Chapter 77: Orochimaru Battles Madara

Orochimaru looked at Madara Uchiha and smiled faintly. "It's been a long time."

Madara replied coolly, "It has been a long time."

Orochimaru then turned his gaze to the elderly Otsutsuki, who regarded the two of them with utter disdain. "You really know how to surprise me," he said.

Madara did not respond, but his expression conveyed mutual understanding. Over the years, there had been no serious conflict or deadly battles between Orochimaru and Madara; to an outsider, they might have seemed like allies from the same camp.

But in reality, only they knew their true intentions—each constantly probing and scheming against the other. Orochimaru had no desire to see Madara return to the living world; he was certain that Madara would cause trouble if he did, believing that Madara at his peak was a formidable problem. Madara, on the other hand, saw Orochimaru’s abilities as a threat to world peace and thought that letting him live was a risk.

Earlier, as he fought the elderly Otsutsuki in space, Madara had only been testing the enemy’s strength. If the Otsutsuki proved weak, he would have dispatched him at once; if not, he would force him to Orochimaru, compelling Orochimaru to join the fray.

Madara knew that Orochimaru was close to mastering his time technique; their escape was imminent, so it was time to settle matters between them.

Orochimaru pointed at the giant purple chakra serpent nearby. "It's nearly done. As long as I have enough mental energy, the jutsu will be complete."

Madara glanced over. "But these people’s mental energy isn’t sufficient, is it?"

Orochimaru nodded. "With this Otsutsuki, it will be enough."

Madara signaled his understanding. The two of them shared an unspoken connection; even without Orochimaru’s explanation, Madara had already guessed that the old Otsutsuki would be used as material.

Still, they both knew that only one of them would leave this abyssal world.

"Hey, hey!" The elderly Otsutsuki was growing annoyed. These two mere mortals had begun chatting with each other, ignoring him entirely—how infuriating!

"Pu’er, these mortals are outrageous!" In truth, it was hard to say who was really out of line. The moment he had arrived, the Otsutsuki had intended to cleanse the Earth with a planetary-level attack. If Madara hadn’t intervened, all life on the planet would have perished.

But the old Otsutsuki didn’t care about that; all that mattered was that he was being ignored, and this enraged him.

"Heavenly Must Wave, Meteor Life!"

This was one of his proudest techniques: swinging his fishing rod to send out multiple waves of light, dense as a meteor shower, any one of which could end a battle.

Orochimaru and Madara exchanged glances, both continuing to ignore the old Otsutsuki. Their eyes remained locked until the attacks drew near, at which point they each darted aside to evade.

Even then, their gazes remained fixed on each other.

"Hey, enough already!" The elderly Otsutsuki felt utterly insulted.

"Enhanced: Heavenly Must Wave, Meteor Life!"

He unleashed a stronger version, sending forth an even greater number of light waves, so dense that not even a bird could pass through. At the same time, he transformed, entering the unique chakra mode of the Otsutsuki clan.

His previously slightly stooped body suddenly swelled to two meters tall, shrouded in red sage chakra, and began to float, exuding an overwhelming sense of power.

"Let me fish up your past lives!"

He swung the red fishing rod, hooking it toward Madara and Orochimaru.

This was his signature combo—few could evade it.

"Ha, ha! You mortals dared ignore me; now die!" the old Otsutsuki crowed triumphantly.

Even now, Madara and Orochimaru gazed unwaveringly at each other, locked in a contest of ocular power. Their genjutsu forced their way into each other’s minds, each trying to uncover the secrets within, but they were evenly matched—neither could gain the upper hand.

Madara was astonished. His ocular power was already immense, having been broken and reformed, giving rise to a second pair of Rinnegan—beyond measure. Yet even so, Orochimaru could rival him. Madara’s conviction grew: Orochimaru was simply too dangerous, a threat to world peace who must be dealt with.

At that moment, the barrage of light waves struck, leaving no room to dodge. Their eyes remained locked; whoever looked away first would lose, risking not only the other invading their mind, but also damage to their own ocular power—a risk that could cost them their lives at such a moment.

Swish!

Both transformed simultaneously.

Madara entered his Susanoo chakra mode. A colossal energy avatar rose from him, drawing natural energy from all directions, which gathered within the avatar to form sage chakra.

He used Susanoo as a vessel to contain the sage chakra.

Orochimaru, too, transformed, taking on the form of the eight-headed serpent. Unlike Madara, he channeled all his power within his own body, letting it surge beneath his skin rather than relying on an external vessel.

Zap zap zap...

The light waves struck Madara and Orochimaru, making such sounds.

Clearly, the attacks had little effect on either of them in their transformed states.

Next came the fishing rod attack, named "Fishing Up Your Past Lives." The red fishing line deftly circled Madara and Orochimaru several times, then suddenly tightened.

It bound them both tightly.

Yet their eyes remained locked, refusing to break contact.

"This is too much! Still ignoring me at a time like this," the old Otsutsuki muttered, clearly irritated, convinced that he was supposed to be the main character.

Yet those two only looked at each other, never acknowledging him—a truly infuriating sight.

"Die!" he shouted.

With that, the fishing line binding Madara and Orochimaru drew tight, intent on strangling them. In his chakra mode, the old Otsutsuki’s power was formidable.

"Hmph..."

At that moment, Madara and Orochimaru both let out a muffled grunt, their gazes finally breaking, blood trickling from the corners of their eyes.

Their contest of ocular power had ended in a draw.

"Eight-Headed Tail Frenzy!"

"Susanoo’s Judgement!"

They both unleashed their techniques at once. Orochimaru, in his eight-headed serpent form, began to spin wildly, all eight tails lashing out like giant whips, forming a tornado.

Madara, in his Susanoo chakra mode, spun with his energy sword, leaping into a deadly dance that also created a tornado—their techniques mirroring each other.

Boom!

The twin tornadoes snapped the fishing line. Deliberately, they hurtled toward the old Otsutsuki, striking him with a thunderous impact that sent him flying.

"Father!" the younger Otsutsuki cried out in worry and alarm.

The twin tornadoes clashed a few more times and then subsided. Orochimaru, in his eight-headed form, and Madara, in Susanoo mode, locked eyes once more—one wearing a faint smile, the other expressionless.

"Cough, cough..."

The battered old Otsutsuki picked himself up, not angry but rather pleased.

"Pu’er, don’t worry about me. I did that on purpose—it’s the wisdom of battle."

From the Rinnegan at the center of his brow, a variety of miniature energies emerged. On close inspection, these contained shadows, spatial power, illusions, and the two tornadoes.

These were all techniques that Madara and Orochimaru had used before, now all absorbed by him.

From the very beginning, he had silently absorbed his opponents' attacks, waiting for the moment to bring them down in one fell swoop—this very moment.