Naruto: Manipulation-Chapter 180: You Might Not Fully Understand How Kage-Level Shinobi Fight, Kabuto

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

Yes.

Opportunities like this are indeed rare.

Even in all of Orochimaru's fifty years of life, battles between two Kage were rare and extraordinary—so a fight between four Kage was nearly unprecedented!

This kind of battle...

Was guaranteed to be intense.

And yet—

When Orochimaru had the Fourth Kazekage Rasa charge head-on against the Second Tsuchikage Mu, it quickly turned into a one-sided beatdown.

Rasa's golden sand surged upward, forming a massive golden spear aimed straight at Mu—only for it to be instantly obliterated by a flash of dazzling white light.

"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique..."

The blinding white beam between Mu's palms not only shattered the golden spear but also disintegrated the Fourth Kazekage's reanimated body!

As his body broke apart into fragments of paper and scattered like confetti in the sky, Rasa was rendered completely powerless.

"The chakra required for that technique..."

Orochimaru felt a creeping unease rise in his chest. He sensed something was off—Kabuto's Edo Tensei was superior to his own!

Impossible!

Orochimaru prided himself on his mastery of Edo Tensei, believing even the Second Hokage, who created the technique, couldn't surpass him.

His version was supposed to be the most perfected one.

Yet somehow, Kabuto—his former assistant—had managed to summon and control Kage-level reincarnations with chakra levels nearly equal to their living selves, and with no signs of instability!

How could this be?

Orochimaru wasn't someone who refused to acknowledge others' talent—he'd admitted many surpassed him in various areas. But to be outdone in the technique he'd made his life's work?

Unacceptable.

Especially not by someone he once thought of as a talentless medic.

Kabuto...

A medical-nin, nothing more...

He'd watched him grow, trained him himself—and yet he had exceeded him in this?

On the other side of the battlefield—

Another one-sided match.

"Hahahaha..."

"Yagura, you're just like when you were a kid!"

The Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hozuki, grinned as he effortlessly pierced through the Fourth Mizukage Yagura's reanimated body with his Water Gun Technique.

"Second..."

Yagura's eyes twitched as he looked up at his predecessor, before his body crumpled.

In mere moments—

Orochimaru's side was on the brink of collapse.

"Kabuto, you really were hiding deep..."

Orochimaru grit his teeth, stalling for time.

"I'm curious—when did you perfect Edo Tensei? How did you surpass me?"

"Apologies..."

"It seems I've surprised you, Orochimaru-sama!"

"I should feel honored, having once followed so closely behind you."

Controlling Mu's body, Kabuto floated down to Orochimaru and spoke:

"But I'm not here to chat. I'm not letting you stall. Hand over Sasuke."

"Sasuke?"

Orochimaru turned sharply toward Uchiha Sasuke, hiding nearby. Something clicked in his mind. His gaze turned frigid.

"You're working for Shigen?"

"Technically..."

Kabuto clarified:

"I'm with Akatsuki now."

"..."

Orochimaru's fury grew darker.

There's no difference.

Akatsuki or Shigen—they were one and the same in this case.

"Sasuke's not going anywhere with you."

Orochimaru stepped in front of Sasuke.

"He wants to kill Itachi. And Itachi is in Akatsuki."

"..."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"Orochimaru-sama..."

Kabuto's tone grew colder, like a veiled accusation:

"No point hiding anymore, right? Itachi and Kisame are spies—Obito's agents inside Akatsuki."

"Surely... you don't think Lord Shigen is unaware of that?"

"!!!"

Orochimaru's heart sank.

No...

That idiot Obito got it wrong again!

He thought Shigen sent Itachi and Kisame to negotiate—

But the truth was: Shigen had prepared a backup plan all along!

Itachi and Kisame were bait.

Kabuto was the real extractor sent to retrieve Sasuke.

This is bad...

Orochimaru clenched his jaw, then made a snap decision.

He grabbed Sasuke and bolted, leaping into the distance!

"Wait!"

Sasuke wasn't even fully caught up.

He still wanted to know—Where was Itachi?

Which side had the best chance of helping him kill his brother?

But Orochimaru didn't care about that.

He only cared about Sasuke's potential—his body's ability to one day awaken the Rinnegan.

"Kisame! Itachi!"

As he fled, Orochimaru shouted into the woods:

"Kabuto's orders are to eliminate you both!"

As expected, Itachi and Kisame were hidden nearby.

Itachi couldn't abandon his brother's fate.

Beneath a large tree—

Kisame stood, Samehada slung over his back.

Itachi sat in the branches, calmly observing the fight.

"What now?"

Kisame tilted his head.

"Do we interfere?"

"..."

Itachi's body turned into a murder of crows—vanishing.

Of course they would interfere.

Itachi's goal had always been to keep Sasuke from falling into enemy hands—whether Akatsuki or Orochimaru.

And now Orochimaru was cornered.

If Sasuke was taken to Akatsuki, Itachi wouldn't be able to intervene—not even with his life. He knew he was no match for Shigen.

On the battlefield—

Orochimaru was fast, but Mu was faster.

Wrapped in bandages, the Second Tsuchikage cut off Orochimaru's escape route. Gengetsu approached from the other side, forming a deadly pincer.

"Give up Sasuke, Orochimaru-sama."

Kabuto's voice echoed through Mu's body.

"Only Lord Shigen can unlock Sasuke's true potential. In your hands, it would be wasted."

"Hmph!"

Orochimaru scoffed at Kabuto's persuasion.

"So you found a new master, and now you look down on me?"

"No."

"I respect you, Orochimaru-sama."

"When I was lost, you taught me how to gather knowledge, how to find my identity through information."

"Now..."

"I've found it."

Kabuto continued, calm and cold:

"But you're still lost, Orochimaru-sama. Not all of us were born to change the world. Some of us are windmills—waiting for the wind to come."

"You can't defeat Lord Shigen."

"Nor can Obito defy him."

As he manipulated the two Kage to close in, Kabuto offered a final chance:

"Surrender. Bring Sasuke with us. Plead to Lord Shigen, and I believe he'll forgive you—perhaps even restore your position."

"He's not as generous as you think."

Orochimaru hissed, rage flashing in his eyes. His neck suddenly extended—biting toward Gengetsu from behind!

Combat had begun.

Orochimaru wanted to seal Gengetsu first—he was the easier target. Mu could fly and evade.

But...

He miscalculated.

Gengetsu and Mu had once fought side by side. Though they bickered often, their battlefield coordination was flawless.

Gengetsu's Water Gun pierced Orochimaru's neck.

Mu slashed down with a sword toward Orochimaru's chest.

"Too late!"

Orochimaru's body turned to mud.

"Earth Clone!"

Kabuto's eyes widened.

He had misjudged.

He thought shadow-level battles were just flashy jutsu exchanges. He hadn't grasped the cunning, the layers of deception—learned through years of life-and-death combat.

But it was fine.

Mu alone was enough to complete the mission.

Even if Gengetsu was sealed—

As long as Sasuke was captured, everything would be fine.

But when Mu reached out to grab Sasuke—

A flurry of crows exploded in front of him, reforming into Itachi!

At the same time—

Kisame charged in, Samehada crashing down in a wave of water, forcing Mu back!

The traitors had made their move.

"Your Edo Tensei is impressive..."

Orochimaru chuckled as he calmly withdrew his hand, having sealed Gengetsu like a mummy.

"But you don't seem to know how to use them in battle, Kabuto..."

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