Land of Lightning, Kumogakure.
The Land of Lightning boasts beautiful natural scenery—blue skies, white clouds, and towering peaks—like a paradise outside the world. Some parts of Kumogakure can be a bit noisy, though.
Thunder echoes frequently around the misty valleys, and near Killer Bee's place, the thunder might have a distinct rhythm. That rhythmic backdrop allowed him to make his debut at a young age as a naturally gifted rap star, and now he's the number-one rapper in the ninja world. Even Senshi would have to give him a thumbs-up and say "skrrt!"
Orochimaru and Yakushi Kabuto entered the Land of Lightning this time without too much hassle. Their arrival in Kumogakure was relatively smooth. Orochimaru wasn't here to cause trouble—he came to make money. So at the village entrance, he had Kabuto inform the Kumogakure ninja that they had important matters and needed to request an audience with the Raikage.
Shortly after the Kumogakure ninja left, Darui—one of the Fourth Raikage's most trusted subordinates—appeared at the village gate. Orochimaru was a well-known, extremely dangerous figure in the ninja world, so the Kumo was taking his arrival seriously.
Darui examined Orochimaru and Kabuto carefully, then asked, "Orochimaru, why do you want to see Lord Raikage?"
Orochimaru smirked coldly. "That's for me and the Raikage to discuss."
Darui frowned. He really didn't want Orochimaru getting involved in any Kumogakure affairs; this ninja was very troublesome. But the Raikage was easily the kind of man who feared nothing. Judging by his scornful expression when he heard the news—scoffing at "the legendary Konoha Sannin who's so dangerous"—the Raikage didn't seem to take Orochimaru seriously at all.
After a moment's hesitation, Darui told them, "You can come with me to see Lord Raikage, but I'll say this in advance: If your visit isn't friendly and you have other intentions, the Kumo will take the harshest possible measures against you!"
"Lead the way," Orochimaru replied, disregarding Darui's warning and urging him to move along. Darui scowled but said no more, doubling his vigilance as he led Orochimaru and Kabuto toward the Raikage's office. Even now he had no idea what Orochimaru's real purpose was, leaving him distinctly uneasy.
Under Darui's guidance, the pair made their way through the Raikage's building and into his office. The Fourth Raikage, A, sat there dominantly—confident and intimidating. Relations between Kumogakure and Konoha weren't the best; the damage the Three Legendary Sannin inflicted on the Kumo during the war was quite significant. Although the Raikage agreed to meet Orochimaru, he had already decided that no matter what Orochimaru wanted, he'd make sure Orochimaru suffered a bit.
The Fourth Raikage looked at Orochimaru and began hurling mocking words straight to his face. "So, the so-called brilliant student of the Third Hokage, Orochimaru—now wandering like a stray dog—has come to our Kumo for help?"
Hearing the Raikage's sarcasm before Orochimaru could respond, Yakushi Kabuto spoke in a flat tone, "Raikage-sama, please treat Lord Orochimaru with respect. Or is the Kumo's remote location to blame for your barbaric approach? Is this how your village welcomes guests—with such crude manners?"
The Raikage had planned on provoking Orochimaru—this was his way of trying to pick a fight. He hadn't expected Kabuto to butt in. Perfect. Orochimaru hadn't taken the bait yet, but his assistant did!
"Boom!" The Raikage's aura flared as he roared, "There's no place here for you to talk! Get out!" A split second after his outburst, he cloaked himself in raging blue lightning chakra and darted at Kabuto with terrifying speed.
"Hiss—!"
Orochimaru let out a sinister laugh and unleashed his Hidden Shadow Snake Hands. Several snakes shot out from his sleeve, violently striking toward the Raikage.
"Boom!"
A deafening crash echoed through the Raikage's office. Dust and rubble flew everywhere, and part of a wall collapsed into a huge opening. Orochimaru and the Fourth Raikage flew out through that gaping hole. Darui and Yakushi Kabuto followed in pursuit, chasing after the Raikage and Orochimaru.
