The Zero Tails Jinchuriki #32

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Land of Fire

–Kenta Senju–

In the middle of a fight, even a single minute can feel much longer than it has any right to. In the middle of a fight on their level, the stakes were so high that the mind had no time to think of anything other than the next move. 

Orochimaru looked no worse for wear, except his clothing which had a couple of cuts here and there, while he looked the same, with that same cloak on top of his body. He looked fine on the surface but all the damage done was right below the cloak. He was far sturdier than an average shinobi but in the end, he was a human, so when faced with kunai laced with Wind chakra capable of slicing through his chakra cloak, all he could do was dodge as much as he could and reduce the damage from any impact, hence, the cuts on his body.

Most of them stopped bleeding within seconds but those cuts represented Orochimaru’s ability to inflict small damage on him while Orochimaru could heal his damage mid-fight. Their chakra levels were similar as well, since Orochimaru was known to be a chakra monster.

A particularly well-placed punch made Orochimaru grimace as he jumped back to gain some distance, while he dodged the kunai thrown at him, only succeeding partially as another kunai cut his cheek, drawing blood once more.

“Interesting,” Orochimaru lightly landed on the ground, his face smoothing over from any pain he might have felt as he spoke, “Who are you?”

He growled lightly, as he could not feel the presence of Kidomaru, the spider he had defeated earlier. 

“Ah, noticed that, did you? By now, Kidomaru-kun must have reached safety. Meanwhile, I can sense no reinforcements coming for you. I wonder why,” 

He stood up, taking stock of the situation and realised that if he didn't go all in now, then he might not get the chance since Orochimaru’s subordinates, the Sound Four, were most likely rushing in their direction, and judging by the strength of the two people he fought from that group, he did not like his chances against going against two more of them while fighting off Orochimaru at the same time.

So, he sighed, letting the chakra cloak fizzle away, for the ability he wanted to use right now could not be pulled off if he was drawing in the majority of the Zero Tails’ chakra. It needed finesse, something that only Sage Mode could give him.

“Orochimaru,” he began, drawing his attention, amusement flitting in his serpentine eyes, “My name is Kenta Senju.” As he said the last word, he stilled, drawing in as much Nature Chakra as he could in that single moment, before rushing forward, leaving a crater behind in his wake.

He only had a scant few moments where Orochimaru could be surprised, by both him revealing himself to be a Senju and also showing Orochimaru that he was a Sage.

Their kunai clashed in a spark of steel, as he finally, for the first time since the fight began, pushed Orochimaru back with a kick. That roundhouse kick was promptly blocked by the Snake Sannin, but he didn’t give him time to recover, already pouncing on the man, with heavy punches.

“A Sage?!” Orochimaru hissed as multiple snakes shot out of his sleeves with a single hand seal, trying to bite him, no doubt to inject poison into his body. Too bad that he just did not care for now. Trusting his poison immunity built up over the years, he surged forward, batting his kunai away with his kunai, before thrusting his finger forward, aiming for the throat, wind chakra lacing his fingers.

He came close, too close, in fact, as his finger stabbed into Orochimaru’s torso, tearing out a decent chunk of his flesh as the Snake Sannin jumped back, his breathing laboured as he looked wide eyed at him.

Time being a luxury he could not afford right now, he jumped forward, mentally calling in on just the slightest hint of the Zero Tails’ chakra, as he latched onto Orochimaru’s spirit, for the lack of a better term. Orochimaru did not even notice for some reason as he focused, his speed wavering for just a split second as he took hold of Orochimaru’s emotions and pulled.

Orochimaru went slack, his eyes going hazy for just a split second, something that he took advantage of, tabbing the Snake Sannin in the heart, and just for good measure, twisted the kunai. Unfortunately, the Sannin recovered faster than he expected as he was kicked in the chest, definitely feeling a couple of ribs crack on impact, as he was blasted into the woods.

He righted himself as fast as he could and jumped back into the fray, only to stomp his feet into the ground as he felt a massive chakra signature appear right next to Orochimaru. Looking up, as the entire area around him darkened from the shadow of the massive snake that Orochimaru had summoned.

Orochimaru, who looked fine but was definitely taking him much more seriously than before, said something to his snake summons as he jumped out of the way. The very next moment, as the titanic snake had crashed into his previous position.

“Shit!” He swore as he had to dodge continuously, not finding a single moment to accurately target Orochimaru. The scales on the snake were harder than his kunai and any effort to enhance the kunai with Wind Chakra only resulted in shallow stabs, barely drawing blood.

With a rapid motion, he tried to blitz the Snake’s eyes, only to be swatted out of the sky with the snake’s tail, his entire body creaking as he felt the impact rattle his skeleton. His Sage Mode fizzled away, as he felt his focus waver for a second. 

He felt more than saw Manda, Orochimaru’s boss, Snake Summons coming towards him, as he focused on and pulled Nature Chakra from all around him, staying still for as long as he could, drawing in as much as he could, right up to the point past which he would risk Nature Chakra destabilising within him, turning him to stone.

Jumping back on his feet, he grimaced at the pain he felt from all over his body, jumping at the last moment, dodging the Snake. Not wasting any time, he jumped over the Snake’s body in a single leap, finding himself face to face with a smiling Orochimaru, in the process of making hand seals. 

Grinning, he latched onto Orochimaru’s spirit once more and pulled, much harder than before, not caring if a bit more Zero Tails’ chakra entered his network, as Orochimaru stumbled on top of the snake.

Taking the moment, he threw two Kunai with perfect accuracy, targeting the eyes and the heart. Unfortunately, the pain of having his heart pierced seemed to snap Orochimaru out of it as his neck leaned to the side, unnaturally so, dodging by the second kunai as it whizzed past his cheeks.

That seemed to have rattled Orochimaru, as he took out the kunai embedded in his heart, before throwing it right back at him. He caught it, obviously, but by the time he landed and could jump back up, the Snake Boss summons was onto him once more.

He looked to the side, as he felt Orochimaru flee the scene, having sicced his boss summons on him. He cursed internally, as he dodged and damaged the  snake summons as much as he could, frustrating it because all the little cuts did add up, not fatally damaging it but enough to the point of agitating the snake, making its attacks sloppy. But the Snake Summons was succeeding in keeping him here, as he felt Orochimaru leave his sensing range.

Jumping up, his hands became a blur as he cast the jutsu.

[ Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet ]

A concentrated flame of Fire so hot it melted the ground impacted Manda, injuring him, on top of flaring the pain when the fire hit the already cut areas. Either the damage was too much, which was unlikely, or Orochimaru released him, Manda disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving him standing in the middle of a wide clearing, full of craters, waters, burn marks, molten land, and more, with none of his targets.

“Fuck.” 

He did one last sweep of all his surroundings, not finding any hidden chakra signature strong enough to be a threat, as he sat on the ground, waiting for the Uchiha clansmen to arrive, who likely heard the commotion and decided to come check, disregarding his previous orders.

The Sage Mode fizzled away as he looked at his kunai, soaked in Orochimaru’s blood. Maybe they could use it somehow? He doubted it, but just in case, he sealed it in a Storage Scroll.

The information he gathered here was important, yes, but not as important as the heads of the Sound Four or Orochimaru.

It would seem that Sarutobi was right. Orochimaru, as he was now, was beyond him, but then again, he had been rusty, out of experience for the past decade and a half. As much as it was a loss for him, he learned a lot about himself and about Orochimaru throughout this fight.

The next time they fought, Orochimaru would most definitely take him seriously from the start, something that he did not do here, but next time, he would also be ready.