Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

As he passed by Jugo, Bai quickly gave him a word of advice.

"I won't let them get any closer."

Jugo responded with unwavering resolve, determined that even at the cost of his life, he would never betray Shiro's expectations of him.

This change,

All of this was taken in by Zongxian's animal avatar, and a glint of light flashed in its light purple eyes.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Kid, it's all thanks to you for creating distance and getting away from that little guy wearing my glasses, otherwise... I wouldn't have chosen to use such a technique. In fact, this kind of fighting style is the correct application of the Impure World Reincarnation technique."

The two Susanoo figures were very close together.

After forming hand seals and unleashing the Heavenly Obstruction Star Technique, summoning a meteorite to fall, Madara Uchiha charged forward on his Susanoo. Despite being cut down by the deep crimson Susanoo's greatsword, he used his two left hands to grab the deep crimson Susanoo's two right arms.

It temporarily held onto the deep crimson Susanoo, preventing it from escaping the falling meteorite.

Even if,

His Susanoo couldn't hold onto Sogen's Susanoo for long with just his two left hands, but it didn't take him too long either. Sure enough, just as Sogen's Susanoo broke free and he finished speaking, the meteorite was already right above his head.

"is it?"

Zongxian chuckled softly without a sound.

He looked up at the meteorite that was now right in front of him and muttered to himself, "I'm so happy! It finally... didn't disappoint. I've been waiting for this." As he spoke, the deep crimson Susanoo swung its greatsword and slashed at the meteorite.

The blade was quietly enveloped in a restrained heat.

"Uchiha Style: Great Fire Sword: Susanoo Special Edition!"

The technique that once shone brightly in Amegakure has reappeared in the forest more than 30 kilometers away from Konoha. The blade, containing endless and boundless heat, collided with the meteorite that fell with immense force.

In an instant

The deafening roar echoed in all directions.

The astonishing heat spread outwards, melting away all the ice and snow within a five-kilometer radius. The sea of ​​clouds in the sky, which had been pierced by the meteorite, was torn apart by the shockwave and lost all its power. The winter sun shone down, illuminating the devastated land below.

meteorite,

It was shattered without any surprise.

The destructive power of Zongxian's move was so great that even Madara Uchiha was taken aback. However, although the meteorite was shattered, it did not mean that this round of battle was over. The fragmented meteorite fell in all directions, although it did not reach Konoha Village.

but,

The battlefield where Bai and his men were stationed was inevitably affected.

When the roaring sound rang out, Zongxian's six clones quietly relaxed their attack, seemingly shifting their attention to fighting the falling meteorite. Bai decisively dragged Mitarashi Anko to the circle of spells he had hastily drawn, pulled open Mitarashi Anko's collar, revealing the three-tomoe-shaped 'Heavenly Curse Mark' on her neck.

"Lord Orochimaru, please bless me."

Bai took a deep breath.

His hands moved with lightning speed, forming hand seals, and then he struck Mitarashi Anko's neck with the Heavenly Curse Seal. "Dispelling Evil Seal." This was the second method he developed to revive Orochimaru after the failure of the Impure World Reincarnation technique. To be honest, this method was not so complicated as to be difficult to master.

However, since he himself had never been marked with a curse mark, and there was no Heavenly Curse Mark for him to study, he could only combine the research data left by Orochimaru and the samples of those Earthly Curse Marks to finally deduce that if Lord Orochimaru had not died, he could use the Exorcism Seal to summon Lord Orochimaru in reverse.

His original plan was to kidnap Mitarashi Anko, get away from Konoha, return to a safe place, and then try to revive Lord Orochimaru. Otherwise, even if he successfully revived Lord Orochimaru in Konoha, he would probably have difficulty escaping the pursuit of the Konoha ninja.

But a plan is always just a plan.

There are too many variables in actual action, and things have evolved to this point. There is no room for choice. We can only seize the opportunity and try. We can't worry about how to get out of this crisis after Orochimaru is resurrected.

Let's wait until Lord Orochimaru is truly resurrected.

[Chapter 433: Re-expansion of the Cell]

At Mitarashi Anko's neck, the Heavenly Curse Seal was interfered with by the Exorcism Seal. The jet-black magatama pattern gradually turned into a bright red. Mitarashi Anko, who was unconscious, twitched and her breath suddenly weakened. At the same time, the flesh at the location of the Heavenly Curse Seal swelled up.

The next moment,

The rapidly expanding bulge changed shape, transforming into a white snake hissing and flicking its tongue as it leaped off Mitarashi Anko's body.

"Lord Orochimaru?"

Bai looked at the white snake with trepidation.

Then--

The not-so-thick white snake opened its mouth wide, and two wet, slimy arms supported its mouth. Orochimaru, completely soaked, brazenly emerged from the snake's mouth, successfully fooling Death.

"Thank you for your hard work, Bai."

The resurrected Orochimaru looked down at his palm. "This body... is a bit malnourished! But oh well, let's leave it as it is for now!" After all, even if they squeezed all of Anko's life energy out of him, it would be difficult to fully restore him to his peak condition unless they found his corpse.

