Chapter 447: Hold Me Tight

Chapter 447: Chapter 447: Hold Me Tight

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three figures exchanged punches and kicks, producing a series of dull, heavy impacts.

The reputations of the First and Second Hokage were certainly intimidating.

But after actually exchanging blows with them, Kagami discovered that whether in strength or speed, the First and Second Hokage’s reanimated bodies were nowhere near as powerful as he had imagined.

In fact, they were far inferior to his Type-A Wind Release clone.

"So that’s all there is to them!"

Having tested the true capabilities of the First and Second Hokage’s reanimated bodies, Kagami immediately relaxed.

His attacks became much more vicious.

He directly smashed a fist into the face of the First Hokage’s reanimated body, sending him flying backward. Then, with a flicker of his figure, he spun around and unleashed a sweeping kick, sending the Second Hokage’s reanimated body, who had been charging toward him, flying as well.

Boom...

Boom...

Amid two thunderous crashes, the reanimated bodies of the First and Second Hokage slammed heavily into the distant stone walls, respectively smashing deep indentations into two towering walls that originally stood atop the dome of the ruins!

On the back of the giant green snake, Orochimaru’s gaze sharpened.

"Damn it... this guy’s taijutsu is this strong?!"

As the one controlling the reanimated bodies of the First and Second Hokage, Orochimaru naturally knew that these two reanimated bodies couldn’t possibly be compared to the real First and Second Hokage.

Part of the reason lay in the quality of the sacrifices used for the reanimation, while another part came from the restrictions Orochimaru himself had deliberately imposed.

Since this was merely an experimental attempt, the sacrifices Orochimaru had prepared for the First and Second Hokage this time were nothing more than the corpses of ordinary chunin. They were worlds apart from the specially modified White Zetsu clones he used as sacrifices during the Fourth Shinobi World War in the original timeline to reincarnate the previous Hokage.

Furthermore, wary of the strength of the First and Second Hokage, Orochimaru had deliberately added several formulas to restrain their souls before performing the Impure World Reincarnation.

Although doing so greatly strengthened his control over the reanimated First and Second Hokage, it also severely weakened their combat strength.

But even with all these restrictions, the taijutsu abilities of the First and Second Hokage’s reanimated bodies were unquestionably at the level of elite jonin. Even if Orochimaru personally fought them, defeating these two reanimated bodies through taijutsu would require some effort.

Therefore, after seeing Kagami knock both of them away so effortlessly, Orochimaru displayed obvious wariness toward Kagami’s taijutsu prowess!

At that moment, Kagami suddenly swung his right hand.

Two masses of black Iron Sand separated from his body and swept forward, completely enveloping the reanimated bodies of the First and Second Hokage where they lay embedded in the walls.

In an instant, they resembled two enormous cocoons made entirely of Iron Sand!

Kagami then turned his gaze toward Orochimaru atop the giant green snake.

Feeling the bone-chilling killing intent emanating from Kagami, even Orochimaru, who was long accustomed to slaughter, couldn’t help but feel his heart tremble slightly.

The playful expression on his face gradually froze.

Kurenai, standing beside Orochimaru, stared with her mouth slightly open and murmured,

"So strong..."

Whoosh—

With a flicker, Kagami leaped from the dome of the ruins high into the air.

Then—

A pair of enormous black wings unfurled from his back!

Orochimaru and Kurenai, standing atop the giant green snake, simultaneously raised their heads and looked toward Kagami in the sky.

The enormous black wings spread behind Kagami, combined with his black cloak trimmed in gold and the raging-wind pattern on his mask...

For a fleeting moment, Kurenai even had the illusion that the figure before her was—

an angel of the night!

Whoosh!

Gliding forward at tremendous speed, Kagami reached the back of the giant green snake in the blink of an eye.

At the same time, the black spear formed from Iron Sand in his hand struck Orochimaru squarely through the heart!

"You...!"

Orochimaru stared at Kagami in horror, his expression filled with disbelief.

Kurenai was equally shocked.

"He killed Orochimaru?!"

Kagami merely said indifferently,

"Drop the pathetic act."

The exaggerated expression on Orochimaru’s face immediately vanished, and the corner of his mouth curled upward.

"I thought you were merely the most inconspicuous member of Kamigami. It seems I underestimated you!"

As soon as he finished speaking—

Poof!

Orochimaru’s body exploded into a cloud of white smoke.

Immediately afterward, the giant green snake beneath their feet also disappeared in another burst of white smoke.

"Ah!"

With the giant green snake suddenly vanishing, Kurenai, whose hands were still bound behind her back, instantly lost her footing and began plummeting toward the ground.

When standing upright, the giant green snake had been more than ten meters tall, nearly the height of a five- or six-story building. Falling from such a height while completely restrained would be difficult to endure even for a shinobi.

Just as Kurenai closed her eyes, believing there was no way she could escape unharmed—

Her falling body abruptly stopped.

"Huh...?"

Her eyes snapped open.

Only then did she realize that she was already being held in the arms of the Kamigami member wearing the raging-wind-patterned mask.

And the ropes binding her hands behind her back...

had already been severed.

After landing steadily on the ground, Kagami asked Kurenai,

"Are you alright?"

Kurenai froze for a moment.

Although his tone gave off a cold and distant feeling, she could clearly sense that he was genuinely concerned about her.

Seeing Kurenai standing there in a daze, Kagami thought Orochimaru might have done something to her. He hurriedly activated his Byakugan and carefully examined her body, asking again,

"What’s wrong?"

Snapping back to her senses, Kurenai hurriedly shoved Kagami away before turning her face to the side.

"I’m fine. Just who are you? Why... why did you save me?"

Just as Kagami was about to casually make something up—

Suddenly, the earth began to tremble!

Kurenai, who was still somewhat distracted, stumbled—

and fell straight back into Kagami’s arms.

Kagami, however, paid no attention to her. His gaze swept across their surroundings as he said,

"We’ve got trouble!"

Startled and confused, Kurenai blurted out,

"What kind of trouble?"

Before the words had even left her mouth—

One tree after another burst through the earth and shot toward the sky!

At the same time, the trees that had already surrounded them seemed to come alive, growing wildly at an astonishing rate!

"W-Wood Release!?"

Kurenai covered her mouth in shock.

At this point, Kagami had no time to worry about anything else.

He said directly,

"Hold on tight!"

He had to break out of this forest before the First Hokage’s reanimated body could fully unleash Deep Forest Emergence.

Otherwise, even with Magnet Release at his disposal, there was absolutely no way he could withstand an endless barrage of Wood Release attacks!

Whoosh!

With a sharp sound, a pair of enormous black wings once again spread open behind Kagami.

Immediately afterward, carrying Kurenai with him, he lifted off the ground—

and soared into the sky!

However, the wildly proliferating trees intertwined above Kagami’s head, forming an airtight net that blotted out the sky.

Like birds trapped in a cage, Kagami and Kurenai were forced back down!

Meanwhile, the reanimated bodies of the First and Second Hokage had already broken free from the restraints of the Iron Sand.

Within the maze-like forest, the two moved with astonishing agility, weaving between the trees as they charged toward Kagami and Kurenai from different directions while the pair remained entangled by the surrounding branches!

Atop the dome of the ruins—

Orochimaru, who had evaded Kagami’s surprise attack using a Shadow Clone, was now watching the fierce battle within the forest with great interest.

Seeing how determined Kagami was to protect Kurenai, Orochimaru secretly wondered,

"Could this guy really have intercepted me... because of Yuhi Kurenai?"