Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

Then, he suddenly slammed his fist on the ground and shouted, "Hey, you guys called White Zetsu, come out here right now! I know you're nearby. Come out and see me. You don't want Lord Madara to scold you, do you?"

Hiruko naturally understood creatures like White Zetsu, and knowing their abilities, he understood even more clearly that Madara Uchiha would have these creatures following him at all times in order to monitor him.

Hiruko could only turn a blind eye to this and pretend he didn't see it.

But now, in this critical moment, he can no longer afford to feign politeness with Madara Uchiha and has decided to activate these hidden 'allies'.

As expected, Hiruko's guess was correct. As soon as he said this, several White Zetsu suddenly appeared from his body, giving him a strange smile.

One of the White Zetsu, who only had half a face, smiled eerily and said, "What do you want us to do for you? Let me make it clear, we're not even as strong as you. We're just more skilled at stealth than the other White Zetsu."

White Zetsu is a large group, from which various kinds of White Zetsu naturally emerge. There are powerful individuals who are born with the ability to use Wood Release, as well as weak individuals who have almost no abilities. However, most of them are ordinary individuals who are particularly proficient in a certain ability.

"It's very simple. You just need to impersonate me and spread out in all directions. You can do that, right?"

Hiruko sneered at the White Zetsu lurking on his body.

"That's fine."

"This guy is still useful to Lord Madara, so let's help him out."

"Let's fight together for Lord Madara!"

……

The White Zetsu responded one after another to Hiruko's request.

Then, they all detached from Hiruko and used their disguise skills to transform into Hiruko's appearance.

"With these cannon fodder distracting the enemy, my chances of escaping will be much greater."

Seeing the White Zetsu leave one after another, Hiruko was overjoyed. Then, he decisively used a sealing technique on himself to greatly shield his chakra fluctuations before turning around and rushing towards another underground passage.

He had prepared several secret escape routes for himself. Since this one was impassable in the short term, he would find another one, hoping that the other escape route would not collapse too severely.

On the other side, Orochimaru was also trying to escape. Unlike Hiruko, Orochimaru, who had mastered the secret technique of soft body modification, was like a fish in water in the collapsed secret escape passage. He softened his body with the secret technique of soft body modification and could move through some tiny gaps, easily passing through several collapsed sections.

"A very strong chakra fluctuation, similar to the terrifying chakra explosion just now. It must be the person who just used that powerful ninjutsu. However, this chakra is unfamiliar, and it even contains the chakra of Uchiha Madara. Who could this be?"

Orochimaru, who had mastered Sage Mode, possessed a perception ability far superior to Hiruko's. When the Thunder God Puppet entered the laboratory, he immediately detected many emotions from the chakra fluctuations released by the Thunder God Puppet.

The more Orochimaru learned, the more wary he became, and he subconsciously sped up his escape.

He sensed that the owner of that mysterious chakra was rushing towards him at high speed.

Before long, Orochimaru finally reached the end of the secret passage. His vision brightened and opened up, revealing a lake shimmering in the sunlight.

Orochimaru had no interest in admiring the beautiful scenery. He quickly jumped out of the hole and then moved at high speed across the lake.

But just as he walked a short distance on the lake, a three-pronged kunai suddenly shot down from the sky.

Chapter 360: The Battle Between Master and Disciple 1

Orochimaru sensed the danger and immediately stopped, then quickly retreated, causing his three-pronged kunai to fall into the water in front of him.

Orochimaru saw that he had dodged the enemy's attack, but his expression was not good, because he knew that he probably wouldn't be able to escape again this time.

There was nothing he could do; it was his prized disciple who was blocking his way.

He taught him very well, but now he has become a huge obstacle in his way.

It has to be said, this is truly ironic.

So he simply stopped and quietly waited for the powerful enemy to attack.

The next moment, a blond boy slowly jumped out of the water in front of Orochimaru, stood on the water, stared at Orochimaru with a complicated look, and sighed softly: "Orochimaru-sensei, you really are not so easy to die."

The blond-haired boy was none other than Minato Namikaze.

Perhaps it was fate's arrangement. He was pre-arranged to intercept enemies who might appear here, but he never expected that the one who would appear would be his teacher, who had been 'dead' for many days.

But regardless of whether his teacher was a human, a ghost, or some other disguise, he could not allow the other party to leave alive.

