Water Release: Pseudo-Shadow Stroke: Water Grinding Turbine Technique.
This technique was created by the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, by combining the Tailed Beast transformation move "Shadow Puppet"—which utilizes the Three-Tails' unique physique to curl the body, exposing the shell and spikes on its back to crush enemies like a fast-rolling wheel... much like the Akimichi clan's "Human Bullet Tank," it is an extremely violent Ninjutsu. Of course, its strengths and weaknesses are obvious; while powerful in a head-on charge, it lacks flexibility and variation, making it a straightforward and forceful assault technique. It also incorporates elements from the Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet and Water Release: Great Waterfall techniques.
Its power is a notch below the Shadow Puppet, but its advantage lies in not requiring full Tailed Beast transformation; it can be performed by simply borrowing a portion of the Three-Tails' Chakra.
Furthermore—
It is also much more precise.
As the user, Yagura Karatachi does not need to curl himself up and crush everything based on memory of positions. Instead, he can stand there, using his own eyes and ears to lock onto targets, and can even coordinate multiple Pseudo-Shadow Stroke: Water Grinding Turbine Techniques for a pincer attack.
The high-speed rotating water spheres carried enough impact to shred and grind through steel reinforcement, let alone anyone caught in the technique... Outside the Village entrance, across a high wall, the vast expanse of the lake lost its continuous Chakra support, and the water began to "evaporate" at a speed visible to the naked eye—
No!
That's not right!
It wasn't evaporation; it was vanishing into thin air... Soggy bits of flesh and corpses fell into the muddy ground, mingling with the mire.
The small figure atop the city wall slowly turned and walked away, leaving behind only a single command: "Clean up the battlefield..."
The oppressive pressure in the air, almost tangible, also receded and vanished. A small white snake struggled to poke its head out of the mud, its eyes watching the Ninjas emerging from the Village and then the corpses on the ground... Ten kilometers away, on a broad-leaved tree, Orochimaru stood lazily on a high branch, hidden within the canopy.
He leaned against the trunk, eyes closed as if dozing. After a while, he suddenly let out a "Hehe" chuckle, his raspy voice low and magnetic, blending into the surrounding cold and dampness... "Shikotsumyaku... The Kaguya Clan really met a tragic end. However, the Mizukage's technique is indeed impressive—"
Through that tiny white snake lurking on the battlefield, he had witnessed the entire process of the Kaguya Clan's rebellion and assault on the Village.
The Kaguya Clan's ferocity and bravery didn't cause even a flicker of emotion in his heart—he had seen too much of such fearlessness on the battlefield and had buried too many himself. Not to look too far, on the battlefields of the Land of Rain, he, Jiraiya, and Tsunade had acted as invaders, suppressing and slaughtering countless people of the Land of Rain.
Among them were civilians and Ninjas alike. It was also in that battle that the three of them gained the title of Sannin after surviving an encounter with Hanzou... But—the Shikotsumyaku, a Bloodline Limit known for exquisite Taijutsu and the adept use of bones, which caused headaches for the entire Ninja World.
Yet, under a single technique from Yagura Karatachi, it had been turned into flesh and blood, buried in the mud... "The Fourth..." Orochimaru's voice grew a few degrees colder. Both being Fourth Hokages, the Fourth Mizukage studied and mimicked Tailed Beasts to create such a powerful, large-scale technique that was nearly invincible on a frontal battlefield. Meanwhile, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, created the Rasengan based on the Tailed Beast Ball... Granted, an environment like the Land of Water was not favorable for these Taijutsu-type Ninjas who fought with bones... but they shouldn't have failed to even breach the Village gates.
But the fact was, they hadn't even stepped inside the gates.
"Yagura Karatachi..." Orochimaru muttered the name, then added another in his mind, "Minato Namikaze..."
"The Kaguya Clan seems to have left behind one weapon..."
Orochimaru's form turned into mud, which then slid off the tree trunk, eventually dissipating into nothingness.
Before long, he appeared at the Kaguya Clan's estate and found the cell where Kimimaro was imprisoned. The wooden bars at the entrance were opened from the outside, but only an empty cell was revealed, its walls covered in scratches. Orochimaru crouched down and squeezed into the tiny cell—it was so small an adult could only curl up inside; even a child wouldn't be able to straighten their back or legs. His hand gently brushed over the marks on the stone wall... It was as if he could see the child imprisoned here, body curled up, using stones or bones to carve marks into the wall.
Orochimaru's gaze and hand stopped at a spot near the corner... There was a flower there.
A flower carved into the wall with clumsy technique... Watching the Kaguya Clan die, seeing hundreds of people turned into shredded meat, had not touched Orochimaru's soul in the slightest. But at this moment, this tiny, simple flower stirred a hint of sentimentality in his heart!
To be in the darkness yet still long for the light, for life... This feeling was intoxicating.
"Kimimaro..."
Orochimaru decided: he must find this child and take him away from this place. This was the first time in his life he had decided to save a child.
Deep within the bloody mist, a pale creature appeared silently in a sea-facing cave... "Madara, guess who I saw?" As soon as the white creature saw the one-eyed Swirl Mask, it spoke impatiently, "I saw Orochimaru—he's in the bloody mist, and he just left the Kaguya estate. To avoid being noticed, I stayed far away, but I'm certain it was Orochimaru..."
"Orochimaru... Hmm, your caution was correct. As one of the Sannin, Orochimaru is naturally cunning, suspicious, cruel, and cold; one can never be too careful..."
"However, I must say, you've brought good news. Have Nagato and the others make a trip to recruit him into the Organization!"
"Madara, you mean to..."
"Orochimaru—you said Orochimaru..." Another voice rang out in the darkness as Uchiha Itachi stepped out, his face frighteningly pale. He was shocked beyond measure—why would Orochimaru appear in Kirigakure? As a Rogue Ninja, shouldn't Orochimaru be pursued by Konoha... As if sensing his question, the Masked Man said, "Konoha lost track of Orochimaru long ago. No one expected him to appear in the bloody mist of the Land of Water..."
If they hadn't happened to be here by chance, no one would have known of Orochimaru's whereabouts.
This snake-like man was too terrifying...
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