Chapter 334: Sonata of Darkness
"Heh, I'm not married yet, but a kid is on the way. As for Konohamaru... he's something else now. I believe his achievements will surpass even yours, Brother."
Asuma dodged an attack, a smile touching his lips as he mentioned his woman and Konohamaru. He then assumed the posture of a Buddha, and a Thousand-Armed Buddha manifested from chakra behind him.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
"That's wonderful to hear. But what about the Old Man?"
Hearing what he wanted to know, Shinnosuke used consecutive Earth Style: Mud Wall to block Asuma's assault.
"He's dead."
"I see. So the Old Man is dead too... Well, it makes sense. He was getting up there in years," Shinnosuke remarked, showing no real sadness as he surveyed the surrounding battle. For a ninja, death was far too common. For someone in their sixties like the Old Man, it was practically expected.
"But do you have anything else? With this body, as long as I stick to smaller ninjutsu, I have an infinite supply of chakra," Shinnosuke added. Having learned what he needed, he quickly began leaking his own combat data to his opponent.
Asuma used Welcoming Approach: Thousand-Armed Murder to defend and counterattack. His speed and defense were excellent, but unfortunately, Shinnosuke's Reanimated body could extract infinite chakra. He unleashed ninjutsu without pause.
The battle was the same elsewhere. Except for those bodies not being strictly micro-managed by the puppeteer, everyone was spamming ninjutsu as if it cost nothing. Even though the Alliance had the numbers, they couldn't withstand this volume of elemental fire. The Alliance ninjas had to conserve every drop of chakra, while the enemies—backed by waves of White Zetsu—did not.
The battlefield was a chaotic collage: Darui against the Gold and Silver Brothers; Shinnosuke against Asuma; Choza Akimichi against Dan Kato.
"Who is this guy now?"
Amidst the chaos, a terrifying new enemy appeared. He moved with the speed of a lightning bolt, absorbing ninjutsu and firing it back. Even when tactical maneuvers successfully cornered him and landed hits, his body sustained no damage. Combined with the Reanimation's regenerative properties, the attacks were rendered completely ineffective.
"Orochimaru... is that you? I didn't think you'd live this long. I'll be coming for you."
Storm Style: Thunder Cloud Inner Wave.
Summoning Jutsu: Snake, Dog, Bird.
Hiruko hadn't expected that after being hunted and killed by the combined forces of the Four Great Nations, Orochimaru would get the last laugh. He was deeply dissatisfied with being controlled and planned to settle the score with the mastermind once this battle was over.
Under his control, storm clouds gathered in the sky. Rainwater fell like needles, piercing through the bodies of the Alliance ninjas.
Pfft, pfft, pfft!
His Summoning Jutsu brought forth a twin-headed snake with infinite regeneration. Despite the Alliance's best efforts, it recovered from every wound instantly, its massive bulk crushing ranks of shinobi.
"Dammit! Take my Happy Rocket Launcher!"
Tenten glared at the giant snake, a rocket launcher propped on her shoulder. She fired a barrage of kunai laced with explosive tags, which slammed into the twin-headed snake in a series of violent detonations. As the beast struggled to regenerate, Tenten pulled out a short rod with a rounded tip and pressed it against its hide.
Zzzzzzt!
A powerful electrical discharge surged through the snake, leaving it paralyzed.
"Sealing Team!"
"On it!"
Several ninjas carrying scrolls appeared, unfurling long sheets of paper to wrap around the twin-headed snake.
Whoosh!
Bang! Bang!
Just then, a giant bird flew overhead, shedding a rain of feathers. When the feathers touched the sealing scrolls, they triggered massive explosions. The bird continued its flight, raining destruction on the Alliance. Its explosive feathers detonated across the battlefield, uncaring if they hit the White Zetsu as long as they killed the Alliance.
"Curse it! These summons are a nightmare!" Tenten gritted her teeth, her plan ruined by the explosive bird.
In the distance, a massive dog with incredible resistance shrugged off attacks as if they were mere tickles. Every move it made, amplified by its sheer size, resulted in immense destruction. Hiruko alone was causing the Alliance's casualties to skyrocket.
"Everyone, be careful! Pin him down! That is the Konoha rogue ninja, Hiruko! He was once collectively blacklisted by the Four Nations. He possesses four Kekkei Genkai: Storm, Swift, Steel, and Dark Release... His abilities are..."
Alliance HQ immediately issued commands upon receiving the intelligence, pulling up the file on Hiruko. He had originally been killed at Mount Onikage after kidnapping bloodline ninjas from the four major villages. His abilities were well-known to the veterans.
"He's a rogue from our village. Leave him to me; you guys focus on the other summons," Tonbo Tobitake said, watching Hiruko zip through the Alliance using Swift Release.
Tonbo had assumed Hiruko didn't exist in this timeline, only to find out the Four Nations had already dealt with him. These guys keep their intel buried deep, he thought. A man with four bloodline limits and an immortal body was not something an ordinary ninja could handle. It was time to step in. He had been too busy taking photos of the legendary ninjas he hadn't seen in the original series.
"Tonbo, are you sure?" HQ's voice crackled through.
"It won't take long," Tonbo said confidently. He created another clone to keep filming the battle while he quickly summoned a ninja tool.
Flute: Flute of Ten Thousand Waves.
"Is this all the power the Shinobi Alliance has?"
Hiruko mocked the ninjas as he watched his wounds knit back together. They had used countless tactics and men, but any injury they inflicted healed in seconds.
Dark Release: Inhaling Hole.
He fired back the absorbed ninjutsu like a machine gun. Since he didn't need to conserve chakra, he wouldn't be worn down like he was in his previous life.
Doo, doo!
Suddenly, the sound of a flute drifted through the air, reaching his ears.
"This... a sound-based Genjutsu?" Hiruko looked toward the source: a white-haired man he didn't recognize.
Hum—!
The next second, his vision vanished. He was plunged into an endless abyss of shadow. He tried to use Dark Release to absorb the jutsu, but since it was an auditory Genjutsu, his "Inhaling Hole" couldn't target the foreign chakra already inside his system. Once the illusion took hold, he couldn't even locate the source of the disturbance within himself.
"Release!"
Hiruko tried to dispel the Genjutsu, but it was futile. The darkness remained. Soon, even the sound faded, followed by his sense of taste, smell, and touch. The only thing left was his consciousness, floating in a void of nothingness.
"What kind of Genjutsu is this?" was his last coherent thought. Every method of breaking illusions he knew failed.
His summoned beasts, caught within the range of Tonbo's flute, also fell silent. Their eyes grew hollow as they slumped to the ground.
"Genjutsu: Sonata of Darkness, at your service."
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