"Aahhh!"
Tsunade's hair flew wildly as she let out a fierce roar. Her fist slammed into a human puppet with immense force.
The enhanced flesh tore like paper. A massive hole was punched through it, shattering the bones into dust and destroying the chakra core in the process.
The once fragile Tsunade now showed an entirely different, violent side. Everyone on the battlefield was left stunned.
The Kumogakure ninjas, who had initially intended to help relieve the pressure on Konoha, froze in place. Watching Tsunade's sudden fury, they hesitated, unsure if they should step in. Their concern was valid—this wild force seemed capable of tearing them apart without a second thought.
And their fears were not unfounded.
Once Tsunade roared, her figure moved like a ghost, ruthlessly dismantling everything around the Konoha ninjas in a frenzy.
Hemophobia, the nightmare she had been carrying, wasn't something that could be overcome with just a little support or encouragement. It wasn't something that could be patched up by a few words or a comforting gesture.
But as long as she couldn't win, she wouldn't stop. She ignored her senses—no sight, no sound, no smell. She let the pain fill her mind, dismissing the slippery sensation of blood and bodily fluids splashing on her. She didn't care about anything anymore.
Saving Kakashi and the others? That was no longer her priority. All she wanted was to unleash chaos now. If she died, so be it.
Boom, boom, boom...
Her fists, fueled by rage, hammered down, crushing everything in their path. The puppets around her were shattered, their broken limbs flying in all directions. Wreckage and debris scattered as massive craters formed on the ground. Within moments, Tsunade obliterated her enemies, reducing them to scraps of meat and broken iron.
"As expected of Konoha's Sannin... I underestimated her," Sasori muttered in awe.
But that was all it was—a fleeting outburst. A wild, desperate last stand from a trapped beast.
The destroyed human puppets were merely expendable tools. Sasori could replenish them at will, as many as he wanted.
Yet, Sasori did not immediately summon more puppets from his scroll. Instead, he maneuvered his human puppets to drive the Kumogakure ninjas closer to Tsunade. He wanted to see how much sanity she had left.
The Kumogakure ninjas, sensing his dark intentions, froze in terror. They immediately stopped holding back and fought with everything they had to resist.
Even Killer Bee's shadow clone rushed in to help, unwilling to risk his comrades facing Tsunade in her berserk state.
The power of a trapped beast was terrifying beyond measure.
---
"Such a pity."
Orochimaru muttered to himself, shaking his head.
Tsunade hadn't managed to overcome the Nightmare as he'd hoped. Kakashi and the others were barely holding on. He'd sensed a clue, but hadn't yet grasped the bigger picture.
Now, however, it was time to act.
Tsunade was fine under normal circumstances, but in this frantic state, she couldn't last long. Continuing to wait would only deplete their combat strength.
Orochimaru quickly assessed the battlefield and gave a swift command. "For the rescue and protection, I'll rely on Tagorihime."
"Leave it to me," Tagorihime responded with a smile, hands pressed together in a silent prayer.
Boom.
In an instant, the ground seemed to come alive. Soil and rocks surged like waves, swallowing Kakashi and his comrades whole.
With them, another figure remained suspended in the earth, trapped in a state of suspended animation.
She was the key objective of this entire mission. Orochimaru had instructed Tagorihime to keep a close eye on her from the beginning, ready to extract her from the battlefield at any moment.
As Shisui watched his comrade being safely lifted from the ground, he breathed a sigh of relief. He cast a glance at Orochimaru, a trace of apology in his eyes—he had misjudged him.
Was that senjutsu?
It had been cast right in front of him, yet just like everyone else on the battlefield, he hadn't sensed the slightest fluctuation in energy.
Such power… it was truly formidable.
---
"Damn it!"
Tsunade, in the midst of her rampage, had noticed how Kakashi and the others vanished. A flicker of clarity surfaced in her otherwise clouded mind.
She hadn't mastered senjutsu and couldn't sense natural energy. The technique Orochimaru used, Inorganic Reincarnation—a white snake-style senjutsu—hadn't been seen in the ninja world for nearly a century. It drove the battlefield into chaos.
Now, with no concern for her allies' safety, Tsunade's destructive force was even more devastating. Everything around her was being obliterated.
Sasori, Killer Bee, and the others had no time to wonder who was behind the strange technique. They were too busy trying to survive Tsunade's berserker fury.
Then, a plume of white smoke rose from the jungle.
A massive purple snake, large as a hill, appeared out of thin air.
"Manda?!" Killer Bee instantly recognized the summon from the battle at Kumogakure.
He shouted, "Everyone, retreat immediately!"
He understood now—bringing Tsunade back to the Land of Lightning was no longer possible.
After such a prolonged battle, they were in no condition to face Orochimaru. Fighting him now would only risk annihilation. If they forced it, they wouldn't leave in one piece.
As for cooperating with the two rogue ninja? Just like with Konoha before, it would only lead to conflict and betrayal.
Killer Bee and the Kumogakure shinobi withdrew without hesitation. Neither Kakuzu nor Sasori tried to stop them. In fact, their departure meant fewer competitors—a welcome development.
Both rogue ninjas were Kage-level threats in their own right. Sasori had even managed to poison and kill the Third Kazekage. They weren't ones to run from a challenge.
Tsunade might be formidable, but she didn't pose a lethal threat to them—yet.
As the Kumogakure forces retreated, Manda didn't sit idle. No longer the chatty, snack-demanding summon of old, the giant serpent lashed its massive tail downward with terrifying force.
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, trees were ripped from the earth. Rocks, shattered wood, and fragments of human puppets were flung into the sky. In an instant, the forest floor was flattened into a wide, clear space.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Three figures—Tsunade, Kakuzu, and Hiruko—landed heavily on the freshly leveled ground. They had all been within Manda's sweeping attack range.
Sasori narrowed his eyes. "That summon… is no joke."
The power and defense Manda just displayed exceeded even the rumors. Most of Sasori's puppets were destroyed in a single strike.
Like Tsunade, Orochimaru—with this monstrous summon—was a natural counter to Sasori's puppet army. If Sasori hadn't kept the Third Kazekage puppet in reserve, he might have already chosen to retreat like Kumogakure.
"You bastard, Orochimaru!" Tsunade shouted at him, still standing on Manda's massive head. She had been caught in the serpent's attack as well, and Orochimaru hadn't held back in the slightest.
Orochimaru looked down at her. Through the pale green lenses, her bloodshot eyes were still visible. A smirk played at his lips as his voice, laced with a cold, bone-chilling tone, pierced straight into her mind.
"Go deal with that old man—Kakuzu. I hear he once tried to assassinate the First Hokage. That makes him your problem, doesn't it?"
He turned to the other threat. "As for Sasori of the Red Sand—he's mine."
Then, glancing in the direction Killer Bee and the Kumogakure forces had fled, he added with a chilling smile,
"No one leaves here without paying the price."