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[Konoha] Chapter 250: Battle of the Sannin, Breath of Thunder!
🕑 Added 2024-12-04 06:30:01 +0000 UTCWhoosh! Whoosh!
Two venomous snakes shot out, aiming straight for Jiraiya.
"Such tricks won’t trouble me!"
Jiraiya chuckled lightly. Just as he prepared to act, the snakes opened their mouths, revealing explosive tags inside.
His eyes twitched. Without hesitation, Jiraiya leapt backward, quickly forming hand seals. Slamming his hand to the ground, a stone wall erupted upward.
Boom! Boom!
The explosion sent rocks flying everywhere. Orochimaru’s figure blurred, leaving afterimages as he reappeared behind Jiraiya with incredible speed. With a flick of his wrist, two more venomous snakes coiled around Jiraiya, their fangs heading straight for his neck.
"Orochimaru, you’re really not holding back!"
Jiraiya smiled faintly. His long white hair suddenly extended, wrapping around his neck like a spiked shield, piercing the snakes.
Needle Jizo!
"Fool, when fighting an enemy, you must aim to kill!"
Orochimaru sneered. Raising one hand, the impaled snakes exploded, blowing Jiraiya into a muddy heap.
But at that moment, a swamp formed beneath Orochimaru’s feet.
Jiraiya emerged from the ground only to see Orochimaru’s sinking body disintegrate into mud.
Earth Clone Substitution!
"Orochimaru, still as slippery as ever!"
Jiraiya’s tone carried a hint of teasing as he quickly resumed the pursuit.
---
Outside the Experimental Base
Orochimaru came to a halt, smiling as he looked ahead. "Kakashi…"
Though masked, Kakashi’s distinctive white hair gave him away.
Moreover, Orochimaru could sense the Eight-Tails’ power within him.
It wasn’t due to Orochimaru’s exceptional sensory abilities but rather because he harbored a similar power himself.
"You’ve managed to harness the Eight-Tails’ strength in its rawest form. Truly worthy of being White Fang’s son," Orochimaru remarked with a sly smile. "But if you plan to stop me, you’re far from enough."
Kakashi’s eyes narrowed. In the next moment, lightning crackled across his limbs, and the sound of chirping birds filled the air.
Orochimaru’s mouth opened wide—unnaturally so, almost grotesquely. From within, a tide of venomous snakes slithered out, forming a horrifying swarm.
Faced with this inhuman technique, Kakashi felt a chill down his spine but immediately dashed forward without hesitation.
Just as he tore through the snake swarm with ease, carving a path toward Orochimaru, he noticed something. Within the snakes’ open mouths were more explosive tags.
Swish!
Kakashi vanished mid-charge, leaving only a kunai in his place.
"The Flying Thunder God technique…" Orochimaru chuckled softly before disappearing himself.
When Jiraiya emerged moments later, he found Kakashi standing there, looking slightly awkward.
"Don’t worry about it. Orochimaru’s skills are no joke," Jiraiya said, patting Kakashi on the shoulder. "Head back and report to Minato. I’ll take it from here."
"Understood, Lord Jiraiya," Kakashi nodded before vanishing.
"Such a convenient jutsu," Jiraiya muttered with a smile before continuing his pursuit.
---
Outside Konoha
Orochimaru stopped again, surprised to see the figure ahead. "I didn’t expect you’d come to see me off."
With her arms crossed, Tsunade frowned at him. "You’re becoming less and less human."
Orochimaru didn’t mind the comment, laughing softly. "It’s simply a necessary phase in the pursuit of truth. After all, not everyone is blessed with Shuichi’s unique constitution."
"But surely you didn’t come all this way just to say that?"
Tsunade scoffed. "Of course not."
"I won’t stop you from leaving the village, but if you dare threaten it, I won’t show you any mercy."
Orochimaru’s eyes narrowed as his lips curled into a grin. "That, I can’t guarantee. After all, there are still things in the village I desire."
Tsunade dropped her arms, her gaze turning dangerous. "In that case, don’t blame me for being ruthless."
Orochimaru smirked. "Tsunade, you’re no match for me."
"Orochimaru, don’t get too arrogant. I’m not the same as before."
As she finished speaking, green flames erupted from Tsunade’s body, enveloping her entirely.
Flame Breathing: Hymn of Life!
Boom!
The ground beneath her feet shattered and collapsed as Tsunade left a trail of green afterimages, closing the distance to Orochimaru in an instant.
"So fast!"
Orochimaru was shocked. This speed far exceeded anything he had expected.
And this technique was something Orochimaru had never seen before.
Boom!
Unable to dodge in time, Orochimaru took a direct punch from Tsunade to the face. His cheek deformed under the impact as his entire body was sent flying. He crashed through three trees in succession before slamming into a fourth, then dropped to the ground in a heap.