"It's been a long time, Minato. You've improved, and you've even become the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki. That's quite a surprise to me. But I don't know if it's your luck or your misfortune. With the Nine-Tails, your Flying Thunder God Technique will no longer have any flaws, but it's precisely because of the Nine-Tails that I'm afraid you'll have a hard time surviving the upcoming Shinobi World War."

As soon as Minato appeared, Orochimaru immediately sensed the Nine-Tails' chakra within him and exclaimed in surprise.

As he spoke, a hint of reluctance and pity appeared in his eyes.

Emotionally, he didn't want Minato to die. After all, Minato was one of the few people he cared about in this world, and also the student who inherited his mantle. However, Minato was already the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and his conflict with Madara Uchiha was already destined.

When Orochimaru thought of Madara Uchiha, he couldn't help but recall the scene of Madara Uchiha summoning a meteorite from outer space to crash into the earth. That kind of power was so despairing, intoxicating, and enviable.

That was a powerful force that absolutely touched the realm of gods, something that no ordinary human could contend with.

Although Minato possessed the Flying Thunder God Technique, he knew in his heart that this space-time ninjutsu was not invincible. As far as he knew, Madara Uchiha had already figured out how to counter it. If Minato dared to use this ninjutsu to get close to Madara Uchiha, it would be a death sentence.

"Orochimaru-sensei, everyone dies. If I die for the continuation of Konoha and a bright future, I will gladly accept it."

Minato was silent for a moment, then sighed again.

Then, he closed his eyes, then quickly opened them again. When he opened them again, there was no longer any complex emotion in his eyes, only a naked, cold killing intent.

The teacher he once respected is now a villain who betrayed the village and surrendered to the enemy. He has nothing left to say to him.

"I see. The Will of Fire is quite interesting. But you're wrong, Minato. Not everyone dies. I won't die. I will live on. Even if this world is destroyed, I will continue to live."

Orochimaru was slightly dazed upon hearing Minato's resolute words, but his eyes quickly regained their clarity, and he grew even colder, sneering.

Having already developed the ninjutsu for immortality, he did not agree with Minato's words.

Both of them have confirmed each other's feelings and determination. The paths that once intersected between master and disciple have now completely diverged, and they are gradually going their separate ways.

For a moment, the sun-drenched water was filled with a desolate chill.

On the other side, the Thor puppet, which was rapidly traversing the secret passage, stopped and turned back quickly.

Now that Minato has successfully intercepted Orochimaru, Kirito is no longer needed.

He had considerable faith in Minato's strength. With half of the Nine-Tails' assistance, Minato could now be said to be unmatched in the world with the Flying Thunder God Technique. As long as he didn't act recklessly or let anyone exploit his fatal weaknesses, he was invincible.

As the Thunder God puppet disappeared into the distance, Orochimaru and Minato almost simultaneously drew a kunai and vanished from the spot.

"Clang clang clang~"

The next moment, fleeting sparks appeared on the water's surface. The two of them had achieved a level of physical prowess that was difficult for ordinary people to detect, and they were engaged in a fierce physical contest on the water's surface.

Minato's taijutsu was mostly taught by Orochimaru, so Orochimaru was extremely familiar with Minato's taijutsu attack patterns, but he couldn't gain any advantage in the battle and was even suppressed instead.

The reason is simple: Minato's physical abilities are superior to his in every aspect.

Clearly, after becoming the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, Minato's physical abilities improved significantly, and his taijutsu alone was enough to make him an elite Jonin.

A dozen seconds later, Orochimaru deliberately created an opening, allowing Minato's three-pronged kunai to successfully pierce his heart. Then, as if nothing had happened, he grabbed Minato's hand holding the kunai with his free left hand, and his mouth split open, transforming into a gaping maw, as if to bite off Minato's entire head.

But at that moment, two long brown snakes shot out from Minato's other sleeve, quickly wrapping around Orochimaru's head. Then, Minato pulled hard, and Orochimaru's attack missed. Minato then punched Orochimaru hard in the chin with his left fist.

With a "poof" sound.

Orochimaru's ugly head was smashed apart by Minato's punch, and a lot of blood splattered onto Minato's body.

However, Orochimaru, whose head had been blown off, was not dead yet. He quickly stretched out his hands and wrapped them around Minato's body like snakes.

Next, a sealing technique appeared inside Orochimaru's stomach, which was the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique.

At the same time, a white snake slithered out quickly from behind Orochimaru with a hiss, leaving the coverage area of ​​this terrifying S-rank sealing technique before the Inner Four Symbols Seal was fully activated.

