Chapter 36: Flying Thunder God Second Stage!

Within the dim underground space, the smoke from the summoning jutsu gradually dissipated.

Orochimaru stood atop Manda's head, his vertical golden snake pupils gleaming with a cold light as he looked toward "Shura," who was calmly retreating to create distance after a successful strike. Complex emotions surged in his eyes.

It was a mixture of the humiliation of being toyed with, dread toward an unknown power, and the fury of having his bottom line breached.

"Don't talk about a hundred—even if it's a thousand, I'll get them for you!" Orochimaru's raspy voice carried a profound killing intent.

Having been played by "Shura" twice, Orochimaru was utterly enraged!

"Heh heh, you said it yourself!" Manda let out a roar, his massive body crushing against the rock walls as debris fell like rain. His tail lunged toward Menma in an offensive strike!

Menma looked up at the giant serpent that nearly touched the ceiling of the cave, his brow furrowing slightly.

"With a body this large, is he trying to collapse the entire cave?" Menma muttered to himself, knowing he had to end this quickly.

If Orochimaru couldn't win, he could simply use the Reverse Summoning Jutsu to escape to Ryuchi Cave. If Manda collapsed this cave and buried the Iburi clan, Menma would feel the loss. After all, he had already come to regard this smoke-transforming clan as his own private property.

"In that case, let's use this move." With his left hand, Menma pulled out several specially made kunai, while his right hand began to condense a "Mini-Spiraling Sphere."

Unlike the "Spiraling Sphere" which was the size of a Wind Style: Rasenshuriken, this "Mini-Spiraling Sphere" was only about the size of a fist. However, the extremely compressed dark-attribute chakra inside and the ring of wind-style chakra surrounding it made its energy density heart-stoppingly high!

This was an enhanced version of the Spiraling Sphere that Menma had developed in the "Limited Tsukuyomi" world.

The "Spiraling Sphere" was like the original Rasengan; by compressing it extremely, one formed the enhanced "Mini-Spiraling Sphere," and by continuing to compress it to the limit, it eventually became the "Great Spiraling Sphere," comparable to a Super Shinra Tensei.

As Manda's giant tail tore through the air in a sweeping strike, the kunai transformed into silver streaks of light, shooting toward Orochimaru.

Standing atop Manda, Orochimaru merely shifted his body slightly to dodge the kunai, a few strands of black hair fluttering from the wind generated by the projectiles. Simultaneously, his hands began to weave signs, preparing to launch a ninjutsu in retaliation.

Even if he couldn't kill "Shura," he would destroy this cave entirely! He would make the Iburi clan, who had betrayed him, pay in blood!

However, just as Orochimaru's hands finished the signs, Manda's tail swept across the ground, but "Shura's" figure vanished.

An invisible killing intent struck from behind Orochimaru!

"What!" His combat instincts, honed through years of life-and-death struggles, caused his muscles to tense instantly.

But it was already too late—

BOOM—!!!

The Mini-Spiraling Sphere slammed violently into Orochimaru's waist, the extremely compressed dark energy exploding at his midsection.

The already injured Orochimaru had more than half of his waist torn apart by the dark-attribute and wind-style chakra, the pain feeling as if he were being bitten by a wild beast!

Menma, who had suddenly appeared behind Orochimaru, held a special kunai in his left hand, while the Mini-Spiraling Sphere in his right hand knocked both Orochimaru and Manda flat.

Rumble—

Manda let out a pained shriek, his massive head being slammed into the ground by the shockwave, creating a spiderweb of cracks in the deep crater.

Orochimaru's summoning was dispelled.

"Cough..." After Manda vanished, Orochimaru lay smashed in the deep pit.

But immediately after, this body, which looked as if it had been torn in two, suddenly began to dissolve. A pale arm extended from Orochimaru's mouth, and another Orochimaru quickly wriggled free from the mouth.

As the brand-new body completed its shedding, mucus-covered fingers pushed back the wet long hair, revealing a pair of snake pupils burning with both curiosity and killing intent.

"Great Snake Substitution Technique," one of Orochimaru's signature ninjutsu.

