The blue dragon scales firmly cover the slender dragon body like armor.
Simu's thick dragon horns and razor-sharp teeth radiated an aura of ferocity and dominance.
At this moment, he was the undisputed ruler of the skies.
Orochimaru licked his lips, his greedy eyes filled with hunger.
"What a perfect body!"
Simu sensed his unsettling gaze and frowned.
His massive form became a bottomless abyss, absorbing the natural energy in the air.
Dark sage markings appeared on his dragon head, his transformation resembling Hashirama's Sage Mode more and more.
Natural energy fused with his chakra, creating an overwhelming Sage Chakra.
"Sage Art: Flame Sea!"
A torrent of scorching fire rained down from the sky.
The brilliant flames lit up the clouds, making it seem as if the heavens themselves were burning.
Heat waves spread rapidly, igniting the forest below in an instant.
Manda's expression darkened.
"This… this is Senjutsu."
As a creature of Ryūchi Cave, one of the Three Great Holy Lands, Manda knew the power of sage arts.
But even in Ryūchi Cave, few could use Senjutsu with such terrifying mastery.
The moment Simu entered this form, Manda felt an unsettling sense of dread, as if it were facing a natural predator.
Doubt crept into its mind.
Had it agreed too quickly?
This battle was far more dangerous than expected.
And if it wasn't careful... it would die.
As the sea of flames rained down, Orochimaru stood atop Manda's head, his hands moving swiftly into a series of seals before pressing down.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Orochimaru jaws opened wide, unleashing a raging water dragon that surged upward, colliding with the falling inferno.
Unlike an ordinary Water Dragon Bullet, this one was several times larger, its sheer volume meant to douse the incoming flames.
The moment water met fire, a violent wave of steam erupted, shrouding Orochimaru and Manda in a thick mist.
But Manda's voice carried a rare note of concern.
"Orochimaru, this brat is using Senjutsu. Ordinary Water Style won't be enought."
The massive water dragon writhed in the flames, but in moments, it was reduced to nothing but steam.
Looking up, they saw that the firestorm above had barely been diminished.
This was the fundamental difference between Senjutsu and ordinary ninjutsu.
Sage Chakra was simply on another level.
To counter Senjutsu, one had to expend far more chakra than usual.
Even with the Yamata no Orochi form, Orochimaru's chakra still wasn't enough.
He had a huge chakra reserve, but compared to the monster in the sky, he had to calculate every bit carefully—wasting it was not an option.
Making a quick decision, Orochimaru used the steam cover to have Manda burrow underground with him.
But escaping Simu's senses was impossible.
With Observation Haki, there was no way Orochimaru could just run away unnoticed.
"Since you want to conserve chakra..."
Simu's huge dragon mouth opened wide, energy surging inside.
A blinding golden laser began to condense.
"Sage Art: Yasakani no Magatama!"
Countless golden light bullets rained down like a storm, each one tearing through the ground with ease.
With perfect precision, Simu targeted Orochimaru's underground position—there would be no escape.
"How is he tracking us?!"
Manda twisted its massive body, burrowing deeper into the ground.
Every few moments, blazing golden light bullets struck dangerously close.
Orochimaru's snake-like eyes narrowed as he spoke coldly:
"It's said he has an incredibly powerful sensory ability—able to cover huge areas and even predict enemy movements."
Hearing this, Manda grumbled,
"What kind of monster is this guy?! He controls light, turns into a giant dragon, has sensory powers, insane physical abilities... and now this?"
Just as Orochimaru was about to respond, his expression shifted.
"Be careful. Something big is coming."
The relentless bombardment had already flattened the terrain, turning it into ruins.
Simu's golden eyes gleamed as he inhaled deeply.
The surrounding air was rapidly sucked in and compressed into a high-pressure sphere inside his mouth.
Under his control, the balloon-like mass began to spin violently.
"Sage Art: Thousand Blade Tornado!"
As soon as the compressed sphere left Simu's mouth, it expanded instantly, transforming into a massive, roaring tornado!
The surrounding air was swept up, feeding the tornado like a pair of razor-sharp sickles.
The massive whirlwind pierced through the sky and earth like a spear, driving straight into the ground!
Boom!
The high-speed wind pressure shattered the terrain, tearing through the earth as it surged toward Manda.
Orochimaru's hands moved in a blur as he swiftly performed hand seals.
"Earth Style: Rock Mountain Technique!"
The ground trembled violently.
Buried rock layers suddenly erupted, forming a towering rocky barrier in front of them.
The Hurricane Lance collided head-on with the stone defense.
