Projection magicians starting from the Uchiha clan

It was one thing for humans to provoke him, after all, he had been suppressed by several successive Kazekage, and he did acknowledge some of the strength of humans, though he just wouldn't admit it.

However, the size of the snake and the residual natural energy on its body clearly betrayed its identity; it was definitely a snake that came from Ryuchi Cave.

As a fellow beastman, and a descendant with a lineage, how could he be so disrespectful to him? Aside from being looked down upon by the Nine-Tailed Fox, he had never been so angry.

"You stinking snake from Ryuchi Cave, if you want to deal with me, that old white snake will have to come out in person!" Shukaku said angrily. He stomped his foot, and the earth began to shake. Cracks began to appear under Manda's feet.

The monstrous snake simply twisted along the crack and escaped.

Shukaku's eyes flashed with rage as it continuously spewed out training bullets, aiming them at Manda.

Despite its enormous size, Manda is extremely agile, twisting its body into an S-shape to dodge the attack once again.

"Damn it." A flash of anger crossed Shukaku's eyes as he gathered Yin-Yang Chakra once more.

Whoosh!

The small snake Orochimaru was holding in his mouth suddenly opened its mouth, and a sword quickly extended, stabbing straight at Shukaku's mouth.

Shukaku's gathering of chakra was interrupted by this sudden attack, and some of the chakra that had already undergone transformation exploded.

Shukaku was forced to take two steps back, staring in surprise at the sword Orochimaru was talking about.

Shukaku adjusted himself slightly, and the wound on his mouth healed quickly. He asked in surprise, "What was that thing? It was so hard!"

"Hehe, guess." Orochimaru remained silent, only chuckled evilly, and silently began to manipulate the Kusanagi Sword, a secret technique he had developed: the Sky Sword.

Orochimaru recalled the news of the Kusanagi Sword that he had accidentally discovered in an ancient book. He thought that the sword possessed some kind of divine power, like the legendary Totsuka Sword.

After several adventures, he finally obtained the legendary sword. However, the Kusanagi Sword did not possess the divine power he had expected; it was merely indestructible and incredibly sharp.

In addition, it has extremely strong chakra conductivity, and can be controlled even when it is out of hand. Orochimaru used this to develop the secret technique, Sky Blade, but it was far from what he originally expected.

Orochimaru also tried to analyze its constituent materials, but to no avail. As mentioned before, it was indestructible.

The Kusanagi sword kept slashing and cutting at Shukaku's body, cutting off pieces of sand, but it could never penetrate deep enough, only disturbing Shukaku's mind.

Just then, Manda seized the opportunity to rush in and wrap his body around Shukaku.

Orochimaru's expression changed drastically, and he cursed, "Idiot, what are you going up there for?"

Manda scoffed, "So what if it's a tailed beast? I'm not afraid of it." With that, it bit down on Shukaku's head.

Orochimaru cursed under his breath as an idiot and quickly leaped down from Manda's head.

He had given up hope on that idiot Manda; he'd just let things drag on for as long as possible.

Orochimaru hesitated. The situation was out of his control, and now he only had two choices: either stall for time and wait for reinforcements to arrive.

But the problem is that reinforcements may not be able to come, or may not be able to arrive in time.

Another option is to use the still-improved Eight-Headed Serpent Technique, which he based on the molted skin he obtained from the White Serpent in the past, and in which he poured his obsession and ambition.

It transforms into a giant snake with eight heads, possessing immense strength, size, and regenerative abilities; it is one of the ultimate forbidden techniques.

The problem now is that this technique is still under development. It's easy to transform into a giant snake, but it's very difficult to transform back. And the difficulty of transforming back without any aftereffects is hellish.

Orochimaru looked around and found that Konoha had a slight advantage overall, but the advantage was not obvious.

Uchiha Shisui seemed to have dealt with the Blood Dragon Eye ninja, but because Uchiha Naoya and other Jonin were about to be defeated by the subordinates led by "Kamaitachi" Kousuke, he had to go to support the Jonin and stabilize the situation.

Under the leadership of Uchiha Shisui, the Jonin gradually gained the upper hand, but it would take time to completely defeat the enemy.

"Orochimaru, what are you waiting for? Attack!" Manda started cursing from the sidelines. "That bastard Orochimaru! He actually betrayed me and ran away!"

