His Rinnegan began spinning rapidly.
An even more terrifying pressure descended upon the battlefield.
"Naraka Path: Judgment."
A gigantic head of the King of Hell materialized behind Orochimaru.
Its enormous jaws opened wide, ready to devour his soul.
For the first time in his life, Orochimaru felt true fear.
A technique that directly targeted the soul was the greatest enemy of his immortality.
"Damn it!"
He desperately tried to flee.
But the King of Hell's attraction was too powerful.
There was no escape.
"Save me!"
Orochimaru shouted toward the remaining modified shinobi.
But they were already trembling under Sasuke's overwhelming pressure.
Who would dare throw away their lives now?
As the King of Hell was about to swallow him whole, Orochimaru suddenly bit through his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Summoning Jutsu: Manda!"
A colossal purple serpent appeared on the battlefield.
Its body stretched well over a hundred meters.
Its scales glittered beneath the sunlight.
"Orochimaru!"
Manda roared angrily.
"Why have you summoned me again?"
"Didn't I tell you not to call me without sufficient sacrifices?"
"Manda, save me!"
Orochimaru ignored the complaint.
"Kill that brat and I'll give you one hundred living sacrifices!"
Greed flashed through Manda's eyes.
The giant snake turned toward Sasuke, flicking its tongue.
"So you're the brat who managed to push Orochimaru this far?"
Manda sneered.
"You don't look like much."
"Just an animal."
Sasuke didn't even glance at it.
He continued controlling the King of Hell's attempt to consume Orochimaru's soul.
"What did you say?!"
Manda exploded with rage.
Its enormous body lunged forward.
"I'll swallow you whole!"
But just as Manda was about to crash into him—
Sasuke slowly raised his left hand.
"Animal Path: Summoning Technique."
A far larger creature appeared.
It was a three-headed hellhound.
Each head was the size of a house.
Purple flames burned across its entire body.
"What?!"
Manda froze in horror.
"What kind of monster is that?!"
The hellhound offered no answer.
All three heads opened their jaws simultaneously and bit down.
Although Manda was enormous, he looked like a mere garden snake before the hellhound.
He struggled desperately.
It was useless.
"AAAAAAHHHH!"
Manda's agonized scream echoed across the battlefield.
His body was ripped apart piece by piece.
Witnessing the scene, Orochimaru finally fell into complete despair.
Even Manda had been defeated.
Who could possibly save him now?
"It's over."
Sasuke spoke calmly.
The King of Hell finally swallowed Orochimaru's soul completely.
His body instantly lost all signs of life and collapsed motionlessly onto the ground.
Yet Sasuke remained vigilant.
He knew Orochimaru possessed numerous resurrection methods.
Curse Marks.
Spare bodies.
Hidden contingencies.
Sure enough—
Just as Orochimaru's corpse began decaying, a nearby modified shinobi suddenly let out a horrifying scream.
His body twisted and deformed.
Moments later, it transformed into Orochimaru.
"Hahahaha!"
The resurrected Orochimaru burst into laughter.
"I told you!"
"I am immortal!"
But his laughter quickly stopped.
Because Sasuke was looking at him as if he were an idiot.
"You think I would let you escape?"
Sasuke shook his head.
"Human Path: Soul Extraction."
His palm landed on Orochimaru's head.
An invisible force immediately began extracting his soul and memories.
"No!"
"Stop!"
Orochimaru struggled frantically.
It was futile.
Every memory was exposed.
Forbidden techniques.
Research notes.
Experimental data.
Even the methods used to create Curse Marks.
Nothing remained hidden.
"I see."
After reviewing everything, understanding appeared in Sasuke's eyes.
"So you still left backup plans elsewhere."
He raised his free hand and pointed toward a distant mountain range.
"Shinra Tensei."
The powerful repulsive force surged outward.
Far away, several hidden backup bodies concealed within secret caves were instantly destroyed.
"Now."
"You're truly dead."
Sasuke released his grip.
Orochimaru's body immediately crumbled into ashes.
One of the Legendary Sannin had vanished from the world forever.
The remaining modified shinobi completely lost their courage.
They dropped to their knees and begged desperately.
"Spare us!"
"We surrender!"
"We were forced to follow Orochimaru!"
"Please have mercy!"
Sasuke looked at them coldly.
Not a trace of pity appeared in his eyes.
"You chose to follow Orochimaru."
"Then you must accept the consequences."
He slowly raised both hands.
"Super Shinra Tensei."
BOOOOOM!!!
Terrifying repulsive force erupted.
Every modified shinobi was instantly reduced to blood mist.
The entire mountain trembled violently beneath the impact.
After cleaning up the remaining trash, Sasuke turned and flew back toward Kumogakure.
Meanwhile, at the entrance of Kumogakure—
A and the Cloud shinobi had been completely stunned by the distant explosions.
The destructive power they had just witnessed surpassed imagination itself.
"Sasuke-sama is back."
Fū pointed toward the sky.
Everyone looked up.
Sasuke slowly descended from above.
Not a single wound could be found on his body.
It was as if the battle had merely been a warm-up exercise.
"It's finished?"
A couldn't help asking.
"Yes."
Sasuke nodded.
"Orochimaru is completely dead."
"And Otogakure no longer exists."
Everyone inhaled sharply.
Another hidden village had vanished.
And it had happened within mere minutes.
"Alright."
"We're leaving."
Sasuke looked toward Killer B and Roshi.
"The Divine Lord is waiting."
Killer B nodded and stepped forward.
"Then let's get moving, yo!"
Roshi remained unwilling.
But he understood there was no alternative.
A looked at his departing brother.
His heart felt heavier than ever.
"Killer B..."
"Come on, big bro!"
Killer B turned and grinned.
"Don't make that face, yo!"
"We'll meet again someday, yo!"
"And honestly?"
"This isn't necessarily a bad thing, yo!"
"If the Divine Court truly brings peace to the world..."
"Then my sacrifice will be worth it, yo!"
A clenched his fists.
In the end, he said nothing.
This was the best outcome available.
"Take care."
He spoke softly.
"You too, big bro!"
Killer B waved one last time before following Sasuke away from Kumogakure.
Watching his younger brother disappear into the distance, A felt a loneliness unlike anything he had ever experienced.
Yet he also understood.
This was for the village.
For countless lives.
"Samui."
A turned toward the village.
"Pass down my orders."
"Kumogakure officially recognizes the authority of the Divine Court."
"From today onward, we are no longer an independent shinobi village."
"We are part of the Divine Court."
"Yes, Lord Raikage."
Samui responded quietly, tears visible in her eyes.
Another thousand-year-old shinobi village had lost its independence.
Yet it also meant that Uchiha Jin's campaign to unify the world had advanced another step.
Now, aside from Sunagakure and Iwagakure—
Every major shinobi village had submitted to the authority of the Divine Court.
And it was clear that those final two villages would not hold out much longer.
A new era for the shinobi world was arriving faster than anyone had imagined.
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