Both Suffer Injuries

Dark clouds covered the moon, and the sky grew dim once more.

Across the entire battlefield, all combat ceased except for the clash between the Fourth Raikage and Orochimaru. On the Konoha side, their strategic objective was complete—they had utterly demolished the enemy fortress. Now, under Fugaku's command and with Manda leading the way, they hurried toward the sector where the Eight-Tails was located.

The oppressive might of Manda kept the Cloud shinobi at bay; they dared not initiate another attack. Instead, they followed behind the Konoha forces, ready to strike the moment their village’s Jinchuriki managed to entangle Manda.

Though the fortress was in ruins, the Hidden Cloud had not yet lost. The armored giant of Konoha had already been destroyed by the Raikage, and if they could eliminate Orochimaru as well, victory would still belong to them.

Thunderous sounds rolled across the field. The Eight-Tails’ tentacles lashed wildly, striving to catch the insect-like figures darting across its massive body, but always missed. To ordinary shinobi, a tailed beast was an unstoppable engine of war. Yet, at a certain level of strength, even such monsters could be toyed with at will.

With Orochimaru's current speed and reflexes, the Eight-Tails' attacks seemed laughably childish. Nonetheless, to be cautious, he abandoned the ground and made the surface of the ox-demon’s body his battlefield, continuing his duel with the Fourth Raikage.

"Raikage, your time is running out," Orochimaru said, licking blood from his lips with a smile. "My beloved summon is nearly here. Will you still have the confidence to finish me off when it arrives?"

Standing atop the ox-demon’s spine, the Fourth Raikage’s face was so dark it seemed to drip with gloom. He too sensed Manda’s approach and knew Orochimaru was not bluffing.

But after Orochimaru unleashed his overwhelming aura, he did nothing but evade, channeling power into his sword for a decisive strike that never came, creating an unprecedented sense of danger. The Raikage dared not attack recklessly.

Yet, if he continued to hesitate, his best chance would slip away. Having already let the half-crippled Shisui Uchiha escape, how could he let the weakened Orochimaru go as well?

"Bee!!" the Raikage shouted, lightning flaring around him as he leapt into action.

The Eight-Tails ceased attacking Orochimaru, pressing its massive body against the ground and raising its eight tentacle-like tails high to strike at the Raikage.

Orochimaru looked up, his voice betraying a hint of surprise. In the sky, a bolt of lightning—driven by repeated swings of the tentacles—darted faster and faster, leaving afterimages in its wake. Soon, even Orochimaru’s sharp eyes could no longer follow the Raikage’s movements.

Thanks to the brothers’ perfect coordination, the tentacles kept pace with the Raikage’s speed, pushing the lightning’s velocity ever higher.

"So simple and brutal..." Orochimaru murmured in admiration, raising his sword before him. With his heightened connection to nature, he let his senses expand outward in all directions.

A sudden impact crashed down—a tentacle and the lightning collided, gouging deep marks. Knowing he’d reached his limit, the Raikage ceased charging power and shot straight toward Orochimaru.

"Lightning Destruction: Level Thousand Dance!"

A flash of lightning, thunderous as a storm, struck out. Orochimaru’s eyes, which had been closed, snapped open. His sword flashed, meeting the Raikage’s fist head-on.

The clash of lightning and fire lasted only a moment; with a crisp crack, the Kusanagi sword shattered under the Raikage’s blow. The fist’s momentum carried through, smashing down. Orochimaru managed to twist aside, but a chunk of flesh the size of a fist was torn from his flank.

"Is it over? No, not yet!" The Raikage’s eyes were wide, but his momentum flung him away before he could land another blow.

He twisted to look back, only to see a savage grin appear on Orochimaru’s blood-streaked face. Before he could react, pain seared his waist and abdomen—a blade had slashed through his intestines and even his kidneys.

The Raikage could no longer stand. Thrown by his own inertia, he crashed down. Even with the tentacles catching him, he landed in utter humiliation.

"How did you like that kidney slice?" Orochimaru chuckled, glancing disdainfully at his soiled, broken sword before tossing it aside.

A rush of wind signaled another attack. Clutching his wounded side, Orochimaru managed to leap clear of a sneak attack by the tentacles. With the Fourth Raikage no longer holding him back, he wasted no time in leaving the Eight-Tails’ attack range, forcing himself onward until he rejoined the Konoha forces.

"Orochimaru, look at you—what a mess," came Manda’s sardonic voice. Yet even as he spoke, he coiled protectively around Orochimaru, shielding him from any further ambush.

He was no fool; after all, he’d helped this man twice already and was still awaiting payment.

"Orochimaru, are you alright?" Fugaku was shocked by the gaping wound in Orochimaru’s side. "Medical team! Where are the medics?"

He called out twice, his voice faltering as he remembered that Orochimaru himself was a master of medical ninjutsu.

"It’s nothing—I just need a change of state," Orochimaru replied with a smile, dropping out of his patterned transformation. Instantly, his whole demeanor shifted as though he were a different person.

"I haven’t had such a rough time in ages," he muttered, still smiling though his face seemed wreathed in a chill. He glanced at his wound, formed a series of seals, and in the next instant his body morphed into a pale, phosphorescent white snake several meters long.

Startled, Fugaku instinctively took several steps back.

The smallish white snake opened its maw, and an arm reached out from within. Orochimaru crawled free, slick with fluids but perfectly unharmed—the process an uncanny molting.

Even those who knew of Orochimaru’s strange abilities felt a chill at the sight, and the Konoha shinobi present swallowed nervously.

Orochimaru paid them no heed. He leapt lightly onto Manda’s head and, under the crescent moon’s slanting glow, gazed into the distance.

On the Cloud side, the Fourth Raikage struggled to stand, unwilling to show weakness under Orochimaru’s gaze. Beside him, Cloud medical-nin worked frantically, but their efforts were almost futile. The Raikage’s formidable body was usually indestructible, but once injured, not so easily mended—especially since Orochimaru’s sword strike had poured energy into preventing the wound’s regeneration.

"Raikage, shall we call this battle to an end?" Orochimaru’s voice was cold. "At this point, your defeat is clear."

All eyes from Konoha were now on the Cloud forces—their morale ablaze, their fighting spirit high. The Cloud shinobi, by contrast, seemed sunk in gloom. The difference in spirit was obvious.

The Raikage’s expression darkened. He wanted to rage, but the injury to his kidney robbed him of his earlier bravado.

"What, do you still wish to fight?" Orochimaru stood atop Manda, unscathed and exuding a chilling presence. "If so, I’ll accompany you to the end!"

After a brief silence on the battlefield, the Eight-Tails’ Jinchuriki, Killer Bee, suddenly spoke up. "Orochimaru, the Hidden Cloud agrees to end this war."