The two landed on a wide platform nearby. Despite the ferocity of that collision, Orochimaru stood there calmly as if unaffected, which left the Fourth Raikage puzzling over how. That brief clash happened in a flash, but A had noticed something. Orochimaru's reflexes could keep up with his taijutsu speed—and his raging lightning chakra, which normally cut through anything, hadn't devastated Orochimaru as expected.
Though known for being rash, the Fourth Raikage was no fool. He snorted, "Hmph! So you came prepared. What you saw just now was only a warm-up!"
Orochimaru smirked. "A warm-up? If that's the level of Kumogakure's lightning style, maybe you should pick a different title instead of 'Raikage' to avoid embarrassment."
It was a bold provocation indeed. But Orochimaru had reason to feel confident. Previously, he'd fought against a lightning-style user whose power had reached terrifying heights—Senshi Uzumaki. Compared to him, the Raikage's lightning release felt underwhelming. After all, Senshi's lightning style was so advanced, he could fire 60-million-volt "Lightning Dragon" blasts at will. The Fourth Raikage was unquestionably an elite among lightning jutsu practitioners, but Orochimaru had long since analyzed Senshi's techniques and optimized his own ninjutsu accordingly. Those preparations might not work on Senshi, but using them here against the Raikage was far more than enough.
Most crucially, after obtaining the Yamata no Orochi Fruit from Senshi, Orochimaru had evolved into a new "perfect vessel." His strength now surpassed any previous peak. So, although the Fourth Raikage was brash and explosive, as soon as Orochimaru openly disrespected him, he erupted.
"Chop!"
Surging with formidable lightning chakra, the Raikage dashed forward with unimaginable speed, swinging an arm chop that could slice through almost anything. Orochimaru responded again—countless snakes poured from his sleeves, surging at the Raikage like a tsunami. Having endured Senshi's "hell training," Orochimaru was no longer fazed by lightning users.
"Hiss—! Hiss—! Hiss—!" Each time the Raikage slashed, he beheaded a snake's head, yet more snakes instantly replaced them, seemingly infinite. Enraged, the Raikage increased his attack: "Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop!" He charged Orochimaru with ferocious power.
Orochimaru greeted him with no courtesy, brandishing his signature technique—Snake Sword Ejection! A giant serpent mouth gaped wide, and the Kusanagi Blade shot forth at lightning speed, stabbing at the Raikage. Though his Lightning Armor protected him from harm, the Raikage found himself increasingly startled by Orochimaru's skill. His lightning chakra only mildly affected Orochimaru, whose resistance was suspiciously high.
Suddenly, one of Orochimaru's snake-arms coiled around the Raikage's body several times like a python. Though strangling someone as physically strong as the Raikage to death was impossible, the unimaginable scene unfolded: before Darui and other cloud shinobi's shocked eyes, Orochimaru hurled the Raikage away, slamming him into the ground!
"Boom!" The Raikage hurtled through the air and landed heavily, fracturing the stone floor like a spiderweb.
"Yoyo! Baka-yaro, kono-yaro, who dare harm my big bro?" A white-haired man wearing sunglasses and holding a blade appeared. It was none other than the other half of the A-B combo, the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki—Killer Bee.
A frowned at him. "B, what are you doing here?"
Killer Bee made a couple of rhythmic gestures and replied, "Whenever someone wreaks havoc in the Kumo, I'm always there to rap it out! Yoyo, can't let them trash the place, so let's lay the smackdown, big bro!"
With that said, Killer Bee charged straight at Orochimaru. Seeing Bee's move, the Raikage didn't hesitate. He leaped toward Orochimaru again for a joint assault.
Orochimaru quickly formed hand seals and crouched:
"Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes!"
"Hisshhhh—!"
From Orochimaru's mouth poured a veritable ocean of poisonous snakes, swarming to devour the Raikage and Killer Bee.
