The arena stretched out endlessly, shrouded in an unnatural, dense fog.
Though the afternoon had been bright and sunny, the blackened mist that now blanketed the area cast an oppressive gloom over the battlefield.
This wasn't the typical mist used by Kirigakure ninjas; this was something far more sinister. The fog wasn't just thick, it seemed alive, pulsating with an eerie, dark hue.
At the center of this ominous space stood three figures: the Third Raikage, the Second Tsuchikage, and Orochimaru.
Under Orochimaru's control, the Second Tsuchikage had been moved to the edge of the arena, leaving Orochimaru and the Third Raikage facing off against one another.
The Third Raikage's sharp eyes narrowed as he took in Orochimaru's sudden appearance.
This man had been out of sight for years, vanishing from the radar of the five great ninja villages after the battle in the Land of Frost.
And yet, as the Raikage thought about it, it all began to make sense.
The undead ninjas fighting for Konoha, who else but Orochimaru could have been responsible for such a grotesque technique?
"Orochimaru," the Third Raikage rumbled, his deep voice echoing through the fog. "So, you never truly defected from Konoha. I should've known. You're the one behind these reanimated corpses, aren't you?"The Raikage didn't spare much thought for the strange environment around him. The fog, the arena—they were irrelevant. The only thing that mattered was the battle before him.
Orochimaru met the Raikage's intense gaze with a calm, almost dismissive expression.
"Think whatever you like," Orochimaru said coldly. "But today, Raikage, you die."
"Whether for old grudges, to turn the tide of this war, or to ensure my plans for the future, your death is inevitable."
"Plans for the future?" the Raikage asked, his brow furrowing. "What are you plotting?"
"Sorry," Orochimaru replied with a smirk. "That's not something you need to know."
His golden eyes, now tinged with a faint crimson hue, scanned the hazy battlefield. The mist was no ordinary fog but a product of Ryūchi Cave's Sage Art.
Unlike standard genjutsu, this illusion didn't target people but the terrain itself. It warped the environment, distorting perception and rendering even advanced sensory techniques useless.
Even the Byakugan could see only a vast expanse of white when gazing into this arena.
Orochimaru's mastery of techniques like Inorganic Reincarnation, which allowed him to animate and control the terrain itself, combined perfectly with the mystical fog.
In this space, the battlefield was his to command.
The Third Raikage took a deep breath, his eyes narrowing further. "So, I'm not walking out of here alive, huh?"
"Exactly," Orochimaru replied. "Do you have any last words?"
"Just one thing." The Raikage's voice softened, though his resolve remained firm. "Spare the children of my village."
"Your son?" Orochimaru asked, tilting his head.
"No. All the children of the Cloud Village. They're all my family."
Orochimaru chuckled, a glint of amusement in his eyes. "How noble. The Kage's sense of responsibility really is unique."
"Well then, I'll promise you this. As long as none of them come seeking their own deaths, I'll leave them alone."
The Raikage's fists clenched. "Thank you."
Boom!
The atmosphere shifted as lightning surged around the Raikage's body, crackling wildly and tearing through the ground beneath him. The sheer force of his chakra was overwhelming, causing the earth to quake and split.
"Orochimaru," the Raikage said, his voice filled with raw determination. "Since the battle in the Land of Frost, I've been waiting for a chance to fight you again."
Orochimaru's lips curled into a wicked smile. His golden pupils darkened further, taking on a scarlet glow.
"And I've admired your strength, Raikage. But we're enemies today. Don't expect me to hold back."
The moment the words left his mouth, Orochimaru raised his hands, his chakra flaring to life.
Boom!
The ground around him cracked and caved under the pressure of his aura, matching the intensity of the Third Raikage's chakra.
Watching this, even the usually composed Second Tsuchikage standing at the edge of the arena couldn't hide his astonishment.
"This… this level of power… Orochimaru?" Mū muttered, his eyeless face betraying a flicker of disbelief.
The Raikage had already activated his legendary Lightning Release Armor, a technique that made him nearly invincible.
But even so, Orochimaru's chakra rivaled his.
"I thought he was just a schemer, hiding behind reanimation techniques," Mū thought to himself. "But to think his raw power could match the Raikage's…"
---
As Mū processed this revelation, the battle began.
Orochimaru flicked his hands, releasing waves of chakra that fanned out across the battlefield, distorting the air itself.
The Raikage, now a blur of lightning, vanished from sight.
---
Meanwhile, in another part of the battlefield…
"What? The Second Tsuchikage and a group of Iwa ninjas have infiltrated our territory?"
The Fourth Raikage's voice boomed as he received the report. He was busy coordinating sealing squads to handle the reanimated forces, but this news made his blood boil.
"Damn it! Konoha always boasts about peace, but they're secretly developing such vile techniques?"
"Bagaya-ro! Konoya-ro!"
The voice of the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, Killer Bee, rang out as he approached, his tone carrying his signature bad rap cadence.
"They use the dead to fight—no troops lost, their plan is tight! You know it's a fight, right, bro?"
The Fourth Raikage's eyes narrowed as he muttered, "I've got a bad feeling about this…"
"Bad feeling, bro? Yeah, me too, oh—" Bee's rhymes faltered, his carefree tone shifting to concern as he saw the seriousness in his brother's face.
"Bee, come with me. We're heading to Father's position."
"Father? Why?"
"The Third Raikage is on the front lines, and with this news…" The Fourth Raikage's fists clenched. "They might be targeting him."
Before Bee could ask more, the Fourth Raikage took off at full speed, leaving Bee scrambling to follow.
---
Back in the arena, the battle between Orochimaru and the Third Raikage raged on.
The ground was unrecognizable—cracked, shattered, and littered with Flying Thunder God kunai. The arena was a chaotic wasteland.
Whoosh!
A figure shrouded in lightning chakra darted across the battlefield, the sheer force of his movements causing shockwaves that split the earth.
At the same time, Orochimaru reappeared on one of his marked kunai, his movements calculated and precise.
"Your speed is formidable," Orochimaru mused, his scarlet eyes locking onto the Raikage. "But once I decipher your attack patterns, it's over."
The Raikage's voice thundered back. "Decipher all you want. You still won't stop this!"
Hell Thrust: Four-Finger Strike!
The Third Raikage appeared in front of Orochimaru in an instant, his four fingers glowing with deadly chakra. The overwhelming power of his technique, capable of piercing anything, was aimed directly at Orochimaru's face.
***
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