"Careful!"
Seeing Uzumaki Haruna's expression change drastically, her panicked and delicate face reflected in his eyes, Orochimaru's snake-like pupils contracted, and he subconsciously kicked out behind him.
With a "bang," a soft sensation traveled through the sole of his shoe to his foot, and a sharp Kunai abruptly stopped three inches from Orochimaru's back, flying away with its master.
Orochimaru suddenly turned around, staring intently at the attacker, his face becoming serious. It was one of the Sand Ninja guards he had just taken down with his poison snakes.
"He was hit by my snake venom, and he didn't die?"
Orochimaru licked his lips, his voice hoarse.
The man sneered, raising his hand to discard an empty syringe. "Don't think you're the only one who uses poison. We Puppet Masters are also masters of poison. It's not a big deal to just neutralize some snake venom."
"Viper venom is a mixture of toxins, mainly hemotoxic, supplemented by neurotoxins." He rubbed his aching abdomen, slowly straightening his body. "The moment I realized I was poisoned, I crushed the Sobering Pill in my mouth. While temporarily regaining my mobility, a special detoxification needle did the trick."
"You're quite knowledgeable." Orochimaru revealed a surprised expression, looking the Sand Ninja up and down, observing his dark red hair and slightly handsome face, as if he was seeing the guy in a new light.
"What's your name?" he asked, his tone surprisingly polite.
"Red Sand Gorou." the Sand Ninja replied, while simultaneously forming a hand seal. The scroll in his hand burst into a large cloud of smoke in an instant, revealing a blue-faced, fanged puppet.
This puppet had no hands, but instead, it had gleaming weapons. A hook blade in its left hand, a shield embedded in its right arm, and even its back was covered with iron thorns, making it look like a walking steel hedgehog.
Orochimaru's eyes changed slightly. In this confined space, engaging in close combat with it was not a wise move.
He took the initiative, and before the other party could act, he raised his left hand without warning.
"Hidden Shadow Many Snake Hands!"
His sleeve billowed continuously, and a full five extraordinarily long vipers shot out, their sharp fangs glinting coldly. This unexpected move directly entangled Red Sand Gorou's puppet.
The snake bodies wrapped tightly like tree roots, their fangs digging into the puppet's surface to secure themselves, firmly binding the puppet's joints and preventing it from moving freely.
Red Sand Gorou's face tightened, his left hand gripping his right wrist, his right hand's fingers bent like claws, instinctively relying on brute force to retract the puppet.
But Orochimaru had clearly seen through his intentions. The snake bodies clung tightly to the puppet, pulling taut in the air along with the five crystalline Chakra threads.
The two began to wrestle, in a bizarre "tug-of-war."
"My Master told me that the correct way to deal with a Puppet Master is not to attack the Puppet Master himself, but... to directly destroy his puppet!" Orochimaru licked his lips.
"Damn it!" Red Sand Gorou clearly hadn't expected this move, and he was caught off guard. He only had this one puppet. If it was really taken away by the other party, it would be a disaster!
A triumphant smile flashed in Orochimaru's eyes. He clenched his five fingers into a fist, and another five vipers spiraled out, entangling the puppet even tighter. This time, each of the vipers was a bit thicker, obviously stronger.
With the ten vipers exerting their strength together, Orochimaru gave a mighty yank, pulling the puppet towards himself, causing Red Sand Gorou behind the puppet to stumble and stagger forward.
Orochimaru immediately bent down, using a swift Body Flicker Technique to move forward, the air around his right hand swirling. As a point of blue light gathered, he instantly created a crystal-clear Chakra ball.
"Rasengan!"
A piercing buzzing sound echoed in the air, and the Rasengan instantly shattered the puppet's right arm, carrying an indomitable momentum, and slammed hard into Red Sand Gorou's abdomen!
Amidst the flying wood chips, an astonished face was revealed.
Orochimaru pushed hard, and the Rasengan unleashed its force, sending Red Sand Gorou's body flying backward, crashing through the wall with a "boom."
He landed a hit, but there was no joy on Orochimaru's face, because his "Rasengan" was not yet proficient.
