Chapter 172

Orochimaru's abilities, Wood Release and the Sharingan, are both techniques he can't reveal for the time being. Therefore, he uses them with great caution.

For instance, when he subdued Manda before, he specifically chose an isolated area on the outskirts of Konoha. Likewise, when dealing with the airborne ninja from the Land of Sky just now, he positioned himself at a particular angle.

He believed that in the chaos of the recent battle, no one would notice the brief shift in his pupils.

And indeed, that was the case.

His team was the only one present at that location, with the other Konoha ninjas stationed farther away. As for his own squad, the cover they had chosen happened to be positioned behind him, so they wouldn't have seen Orochimaru's eyes at all.

The only one who could have noticed was Hizashi with his Byakugan. However, Hizashi had been focused on the airborne enemies, making it unlikely he noticed Orochimaru's actions.

Orochimaru ignored the Sky ninja who had been swallowed by the mire. Instead, he took the lead in retrieving his equipment.

Seeing this weapon, both Nawaki and Hizashi were momentarily stunned.

---

The war was turning out to be even harsher than expected.

There wasn't just one squadron of airborne ninjas; in fact, they had multiple formations. And before they could launch a second airstrike, the Iwa forces initiated their own offensive.

Clearly, this was a coordinated assault.

In the Konoha base, only a limited number of ninjas were present. Most of Konoha's shinobi were out on missions. Those stationed at the base, including medical personnel and the wounded, numbered around two thousand.

In other words, the ones repelling the Iwa forces were the Konoha ninjas out on missions, not the defenders at the camp.

Because of this, unexpected shifts occurred on the battlefield.

The air ninjas' assault route was visible to many Konoha squads on assignment. With many of the base's stationed forces having family and friends on those missions, the aerial attack from behind unsettled the younger, less experienced Konoha forces, affecting their morale.

As they then faced the advancing Iwa forces, their fighting spirit weakened.

Soon, news of multiple team defeats began to reach the Konoha base on the Iwa front.

Meanwhile, the base itself was in chaos.

Orochimaru had already placed a large scroll on Hizashi's back, and they watched as more and more wounded were carried into the medical tents, while bodies were brought out.

Orochimaru and Hizashi stood by, unphased. Both had been hardened by previous battles and were no longer shocked by such scenes.

Nawaki, however, was visibly shaken, clearly unprepared for the full brutality of war. This was far worse than anything he'd encountered on a mission.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Orochimaru extended his hands, summoning snakes that wrapped around the Kong ninja's body, pulling him out of the quagmire. The man had been submerged for so long that he was already dead, his face caked with mud and unrecognizable.

Orochimaru walked over, forming a seal.

"Water Release!"

A stream of water appeared out of thin air, pouring over the Kong ninja's body, washing away the dirt.

"Nawaki, go and remove his equipment."

"Yes, sir!" Nawaki snapped out of his daze and quickly followed the order.

Nawaki had already taken lives on the battlefield, so he was no longer afraid of handling corpses.

As for Orochimaru, why had he used a lightning attack on the Sky ninja, only to catch him with a quagmire upon his fall?

The answer was obvious, Orochimaru was very interested in the Sky ninja's flight equipment. To prevent it from breaking upon impact, he'd used Earth Release to cushion the fall.

As Orochimaru cast the water jutsu, Hizashi watched in shock, eyes wide with realization.

"He… he can use Water Release? And to summon so much water from nowhere?"

During previous missions, Orochimaru had used Wind and Earth Release, and just now he had shown Lightning and Water Release.

By now, Hizashi had no doubt that Orochimaru could use Fire Release as well.

All five elements? Even the Third Hokage himself was only rumored to possess such mastery.

And summoning so much water out of thin air? That was a feat typically associated only with the Second Hokage. Ordinary Water Release users needed a nearby water source or had to create it by converting chakra within themselves.

Only true masters of Water Release could produce water independently.

But Orochimaru?

Could he truly be a Water Release master?

This was absurd.

Orochimaru was unaware of Hizashi's inner thoughts, as he saw this as a basic operation. At his level, wielding the five elements was second nature.

With sufficient chakra and mental control, he could alter the form and range of his jutsus as he wished.

He could even create a Water Release technique in the shape of an umbrella spanning a hundred meters if he wanted.

The Five Elements techniques, while powerful, could still be tailored to suit specific situations. Like the Thunder Release he had used on the air ninja earlier.

By focusing a concentrated amount of chakra on a single point, he had extended the reach of the lightning jutsu.

Paired with his Mangekyo Sharingan, he created two simultaneous illusions for the Sky ninja, one where the jutsu couldn't reach him, and another where Orochimaru wouldn't be able to keep up with his speed.

That illusion alone was enough to paralyze his opponent.

Under normal circumstances, a lightning attack wouldn't reach that far. But the Sky ninja didn't expect Orochimaru's advanced chakra control.

As for the Sky ninja's belief that his speed would save him, he never anticipated that Orochimaru's Sharingan held space-related abilities.

Quick? Hard to hit? Orochimaru simply slowed him down with his left-eye's Mangekyo technique, trapping him in place.