When Orochimaru saw Jiraiya summon a toad the size of a fist, he mocked, "You're still as foolish as ever."
Jiraiya gritted his teeth, his expression grim. "Damn it!" Once Manda was summoned, he looked at the live slug in front of him and arrogantly said, "Orochimaru, what did you summon me for?"
"This slug is quite troublesome." Although Manda was powerful, he was restrained by the slug. He could win, but he was reluctant to fight the slug for Orochimaru. Orochimaru remained silent.
Manda was infuriated. "I'm talking to you, be careful, or I'll eat you."
Kabuto, standing beside Orochimaru, glanced at him, surprised by Manda's arrogance. 'If Manda finds out that Lord Orochimaru can't use ninjutsu, he might turn on us immediately, or even eat us both.'
Though summoning beasts aren't as powerful as tailed beasts, their combat strength is not inferior to the Three Legendary Sannin. After all, even Jiraiya admitted he couldn't control Gamabunta. Manda's strength was even slightly superior to Gamabunta's.
Of course, killing Orochimaru was nearly impossible, at least Manda couldn't do it. But injuring him wasn't out of the question, especially since Orochimaru's hands were crippled, preventing him from using ninjutsu. Kabuto alone was no match for Manda.
Kabuto could only say, "Lord Manda, we will properly thank you afterward." Manda coldly replied, "Who gave you permission to speak to me? Hey, Orochimaru, prepare a hundred live sacrifices for me afterward." Orochimaru said nothing, and Manda took his silence as agreement.
If it were a two-on-one, Manda might feel pressured. But in a one-on-one, he was confident of victory. Tsunade looked at Jiraiya and frowned.
She hadn't expected Jiraiya to still be incapacitated. The live slug looked at Manda and said, "Lady Tsunade, in a one-on-one, we might not be a match for Manda and Orochimaru." Tsunade knew this, but without summoning the slug, victory was even more unlikely.
Manda eyed the slug, contemplating a strategy to devour it. Jiraiya, on the ground, watched Manda and the slug appear, his expression grave. "The situation is dire. Tsunade and the slug are definitely not a match for Orochimaru and Manda." They had faced off before.
Manda and Orochimaru were the strongest combination among them. Though they claimed to counter each other, it was always Jiraiya with Gamabunta and Tsunade with the slug teaming up against Orochimaru and Manda. Shizune stood up, moving to Jiraiya's side, intending to cleanse the drugs from his system.
The toads Gamakichi and Gamatatsu, summoned earlier by Naruto, followed Tonton and ran to Jiraiya's side. "Lord Jiraiya, I'll help you remove the drugs from your body." Jiraiya nodded, his expression serious. "Yes, be quick. Tsunade and the slug won't hold out for long."
Shizune nodded, fully aware of the urgency. Meanwhile, Tsunade said, "Slug, take this child to Shizune." The slug immediately split off a part of itself, carrying Naruto to Shizune and Jiraiya.
At this moment, Naruto was still unconscious.
After a tense standoff with Katsuyu, Manda suddenly launched an attack. "Strike first to gain the upper hand." "Whoosh~" Manda's speed was incredible, and he quickly appeared beside Katsuyu, whose movements were much slower.
Before Katsuyu could dodge, Manda had already wrapped around her. Manda immediately chuckled, "Hahaha, got you now." The immense strength squeezed Katsuyu's soft body into several rings of flesh.
Tsunade frowned. "Katsuyu, hang in there." As she spoke, she raised her fist and aimed a punch at Orochimaru, who was atop Manda's head. Tsunade's strength was immense, but her speed was lacking.
Manda merely tilted his head slightly to evade Tsunade's attack. Just as Katsuyu's body was about to be crushed, she suddenly split into countless smaller slugs. This was one of Katsuyu's abilities, the power to divide into many smaller slugs.
Even the Katsuyu summoned by Tsunade was actually a division of the giant slug from the Shikkotsu Forest. The numerous divided slugs quickly crawled aside and merged back together. But Manda was even faster, swiftly closing in on Katsuyu again.
"I'm going to eat you," Manda declared, opening his massive jaws to swallow Katsuyu once more. Seeing that Katsuyu was about to be devoured, Tsunade rushed towards Manda, intending to solve the problem with a single punch. However, she was only halfway there when Manda's tail swatted her away.
The force was tremendous, sending Tsunade flying several hundred meters, crashing into a small mound, which left a large crater. Such is the terror of a giant summoning beast, with its advantage in size and strength. Although Tsunade's power was formidable, it was useless if she couldn't land a hit.
Just as Manda's jaws were about to close around Katsuyu, a golden lightning bolt shot from afar. "Zzz~zap" "Splurt" The golden lightning pierced through Manda's mouth in an instant. Blood gushed from Manda's mouth, and the intense pain forced him to release Katsuyu.
"It hurts like hell!" The excruciating pain infuriated Manda. "Who is it? Who's the fool courting death?"
"How dare you ambush me!" Manda searched frantically for the enemy. The rescued Katsuyu quickly moved to Tsunade's side.
Tsunade stood up from the mound. She leaped onto Katsuyu's head, frowning as she asked, "What just happened?
"Who intervened?" Katsuyu, equally puzzled, replied, "I don't know, but judging from the attack, it was a lightning-style ninja, and a very strong one at that." Tsunade furrowed her brows. "A lightning-style ninja?
Could it be the Fourth Raikage?" After all, she had met the Fourth Raikage just a few months ago. And a strong lightning-style ninja likely pointed to him.
But why would the Fourth Raikage save her? Tsunade was perplexed. Orochimaru and Kabuto, standing on Manda's head, were also confused.
Manda, in pain, thrashed about, his eyes scanning the area. He had to find and devour the one who ambushed him. "Who is it, hiding in the shadows? If you have the guts, come out." Jiraiya and Shizune were also curiously searching around.
But they couldn't locate the attacker. Manda's roar seemed to quickly elicit a response from the other side. "If you want me to come out, I'll come out."
In the next moment, a figure appeared beside Tsunade. Realizing someone was next to her, Tsunade turned her head. Upon seeing who it was, her expression turned to shock. "It's, it's you?"
The newcomer smiled. "Yes, it's me, Lady Tsunade. You look quite disheveled." The person was none other than Yoruha, returning from the Land of Snow. "What are you doing here?"
With his hands in his pockets, Yoruha replied casually, "Mission's done, so I came back." Seeing Yoruha's nonchalant demeanor, Tsunade couldn't help but feel irritated. "This isn't a place you should be. It's dangerous; leave immediately."
Though Yoruha had just demonstrated his abilities, Tsunade didn't believe he could handle the current situation.
Read till the end of this volume at:
[email protected]/ChakraMaster