When Orochimaru saw Sarutobi Hiruzen suffer serious injuries at the hands of the enemy, he immediately appeared beside him.

Without hesitation, he twisted his wrist, revealing a black pill, about the size of his pinky finger, resting silently in his palm.

"Sarutobi-sensei, this is a secret recovery medicine..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen wordlessly tossed the pill into his mouth.

Crack.

He bit into it and swallowed.

"The side effects are... after the medicine wears off, the user's chakra pathways will be damaged for a full month. They'll be completely weakened—possibly even crippled."

"It doesn't matter if I can't survive the next few minutes."

"There's no point worrying about the month after that."

Orochimaru couldn't help but chuckle.

Heh... yes. If we die here, then what do side effects matter?

As the secret medicine dissolved in Hiruzen's stomach, it was instantly absorbed into his system.

A surge of heat rose through his meridians—his blood felt like it was boiling.

His heart thudded violently in his chest, and chakra began gushing out in waves.

Pain flared across his entire body... but his face showed no trace of it.

"Orochimaru... let's go!"

"I feel like I'm thirty again!!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's hunched back straightened with a crack of his spine.

He charged straight toward Yagura.

Orochimaru caught up instantly.

He didn't need the medicine—not yet.

After all, Uchiha Hikaru had already used Izanagi to tank a fatal blow for him.

Now, Orochimaru was down to only about half of his chakra reserves.

Yagura, still in his half-tailed beast form, launched forward to intercept them.

His speed was immense—but suddenly, something flickered across his bestial face.

"Destroy the Konoha reinforcements."

Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan cast a Genjutsu, seizing control of Yagura's mind.

The three were on a collision course when suddenly—

Orochimaru noticed something strange in Yagura's movement.

The Jinchūriki turned and rushed not toward them—but toward the Konoha shinobi reinforcements.

"Not good!"

"Orochimaru, we can't let a Jinchūriki enter the battlefield!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen pushed himself even faster, forming hand seals in an instant. Four shadow clones appeared and flanked Yagura from all directions.

With the temporary power boost from the secret medicine, Hiruzen's speed surpassed even that of a half-transformed Jinchūriki.

Orochimaru morphed his lower half into a massive snake tail and slithered across the ground at high velocity.

He moved even faster than Yagura.

Opening his mouth to the dirt, he unleashed a torrent of serpents.

The venomous snakes swarmed over Yagura's massive tailed form.

Even as the tailed beast chakra eroded their bodies, they continued to constrict and pile on him, refusing to relent.

At the same time, Sarutobi Hiruzen and his four clones moved into position.

Each one raised their hands and began weaving different hand seals simultaneously!

His chakra was being drained at an alarming pace. The secret medicine was working overtime to keep his body moving.

Finally, in just two seconds, the jutsu was ready.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"

"Wind Style: Cyclone!"

"Lightning Style: Thunder Fang!"

"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bomb!"

Flames that roared like maddened dragons.

Water spirals crashing like tsunamis.

Gales howling with slicing winds.

Lightning lances tearing through the air.

And a torrent of mud exploding like cannonballs.

Five different chakra natures. Five A-rank jutsu. One devastating combined assault.

They slammed into Yagura, who had slowed under the onslaught of Orochimaru's snake tide.

The moment the jutsu struck—

BOOM!

The five techniques fused and detonated in a massive explosion.

Even the snakes summoned by Orochimaru were caught in the shockwave.

A hurricane-like blast swept across the entire battlefield.

Debris and pressure waves slapped against the faces of both Konoha and Kirigakure shinobi, stinging like whips.

Bang bang bang bang~

One after another, Sarutobi Hiruzen's shadow clones vanished in a puff of smoke.

The heavy panting from his lungs said it all—unleashing that kind of catastrophic jutsu had drained him significantly.

"That's the S-rank technique... Five Styles: Great Linking Jutsu!"

As the smoke slowly cleared, Yagura lay naked and unconscious in a massive crater.

He had been blown out of his half-tailed beast form, and his body was torn and scorched from head to toe.

Orochimaru approached and examined his chakra.

Something felt... off.

Now that the tailed beast chakra wasn't clouding his senses, Orochimaru noticed the chakra flow in Yagura's body was abnormal.

Was this how Jinchūriki normally processed chakra?

Then suddenly—

Yagura's eyes flew open!

Scarlet chakra burst violently from every pore in his body!

His wounds started regenerating at an astonishing pace, sealing shut in mere seconds.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.

The blank, dazed look in Yagura's eyes… this wasn't how a Perfect Jinchūriki behaved.

Even Blue B—the former Eight-Tails Jinchūriki—was able to stay conscious despite being dosed with Orochimaru's experimental suppressants.

Wait a minute...

Genjutsu...?!

MASAKA...!

Orochimaru's mind snapped to attention. He shouted the warning:

"He's under a Genjutsu!"

"The Three-Tails is going berserk!!"

A sudden pulse of chakra from Yagura shook the battlefield, kicking up a whirlwind of dust and debris.

All the shinobi fighting nearby turned to look.

Through the swirling clouds of dirt, a massive figure could be seen growing larger and larger.

"Hahahaha! That's Mizukage-sama!!"

"It's the Fourth's full tailed beast transformation!!"

"You damn Konoha scum! You're all dead!!"

Many of the Kirigakure ninja began shouting with excitement and bloodlust.

Orochimaru's senses suddenly flared in panic.

He realized the ambient chakra around him was dropping rapidly.

His face stiffened—fear began to creep in.

He turned to look behind him.

Densely packed Konoha ninja had gathered behind him, locked in combat with the Kirigakure forces.

Then—two conflicting voices whispered inside his mind:

"Why care about ants? Run! Survival is the only truth!"

"You finally returned to the village you once loved. Are you going to abandon them again? Remember those who still believe in you!"

A visible tremble ran through Orochimaru's face.

Then he gritted his teeth and shook his head.

His eyes gleamed—wild, intense.

"Sarutobi-sensei, get back!"

"This jutsu isn't finished yet..."

"But with the chakra I've got left... I'll try it anyway!"

He tossed another secret pill into his mouth, cracking it between his snake-like fangs.

Then pressed his palms together.

"I'll show you the forbidden jutsu I created, Sarutobi-sensei!"

"Forbidden Technique—

YAKITSU!!!"

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