Naruto: Kurotsuchi Mayuri

"The power's increased!"

As the white smoke of Rashomon faded away, Orochimaru commented on Jiraiya's technique.

"I'm still growing, you know!"

In a flash, a figure appeared right in front of Orochimaru.

Following the voice, Orochimaru had just enough time to lower his gaze before he saw Jiraiya, crouched like a frog with all four limbs on the ground, swinging his arm and landing a punch right on Orochimaru's face.

Orochimaru's facial muscles twisted instantly, and his entire body was sent flying, spinning through the air like a stretched rubber band.

"That was way too strong! You didn't kill Orochimaru, did you, little Jiraiya?!"

"What are you saying, you fool! Little Jiraiya knows what he's doing. Are you trying to make him carry the burden of killing a Hokage and becoming a rogue ninja?"

"What's that got to do with me?!"

"Focus on the fight, Boss, Big Sis! Orochimaru's not someone who goes down that easily!" Jiraiya quickly tried to calm the two arguing sages, his head pounding from their bickering.

And he wasn't wrong.

Maybe he didn't understand Orochimaru's heart the most, but he certainly knew Orochimaru's abilities and jutsu very well as a former teammate.

This kind of damage might be serious for a normal ninja, but for Orochimaru, it was nothing!

Especially the feeling he got when his punch connected—it didn't feel like normal flesh and bone, but more like hitting something rubbery and springy.

Sure enough, Orochimaru was already standing perfectly fine beside the shattered tree he had crashed into.

There wasn't even a mark on his face where the punch had landed—no swelling, no bruises, nothing.

"Huh!"

The two sages who had been arguing also noticed Orochimaru's unharmed state and gasped in surprise.

Even though the Sage Mode from Mount Myoboku doesn't primarily enhance physical strength, it's well-rounded.

No matter what type of chakra or fighting style the user has, Mount Myoboku's sage techniques can enhance it.

Of course, the biggest enhancement was the boost to ninjutsu and chakra.

In Sage Mode, even a basic jutsu could be amplified to an unimaginable level.

"Is that a layer of chakra cloak?" Fukasaku was a bit surprised.

"I can sense the flow of natural energy. It's an unfamiliar Sage Mode!" Shima added.

They didn't rush to take advantage of the moment and launch a fierce attack. After all, this wasn't a real battle — just a long-overdue sparring session between old comrades.

They needed to test each other's limits first, to know how far they could go. They couldn't just go all-out with killing intent from the start, right?

What if they accidentally killed Orochimaru? Then poor little Jiraiya really would be forced to become a rogue ninja.

"It's Static Blood Armor," Jiraiya explained to the two toads. "It's a support-type jutsu created a long time ago by Nara Kagetsu, one of Orochimaru's students. It greatly boosts physical defense."

"Orochimaru clearly modified the technique to suit himself. Regular blunt attacks or taijutsu won't be very effective against him anymore."

"If that's the case, let's hurry and finish this! I don't have time to waste playing around with you all! If I get home late, dinner's going to be ruined!"

Shima puffed up her cheeks, complaining as she formed hand signs.

"If this wasn't such a difficult enemy, why even summon us here? Now I'll end up arguing with my wife again tonight,"

Fukasaku sighed, but his hands moved rapidly to complete the signs.

A fierce gust of wind roared from Fukasaku's mouth.

Infused with Sage energy, it turned into a spinning tornado that suddenly appeared, swirling like a dancing performer.

With powerful wind force, it trapped Orochimaru, locking him in place and cutting off his escape routes.

"Since that little girl Tsunade is here too, let's go a bit more violent."

As Shima the Toad Sage spoke, a thin stream of water sprayed from her mouth. As her head moved, the stream sliced through everything in its path, cleanly cutting Orochimaru's body in half at the waist.

Urgh!

From the upper half of the bisected Orochimaru, his mouth suddenly stretched wide open.

A pair of pale arms forced the jaws apart, like a snake unhinging its jaw, and from inside, a wet, fresh Orochimaru slid out.

Shed Skin – Orochimaru-style Body Replacement Technique.

This technique allows him to use an external body as a decoy and escape from his own mouth without even needing hand seals.

It's a unique survival skill developed by Orochimaru, inspired by the serpents of Ryūchi Cave.

No matter how serious the injury, as long as his soul isn't harmed, Orochimaru can use this shedding technique to fully restore his body and condition.

The only cost is some chakra, depending on how badly he's hurt.

But even so, Orochimaru can't use this special jutsu endlessly in the middle of battle.

"Hey, hey, hey, Orochimaru, at least show some fighting spirit! Weren't you the one who wanted to spar? Just standing there and taking hits—what kind of sparring is that?!"

Jiraiya sounded annoyed.

Orochimaru had talked big before the fight, but now that Jiraiya was serious and had summoned both Toad Sages, Orochimaru's performance was disappointing.

Naturally, that irritated Jiraiya.

"You're always in such a rush, Jiraiya." Orochimaru just licked the corner of his mouth and didn't seem angry at all.

"Forget it. If you're not going to attack, then let me give you a good beating! Even if you're Hokage now, if you can't even beat a so-called loser like me, then next time you better talk to me with a little more respect!"

Jiraiya snorted.

With Sage Mode boosting him, Jiraiya's movements were now far beyond what an ordinary ninja could react to.

Even Orochimaru needed time to adjust just to keep up.

Even with the exceptional dynamic vision and insight of the Sharingan, Jiraiya's current movements were too fast to follow without preparation.

The eyes could barely keep up—but the body couldn't react in time.

Orochimaru's body was like a sandbag, flung back and forth in midair under Jiraiya's relentless assault.

Tsunade, standing to the side, couldn't even clearly see Jiraiya's movements.

All she saw was Orochimaru's body flailing in the air, getting kicked around like a ragdoll amidst loud thuds.

Suddenly, a massive blue chakra sphere appeared, pushed forward by both of Jiraiya's hands—right into Orochimaru's face.

The high-speed, steadily rotating sphere caused massive damage to Orochimaru's body in an instant.

Even with his regenerative ability through the Cursed Seal, the defense was barely holding up.

The enormous sphere was so large it easily covered Orochimaru's entire body. In just a blink, layers of his skin and flesh were ground away.

Sage Art: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan!

The massive sphere smashed Orochimaru into the ground, carving a deep crater beneath him.

At the center of the pit lay Orochimaru, bloodied and torn.

****

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