While Orochimaru was casually pondering something, Manda was already being beaten into a pulp by Shukaku.

Manda's snake constriction was completely ineffective, snake bites caused little harm, and even snake venom was useless against Shukaku.

Tailed beasts are creations of pure chakra, so they have a significant reduction in physical damage. They are not carbon-based creatures, so Manda's venom is not corrosive and is basically ineffective against them.

That's why Orochimaru decisively left, refusing to stand with this idiot.

The entangled Shukaku turned around and used sand to bind Manda to its own body, then performed a death roll.

While rolling, he used Wind Release, Sand Release, and sealing energy to beat him mercilessly.

Although Manda was tough and resilient, he couldn't withstand such an attack for long and had to seek help from Orochimaru.

Orochimaru cursed Manda under his breath as a piece of trash, but in order to maintain relations with Ryuchi Cave, he couldn't let Manda die.

Orochimaru carefully observed the postures of the two beasts, then wrapped his Wind Release technique around the Kusanagi sword and slashed at the weak point of Shukaku's Sand Hand.

The Sand Hand snapped in response, and the Thousand Snakes seized the opportunity to break free.

"I'm leaving now, don't forget the offerings." With that, Manda activated his anti-spirit communication and turned into smoke with a bang.

Orochimaru's face turned even more ashen upon seeing this. He hesitated to speak, and could only turn his attention back to Shukaku.

Shukaku was furious when he saw Manda escape. Seeing Orochimaru still there, he charged up and used Sand Release: Flowing Sand Waterfall.

A massive sandstorm surged toward Orochimaru, who dodged it in a flash and used Wind Release: Great Breakthrough to destroy the sandstorm in front of him.

But when he emerged from the sandstorm, he saw that Shukaku's Tailed Beast Ball was already in place.

Seeing the Tailed Beast Ball about to fly towards him, Orochimaru had no choice but to prepare to unleash the Eight-Headed Serpent Technique.

Whether it can be reversed or whether there will be any aftereffects are things that only those who survive have the right to discuss.

I was too careless. The research on the Heavenly Curse Seal must be accelerated again. My dream of immortality cannot end here.

Just as Orochimaru was about to use a forbidden technique, Shisui also noticed Orochimaru's crisis. He gritted his teeth and was about to use Susanoo to save the day.

A voice came from afar.

"Rho Aias" - A shield composed of seven layers of petals appeared before Orochimaru.

Tailed Beast Buster - Uchiha Iori reports for duty.

Chapter 55 Uchiha Iori vs. One-Tailed Beast (Part 1) (Please continue reading)

When Uchiha Iori arrived, he happened to see Manda using the Reverse Summoning Technique to escape.

Seeing Orochimaru's disheveled state, Iori probably guessed that he had failed. In the ninja world, the compatibility issues between ninjas in battle are still very serious.

Just like among the Three Ninja, the snake counters the toad, the toad counters the slug, and the slug counters the snake.

Orochimaru, whose core forbidden techniques, Impure World Reincarnation and Orochi Technique, are still under development, doesn't have a good way to deal with tailed beasts. Even though he is proficient in sealing techniques, he has to defeat the tailed beasts first for them to be effective.

He was full of confidence to deal with the One-Tailed Jinchuriki this time because the process of invading Kumogakure and killing the Eight-Tailed Jinchuriki was too smooth, which made him think that this time the fight against the One-Tail would be the same.

But he didn't expect that Bunpuku would take an unconventional path. Bunpuku wasn't on the path of a Jinchuriki at all. He surrendered, and now he was fighting a pure Tailed Beast, the kind that could distinguish friend from foe.

Orochimaru's planned strategies all failed, which is why he suffered a setback.

When Iori saw Orochimaru facing the Tailed Beast Ball, he knew it was his time to save the day, and he quickly projected the Sevenfold Heavenly Ring in front of Orochimaru.

The Tailed Beast Ball destroyed three layers of petals before disappearing, suggesting that the power of the One-Tailed Tailed Beast Ball is similar to that of the Five-Tailed Tailed Beast Ball.

Iori teleported to Orochimaru's side and, seeing his disheveled appearance, said with some concern, "It seems I arrived just in time. Are you alright, Lord Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru forced a smile, a rare display of kindness appearing on his gloomy face: "Hehe, thankfully Iori-kun arrived in time, otherwise I might have had to use forbidden techniques to survive."