The Flying Thunder God Technique allows you to teleport other objects along with you.

However, in Orochimaru's eyes, this became a weakness of the Flying Thunder God Technique. For example, his current approach is to use his own body as a human bomb to entangle Minato and activate the technique.

In this way, even if Minato immediately uses the Flying Thunder God Technique, it will only teleport his body along with him.

However, this was not his true intention. His real killing move was the Inner Four Symbols Seal, an S-rank sealing technique that could interfere with Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique.

Because the Inner Four Symbols Seal also possesses spacetime attributes, if Minato carelessly uses the Flying Thunder God Technique, he might be cut into pieces by the chaotic spatial power before he is even swallowed by the spatial distortion black hole formed by the Inner Four Symbols Seal.

Soon, the Inner Four Symbols Seal was fully activated, instantly forming a terrifying, distorted spacetime black hole that devoured everything within its range.

Minato was not spared and was swallowed up on the spot.

On the other side, the white snake that emerged from Orochimaru's body opened its mouth wide, and a new Orochimaru quickly emerged from it. At this moment, Orochimaru did not appear to be injured at all.

Similarly, there was no sign of happiness on his face.

"As expected of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, his chakra is so abundant that it's hard to distinguish between his real body and his fake body, and the fake body's physical abilities are also ridiculously strong."

Orochimaru turned around and spoke to Minato Namikaze, who had somehow appeared behind him.

Minato listened to Orochimaru's praise without showing any expression on his face, but looked at Orochimaru with increasingly wary eyes.

Fortunately, he didn't use his true form to fight Orochimaru, otherwise he would have died a violent death.

However, thanks to Orochimaru, he quickly understood some of the weaknesses of the Flying Thunder God Technique and realized that even with the replenishment of the Nine-Tails' chakra and the solution to the problem of insufficient chakra, he still had weaknesses in front of some strong opponents.

"Hey, you blond brat, hurry up and take down this disgusting guy. Don't disturb my rest. My chakra isn't free. Don't think I'll keep replenishing your chakra."

Suddenly, an impatient, cold voice rang in Minato's mind.

The one who spoke was Yin Jiuwei.

Kirito used a soul-sealing technique to separate it from the complete Nine-Tails, forming a completely new individual with a soul similar to the Nine-Tails.

Logically speaking, it is a completely new Nine-Tails, and Kirito is its creator. However, having inherited the complete memories of the Nine-Tails, it will not be grateful to Kirito in the slightest. All it feels is deep hatred and intense fear.

Therefore, it dislikes Minato, who is obviously Kirito's subordinate, and would never voluntarily gather chakra to assist Minato in battle.

"You should know about the Nine-Tails and Ten-Tails, right? Madara Uchiha plans to capture all of you tailed beasts and let the Ten-Tails devour you, and then conquer the world. Although I don't know what your fate will be after being devoured by the Ten-Tails, I know it won't be a good thing."

Orochimaru is Madara Uchiha's accomplice. Helping me eliminate him is essentially helping myself; you should understand this. Help me, my teacher is no ordinary person; the Flying Thunder God Technique alone cannot defeat him.”

Upon hearing the disgruntled voice of the Nine-Tails, Minato immediately engaged in a unique telepathic exchange between the Jinchūriki and the Tailed Beast, attempting to reason with the Nine-Tails.

Unexpectedly, Yin Jiuwei directly refused: "Don't joke around, human. What do you mean by helping you is helping yourself? You humans are all the same, only using us tailed beasts as tools. You want me to help you? Don't even think about it."

Minato sighed inwardly at the intuition of the Nine-Tails' rejection, temporarily abandoning the idea of ​​seeking support from the Nine-Tails, and refocusing his attention on Orochimaru.

Since he couldn't get Yin Jiuwei's full assistance, he would have to fight alone from now on.

The next moment, he bit his right index finger, quickly smeared the blood on his left palm, and then swiftly formed a hand seal, using a spirit summoning technique to summon a small white-haired toad.

"Looks like you've met a formidable opponent, Minato."

The white-haired toad, Fukasaku, stood on Minato's left shoulder, smiled slightly, and then stared intently at Orochimaru not far away.

While Minato was using the Summoning Jutsu, Orochimaru wasn't idle either. He was secretly and rapidly absorbing the natural energy in the surrounding air and then forming a large amount of Sage Chakra within his body.