Tsunade, however, frowned slightly. She could tell that her punch hadn’t landed with full effect.
As expected, Orochimaru stood up moments later, twisting his neck as if nothing had happened.
“Tsunade, your strength has improved,” Orochimaru remarked, studying her with a curious smile. “This technique seems different—something you didn’t create yourself, I presume?”
“Shuichi, huh?”
Tsunade snorted, the ground beneath her feet exploding as she charged forward again.
Orochimaru quickly formed hand seals, summoning a series of stone walls to rise in her path. But they shattered instantly with deafening explosions as Tsunade bulldozed through them with sheer brute force.
In response, Orochimaru threw a shuriken and formed seals. The shuriken multiplied, filling the air with a dense barrage aimed at Tsunade.
Multiple Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!
Yet Tsunade’s figure vanished, leaving the shurikens to miss their target. Moments later, a thunderous explosion erupted behind Orochimaru as Tsunade burst out from the ground, attacking from below.
Orochimaru narrowly dodged by leaping away. Landing on the ground, his neck suddenly extended at an unnatural speed, wrapping around Tsunade several times before his jaws lunged toward her neck.
Tsunade snorted, and the green flames engulfing her body began to scorch Orochimaru.
A pained grunt escaped him as shock flashed in his eyes. He quickly released Tsunade and recoiled.
"Burning both chakra and cells?!"
Orochimaru’s astonishment deepened. The green flames on his body burned along the chakra network, directly reaching his cells.
The affected cells aged rapidly and died.
Orochimaru immediately ceased chakra refinement, but it was futile—the fire fed on the energy of his physical body instead.
“This isn’t chakra-based... it’s physical energy. Yang Release?”
Realizing the nature of the attack, Orochimaru unleashed a burst of chakra, overwhelming the flames and snuffing them out through sheer force.
"What a brilliant application... as expected of Shuichi."
Sensing that Jiraiya was closing in, Orochimaru smirked. Biting his finger, he performed a summoning jutsu, calling forth two massive serpents before retreating quickly.
Tsunade rolled her eyes and charged, pummeling the summoned snakes into submission.
Once the serpents were dismissed, Jiraiya arrived.
Tsunade turned back toward Konoha, saying, “Idiot, be careful. Orochimaru isn’t the same as before. You felt it too, didn’t you?”
Jiraiya nodded slightly but then smiled. “After all, we’re the Sannin.”
With that, he leapt after Orochimaru.
Whether to save face or out of camaraderie, Jiraiya still hoped Orochimaru wouldn’t truly leave Konoha.
But Orochimaru had already made his decision long ago.
He had built numerous experimental bases outside the village.
Jiraiya pursued Orochimaru northward, from day into night, eventually losing his trail at an abandoned experimental base.
There, Jiraiya found traces of Wood Release experiments and numerous peculiar white-scaled snakes.
---
Shuichi learned of Orochimaru’s defection that evening when he visited the experimental base and spoke with Tsunade.
“Letting Orochimaru act as a spy within the Akatsuki… that’s not a good idea,” Tsunade warned. “You can’t possibly control him!”
Shuichi chuckled. “In this world, who can truly control anyone else?”
“Orochimaru isn’t really a spy. His departure from Konoha was inevitable.”
“Konoha couldn’t give him what he sought—it would only hold him back. When he couldn’t achieve his goals here, leaving was the natural choice. He’ll chase immortality, eternity, and the truths of the world.”
“Calling him a ‘spy’ is just the nature of the deal between us. A mutually beneficial arrangement, nothing more.”
“But one thing is certain—Orochimaru will never agree with that so-called Eye of the Moon Plan.”
Tsunade nodded at this.
Orochimaru might be evil, but he was a pragmatist.
The Eye of the Moon Plan could only deceive idealists.
---
Shuichi shifted the topic. “How’s the progress on Yang Release-based taijutsu?”
Tsunade frowned, displeased. “For me, raw strength is already enough.”
Such stubbornness!
Shuichi smiled faintly. “I have a suggestion. Do you remember a technique of yours, Body Pathway Derangement?”
“Body Pathway Derangement?”
Tsunade appeared thoughtful.
This technique transformed chakra into electrical signals to disrupt the nervous system’s transmissions.
The body’s nerves rely on bioelectricity, which is essentially composed of electrons.
By converting chakra into these electrons, Body Pathway Derangement disrupted the target’s neural signals, operating on principles similar to genjutsu but through physical means.
Of course, even though this involves chakra being "electronized," it doesn’t fall under Lightning Release but rather an application of Yang Release.
Tsunade, with her profound understanding of the human body, was only second to the cheat-like abilities of Shuichi in utilizing Yang Release.
