For a long while, Orochimaru and Saitama simply stood there in silence.
"I look forward to your future performance. Return for now!"
Orochimaru crossed his arms, a smile curling on his lips as his golden snake-like eyes locked onto Saitama.
Saitama glanced toward the nearby camp without speaking, already having his own thoughts.
"Mm."
He turned and began walking toward the camp, footsteps fading behind Orochimaru's back.
Watching Orochimaru's tall silhouette, Saitama's mind drifted again—about the relationship between his clan and Konoha, about himself and his family.
...
The open battle between two ninja villages no longer consisted of one-on-one duels or ambushes and sneak attacks; rather, it was a contest of overall strength between the entire shinobi forces.
Wind laced with thick mist swept across the battlefield. Winter approached, and the chill crept into the air. Many shinobi couldn't help but shiver involuntarily.
Konoha and Mist stood face-to-face, neither side unfamiliar with this brutal confrontation of full-force clashes.
Orochimaru stood at the forefront of the Konoha ninja, arms crossed as he stared at Yagura from the opposing side.
Meanwhile, Saitama stood behind Orochimaru, observing the remaining power of the Seven Legendary Shinobi. Flashes of sharp light flickered in his eyes—as if selecting his next opponent.
Overhead, layers of gray-white clouds piled together. A heavy rainstorm was coming.
Crack!
A rumble of thunder echoed from the sky, yet it didn't affect either warring army in the slightest.
Without unnecessary words, after several minutes of tension, the battle erupted instantly.
Thick bursts of white smoke rose from both sides' defensive lines. From Konoha's side, Orochimaru placed one hand on the ground, summoning Manda. On Mist's side, their boss summons weren't as large as Manda, but they numbered four—strange ninja beasts whose names were hard to pronounce.
The cold wind howled stronger, whipping through the space between the armies, lifting dust into the air until it blotted out sun and sky.
Fallen leaves and broken dry grass danced helplessly in the wind, tossed about endlessly.
Either one bursts forth from silence or perishes within it — the shinobi here had already made their choice.
Thus, the first clash between the opposing forces began. Roars surged through the wind, words like "kill" and "charge" wrapped in chilling air, spreading ceaselessly between the two armies.
Innumerable figures intertwined, countless ninjutsu colliding head-on.
In an instant, countless ninja fell during the charge, letting out piercing screams.
In massive battles, life seemed terrifyingly fragile.
Orochimaru stood atop Manda, chatting with him while keeping the enemy leader, Yagura, busy.
Saitama charged recklessly forward with the main force, diving straight into the chaos.
He surged forward like a dragon rising from the sea, a beast unleashed from its cage—unstoppable. Every enemy who came into contact with him screamed briefly before collapsing to the ground, never rising again.
That blue-and-white figure streaked across the battlefield, reaping the lives of those who stood against him.
[Lightning Release] was a versatile technique — capable of boosting speed, amplifying damage, and even enhancing resistance.
While Lightning Release was among the hardest techniques to master, unfortunately, Saitama had perfected them all!
The high-speed movement achieved through chakra stimulation required not only a strong physique to sustain, but also the dynamic vision of the Sharingan to track movements.
Saitama met all these conditions, so he was naturally unstoppable!
On this battlefield, Saitama had only two genuine concerns: Yagura, the Mizukage, and Terumi Mei, who wielded two bloodline limits.
The former matched him in both speed and strength, while the latter's advanced ninjutsu could easily overpower someone who relied solely on taijutsu.
If there was one weakness in Saitama's fighting style, it was that despite having chakra reserves several times larger than an average jonin's, they were still inadequate for prolonged use at maximum output.
A grin that chilled enemies spread across his lips. Crackling electricity surged through Saitama's body, and in an instant, his speed skyrocketed. He surged forward as if teleporting, vanishing and reappearing across the battlefield in an instant.
Along the path he burst through, several Mist ninja passed by him in the blink of an eye.
The lightning light halted, and Saitama revealed himself.
"Phsst!"
Each enemy who brushed past Saitama erupted with a jet of blood from their bodies. They clutched their wounds before collapsing lifelessly to the ground, completely devoid of vitality!
Saitama no longer held back the surge of lightning-natured chakra coursing through his body. His hair rose without wind, and he disregarded any damage the lightning nature chakra might cause to his cells as his speed increased to terrifying levels.
Meanwhile, a burnt smell continuously diffused into the air.
"…"
In an instant, the Mist ninja surrounding Saitama were wiped out, creating a chilling void in the middle of the battlefield—a deadly zone no one dared enter.
A group of Mist ninja seemed terrified by Saitama's slaughter and dared not cross into the empty zone or confront him directly.
The jonin among them remained silent. Saitama had already slain multiple members of the Seven Swordsmen of the Bloody Mist, earning himself a notorious reputation among their ranks. Facing such an enemy left them feeling utterly powerless.
Saitama's speed wasn't like Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God technique—completely unpredictable—but rather something you could barely trace visually, yet utterly powerless against.
This kind of battle drove the Mist ninja absolutely mad. Though they could somewhat detect faint traces of Saitama's movement, their bodies—or perhaps their reflexes—simply couldn't keep up with his attacks. In the end, they could only watch helplessly as death approached.
This was different from those silently dying under Minato's assaults; this was like watching your own death scroll toward you, completely unavoidable. It was scarier than perishing without understanding why!
Therefore, although many Mist ninja surrounded Saitama, none dared cross into the electrified zone around him.
"Hmph!"
A cold snort echoed from the rear of the Mist forces. Two figures dashed toward the battlefield and soon landed opposite Saitama.
Jinin Akebino and Fuguki Suikazan!
