Naruto's civilian cannon fodder starts with the three-body technique

Chapter 246 Meeting Orochimaru
"That stamina is just too incredible."

Sasuke Umino watched the battle with great interest, but was also utterly astonished.

Who could have imagined that the Third Raikage's stamina could reach such an astonishing level?

Rumble!
The valley has long since been reduced to scorched earth.

Huge craters were everywhere. The battle between the Third Raikage A and the Eight-Tails Gyūki had lasted for a day and a night, with both sides displaying despair-inducing power and endurance.

The Raikage's Hell Thrust left numerous wounds on the Eight-Tails' massive body, with each flash of blue lightning accompanied by the Eight-Tails' painful roar and the splattering of flesh and blood.

The Eight-Tails' ferocious tentacle strikes and the Tailed Beast Ball's close-range bombardment repeatedly blasted the Raikage away, sending him crashing into the giant crater and slamming into the mountainside.

The Lightning Release Chakra Armor, the strongest shield, began to falter after countless hard-hitting attacks. Numerous charred marks and wounds appeared on its body, and the blood spilling from the corner of its mouth indicated the immense impact its internal organs had endured.

"Moo~"

The Eight-Tails roared with exhaustion and rage. One of its giant octopus tentacles was severed cleanly at the root by the Raikage's One-Hit Slash, leaving the cut charred black. The other tentacles continued to thrash wildly.

The Raikage was panting heavily, and the light of his Lightning Release Armor had dimmed considerably, but the fighting spirit in his eyes had not diminished at all. Although his One-Shot Punch was incredibly powerful, it also put a great strain on his chakra and muscles. After using it continuously, the muscles in his right arm were already twitching involuntarily.

This was a contest of pure strength and will, with both sides nearing their limits. Every collision was earth-shattering, and its astonishing destructive power also decreased accordingly.

Finally, in a devastating collision, the massive shockwave shoved both of them away. The Eight-Tails' enormous body crashed into the cliff face, burying part of it in rubble. Its tentacles' eyes were fixed on the Raikage, while the Tailed Beast Ball condensing in its mouth flickered uncertainly, unable to be launched for a long time.

Clearly, it was already running out of strength; the huge bull's head heaved violently as it gasped for breath.

The Third Raikage knelt on one knee in the huge pit, his right arm supporting his body trembling slightly. His lightning armor was almost extinguished, and his exposed bronze skin was covered with bloodstains and charred marks.

"Cough cough cough!" The Third Raikage coughed violently, each breath aggravating the almost spasmodic wounds all over his body.

"Can Hiruzen Sarutobi really defeat this humanoid tailed beast?"

Deep underground, Sasuke Umino, who had been lurking and observing the battle, began to waver in his belief in Hiruzen Sarutobi's strength. However, he didn't dwell on it much. Then, with a glint in his eyes, he began to plot the Eight-Tails' chakra and flesh and blood.

At this moment, he silently manipulated his chakra, and several rock fists made of pure earth-style chakra emerged from the hidden cracks in the ground.

With extreme precision, it reached for the octopus tentacle that had just been severed not far away, carefully wrapped it with Earth Release chakra, hid it underground, and then sealed it away.

At the same time, they collected every single small piece of the eight-tailed beast's flesh and blood tissue.

The entire process happened in the blink of an eye, silently.

Neither the exhausted Eight-Tails nor the barely holding on Third Raikage noticed the tiny theft from underground.

The stealth aspect of the Spore Technique is demonstrated to the fullest extent.

Seeing that the great battle was coming to an end, the Cloud Ninja were no longer afraid of being caught in the crossfire and began to enter the valley.

Having gathered enough resources, Umino Sasuke immediately fled.

However, as soon as he left, he keenly sensed an extremely subtle, chilling aura emanating from the edge of the battlefield, deep underground, yet carrying a familiar chakra fluctuation. "It's Orochimaru. Why is he here?"

Under the perception of the Spirit Transformation Technique, Umino Sasuke immediately recognized the person's true identity, so he immediately changed direction and sneaked over.

In a secluded, dense forest far from the battlefield, in a small, hastily cleared space, he indeed saw that familiar figure: a pale face, golden snake eyes, and the signature purple eyeshadow—it was none other than Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha.

"Latent Shadow Snake Hand!"

Orochimaru was startled and reacted extremely quickly, immediately switching to offense and unleashing his snake-type secret technique.

"Orochimaru, it's me!"

Sasuke Umino raised Samehada and easily blocked the attack with a single slash.

"Sasuke-kun?"

Orochimaru was taken aback and finally stopped his attack.

"Sasuke-kun, that's quite a skill."

Orochimaru's hoarse voice carried a hint of admiration as his golden snake eyes scrutinized Umino Sasuke, who had emerged from the earth.

"Orochimaru, those who see this will get a share."

Without hesitation, Umino Sasuke took out a portion of the Eight-Tails tissue he had just collected, placed it in a specially made sealing scroll, and handed it over. "This tissue was collected from the Eight-Tails. It contains powerful life force and chakra, which may be helpful to your research."

Orochimaru extended his pale, slender fingers and accepted the scroll, a smile playing on his lips: "Then thank you very much, Sasuke-kun. If there's anything I can help you with in the future, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Orochimaru, what high-level mission have you received to come to Kumogakure?"

"I infiltrated Kumogakure on the old man's orders to investigate their movements and attitudes in this Shinobi World War, especially to see what the Third Raikage, that warmonger, was thinking."

Orochimaru paused, his golden snake eyes gazing towards the distant battlefield still shrouded in smoke and terrifying chakra fluctuations, before letting out a low, enigmatic laugh.

"Hehe! Now it seems the result is quite obvious. The Eight-Tails has gone berserk, the Third Raikage is seriously injured, and Kumogakure is too busy to deal with its own problems. It has neither the strength nor the will to participate in the conflicts on other battlefields in the short term. Sasuke is really amazing. He only released the seal on the Eight-Tails and solved the crisis for our Konoha, while also buying us a rare chance to catch our breath."

Orochimaru, who was always arrogant, was surprisingly convinced of the results of the battle and admired Umino Sasuke greatly.

Sasuke Umino wasn't overly modest. He didn't need to be so polite with Orochimaru. He released the Eight-Tails, creating such chaos that it not only weakened the top-tier fighting force of Kumogakure but also directly paralyzed their ability to participate in the great battle. It was a win-win situation.

"Then, mission accomplished, we should withdraw."

Orochimaru carefully put away the sealing scroll, his cold gaze softening considerably, and his hoarse voice carrying a seductive undertone, "Sasuke-kun, aren't you very interested in genetic technology? Perhaps we can have a more in-depth discussion."

"You're always welcome. The Land of Waves will always have a laboratory for you."

Without another word, the two silently disappeared from the earth, like shadows blending into the ground, leaving Kumogakure.

(End of this chapter)