Shen Mo watched the unfolding chaos with genuine fascination. Orochimaru, however, was experiencing a nightmare. He had never conceived that raw, frightening force, divorced from complex Ninjutsu, could create such a devastating effect.
Every single one of his techniques, every subtle sneak attack, was either instantly repelled or pulverized by the sheer kinetic force radiating from the giant hammer, which moved so fast it created localized tornadoes.
Physical engagement is suicide!
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Orochimaru bit his finger and slammed his palm onto the ground. A monumental cloud of smoke erupted with a thunderous bang, the sound of numerous trees being simultaneously crushed.
This was his ultimate defense.
Manda.
"Orochimaru," a deep, muffled voice echoed through the sky, "That is Tsunade, isn't it? You really are becoming adept at causing me profound trouble."
When the smoke cleared, the summoned beast—a giant, hundreds of meters long and nearly six meters in diameter, with deep purple scales, a ferocious red maw, and venomous fangs—materialized. This creature, unlike its animated depiction, was a truly terrifying, monstrous sight.
Orochimaru looked down at Tsunade, a dangerous softness in his voice. "Once this is over, I shall acquire a hundred sacrifices for you, my pet..."
He never finished the sentence.
Tsunade, already shattering the ground beneath her, launched herself upward.
"Take this!"
She soared into the air, gripping the colossal cross, her silhouette momentarily eclipsing the sunlight.
Then, a surge of brilliant, holy light erupted from the cross.
Before the physical blow even landed, an unimaginable surge of sheer panic flooded both Orochimaru and Manda's minds. It was an instant of absolute spiritual terror, as if they were sinners standing before an untouchable, righteous judge.
Equipment Skill: Judgment!
Tsunade activated the core skill linked to her Divine Grace equipment, unleashing the Holy Light for the first time.
The moment of paralyzing fear passed quickly. But by the time the two realized what had happened, the luminous, holy cross was already descending with the crushing force of a collapsing mountain.
BOOM!CRASH!
With a deafening roar that swallowed all other sound, Manda's colossal head was driven deep into the ground. Its purple scales shattered, and blood gushed out like a broken fountain.
"Damn it! Orochimaru!"
Manda shrieked in excruciating pain, its massive body thrashing violently, uprooting massive swathes of the forest.
Orochimaru fared no better. In his final moment of desperation, he instinctively recoiled.
Though he escaped the direct impact, the sheer wind pressure—a secondary hurricane—ripped into him. He spat blood, his robes were shredded, and the majority of the human skin mask concealing his face was torn away, revealing the smooth, androgynous female body beneath.
"Its... a woman?"
Tsunade looked at Orochimaru with genuine shock.
What in the world is happening?
"Orochimaru! I require a thousand sacrifices, or I swear I will consume you—I will consume you!"
Dazed and in agony, Manda let loose a final, furious curse before the summoning technique dispelled, retreating to recuperate.
Orochimaru staggered against a nearby tree, struggling to remain standing. His breath came in ragged gasps.
Kabuto should have been here. He instantly regretted not having his most loyal subordinate. But he knew even Kabuto would have been instantly crushed by that single blow.
"I am increasingly intrigued, Tsunade," Orochimaru said, a hint of ecstatic excitement overcoming the pain on his beautiful, feminine face. "That power is utterly unnatural, and that momentary feeling of panic you inflicted—what manner of Jutsu was that? What secrets have you unearthed?"
The more Orochimaru encountered the incomprehensible, the more his desire for knowledge—and immortality—intensified. He believed the human body held untapped power, and he needed eternity to unlock those mysteries. Now, he felt an intense, burning craving for the source of Tsunade's inexplicable transformation.
"And what has happened to your body?" Tsunade demanded, her eyebrows knitting in confusion.
She was certain this person was Orochimaru, yet the body was unequivocally female.
"What is so surprising?"
Orochimaru took a healing pill, regaining a measure of control. He ripped away the remaining scraps of the human skin mask, revealing his smooth, terrifyingly beautiful face.
"I told you: material things eventually decay, so I discarded my old, deteriorating form for a far superior vessel."
"You... you are inhabiting someone else's body..."
Tsunade gasped, the horror in her eyes genuine. She was a master of Ninjutsu, yet the audacity of Orochimaru achieving this level of ultimate forbidden body-switching technique stunned her.
This man stops at nothing to achieve his desires.
"You would not have returned to Konoha without a nefarious scheme," Tsunade declared, taking a deep breath. She raised her cross again, a solidifying, hurricane-like aura rising around her. "Protecting this village was Nawaki's dream, and it remains my promise. I don't know your objective, but I will not allow you to destroy it!"
Tsunade felt a cold dread regarding what Orochimaru would attempt next.
"This is truly disappointing." Orochimaru's smile grew even more sinister. "While I may be tactically inferior in this moment..."
He snapped his hands into a complex, ancient sequence of hand seals.
Yin—Si—Xu—Chen.
In a blur, he completed the final seals, clasping his hands together and slamming them down forcefully.
Eruption!
Impure World Reincarnation (Edo Tensei)!
A dark, swirling vortex appeared on the ground, and a wooden coffin slowly began to rise.
"That... that Ninjutsu..." Tsunade's pupils shrank to pinpricks. "Oh my God!"
Her body instantly launched forward, driven by an instinctual need to stop Orochimaru from completing the technique.
But a second coffin abruptly rose beside the first.
Too late!
Tsunade's face contorted in agony and fear.
"This was actually a magnificent gift I prepared for the Third Hokage," Orochimaru whispered, concealing himself behind the two emerging coffins. He was slightly breathless from the exertion. "Now that you are aware of this technique, why don't you try to guess which two figures lie resurrected within these vessels?"
As he finished speaking, the lids of the two coffins snapped open and crashed to the ground.
Tsunade stared silently at the two figures within, the veins on her fists bulging violently.
"Unforgivable!"
The single word was forced out through gritted teeth. The powerful, holy aura around her was now laced with an icy, overwhelming killing intent—pure, absolute fury.