Its high-speed rotation scraped against the rock, sending sparks flying like a grinding blade.
Dust filled the air as the impact punched a massive hole straight through the earth.
Above, the giant dragon in the sky raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Didn't expect such solid rock formations beneath this forest..."
"As expected of a Sannin, so scary," Simu remarked casually.
His voice echoed faintly across the vast distance.
A small glowing orb formed in his mouth, rapidly expanding.
It pulsed with energy—growing, splitting, fusing, and swelling again—until it hovered high above, illuminating the entire forest like daylight.
"Sage Art: Nuclear Big Bomb!"
Orochimaru panted, still recovering from the effort of summoning the massive rock formation.
Just as he was about to distance himself from Manda, a blinding light descended from the sky.
"B-B…!"
His pupils contracted sharply.
He knew this technique well—the same one that had killed the Third Kazekage.
Orochimaru shot a quick, complicated glance at Manda.
"Run!"
"What a terrifying brat…" Manda hissed.
At first, it had considered whether it could kill Simu.
Now, there was only one thought, escape!
The massive sphere of light plummeted toward the rocky mountain.
Boom!
A deafening explosion shook the earth.
The intense heat instantly melted the rocky mountain, sending molten lava erupting in all directions.
A crater hundreds of meters wide was blasted into the ground.
Then, as if struck by a massive earthquake, the upper layers of earth collapsed, plunging into the abyss below.
As the ground crumbled, Simu shifted forms, becoming a towering seven-meter-tall human-beast hybrid.
Ignoring the searing heat, he charged straight into the depths, his absurdly durable body unfazed by the raging inferno.
Thanks to the natural rock formations, Manda and Orochimaru barely managed to escape.
"Damn brat! You burned my tail!" Manda snarled.
Simu's attack radius was simply too massive.
Even though Orochimaru and Manda had fled early, they still got caught in the blast.
Now, most of Manda's tail was charred black, reduced to brittle cinders.
If Orochimaru hadn't paid handsomely, the giant snake would have abandoned him long ago.
Before they could even catch their breath,
A powerful presence descended.
Dark red lightning crackled violently as Simu's Conqueror's Haki surged, wrapping around his massive Kanabo.
With a single, devastating swing, he shattered the ground and appeared directly in front of Manda.
"Brat, you—"
Manda's words froze mid-sentence.
His pupils shrank.
Because in Simu's outstretched palm, a tiny, firefly-like light flickered ominously.
Simu smirked as his towering hybrid form gradually shrank back to his human form.
"Gentlemen, would you like to see the fireworks?"
He opened his palm.
The glowing sphere in his hand suddenly swelled, its blinding radiance reflected in Manda and Orochimaru's horrified eyes.
And then—
Simu disappeared.
What remained was only a clone, vanishing into white smoke.
The light expanded at an alarming speed.
Manda instinctively tried to dispel the Summoning Jutsu and escape.
But—
Something was wrong.
"W-What's happening?!"
Under the blinding glare, Manda turned to look at Orochimaru, his eyes filled with confusion and fear.
But before he could react—
Orochimaru's body slithered like a white snake, diving straight into Manda's mouth.
A split second later—
BOOM!
The searing explosion engulfed everything.
The ground violently collapsed once more, shaking the entire battlefield.
It took twenty minutes for the chaos to fully settle.
The intense heat had melted everything—even solid rock.
All that remained was a vast field of blackened ruins.
Amidst the scorched wreckage, something twitched.
A charred, lifeless mass, barely recognizable as Manda, shuddered weakly.
"What... terrifying power..."
Suddenly—
SHNK!
A sharp blade pierced through Manda's burned abdomen.
Orochimaru squeezed out of the wound.
Because the high temperature just now had dried up all the bodily fluids of Manda.
Orochimaru's appearance this time is not particularly disgusting.
"Staring at that brat for too long... it's terrifying," Orochimaru muttered, still shaken.
Luckily, he had manipulated the contract with Manda—otherwise, the giant snake wouldn't have sacrificed itself at the last moment.
Even so, Manda's resistance had delayed him just enough to take the full impact of the explosion.
As for seizing Simu's body... Orochimaru realized it wasn't something he could rush.
The priority now was escape.
Without daring to use ninjutsu, he slipped through the gaps between the collapsed rocks, moving quickly to flee.
Just as he was a few hundred meters away—
A calm, teasing voice echoed ahead.
"Orochimaru-san, where are you going?"
Orochimaru froze.
At the passage's exit, Simu stood with his hands in his pockets, smiling.
"Don't you still want my body?"
.
.
TO BE CONTINUED
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