Chapter 450: Killing Machine

Chapter 450: Chapter 450: Killing Machine

Orochimaru truly wasn’t afraid of ordinary physical attacks, but faced with Kagami’s bone blades that could slice through iron like mud, his ghost-like movements, and his swift and vicious taijutsu, he felt a long-forgotten sense of fear!

After all, if his body were sliced into pieces, then his Body Regeneration Secret Technique would become meaningless.

Clang...

Clang...

As he fled, Orochimaru continuously used the Kusanagi Sword to block the relentless attacks of Kagami’s bone clone. The piercing sound of metal colliding with metal rang out incessantly, almost as though someone were hammering away at a forge.

"How is this guy’s taijutsu so strong?!"

Orochimaru considered his own taijutsu to be quite formidable, and he had encountered plenty of taijutsu masters over the years. But an opponent as ghostly and ferocious as the one before him was something he had rarely ever faced.

For a fleeting moment, he even felt as though he had returned to the old days in the village, when he used to spar with Hatake Sakumo.

That’s right.

The pressure this opponent placed on him instinctively reminded him of the powerhouse known throughout the shinobi world as the Konoha White Fang—the man who, armed with nothing more than a short blade, had slaughtered his enemies until the mere mention of his name struck fear into their hearts!

Watching Orochimaru flee in such a miserable state, Kagami weaved through the forest of bones with an utterly calm expression, not the slightest ripple of emotion visible on his face.

Years of relentless training had already caused his taijutsu to continuously improve.

On top of that, this Type-A Wind Release clone was an extremely rare mutant. Its bloodline was exceptionally pure, its physical foundation outstanding, and in virtually every aspect, it could be considered nearly perfect.

It far surpassed both his Water Release clone and Fire Release clone.

In fact, even compared to his Yin Release true body, it was slightly superior!

Combined with its high-purity Byakugan and a Shikotsumyaku whose strength surpassed even Kimimaro’s, this body was, quite simply—

an emotionless killing machine!

That was only because his opponent happened to be Orochimaru that the fight had dragged on for this long. Had it been an ordinary enemy, Kagami would have already cut them down as easily as chopping melons and vegetables.

Whoosh...

Amid the sharp sound of rushing wind, the ghostly bone blade struck Orochimaru once again, slicing him cleanly in half at the waist!

Blood sprayed across the ground, staining a large swath of the surrounding pale bone spears crimson.

"Arghhh..."

With only half his body remaining, Orochimaru groaned as he struggled to crawl across the ground, making one futile attempt after another to escape.

At that moment, Kagami stepped out from one of the towering bone spears and swept a cold gaze over Orochimaru.

Through the observation of his Byakugan, he could confirm that the Orochimaru he had just bisected was not a Shadow Clone, but the genuine body.

After all, a Shadow Clone would dissipate once it suffered sufficient damage. Even during Naruto and Sasuke’s final battle in the original timeline, Naruto’s powerful Shadow Clones—which contained both Yang Release and senjutsu chakra—could only withstand punches and kicks. Once their bodies were pierced by ninjutsu or a sharp weapon, they would still dissipate.

Orochimaru laboriously rolled himself over and looked toward Kagami. Then, his expression suddenly froze.

"Your eyes...?"

Because the mask had been damaged during the previous battle, the face of the Type-A Wind Release clone was now completely exposed. Orochimaru immediately noticed the Byakugan in Kagami’s eye sockets.

Upon discovering this, Orochimaru became certain that this Kamigami member, Furin, must have used the Chimera Technique.

Otherwise, he simply couldn’t imagine any other method capable of fusing three separate Kekkei Genkai—the Byakugan, Shikotsumyaku, and Magnet Release—into a single person.

However, Orochimaru did not connect the Furin before him with Hyuga Kagami.

The Type-A Wind Release clone was, after all, a mutant. Although traces of Kagami could still be seen between its brows, its overall appearance differed considerably from his. Combined with its head of white hair and a temperament that was worlds apart from Hyuga Kagami’s, it was extremely difficult to associate the two with each other.

Rumble...

The rumbling in the distance continued unabated, and the earth trembled from time to time. Within the forest, the clash between Wood Release and Shikotsumyaku had yet to come to an end.

Against this noisy backdrop, Kagami slowly walked toward Orochimaru.

There wasn’t the slightest trace of pride on his face from having defeated his Sensei, because he knew perfectly well that Orochimaru was nowhere near the end of his tricks.

There was a ninety-percent chance that this miserable appearance of his was nothing more than an act.

Stopping before Orochimaru’s bisected body, Kagami said coldly, "Still not dead? What astonishing vitality!"

Orochimaru appeared somewhat listless by now, but he still grinned and said, "As expected, none of the people in Kamigami can be underestimated."

Kagami stared at Orochimaru.

"Are those your last words?"

Orochimaru gave him an eerie smile.

Suddenly, his mouth snapped open, and a cloud of green mist erupted from it!

Already on guard, Kagami’s figure flashed as he instantly retreated more than ten meters away.

Although he had no idea what the green mist Orochimaru had spat out actually was, Kagami naturally wasn’t foolish enough to put himself in danger just to find out.

At that moment, an exceptionally powerful chakra fluctuation suddenly erupted from Orochimaru’s bisected body within the green mist.

"Not good!"

Kagami immediately rushed forward and dispersed the green mist with a D-rank Wind Release ninjutsu.

Only then did he discover that all that remained of Orochimaru’s bisected body on the ground was a layer of slimy, sticky skin.

Immediately afterward, Kagami swept his gaze across the surroundings and spotted Orochimaru not far away, his body completely intact, speeding toward the reanimated bodies of the First and Second Hokage.

"Tch, it’s the Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique!"

Kagami immediately recognized the technique Orochimaru had used.

The Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique was different from the substitution techniques of other schools. Rather than calling it a substitution technique, it would be more accurate to describe it as a regenerative technique similar to a snake shedding its skin.

In the original timeline, Sasuke had relied on this very technique to completely negate the damage Amaterasu had inflicted on his body.

One had to remember that even Yagura, the Three-Tails’ jinchuriki, had been unable to withstand the burning of Amaterasu, losing consciousness in the blink of an eye. Yet Sasuke had managed to deceive Itachi with the Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique. Even taking into account the fact that Itachi had been holding back, that alone was enough to demonstrate just how formidable this substitution technique was.

Of course, such a powerful technique had its drawbacks.

Using it even once consumed an enormous amount of chakra. In a single battle, it could generally only be used once at most.

Whoosh...

With a flash, Kagami gave chase.

Even without using Shikotsumyaku to move through the forest of bones, and without using Magnet Release to fly, the sheer speed of Hyuga Kagami’s Type-A Wind Release clone surpassed that of his Yin Release true body and was comparable to that of Shisui of the Body Flicker.

Thus, after only a few rapid movements, he had already closed much of the distance between himself and Orochimaru.

Orochimaru glanced back at Kagami, who was relentlessly pursuing him, and his expression turned so gloomy it seemed as though water could drip from his face.

He had never imagined that he would actually be forced to the point of using the Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique. Alongside his anger, his wariness toward Furin grew even deeper.

After all, everyone in the shinobi world now knew that Hiruko had used the Chimera Technique to fuse a full five Kekkei Genkai into himself.

Because of that, Orochimaru suspected that besides the Byakugan, Shikotsumyaku, and Magnet Release, the Furin pursuing him might very well be hiding other Kekkei Genkai as well...