"Why... do you know the Flying Thunder God Technique!" Orochimaru's voice trembled with excitement, his tongue unconsciously licking his lips.

He mentally reviewed every Konoha ninja over and over again, from the deceased Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, to the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and even Minato's guards.

Yet, not a single ninja matched the person before him.

It was as if "Shura" had appeared out of thin air!

If not for Orochimaru's combat intuition prompting him to prepare the "Great Snake Substitution Technique" in advance, that terrifying ninjutsu just now might have actually broken his waist.

"The Flying Thunder God... and that ninjutsu so similar to the Rasengan..." Orochimaru's nose twitched slightly as he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. He actually thought of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, who had died three years ago during the Nine-Tails' attack!

"Could it be Minato Namikaze... No... impossible... I saw the burial of Minato and Kushina with my own eyes..." Sweat beaded on Orochimaru's forehead.

During the Nine-Tails incident, Orochimaru was still a high-ranking official in Konoha and had attended the funeral of the Fourth Hokage and his wife. Based on his years of research on the human body, there was no mistake regarding the corpses of Minato and Kushina.

Furthermore... he had later taken some of Minato Namikaze's cellular tissue.

Every clue known to Orochimaru failed to explain the origin of the person before him.

But at least one thing Orochimaru was certain of: the opponent was definitely a Konoha ninja!

At this moment in the underground space, the Shinigami and the Jade Maiden had already sent the Iburi clan away, leaving only Menma and Orochimaru on the field.

"Is that all you've got?" Menma's footsteps echoed in the silent cave.

Under the dim light, "Shura" walked slowly toward Orochimaru through the dissipating smoke. With every step, the invisible pressure grew heavier.

Even as one of the "Legendary Sannin," Orochimaru felt a crushing weight bearing down on him. This sense of crisis reminded him of his battle against Hanzo of the Salamander during the Second Shinobi World War!

Meanwhile, Menma was contemplating how to make Orochimaru serve him.

Orochimaru's research capabilities were undoubtedly the strongest in the ninja world, but he also possessed immense pride and would not easily submit to others. Even with Nagato possessing the Rinnegan, Orochimaru had dared to covet those "Eyes of God." When facing Uchiha Itachi's Sharingan, Orochimaru was also full of schemes.

Making Orochimaru submit was no easy task.

With Menma's current strength, he couldn't completely control Orochimaru unless he obtained Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan.

However...

Menma paced around Orochimaru leisurely.

In the deep pit, Orochimaru clutched his wounds, his snake eyes filled with venomous resentment, staring fixedly at "Shura" like a poisonous viper.

"I advise you to use the Living Corpse Reincarnation less often," Menma's low voice said slowly.

Regarding how "Shura" knew the secret of the "Living Corpse Reincarnation Technique," Orochimaru was first shocked, and then a strange twitch appeared on his pale face.

"No... it's impossible for you to know... Living Corpse Reincarnation..." A laugh squeezed out from the depths of his throat, and his fingers covering half his face spasmed with excitement.

Living Corpse Reincarnation—a forbidden jutsu developed by Orochimaru that he had never actually used—was his ultimate secret in the pursuit of immortality. Orochimaru was confident that he had never revealed this technique to anyone!

"Interesting... too interesting..." Orochimaru held his wounded abdomen with one hand and covered half his face with the other, his left eye visible through his fingers filled with madness.

"Attacking Konoha, attacking Kumogakure, claiming to be Danzo, a ninjutsu extremely similar to the Rasengan, knowing the Flying Thunder God, being able to precisely intercept my escape routes, knowing about the Hashirama cells in my possession, and even knowing about the Living Corpse Reincarnation that I have never performed..."

"I understand." Suddenly, the laughter stopped abruptly. Orochimaru lowered his hand, his expression becoming exceptionally lucid.

"You are a Konoha ninja! But you are not a Konoha ninja from this era!"

Orochimaru slowly straightened his body and looked at the mysterious masked man before him, his expression one of ecstatic joy, as if he had discovered a new continent.

He shouted, "You come from the future... don't you? Shura!!!"

Menma: Huh?