MTLNOVEL Chapter 166: He Got Jumped and Cooked
After effortlessly resolving Gaara's rampage, Guts made no move to imprison them, just keep an eye on them.
He handed the matter to Kushina and the Seventh Squad. Injured and demoralized, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro had completely lost the will to fight.
He also sent Hinata and Hanabi back to the Hyuga compound for safety.
On the way back to the village, a group of Sand and Sound ninja tried to intercept them.
Guts narrowed his eyes, and without lifting a finger, released a pulse of Conqueror's Haki, an invisible wave of raw will power.
In the next second, the enemy shinobi froze mid-step, eyes rolling back as they collapsed like puppets with cut strings.
From a short distance, Suigetsu, twirling his twin blades, nearly dropped them as his face paled.
"That's… That's really that Haki… terrifying…"
Meanwhile, thanks to Tsunade and Terumi Mei, the summoning snakes and remaining enemy forces had been completely wiped out before even breaching Konoha's core.
Only one battlefield remained untouched, the Four Violet Flames Formation surrounding the Sarutobi compound.
As Guts stood atop the ninja administration building, his eyes scanned the quieting village below.
"Most of the mess is cleaned up... but one old rat's still squirming."
From afar, Katsuyu returned after aiding Tsunade, leaping to Guts's side.
"Suppressing Sand and Sound forces is done. But... I didn't expect Orochimaru to use the Second Tsuchikage's division technique. That caught even me off guard."
Guts let out a low chuckle.
'I've learned the hard way...whenever a Reincarnator's involved, expect the unexpected.'
He recalled how Obito once sent the Six Paths of Pain just to guard against him, and now Orochimaru had dug up a forgotten forbidden technique just to slip past his Observation Haki.
Tsunade landed beside him, arms crossed.
"I heard from Mei... You're not angry?"
She was surprised. Knowing Guts's temper, she had expected him to storm into the battlefield and pulverize Orochimaru the moment he knew about the deception.
But instead, he seemed... amused.
"He didn't attack me. Didn't touch you, either. He knew exactly how to stay out of my crosshairs."
He stepped forward and gently lifted Tsunade's chin, kissing her lips before she could respond.
"W-Wait! Someone might see us!"
Her cheeks flushed bright red as she quickly stepped back, flustered.
"Then let them pretend they didn't."
Guts smirked, pulling her back into his arms for a long, slow kiss.
When they finally parted, Tsunade, breathless and slightly dazed, managed to say:
"The barrier's still active… You should go."
"Guess I'm not clocking out just yet."
Guts tapped her on the lips twice, then vanished in a blur toward the Four Violet Flames Formation.
BOOM!!!
Namikaze Minato drove a massive Big Ball Rasengan into the barrier, finally causing it to crack.
He wiped the sweat from his brow, exhausted.
"After this… I need to develop a nuke-tier technique like Raikage's Hell Stab. This just isn't cutting it..."
From inside the barrier, Orochimaru let out a slow, mocking laugh.
"Impressive, Minato. I accounted for so much… and yet you still managed to damage it. But..."
He turned with a sneer toward a body lying crumpled on the ground.
"You're too late. The old man's dead."
Inside the barrier
Surrounded by the Reanimated First and Second Hokage, and the reanimated Fourth Kazekage, Sarutobi Hiruzen lay sprawled on the ground, motionless.
His chakra was nearly gone.
This time, he was even weaker than in the anime...his sons were either dead or crippled, and he'd stepped down long ago. With no morale, no motivation, he'd been steamrolled.
Even when he tried to perform the Reaper Death Seal, he couldn't even land a touch on Orochimaru.
"This barrier won't last much longer," Orochimaru grinned, unsheathing the Kusanagi blade from his mouth.
He raised it above Hiruzen's head.
"Let me deliver the final blow to my beloved teacher."
Suddenly, a voice cut through the air.
"A Four Violet Flames Formation, and you couldn't break it after all this time? The title 'Yellow Flash' is weeping, Minato."
Everyone froze.
Orochimaru's blade halted mid-swing.
"Guts!?" Minato turned, his exhausted eyes lighting up.
"Tch. He really got jumped and cooked..."
Guts frowned, looking through the barrier at the battered Third Hokage.
"He didn't even manage to use the seal… Just got bullied the entire time."
"Hehehe, Guts-kun," Orochimaru smiled darkly.
"We meet again—though I didn't expect it to be like this."
"Neither did I. Your face has gotten more disgusting too. What's that? Your third body now?"
Orochimaru's smirk widened.
"As expected, you noticed. But surely you understand? At the peak of power, what else is left to chase... if not immortality?"
"This isn't the time for philosophical monologues!" Minato interrupted angrily.
"Guts, we need to break the barrier now, before Orochimaru kills the Third Hokage!"
Orochimaru raised a brow.
"Oh? Guts-kun, you want to save that old fossil? I thought you hated him?"
Guts rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles.
"I don't like him. But I don't hate him either."
He stepped forward, the air around him growing heavier with each step.
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth...one that made even Orochimaru unconsciously tense.
BOOM!!!
A moment later, the entire village shook.
A blinding explosion of force erupted as Guts's fist collided with the barrier.
Across the village, shinobi of every rank were floored by the shockwave.
"What the hell just happened!?"
Ao raised his arms to shield himself from the blast.
"That power… it's monstrous!"
Mist and Sand shinobi alike were blown back, stumbling as they tried to brace against the roaring wind.
Even those who had already surrendered ducked for cover as debris scattered.
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