The target in front of him suddenly disappeared. At the same time, Shen Nong felt two chilling killing intents approaching from behind.
The physical activation secret technique granted Shen Nong extraordinary control over his body, which was immediately put to use. Before Sakumo and Orochimaru’s attacks could land, Shen Nong lunged forward at the last moment, narrowly evading the assault from behind.
Simultaneously, Shen Nong’s body, which was a head taller than Hatake Sakumo, instantly lowered. He braced himself on the ground with his fists, and his right leg, like a sharp steel whip, swept behind him with a whistling sound.
Orochimaru, unarmed, found himself without suitable countermeasures against this low-stance attack. With no other choice, he abandoned his offensive intent and leaped backward to evade.
Hatake Sakumo’s actions differed from Orochimaru’s. He merely retreated slightly beyond the range of Shen Nong’s right leg sweep. Then, driven by combat instinct, he immediately closed the distance, his short sword slicing through the air, creating a formidable and sharp blade light that instantly slashed towards Shen Nong’s leg joint.
"Screech!"
"Roar!"
Bone grated against steel, emitting a sound that made one’s teeth ache. With a pained roar from Shen Nong, his entire right leg spun through the air and flew off.
This single strike was enough to reveal the ferocity of Hatake Sakumo, a man who would later earn the fearsome reputation of the White Fang of Konoha in the ninja world, during combat.
Shen Nong proved himself a ruthless individual, capable of enduring years of patience in the ninja world for the sake of the Sky Ninja’s rise. Gritting his teeth, he suppressed the body spasms caused by the pain. He forcefully pushed off the ground with his fists, using the momentum of his body tilting to the right after losing a leg, and as Sakumo retracted his sword, he spun his body and reattached his severed right leg.
Standing on one foot, he held the severed limb with both hands, pushing and twisting at the thigh. A chilling, dark chakra surged within him.
“Forbidden Jutsu—Body Regeneration!”
Shen Nong grunted, activating the most potent technique of the physical activation secret technique. The flesh at the severed right leg began to writhe, and new tissue, along with blood vessels, started to rapidly regenerate.
Utilizing the dark chakra power of the Zero-Tails sealed within him, combined with his own powerful body regeneration secret technique, the wound at the severed limb’s joint healed as if it had never been injured.
Kurenai Yuhi, who had been waiting for an opportunity, was astonished by Shen Nong’s miraculous actions. To the extent that she hadn’t yet managed to unleash even a single supporting genjutsu.
However, given the rampaging nature of Shen Nong’s chakra after opening the Six Gates, ordinary genjutsu would likely have little effect anyway.
Hatake Sakumo stood with his sword, watching Shen Nong render his previous attack useless in mere moments. His assessment of Shen Nong’s threat level immediately rose significantly.
At the same time, he understood why Orochimaru had pleaded with the Third Hokage to insist on capturing this Sky Ninja spy.
“Is this the effect of the physical activation secret technique?”
“Orochimaru, your judgment is indeed not poor!”
Orochimaru’s eyebrows twitched slightly, and he couldn’t help but nod.
“Senior Sakumo, this secret technique is only a part of it!”
“Did you see the dark chakra power surging within him? That thing, known as the Zero-Tails, is my true target today!”
Hatake Sakumo nodded in agreement, his voice calm.
“Rest assured, he will not escape today!”
Before his words had even finished, Sakumo had already vanished from his original position. Shen Nong, who had just recovered, was preparing to say a few words to alleviate the embarrassment of his recent disheveled state, when he saw that familiar blade light flash before his eyes once more.
Shen Nong was instantly enraged. Disregarding the Zero-Tails’ power within him that was encroaching on his body and consciousness, he let out a furious roar, and his body was suddenly enveloped in a dense black mist.
“Forbidden Jutsu—Super Charged Divine Fist!”
The pitch-black Zero-Tails chakra enveloped his right fist, which then struck directly towards Sakumo’s short sword.
Sakumo’s pupils contracted, and a dazzling lightning glow erupted from his short sword.
“Clang!”
Fist and sword collided, lightning and black mist scattering.
