Konoha's Genius is a bit Ordinary?

"Who are you, kid?!"

Manda was in utter shock upon being summoned, only to find himself back on the battlefield.

He now stood beneath the one who had just unleashed that terrifying jutsu, and his thoughts were much like Orochimaru's: stunned, confused, and bewildered.

In his surprise, Manda hadn't noticed he was summoned in mid-air and that he couldn't fly, so he fell heavily to the ground, raising clouds of dust across the plain as his massive body impacted the earth.

However, despite the pain from the fall, Manda ignored it and, in a menacing tone, demanded answers.

"You can ask the White Snake Sage yourself," Natsuro replied, unfazed by Manda's threat. "And watch your tone." Natsuro wasn't the least bit polite to the snake, who was known to devour live sacrifices.

If it weren't for his own summoning contract with Ryuchi Cave, he wouldn't have hesitated to test the Rasenshuriken on Manda, who was much easier to hit than the elusive Orochimaru, as his massive body limited his dodging ability.

"You!!!" Manda was about to roar, but he suddenly stopped, remembering something. His angry tone faltered.

He recalled vaguely that the White Snake Sage had informed certain members about a new development, though he hadn't paid attention at the time. Now it seemed that Natsuro was the one mentioned.

Swallowing his anger, Manda restrained himself, particularly wary that Natsuro might unleash that powerful jutsu again, which Manda knew he couldn't withstand!

Orochimaru was still enduring it in mid-air, after all.

Meanwhile, Kabuto, having been at the edge of the Rasenshuriken's blast, had already been flung to a distant spot.

Natsuro ignored Manda and used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Jiraiya.

Gamabunta was marveling at the jutsu's power before dispelling himself, returning to Mount Myoboku. Katsuyu did the same, leaving a small slug behind to help heal Tsunade.

Manda glared at Natsuro but eventually withdrew, dispelling his summoning and returning to Ryuchi Cave.

Finally, the Rasenshuriken's power faded, revealing Orochimaru's 'corpse' in mid-air, which then fell heavily to the ground, sending up clouds of dust.

Jiraiya and Tsunade watched silently until Jiraiya spoke.

"I'll go check."

"No, I'll go," Natsuro said seriously. "Jiraiya-sensei, don't underestimate Orochimaru. Even that jutsu may not have killed him."

Jiraiya paused, then nodded, acknowledging that Natsuro, with his Flying Thunder God technique, was better suited for such a risky task. Even if Orochimaru ambushed him, Natsuro could escape instantly.

But could Orochimaru really survive that?

Jiraiya and Tsunade, recalling the jutsu's devastating impact, believed he had to be dead. They knew they wouldn't survive such an attack in their normal states.

Natsuro gathered his chakra once more, a current of lightning stimulating his nervous system to heighten his reactions in case of an ambush.

He soon arrived at the edge of the massive crater Orochimaru's body had made, but before he could inspect it, his instincts flared, and he vanished, reappearing next to Jiraiya.

The moment he disappeared, a massive white serpent head lunged forward, chomping down on the very spot he had stood, swallowing the surrounding earth with it!

Jiraiya and Tsunade didn't need to ask what was happening, for the answer loomed before them: a colossal, eight-headed white serpent had appeared—a terrifying sight.

Its size was no less imposing than a tailed beast, and its aura was equally as menacing.

All eight heads roared, as if releasing all their pent-up rage. The air filled with the furious screech of the White Phosphorus Serpent's eight heads!

"Forbidden Jutsu—the Eight-Headed Serpent Technique…" Jiraiya and Tsunade recognized the jutsu described in Konoha's archive, though the creator remained unknown.

They never imagined Orochimaru had mastered this jutsu.

Everyone tensed, bracing themselves.

The colossal eight-headed serpent's eyes locked on Natsuro, as though it intended to attack, causing Natsuro to grow even more wary. A strong sense of danger welled up within him.

Although Itachi had managed to seal this form of Orochimaru with the Totsuka Blade, without that weapon, even the highest level of Susanoo might not have been able to match the Eight-Headed Serpent.

However, Natsuro breathed a sigh of relief as the serpent merely stared at him before two heads extended, grabbing Kabuto and Guren, and then retreated underground.