"Yoyo, your snakes are many—annoyingly plenty," Bee rapped as he brandished eight blades in a storm of steel, chopping down the endless serpents, "But you've ticked us off, so you won't have any days left! oh~"
He kept rhyming nonstop, as befitted the Ninja World's rap star. Meanwhile, the Raikage unleashed his advanced Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop to keep shredding the snakes. The Orochimaru standing before them was far stronger than they'd expected from past intel—once known for being "un-killable," now he had risen to "nearly unbeatable." Indeed, Orochimaru had never been in such a peak, tyrannical condition.
Observing how the A-B combo hacked away at the serpents, Orochimaru decided to raise the stakes:
"Yamata no Orochi Form!"
"Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes!"
"Ghhhuahhh—!"
Orochimaru transformed—his single head multiplying into eight. Before, one head spewing snakes already troubled the A-B combo. Now eight heads simultaneously flooded the area with a storm of serpents. In an instant, Bee and the Raikage found themselves in a sea of snakes, a world of slithering scales. The numerous Kumo-nin watching recoiled in terror; Orochimaru looked too calm, hinting he still wasn't at his limit.
Realizing Orochimaru's strength exceeded intelligence reports, the Raikage prepared to get serious. He turned to Killer Bee: "B, you ready?"
The Raikage resolved to use a fusion technique with Bee: "Yoyo, oh no oh no! We might be out of tricks!" Bee rapped, "But we can still do our Double Lariat, oh yeah, yoyo!"
As soon as he finished, Bee and the Raikage sprinted at Orochimaru from opposite directions in a blitz:
"Double Lariat: Guillotine Drop!"
Their speed peaked, attacking Orochimaru from two sides at once. At the center of their collision, Orochimaru's middle head was snapped clean off. But the A-B combo had no time to celebrate. Orochimaru emerged unharmed from the broken stump—it was simply a disposable snake-body substitution.
Standing there completely intact, Orochimaru sneered, "So, was that enough warming up? Do we keep going?"
"Yoyo! You're tough, man. What're you doing here in the Kumo, got a plan?" Killer Bee shot Orochimaru a couple of rap poses. He and his big brother were still able to fight, but it was obvious Orochimaru wasn't here simply for a life-or-death struggle. Therefore, Bee asked straight out.
Although Bee's way of speaking was odd, Orochimaru understood. He gave a sinister grin. "Should we really discuss our business right here?"
The Raikage snorted, turning back toward his office—which now had a gaping hole in one wall. They headed back inside. Killer Bee, glancing at the hole, rapped, "Yoyo! Big bro's so rash—another hole in the walls so brash!"
The Raikage grimaced, irritated at Bee's remark, and got straight to business with Orochimaru: "Speak. Why have you come?"
Smack! Orochimaru clapped his hands in a summoning gesture.
"Ninja Art: Summoning!"
A wooden post emerged from the floor, followed by a large coffin rising from beneath.
"Bringing a coffin, huh? Orochimaru so bad, giving the Raikage a reason to be mad!" said Bee, still rapping, "Baka-yaro, kono-yaro," while the Raikage's rage flared even more. Who shows up and summons a coffin in his office? That was basically picking a fight!
Noticing the Raikage about to explode, Orochimaru hastily added, "Don't get riled up just yet. You'll be grateful in a moment."
His words puzzled both the Raikage and Bee. Orochimaru formed more seals:
"Tiger—Snake—Dog—Dragon!"
"Edo Tensei!"
With a burst of white smoke, the coffin lid fell away to reveal a figure inside, shocking both the Raikage and Bee. Inside was the Third Raikage—A's father!
"Dad?" The Fourth Raikage gaped at the man in the coffin, eyes wide like saucers.
"Yoyo! This jutsu is hot—bringing big bro's dad back from the plot!" Bee exclaimed, as the revived Third Raikage stepped forth with a towering presence.