After a moment of stalemate, Sakumo drew his sword and sidestepped. His left hand, wreathed in lightning, struck hard against the back of Shen Nong’s fist, exposing him, and his right hand’s short sword instantly slashed towards Shen Nong’s waist.
Orochimaru, naturally, did not stand idly by. Although he was currently an ordinary Jonin with unremarkable techniques, possessing all seven chakra natures from birth meant he never lacked ways to deal with any opponent.
His hands crossed and rotated, forming the five hand seals of Tiger—Rabbit—Boar—Monkey—Dragon almost instantaneously.
“Wind Style—Wind Scythe Jutsu!”
Wind chakra transformed into sharp blades, which, flying just above Hatake Sakumo’s head, precisely cut towards Shen Nong’s neck.
The two attacks arrived almost simultaneously. Shen Nong, with no other option, had to retract his left fist attacking Sakumo.
Using his left arm, encased in Zero-Tails chakra, to block Sakumo’s descending short sword, he leaned his body back, narrowly evading Orochimaru’s Wind Scythe Jutsu at the last moment.
His newly grown right leg flashed upwards like lightning, kicking towards Hatake Sakumo.
How could an attack launched purely from memory hit a close-combat ninja known for his agility?
Hatake Sakumo merely blocked with the back of his sword, wrapped in lightning, dissipating much of the force of this powerful strike. With a slight twist of his body, he easily dodged the attack.
Although Shen Nong had avoided the initial combined assault, Orochimaru’s attack was not yet over. Combining it with a method of wind chakra usage he had seen in future visions, Orochimaru flicked his wrist, and a shuriken appeared on his right index finger.
“Wind Style Shuriken!”
“Senior Sakumo!”
Orochimaru flung his hand, and the shuriken, enveloped in wind chakra, spun wildly as it shot towards the two standing together.
Hatake Sakumo, alerted, and sensing the distinctive wind chakra fluctuation behind him, immediately understood Orochimaru’s plan. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and his left hand shot out like a clamp, tightly grabbing Shen Nong’s right hand.
He ducked to evade the wind-style shuriken shot from behind, allowing the attack to land on Shen Nong’s waist.
“Tear!”
With the power of the wind style, which was adept at cutting, amplified by the spinning shuriken, its destructive power was terrifying! How could Shen Nong, a defenseless target unable to move, possibly resist it?
With a soft sound, the wind-style shuriken sliced across Shen Nong’s waist.
“Ah…”
Before Shen Nong could even finish his angry roar, Sakumo yanked with his left hand, which was holding him, and his upper body was cleanly pulled down. His right hand flashed with blade light, and a head filled with pain and anger rolled onto the ground.
The battle abruptly ended. Kurenai Yuhi looked at Shen Nong’s body, cut into three pieces, then at Orochimaru, a large question mark forming in her mind.
“You two have dealt with him, so why did you specifically ask if there were ninjas skilled in genjutsu earlier?”
Orochimaru chuckled and walked up to Shen Nong’s head, which lay with its eyes wide open. He kicked away the hand Shen Nong was trying to use to reattach his head.
“It’s up to you next!”
“This guy isn’t dead yet!”
Seeing Orochimaru’s actions, Sakumo followed suit, kicking Shen Nong’s lower body aside. He flipped his short sword, and with two quick slashes, severed his arms.
“This should be fine now!”
“While he still has a breath left, quickly use genjutsu to control him. Once we extract the information Orochimaru wants, we can withdraw!”
Shen Nong, with only his eyes and mouth able to move, indeed showed no signs of dying, just as Sakumo had said, and was spewing insults.
“Despicable and shameless!”
“Ganging up on me, I am not willing…”
Orochimaru’s smile deepened. He stomped on Shen Nong’s mouth, preventing him from further venting, and cast a look of admiration at Hatake Sakumo.
Kurenai Yuhi smiled wryly and shook her head. She knelt before Shen Nong’s head, only his eyes visible under Orochimaru’s foot, and mercilessly activated her jutsu.
“Genjutsu—Puppet Servant Technique!”