After calming down, Orochimaru licked his lips again, his eyes burning with intensity as he stared intently at Iori: "So, Iori-kun, can you still fight now?"

Although Orochimaru mentioned fighting, Iori could tell from his expression at a glance that he still longed for the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Especially after being brutally beaten by the One-Tailed Beast, he re-examined the power of the tailed beasts, and was extremely curious about the Mangekyou Sharingan, which could turn the Nine-Tailed Beast into a pet.

[It seems I need to pay more attention to the tentacles I cut off from the Eight-Tails that day; hopefully, I can glean some insight into the source of the Tailed Beast's power from them.] Orochimaru secretly pondered to himself.

[And what about Iori-kun's spiritual weapon? Its defensive power is far superior to the Triple Rashomon! I wonder which is stronger, the First Hokage's Five-Fold Rashomon?]

Iori's words interrupted his thoughts. Although countless thoughts flashed through Orochimaru's mind, only a moment had actually passed.

"Leave it to me, Lord Orochimaru. Just watch as the ultimate power of the Uchiha clan is revealed." Iori chuckled inwardly as he watched Orochimaru gradually fall into his trap.

He knew that he wasn't afraid of you having any requests, but rather that you had no requests at all.

Iori has no shortage of knowledge and does indeed possess the means to achieve immortality. As long as Orochimaru's dream remains unchanged, he is actually the easiest to win over.

In contrast, the most troublesome of the three legendary Sannin is Jiraiya. He is determined and deeply believes in the prophecy of Mount Myōboku. His dream is world peace, but he hopes to achieve it through mutual understanding between people.

Even if Iori's goal is to gather the strength of everyone, it is impossible for everyone to be of one mind.

Shukaku looked at the shield projected by Iori with some surprise. "What is this thing? Its structure feels so strange, it doesn't seem like the energy of the ninja world, and it can even block a Tailed Beast Ball?"

The Tailed Beasts are the Ten-Tails, the source of chakra, which was created by the Sage of Six Paths after being divided into parts by the God Tree.

One-Tailed is quite special among them. It can use Wind Release, Sand Release and seal energy from birth, and its perception of energy is extremely keen.

When he discovered the composition of the Seven Rings of the Blazing Heaven, he realized that it contained chakra and other energies, but these energies were different from natural energies, something Shukaku had never seen before in the ninja world.

Orochimaru listened to Shukaku's words and seemed to be deep in thought. He was a master of ninjutsu, well-versed in ancient texts and history, and also a skilled tomb raider.

He had always been skeptical of the spiritual artifacts and the inheritance of the Uchiha ancestors that Iori mentioned, but due to Iori's strength, it was not convenient for him to investigate Iori's secrets.

He pondered the strangeness of Iori's actions: the peculiar magical artifacts and special energy not found in the ninja world, his sudden increase in strength, and his peculiar fighting style.

Orochimaru thought to himself, "It seems Iori-kun's secret is bigger than I imagined. It's truly intriguing."

He couldn't help but wonder if he could exchange some information with Iori.

I wonder if he'd be willing to trade something; I think I have some things he might be interested in.

Uchiha Iori ignored Shukaku's question and slowly walked towards Shukaku.

He spoke with the air of a seasoned Konoha veteran: "Shukaku, your power is far too great. I'm sorry, but I cannot allow you to act as you please."

The magatama in Iori's eyes began to spin, and after a rapid rotation, it formed a six-pointed star shape.

Shukaku, looking at Iori, still hadn't realized the seriousness of the situation.

He heard Iori's praise, but he didn't understand that Iori was joking. He thought that Iori was really praising his strength.

He said with some delight, "Kid, you have a much better eye than the previous guys."

"But unfortunately, I still can't let you go. I'll grant you a swift death, hahahaha." Shukaku let out a wicked laugh.

This was the first time Shukaku had dealt with a Mangekyou Sharingan user, because the One-Tailed Beast was the only tailed beast that wasn't sealed by the First Hokage.

He was already dead before the First Hokage could act, having been sealed away by the First Kazekage, Retsuto.

He didn't have a clear sense of the power of the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha; he only knew they were very strong, but he didn't know exactly how strong they were.

Iori sneered, deciding to give the Uchiha a shock, and incidentally use Shukaku as a punching bag to let his own people in Konoha know how powerful he was.