No one tried to stop Orochimaru. They could sense the overwhelming power of his current form.

To keep fighting would be to corner a powerful beast, multiplying the danger.

"As expected, it's impossible to kill Orochimaru," Natsuro muttered, sensing Orochimaru's presence retreat. "So, what did we gain from this fight?"

Well, Tsunade's hemophobia was relieved, and she agreed to take up the position of Fifth Hokage—those were at least decent outcomes.

As for everything else, Orochimaru hadn't been killed, Kabuto likely survived, and only Kimimaro had died at Jiraiya's hand.

The problem was that Kimimaro's death couldn't even count as an accomplishment. Natsuro knew that, even if Jiraiya hadn't killed him, he would soon succumb to his illness.

But forcing Orochimaru to reveal the Eight-Headed Serpent form was noteworthy; it was likely his trump card, a technique he would seldom use unless truly necessary.

If Orochimaru had begun the battle with the Eight-Headed Serpent, Natsuro's strongest Rasenshuriken might have still injured him, but the impact would have been far less significant.

Unlike now, where it was evident that Orochimaru had been severely injured before resorting to the jutsu. How long it would take him to recover remained uncertain.

Unbeknownst to Natsuro, Orochimaru had reemerged in a distant forest after leaving the battlefield.

His white serpent form gradually shrank and dissipated, leaving a human-headed serpent on the ground.

Nearby, Kabuto and Guren had been tossed aside.

The serpent glanced at Kabuto and Guren but collapsed before it could react further, falling unconscious.

"You bastard, hurry up and heal Lord Orochimaru!" Guren yelled, clutching her stomach where she had been struck by the Rasengan, glaring at the man she despised. She, too, was unable to move.

"Give… give me a moment," Kabuto murmured, his vision blurry as he gasped, feeling the many cells in his body that had been shredded and were now dead.

For the first time, Kabuto felt true fear. If he had been any closer to the Rasenshuriken's center or unable to regenerate cells with chakra, he would have died here.

But creating cells required immense chakra, and Kabuto could barely move. He felt an urgency growing within him; he knew cellular-level attacks were the greatest threat to those who relied on cellular regeneration.

Being at the edge of the attack, he was barely surviving, but Orochimaru, who had taken the full impact, must have suffered catastrophic damage…

As Kabuto thought this, his face grew deathly pale, and a look of despair filled his eyes…

He realized he no longer had enough chakra to regenerate his own cells.

He hadn't used any chakra-draining jutsu in the battle, so he should have had reserves left, but he had miscalculated.

He discovered that the cells that had died in the attack were no longer able to provide chakra. Without chakra, not only was treating Orochimaru out of the question, but his own life would slowly slip away.

Death…

Kabuto's thoughts grew distant, his vision blurring.

Eventually, he moved as though in a trance, slowly crawling toward Orochimaru.

"Lord Orochimaru…"

"Power… death…"

Now Kabuto was driven solely by the instinct to survive.

He directed all his remaining chakra into the critical cells that allowed him to crawl and finally reached Orochimaru's true body—the white serpent.

Finally, his fingers touched the white serpent.

The next moment, Guren's eyes widened in disbelief at the sight before her.

She watched as the white serpent, into which Orochimaru had transformed, melted like liquid upon Kabuto's touch, merging directly into his body.

"What… is happening?"

Guren muttered, "Could this be… the moment she had dreamed of, offering her own body to serve Lord Orochimaru?"

At that moment, her eyes were filled with envy, but also resentment. Damn it, she was so close! But that Rasengan had really hit her stomach, nearly shattering all her internal organs...

Now, she was completely immobile, forced to watch as Kabuto completed this "great moment."

After a long while, "Kabuto" slowly stood up, his eyes now transformed into eerie snake-like pupils, discarding the dead cells and reorganizing the surviving ones…

Finally, "Kabuto" had survived.

However, unlike in the original story, Orochimaru had merely fallen unconscious, and his body was brimming with the will of Orochimaru himself.

At this moment, it was hard to say what this new being standing here should be called.

Kabuto? Orochimaru? Or perhaps "Yakushimaru"?

Or… maybe "Orochi-Kabuto"?!

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Currently on Chapter 215 - A Strange Orochimaru!?

1 more chapter coming out today!!