But he was killed by Uchiha Mugen back then.

corpse,

It's highly unlikely that it will be able to get it back.

"Lord Orochimaru!!"

Bai was so excited that he almost burst into tears.

"Haku, you... watch out!!" Orochimaru was about to comment on the perilous situation when he saw the pitcher plant appear behind Haku and hurriedly warned him, but it was obviously too late.

A jet-black arm emerged from Bai's chest.

Crimson blood dripped from that jet-black palm.

"Wow--"

Bai spat out a mouthful of blood.

He didn't understand what had happened. Why was his Sage Chakra Cloak so easily pierced? It hadn't provided any protection whatsoever; it was like a windowpane that could be torn with a single poke. It was simply... incomprehensible.

But reality wouldn't be rewritten because of his confusion. He was indeed shot through the chest. Although his heart wasn't directly shattered, such an injury would probably be fatal!

Fortunately,

He resurrected Lord Orochimaru before he died, so... he can be considered to have repaid Lord Orochimaru's kindness in recognizing his talent, right?

It's just a bit of a pity.

I wonder if Lord Orochimaru will be able to escape this predicament.

"Absolutely amazing!!"

Orochimaru suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a cold glint. The Kusanagi Sword: Ruyi Blade, a ninja tool that can extend up to a thousand meters in length, was perfectly suited to Haku's short stature. Zetsu, standing behind Haku, was more than twenty centimeters taller. The sword's edge passed over Haku's head and stabbed towards Zetsu's yin-yang face.

however,

This sword,

It failed to hit.

"Wood Release: Explosive Spear Tree".

Zetsu waved his white left hand, and numerous wooden vines rapidly grew from his arm, twisting and intertwining to form a towering tree in an instant. Although the tree could not withstand the sharpness of the Kusanagi sword, it successfully altered the Kusanagi sword's trajectory, preventing it from harming Zetsu in the slightest.

Then a white arm emerged from the left side of Jue's body, reaching into the white sleeve and taking out a scroll.

Immediately,

He immediately withdrew and retreated, his speed so fast that even Orochimaru couldn't catch up.

They only managed to catch the white figure that was about to fall.

"Bai? Bai... Jugo, come here quickly and help Bai save his life."

"white!!"

Shigeo arrived in response.

Completely disregarding the resurrected Orochimaru, he hurriedly knelt down on one knee, placed his hand on the wound on Haku's chest, and his palm in Sage Mode melted away, gradually filling Haku's body.

This is--

The technique of "re-expelling cells".

This technique, which heals wounds by distributing one's own cells containing active chakra to injured individuals, is considered an extremely high-level medical ninjutsu. However, it is a medical ninjutsu with various limitations that prevent its widespread adoption, unlike medical ninjutsu such as the 'Regeneration Technique,' which requires extremely high manipulation skills to master.

The technique of expelling cells can be considered a secret technique that Jugo cannot pass on to outsiders.

This is a technique he can only use in his Sage Mode, and each use consumes a large number of cells. After the technique is finished, he will turn into a child and need a lot of time to recover. Also, the recipient needs to have a cursed seal created from Jugo's source, or have the power to adapt to the cursed seal.

Otherwise, receiving the cells shared by Jugo would not only fail to heal the injuries, but would instead lead to sudden death.

Precisely,

Orochimaru developed the Cursed Seals after witnessing Jugo use the Regeneration Technique, which led to the creation of the Heavenly Cursed Seal and the Earthly Cursed Seal.

While Haku did not have a cursed seal implanted, he did possess complete Sage Mode. His body had an extremely high adaptability to Sage Chakra, and his body would spontaneously adjust to accept the Sage Chakra in his cells, so he was not afraid of being 'poisoned' to death by Jugo's flesh and blood.

Replace with sangrin,

But he couldn't accept Jugo's flesh and blood.

Even though the Uzumaki clan is known for its vitality, they are not entirely confident that they can survive after receiving the cells shared by Jugo.

"······call!"

Orochimaru breathed a sigh of relief.

Even though he wasn't an expert in medical ninjutsu, he was familiar with human anatomy and condition, and could easily tell that Haku had been pulled back from the brink of death. With proper care, he would recover sooner or later. It was a pity that Karin, that idiot, was also injured. Otherwise, if Haku had bitten her, she probably would have been able to stand up again immediately.

"Everything's alright now, the problem is... how do we resolve this situation?"

Orochimaru looked up at the six Paths clones standing around him, all wearing masks and white robes.

"Zongxian-kun, just now... why did you let Zetsu go?"

Orochimaru did not rush to make a move.

"What do you mean by letting them go? Don't slander me. My attention was diverted to dealing with Madara Uchiha's attack, and I couldn't keep an eye on this side. By the time I noticed, it was too late." The Pain clone said in a low voice, firmly denying the accusations Orochimaru had leveled against him.

"I see!"

Orochimaru stared at the Six Paths clones for a moment, then shook his head and sighed helplessly. "Let's just leave it at that! So... Sougen-kun, what are you going to do with us?"

Are you ready to surrender?