Saitama showed no emotion at all, slowly raising the sword in his hand upright. Lightning crackled violently along its blade!
Without much talking, the fight began immediately.
Fuguki's physical constitution was special. He had taken a direct Chidori strike from Saitama not long ago, yet had already regained his combat ability.
Though this might partially relate to the Mist's medical support, it was still impressive enough to warrant caution.
As for the other ninja, Saitama didn't know much about him.
As the owner of the heavy blade Kabutowari, Jinin Akebino hadn't left much impression on Saitama's memory. Due to limited appearances, Saitama didn't have much information about him.
Therefore, he needed to test and understand his fighting style first.
Making up his mind, Saitama enveloped his entire body in electric currents, covering most of his body.
"Duang!"
A hammer smashed into the spot where Saitama had just stood, instantly creating a deep indentation and sending dust flying everywhere.
Before Saitama could counterattack, the scale-covered Samehada swept toward him.
His body erupting with even stronger electric currents, Saitama dodged aside while leaning forward, slashing diagonally with one knife.
"Hmm?"
Despite his somewhat bulky physique, Fuguki Suikazan nimbly avoided Saitama's attack, letting out a surprised exclamation. He hadn't expected Saitama to still be able to counterattack under these circumstances.
"Peng!"
After missing with one strike, Saitama naturally wouldn't continue engaging recklessly. His Sharingan had already caught sight of Jinin Akebino reappearing several meters away, poised for another strike.
He kicked at the bandage-wrapped portion of Samehada before vanishing from sight using the body flicker technique.
Landing at a nearby location, Saitama crouched down again, taking an offensive stance.
"I'll handle it!"
Jinin Akebino shouted, charging forward and swinging his blade downward!
"Zhi la!"
Saitama sidestepped and simultaneously slashed at Jinin Akebino's left shoulder, causing blood to spray forth.
Jinin Akebino let out a muffled grunt but ignored his wound. Swinging his blade with his right hand in a wide arc, he continued attacking toward Saitama's back with a strange trajectory.
Of course, this couldn't fool Saitama's Sharingan. Turning around, Saitama raised his sword across his chest, preparing to block the incoming blow.
"Peng!"
Their blades collided. Saitama blocked the strike with one hand, but immediately afterward, Jinin Akebino's left hand slammed downward, delivering a hammer blow directly onto the back of Saitama's sword in his right hand.
"Pu ci!"
Although Saitama had anticipated this, he still got successfully caught off guard by the move. The enemy's force directly impacted his chest. Though partially blocked by the sword, it still caused a metallic taste to rise in his throat.
With arms and legs extended forward, Saitama's body flew backward uncontrollably.
It wasn't over yet. Behind Saitama as he retreated stood Fuguki Suikazan, Samehada surrounded by a ring of blue chakra, clearly preparing to deliver a fatal blow.
[Substitution Jutsu]!
His Sharingan spinning rapidly, Saitama formed a hand seal with one hand.
At the same time, Samehada reached his back.
"Peng!"
A wooden log was sliced cleanly in half, its cross-section extremely smooth.
Gripping his chest, Saitama reappeared several meters away, blood trickling from the corners of his mouth, which made his gaze even colder and more sinister!
"Shua!"
Without wasting words, Saitama accelerated, disappearing from the enemies' sight completely, leaving behind an even stronger smell of scorched air.
Fuguki Suikazan and Jinin Akebino stood side by side, two meters apart, staring at the place where Saitama had just been standing, frowning deeply while scanning their surroundings with alert eyes, hoping to discover Saitama's location.
"Sha!"
Detecting movement from behind, Fuguki Suikazan's face changed dramatically. The intense sense of danger made his reflexes faster than usual. He abruptly twisted his body, immediately spotting Saitama's blood-red eyes.
Zzllaa!
Blood sprayed wildly as an arm soared skyward!
Scarlet droplets spewed from Fuguki Suikazan's left shoulder, thickening the metallic stench of blood in the air.
Fuguki Suikazan grunted, then swung his foot forward, landing a brutal kick just below Saitama's abdomen.
Boom!
Even this kick forced a stifled grunt from Saitama's mouth as he flew backward, crashing into several nearby ninjas before finally stopping his retreat.
After slicing down a few Mist ninjas who mistakenly thought he was incapacitated, Saitama straightened up.
In the blink of lightning, Jinin Akebino jumped in front of Fuguki Suikazan, disbelief still written across his face.
Meanwhile, Fuguki Suikazan clutched his bleeding left shoulder, flames seemingly burning within his eyes while murderous intent surged like oceanic storm waves, rolling nonstop.
Seeing that Saitama wasn't in great shape either, Jinin Akebino didn't hesitate and stepped toward him, his twin weapons clanging violently with every movement.
Saitama's gaze turned colder as he stared at Jinin Akebino. He wiped fresh blood from the corner of his lip, ignoring the continuous pain from his lower abdomen, and vanished once again.
When he reappeared, Saitama had already reached his enemy's left side.
"Die!"
Knowing his inferiority in speed, Jinin Akebino tightly seized every opportunity for attack.
And Saitama's close proximity this time seemed like a perfect chance!
Twisting his body slightly, he swung his right blade downward fiercely, followed immediately by his hammer, keeping pace with the sword stroke to add extra momentum and force behind it.
Remembering what happened before, Saitama wasn't about to clash head-on with him again. With a slight push off his toe, his body darted back toward Fuguki Suikazan.
At this moment, Fuguki Suikazan was in an extremely dire condition—his body trembling uncontrollably after losing his left arm, even the right hand gripping Samehada exhibiting abnormal spasms.
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