Due to how quickly Jiraiya counterattacked, neither Orochimaru nor Manda had ti to dodge.
As a result, Manda had no choice but to curl up and rely on the tougher outer scales of his body to take the attack head-on.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A series of tallic sounds rang out.
The hard hair needles launched by Jiraiya struck Manda's body, bouncing off his scales with a loud ding-ding-ding.
If that were all, it might've been bearable. Manda could've endured it.
But the real problem was that so of Jiraiya's needles found their way through the gaps between Manda's scales, stabbing into the flesh beneath—that was what made Manda writhe in agony.
Painful hisses erupted from his mouth nonstop.
Eventually, Manda couldn't take it anymore and used his life-saving jutsu—Hebi-nuki no Jutsu (Snake Shedding Technique)!
In an instant, Manda's speed exploded as he shed his skin, escaping the range of Jiraiya's Senpō: Hari Jizō (Sage Art: Needle Jizō). Only a cast-off skin was left behind to absorb the remaining damage.
But now that it was out of imdiate danger, Manda's ferocity flared up. Rather than flee farther away, he leveraged his speed to suddenly lunge toward Jiraiya, intending to swallow him whole.
However, Jiraiya had entered Sennin Mōdo (Sage Mode). His strength, speed, and reflexes were all drastically enhanced.
So, just as Manda charged in, Jiraiya reacted instantly.
He dodged the bite with a swift sidestep.
Then, extending his right arm forward, he unleashed another Sage Technique—Senpō: Chōōdama Rasengan (Sage Art: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan)!
A blinding blue-and-white light burst forth.
A massive Rasengan ford in Jiraiya's palm, comprised entirely of Senjutsu chakra, and he slamd it toward Manda's head.
A powerful sense of danger hit Manda like a wave. Even with his brutal and rciless nature, he couldn't help but panic.
At that mont, his cold snake eyes showed a rare flicker of fear.
"Orochimaru! Aren't you going to help ?! If you don't act now, I'm out of here!" Manda roared at the man on his back.
Whether it was the threat that worked or Orochimaru had already prepared, no one could say for sure.
But right before Jiraiya's Chōōdama Rasengan could land on Manda, Orochimaru activated an A-rank jutsu—Mandara no Jin (Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes)!
In an instant, a torrent of colorful venomous snakes erupted from Orochimaru's sleeves, surging toward Jiraiya like a living tidal wave.
For anyone with trypophobia or a fear of snakes, this was pure nightmare fuel.
Even though Jiraiya wasn't afraid of snakes, he couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his eye at the overwhelming sight.
Still, he forced himself to endure the discomfort and continued pushing the Chōōdama Rasengan forward.
Boom!
The Rasengan clashed with the wave of snakes. Despite being powered by Senjutsu chakra and possessing terrifying destructive force, it couldn't imdiately break through the mass of serpents.
For every snake Jiraiya killed, Orochimaru would summon ten more. Kill ten, and a hundred would replace them—truly endless.
The two sides reached a deadlock. Jiraiya frowned slightly as he glanced at Orochimaru in the distance. Sothing felt… off.
He didn't dwell on it. Canceling the Rasengan, he flickered back several steps, creating distance from the snake tide.
Then, he glanced at the two figures on his shoulders and said, "Fukasaku-sama, Shima-sama, help
use a Fire Release jutsu."
Fukasaku simply nodded, while Shima grinned. "Don't worry, Jiraiya-boy, we've got your back."
Without wasting another second, the trio began forming hand seals in unison.
In a blink, they completed the jutsu.
The next mont, massive amounts of toad oil spewed from Jiraiya's mouth, shooting toward the snake tide, Manda, and Orochimaru like a high-pressure water cannon.
Then ca Shima, spewing crimson flas from her mouth.
The flas ignited the toad oil, instantly multiplying the destructive power.
But it wasn't over yet.
As the firestorm erupted, Fukasaku unleashed a Wind Release technique.
As the saying goes—fire borrows the power of wind, and wind amplifies the force of fire.
In an instant, the wind caught the toad-oil-fueled flas, turning the fire into a blazing inferno.
This wasn't just any technique.
This was Senpō: Goemon (Sage Art: Bath of Boiling Oil)—a collaborative jutsu by one man and two toads!
---
Underground.
A figure nad Seii watched the scene unfold. Feeling the searing heat radiating from the flas, even he couldn't help but open his mouth slightly in shock.
If you asked him which Fire Release jutsu was the strongest in the shinobi world, Seii believed nothing could surpass Senpō: Goemon—not even the fad Amaterasu, which was said to burn anything.
After all, Amaterasu had a delay before it fully ignited, which left room to counter it. But once you were hit by Goemon, there was no surviving it.
This kind of temperature wasn't sothing the glass-cannon shinobi of the ninja world could withstand.
The best strategy?
Run.
Just like now.
Manda, who had earlier only threatened to leave if Orochimaru didn't help, decisively released the Summoning Technique the mont Jiraiya activated Senpō: Goemon. Without a single word, he vanished from the battlefield, returning to Ryūchidō.
Leaving Orochimaru behind.
BOOM!
The flas instantly engulfed the area.
Orochimaru had no ti to react and was swallowed by fire.
Silence fell over the battlefield.
Jiraiya, seeing this, panicked for a mont…
But then, sothing clicked—and his face darkened.
He halted the jutsu and stared at the spot where Orochimaru had stood.
Now, there was nothing. No charred remains. No signs of escape.
Orochimaru couldn't have died so quietly.
There was only one explanation: that Orochimaru had left behind a Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone) and dispelled it just before the flas hit.
But Jiraiya had seen no chance during the battle for Orochimaru to create a clone. So how had he done it without being noticed?
Interestingly, even Manda hadn't realized Orochimaru had switched out.
Jiraiya pondered in silence. So did Seii underground.
Since he couldn't use the Byakugan to observe the battlefield, even Seii wasn't sure when the switch happened.
One thing was clear: the Orochimaru who had fought Jiraiya earlier was not a clone. Otherwise, he'd have dispelled long ago from the injuries alone.
So, the switch must've occurred within the last few minutes.
Seii closed his eyes and replayed the fight in his head.
Soon, he pinpointed the most likely mont—when Manda used the Snake Shedding Technique to fake death and launched a surprise attack from underground.
After that, Orochimaru never engaged Jiraiya directly again and even seed reluctant to fight—only taking action after Manda pressured him.
So…
"Did he use that short mont when Manda went underground to swap with a Shadow Clone?"
Seii thought so.
And the more he considered it, the more it made sense.
Sigh…
At this point, Seii didn't know what to say about Orochimaru anymore.
In the end, Orochimaru is still Orochimaru. His escape tactics really are top-tier.
He had probably decided to flee the mont Jiraiya successfully entered Sage Mode.
After all, even Seii—just an observer—could see it: in a direct fight, Jiraiya clearly held the upper hand.
And Orochimaru, the one actually facing that pressure, would've known even more clearly.
And this wasn't even base-form Jiraiya—this was Sage Mode Jiraiya.
With all his abilities boosted even further, Orochimaru didn't stand a chance.
So, his escape isn't exactly surprising.
The only question that remained…
"How do we find him now?"
Seii stood in hesitation, unsure of what to do next.
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