At first, the Third Raikage seemed very disoriented. He recalled fighting ten thousand enemies for three days and nights until he died of exhaustion. Why was he here now? And how had his son grown so much?
He looked to the Fourth Raikage in confusion. "What's going on here?"
Equally baffled, the Fourth Raikage shook his head. "Dad, I don't know either—Orochimaru did this." He then turned to Orochimaru again, who gave an icy grin: "It's a technique allowing the dead to return to this world."
The father and son Raikage were stunned by what they were hearing, but they didn't dwell on the jutsu for long. The Third Raikage turned to his son. "How's the war?"
The Fourth Raikage responded honestly: "Father, the Third Great Ninja War ended. Right now, Kumogakure is stable. The Five Great Nations have minor disputes but no large-scale war. As for the Tailed Beast, Bee has become a perfect Jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails—no more worry about Gyūki."
Hearing this, the Third Raikage burst into hearty laughter, pounding his son's shoulder in approval. "Hahaha! That's wonderful news. You've done well!"
Though the Fourth Raikage was physically very strong, he still felt like his father's slaps were like hammer blows. Yet he was overjoyed—his father only displayed such excitement when he truly approved.
But just as the Raikage was about to converse further, the Third Raikage's body suddenly fell limp, reverting to a lifeless corpse. The Fourth Raikage was horrified—his father disappeared?
Bee was stunned too. "Baka-yaro, kono-yaro, Orochimaru's so cruel—brought back the Third, then made him vanish! You better explain in a flash, or else you'll get smashed!"
The Fourth Raikage also snarled, "Orochimaru, what the hell did you do? Where's my father?!"
With an eerie laugh, Orochimaru said, "As you saw, this jutsu is still in its infancy. It can only last this long; though your fatherly bond is strong, I can't help much more right now. If you want this technique perfected to last longer, Raikage-sama—well, that depends on you."
He was spouting nonsense. In truth, the Third Raikage disappeared because Orochimaru canceled the Edo Tensei himself. After witnessing that "reunion," he guessed both the Raikage and Bee would be very interested in improving it.
…
Meanwhile, in Konoha's Ninja Academy…
Many students gathered to watch two classmates spar. One was the school's top genius—Sasuke Uchiha. The other was the "universal dead-last" of the school—Naruto Uzumaki. Typically, Sasuke should have crushed Naruto in a practice match, yet reality proved otherwise. Sasuke was strong, yes, but today he was far stronger than usual. While that was plausible for the school's genius, what shocked everyone was that Naruto's strength wasn't inferior to Sasuke's at all!
For classmates like Haruno Sakura, Yamanaka Ino, and even their homeroom teacher Iruka, the high-level showdown between Naruto and Sasuke was unbelievable.
Swish! Naruto's kunai glinted as it slashed toward Sasuke's throat. The speed made everyone, especially Sakura, gasp—how would Sasuke handle such a swift attack?
"Hmph." Sasuke curled his lips, did a slick backward somersault, dodging Naruto's strike. Mid-air, he flung three shuriken spinning at Naruto. "Whoosh!"
"Clang!" The shuriken tore through Naruto's figure, only to reveal it was a puff of white smoke—Naruto had used a Body Replacement Technique, leaving a wooden log behind.
"Wha—?" Not only that, Naruto reappeared a short distance away and immediately hurled his kunai back at Sasuke. Sasuke was still in mid-air, nowhere to brace himself, making Sakura and others even more tense. Yet Sasuke showed no panic, twirling gracefully 720 degrees. In a flash, he seized Naruto's thrown kunai mid-spin and landed lightly on his feet.
So cool! Though Naruto's moves today were also cool, Sasuke's style was simply more elegantly flashy, prompting squeals from girls like Sakura. Naruto, of course, felt annoyed, knowing his power was no less than Sasuke's, but he couldn't match Sasuke's flair.
On a nearby rooftop, the elderly Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, watched with clouded eyes, frowning deeply.
"This shouldn't be happening…" he murmured.
~~~
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