Chapter 293: Leave It to Me
After so many battles, Orochimaru had already developed a specific routine for fighting Sasori.
The first priority: ensure his own safety.
The attack speed of the Iron Sand Thunder Realm was too fast, and its range too far. Orochimaru had to hide his real body before entering Sasori's attack radius—one misstep and he'd die without even understanding how.
Then, let his Wood Clone draw attention while the real body remained hidden and provided support.
In short, Orochimaru couldn't fight Sasori head-on—but if he played defensively, he could still stall him effectively.
"Have you sensed them?"
Atop the Iron Sand Shukaku, Sasori asked the Suna-nin beside him, who was highly proficient in chakra sensing.
"There are two chakra signatures. One is Orochimaru, the other is faint—must be someone skilled in chakra suppression. Likely the famous Konoha Sakumo ."
"I heard he used to be the head of Konoha's ANBU. A master of suppressing his presence."
"Then it's him." A glint of coldness flashed across Sasori's puppet face.
Three kilometers.
Two kilometers.
One kilometer.
When the distance dropped to one kilometer, Sasori struck first.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
With the massive chakra reserves of the Puppet Core powering it, Sasori's Wind Release was more terrifying than that of an entire squad. Everything within a thousand-meter range was obliterated by the howling storm.
Trees were uprooted, and even the ground was peeled back, revealing the reddish bedrock underneath.
Even though it wasn't their first time witnessing Sasori's power, the three Suna-nin atop the Iron Sand Shukaku couldn't help but tremble as they experienced, up close, the destructive scale of what was supposedly just a basic Wind Release jutsu.
Now they finally understood why this war had moved away from large-scale army formations to compact strike teams.
Against this kind of disaster-level ninjutsu, grouping too many people together was a liability—an easy target.
Sasori was on their side.
But Konoha had Orochimaru.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Orochimaru's Wood Clone countered instantly with a massive Fire Release technique, no less powerful than Sasori's.
The moment the two elements collided, chakra nature interaction kicked in.
Fire overpowers wind—Sasori's Wind Release was consumed and converted into an even stronger firestorm that surged back toward him.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Sasori responded with a large-scale water barrier.
Water met fire, flames were extinguished, steam exploded.
In the blink of an eye, a thick white mist covered a two-kilometer radius. Visibility dropped to less than arm's length.
"Where are they?"
Seizing the cover of the mist, Sasori asked the chakra sensor behind him.
"Directly ahead."
"Hmph… Not evading?"
Sasori was slightly surprised. Konoha's Sakumo should've known about his abilities. Yet even at this distance, he hadn't moved.
"Is he relying on something?"
Doubt flashed through Sasori's mind. Then, with a thought, lightning crackled in the Iron Sand Shukaku's gaping maw.
Crackle!
Thunder boomed like divine wrath. Countless bolts of lightning burst from the puppet's mouth, fanning out and covering a six-hundred-meter radius—giving no room to dodge.
Orochimaru's Wood Clone immediately sank into the ground.
But Sakumo remained standing in place, watching the incoming lightning. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
Clearly, the enemy knew he was here.
This entire barrage was aimed at him.
Zing zing zing…
The lightning danced like blades, carving the earth apart.
Yet in the midst of this storm, Sakumo moved like lightning himself. Dodging left and right, he easily avoided attacks that would've killed most people.
His speed was extraordinary—and he could sense every attack trajectory in advance.
"That's insane!"
"Lord Sasori, that man is incredibly fast—he dodged everything!"
Dodged everything?
Sasori frowned. He had deliberately opened with Wind Release to bait Orochimaru's Fire Release, then created steam to conceal his line of sight—specifically to catch Sakumo off-guard.
Sakumo shouldn't have known he was the target.
This level of evasion was as if he could see the attack paths of the Iron Sand Thunder Realm.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Before Sasori could think more, Orochimaru struck.
Enormous trees burst from the ground, twisting toward the Iron Sand Shukaku.
Sasori instantly countered, converting part of the Iron Sand into blades to slash the trees while the rest lifted him and his three comrades into the sky.
This was Sasori's preferred counter-strategy against Orochimaru—take to the air. Orochimaru couldn't fly. And from the sky, Sasori had free reign to launch Iron Sand Thunder Realm attacks.
"Sakumo !"
Sasori stared down at the blurred silhouette beneath the mist.
For the first time, he began to understand why someone as powerful as his parents had died by this man's hands.
Sakumo 's reaction time was terrifying.
Even Orochimaru hid underground from the Iron Sand Thunder Realm—yet Sakumo had dodged it all with ease, despite limited visibility.
His reflexes were only part of it—his sensory abilities were clearly on another level.
"But… no matter how fast you are, there's a limit. If I increase the attack density and coverage, let's see how you survive."
Sasori smirked coldly.
Now at a height even Deep Forest Emergence couldn't reach, he activated the Puppet Core to release all his chakra.
Crack!
Crack!
Fissures opened across the battlefield as waves of black Iron Sand shot into the air.
"What's going on?"
Orochimaru's Wood Clone surfaced beside Sakumo . "It seems he already knows you're here."
That last attack had clearly targeted Sakumo directly.
Recalling how Sakumo had killed Sasori's parents during the Second Ninja War, Orochimaru immediately realized: someone leaked the intel.
That's why Sasori had rushed here so quickly, and why his attacks were focused solely on Sakumo .
"Mm." Sakumo nodded.
"Sigh…" Orochimaru looked up. "Now there's no way to stop him."
The Iron Sand cloud in the sky was thickening rapidly, growing wider with each moment. The coming attack would be more powerful than anything seen before.
With that in mind, Orochimaru's face grew grim. He turned to Sakumo and said, "Sakumo-kun, you should retreat—go assist another outpost. I'll handle things here."
In this upcoming phase, even Orochimaru would have to stay hidden.
Though Sakumo had proven his strength by surviving the previous barrage…
What was coming next was on a completely different level.
It would be safer for him to leave.
Understanding Orochimaru's concern, Sakumo smiled, then shook his head.
"The Third Hokage sent me here to deal with Sasori of the Red Sand. Just make sure you stay safe, Orochimaru-kun. Leave the rest to me."
(END CHAPTER)
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