were, Orochimaru would almost surely die on the spot.
He had given up on his body-hopping Immortality Jutsu and removed most of his modifications step by step. Working together with Kabuto, he'd finally taken the desperate risk of exchanging every last memory just to synchronize with this immortal body. He had only narrowly succeeded. If he lost it, it would mean throwing away half a lifetime's worth of work.
"Hmm?" Orochimaru suddenly turned his head, sensing a very familiar chakra.
"Well, well, if it isn't the Hokage I respect most—Lord Second, Tobirama?" A smile hung on his face, but inwardly he was in utter shock.
What was he seeing?
A living, three-year-old Senju Tobirama!
Chakra doesn't lie. Orochimaru had once summoned Tobirama with Edo Tensei and was currently in Sage Mode, so he wouldn't mistake such a thing.
A dead man, resurrected? Link's technique? How?
Orochimaru's head swirled with countless questions. If resurrection or reincarnation could be done this freely, what had he been spending half his life on?
Though his outward expression never changed, he was roiling inside.
"Orochimaru, last time it was you who used Edo Tensei to summon my brother and me, right?" said Tobirama, deciding to step out in the open now that he'd been spotted. "And this time, you also brought back Mada—"
Whoosh!
Before Tobirama could finish, Orochimaru abruptly unleashed a speed he hadn't used before. His neck stretched, head shooting forward as he bared his fangs to sink them into this younger version of his elder, presumably delivering some updated curse mark.
Splurt!
Tobirama didn't so much as flinch. He simply opened his small mouth and unleashed a high-pressure jet of water. The enemy was too fast for Tobirama's child-size body to dodge via Flying Raijin, but at least he managed to defend with a quick counterattack.
Orochimaru's detached head whirled in midair, neck coiling around to lunge forward once more.
Thud!
From the ground, a shadow rose and kicked his lunging head aside. Meanwhile, Tobirama teleported away using Flying Raijin.
[So close,] Orochimaru thought, withdrawing his neck without the slightest embarrassment at his attempted sneak attack on his so-called "most respected" Second Hokage.
Boom!
Tsunade's blow landed, leaving Orochimaru no room to resist as he was slammed into the ground.
"Give up," Tsunade said, fingers closing around his throat. At that point-blank range, clamped by her grip, no one could hope to escape.
"You're using my research results," Orochimaru said with difficulty, forcing a smile. "Next time…don't take someone else's research so lightly."
"!"
Tsunade sensed something was off and moved to release him, but she felt her once-harmonized natural energy suddenly lurch inside her. A large portion of her chakra simply dissolved, and multiple muscle groups throughout her body were affected. Her Sage Mode deactivated on the spot.
"Well then, farewell."
Orochimaru set his palm on the ground, casting his gaze on Tobirama in the distance.
The secret of true reincarnation… He would learn it no matter what!
Seeing Tsunade suddenly seizing up with her expression twisted, Sasuke hesitated to use Susanoo for fear of hurting her. He charged in directly instead, but the time it took was enough for Orochimaru to perform a Reverse Summoning and vanish.
Tap.
Link landed, looking confused at the scene.
Nearby stood Sasuke, while Tsunade lay crumpled on the ground as though having an attack. Off in the distance, Tobirama—who had just used a large amount of chakra—stood atop the ruins.
Link knelt to heal Tsunade and check her condition. "What happened?" he asked.
~~~
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