After Shuichi’s reminder, she quickly realized, “Electronized chakra... using it to replace the Lightning Release cellular activation technique?”
“Using this method to accelerate neural responses—while it might lack the defensive power of a Lightning Armor, in terms of reaction speed and agility, it might not fall short, especially when combined with Flame Breathing: Hymn of Life.”
Shuichi immediately gave her a thumbs-up. “As expected of one of the Three Sannin, the greatest medical ninja in the world!”
Tsunade glanced at him with slight annoyance and snorted, “Since you’ve already thought of it, it should be simple for you to perfect, shouldn’t it?”
Shuichi shook his head. “What I initially thought of was Lightning Release—that is, Lightning Breathing.”
“But that’s suitable for me, not for other medical ninja.”
“Besides, I don’t know the Body Pathway Derangement technique.”
Body Pathway Derangement is an A-rank jutsu, a forbidden technique surpassing the difficulty level of a standard jonin.
But no powerful jutsu comes easy.
Flame Breathing - Hymn of Life has a low threshold, making it accessible to most medical ninja.
However, advancing further would naturally eliminate a portion of practitioners.
Shuichi believed that electronization through Yang Release could be mastered with effort by medical jonin.
“This is a great idea. I’ll give it a try,” Tsunade agreed.
Shuichi then grinned. “Why not call this technique Electric Breathing?”
Tsunade rolled her eyes at the name and waved dismissively. “Call it whatever you want.”
“But what about your Lightning Breathing? How’s that going?”
“You’ll see,” Shuichi replied.
With a loud boom, green flames engulfed Shuichi’s body, followed by the distinct crackle of electricity.
Tsunade observed as streams of electricity erupted from his body—not blue, white, or even purple, but a deep red, as though dyed in blood.
The green flames and crimson electricity intertwined, casting a striking visual contrast.
Shuichi’s black hair stood on end, resembling the Lightning Release Chakra Mode. But Tsunade could sense that this was different.
The difference lay in the source—it wasn’t drawing large amounts of chakra for Lightning Release transformation but instead...
“Electric currents are erupting directly from each cell,” Tsunade noted with a serious expression. “Just like Flame Breathing, it burns each cell’s vitality, extracting life force to generate immense power.”
She continued, “Lightning Chakra Mode—or rather, Lightning Release’s cellular activation—enhances reaction speed and mobility. But Lightning Breathing… it links every cell with electricity, forming a network... an electric grid?”
Shuichi nodded with a smile. “Exactly!”
“As expected of a Sannin, your insight is sharp.”
“While it doesn’t create a Lightning Armor, it builds an electric grid inside the body, forming an electromagnetic field. This boosts my reaction speed—both neural and physical responses—far beyond that of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.”
“Additionally, it greatly enhances explosive strength and physical power.”
As he spoke, Shuichi deactivated Flame Breathing and Lightning Breathing, adding, “Electronized chakra won’t increase physical strength much, but the boost to reaction speed is significant.”
“My estimate is that activating Electric Breathing will make someone comparable to opening the Fifth Gate of the Eight Gates.”
“Of course, the effects will vary from person to person.”
Lightning Breathing is more powerful than Electric Breathing, as the former also possesses offensive capabilities, with high-voltage electricity delivering attacks akin to Lightning Release.
Meanwhile, Electric Breathing relies on the internal electric grid and electromagnetic field to disrupt an opponent’s neural signals during close combat, creating a substantial advantage.
Tsunade asked, “What rank is your Lightning Breathing?”
“B-rank, not too difficult,” Shuichi replied.
“But the drawback is that once the electric grid and field are established, I can’t finely control the lightning itself.”
Tsunade wasn’t surprised. “No jutsu is perfect... but how did you come up with it?”
Shuichi chuckled. “While developing Electromagnetic Release.”
Electromagnetic Release?”
Tsunade was startled. “You mean that Bloodline Expansion you mentioned before? Did you finish it?”
Shuichi sighed. “It’s proving to be a bit harder than I anticipated.”
“But I’m confident I can master it within two years.”
Electromagnetic force, the second strongest force in the universe, isn’t something easily controlled.
However, with Shuichi’s cheat-like abilities, it would take at most two moments of “Flash of Insight” for him to grasp it fully.
How far he could develop it would depend on his knowledge and chakra reserves.
But there was no doubt that with his immense chakra, this would significantly raise his combat potential ceiling.
(End of Chapter)
(T/N: Breath of Flame and Flame Breathing is same, and so Breath of Thunder and Lighting Breathing. Think of this like how there are two or more name for a justu, Like English Name, Viz Media Print etc does..)
Comments
Sil3nt
Thanks for another great chapter bro! Looking forward to more!