A truly mature Rasengan should be like Master Orochimaru's, entirely jade-blue, its power completely contained, with only the sound of wind and no visible light, instead of being as crystal clear and radiant as his.
Moreover, he hadn't mastered the timing of the Rasengan's explosion at the last moment. He could tell from the feedback that the opponent was definitely not dead.
He quickly passed through the wall, waving his hand to disperse the smoke and dust, but all that remained was a pool of blood and a slightly crude sandpit. Red Sand Gorou had disappeared.
"Sand Dust Concealment?"
Orochimaru sighed with regret. He wanted to chase after him, but the top priority was to leave the Fortress with the Uzumaki people as soon as possible, lest he delay Master Orochimaru's orders.
So, he turned back decisively, picking up Uzumaki Haruna's unconscious companions, one in each hand, and quickly left the dungeon.
...
At the same time, in the sky above the Fortress.
Shin'yu demonstrated amazing jumping ability, leaping into the sky, like a ferocious human cannonball, smashing a large hole in the Sand Iron cloud layer.
Faced with this fiendish star so close at hand, the Third Kazekage's face was horrified. Magnet Release Chakra flowed around him, and he subconsciously tried to distance himself.
He had already witnessed the horror of Shin'yu's Taijutsu. The bloodstains from the pile of corpses and broken pieces had not yet dried!
But this seemed not so simple. Shin'yu threw a punch, leaving five clear trails in the air. The raging wind made the Third Kazekage's scalp tingle. He immediately propped up his hands, and with the dazzling blue current, Sand Iron automatically gathered into an iron fist, meeting the attack.
"Sand Iron Fist!"
"Boom!"
The crisp impact sound almost tore people's eardrums. The shockwave spread like water. The iron fist shot back even faster. The black shadow blurred past, making the Third Kazekage's heart jump!
His hair stood on end, and he slammed his hands together, "Magnet Release: Sand Iron Raging Wave!"
The entire cloud layer surged like a sea wave, sand and dust splashed, and iron filings exploded, bringing a raging torrent that engulfed Shin'yu's body!
"Magnet Release: Sand Iron Binding Coffin!"
The Third Kazekage gritted his teeth and changed hand seals, attempting to use his home-field advantage to have endless Sand Iron wrap around Shin'yu.
"Sizzle!"
A trail of scarlet sparks lit up his desperate eyes. In the rolling Sand Iron, he saw a bright blade.
Frost Descent One Heart was suddenly unsheathed. Shin'yu quickly struck, a Cross Slash breaking the restraints. The clear blade light cut through the turquoise trajectory, and with a "crack," severed the Third Kazekage's iron wings!
Shin'yu tapped his toes, and the Water Molecule Barrier suddenly surged. His entire figure blurred, merging into the air with his Guardian God Sword.
By the time the Third Kazekage woke up, a sharp, cold blade light was already slashing towards him!
"Buzz!"
Shin'yu was slightly stunned. The Guardian God Sword that had accompanied him in battle for many years was instantly frozen in the air, as if trapped in a swamp. The sudden pause caused the force to spread from his wrist to the hilt, and the clear, mirror-like blade trembled incessantly.
Inch strength vibrated the back of the blade. Shin'yu was worried that the blade would be damaged, so he released his palm, but Frost Descent One Heart actually turned around and attacked him!
"Whoosh!"
The blade light slashed down diagonally, like a waterfall. Shin'yu's eyes had already reflected the trajectory of the blade. He steadily extended his sword fingers, firmly clamping the Guardian God Sword between his fingertips!
"Sword control? Can it be done like this?" He tilted his head slightly, his eyes filled with undisguised joy.
For some reason, that smile made the Third Kazekage's hair stand on end!
Shin'yu brought his sword fingers together, pointing out a finger with the force of a bamboo splitting, the sword's cry was clear and melodious like a dragon's roar, and the cyan sword light spewed out like a flood from a opened reservoir, instantly piercing through the Third Kazekage's chest!
His body instantly turned black, turning into countless grains of Sand Iron that rustled and fell, his real body had already tunescape into the iron cloud under his feet.
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