Chapter 221 : Mikoto's Mangekyō Abilities!!

"???"

Looking at the furious expression in Mikoto's eyes, Orochimaru's mind suddenly froze for half a second.

Immediately after, he fell into deep thought. His gaze was confused, a mix of bewilderment and confusion as he asked, "Wait, who are you talking about?"

Sometimes, when someone has done so many bad things, it's really hard to remember exactly which one the other person is referring to.

However, his words struck a nerve with Uchiha Mikoto.

"You actually… dare to forget him?"

Her blood-red eyes glowed, the cross-shaped dark pupils spinning rapidly.

Blood flowed from the corners of her eyes, and then Mikoto's voice, filled with rage, was accompanied by an intense, cold murderous intent. The air around her seemed to stir violently.

"Amaterasu!"

Dark flames appeared out of nowhere, setting Orochimaru on fire.

The terrifyingly high temperature caused his flesh to melt like wax. The intense pain made him scream, rolling on the ground desperately trying to put out the flames.

But soon, Orochimaru realized something was wrong—the black flames couldn't be extinguished.

Even the ground beneath him, where the flames touched, was set alight. It spread quickly, burning everything it touched as if the fire were a parasite consuming everything in its path.

"Orochimaru's Style Substitution Jutsu!"

Though this technique consumed a lot of chakra, Orochimaru had no choice but to use it.

If he didn't, he'd be reduced to a pile of ashes.

His mouth stretched open to the limit, almost large enough to swallow a cow, and from the burning body of the Orochimaru engulfed in Amaterasu, another, brand-new Orochimaru crawled out, covered in wet, sticky mucus, looking utterly disgusting.

"Heh, I'll let it go for today. Next time we meet, I'll settle the score with you!"

Orochimaru glanced at Mikoto, sneering. His chakra was severely depleted, so he didn't want to continue the fight.

His legs transformed into serpent-like bodies and quickly slid across the ground, moving like a soft-bodied creature. In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the grass, slithering away several dozen meters.

"You're not leaving Konoha today, Orochimaru!" Uchiha Mikoto called out, chasing after him. Blood poured from her left Mangekyō Sharingan, pain raking through her body. 

But she seemed oblivious to it, keeping her focus locked on Orochimaru ahead of her, continuing to pursue with determination. 

"Amaterasu—!"

Whoosh!

A burst of dark flames erupted where her gaze landed.

But, having learned from the previous encounter, Orochimaru anticipated the danger. His serpentine lower body allowed him to change direction rapidly, even while moving at high speed.

After he changed direction at the last second, the next moment, the bushes were suddenly set ablaze by terrifying black flames.

"Hmph, a move like this? After seeing it once, I won't—ah!"

Orochimaru had been sneering just a moment ago, but before he could finish his words, he was slapped in the face.

This time, the Amaterasu flames were completely different from before. There was no sign of stopping at all. After igniting the nearby bushes, the flames didn't disappear. 

Instead, they moved like a thin black thread, swiftly flying through the air, and directly came at him, setting him on fire again!

"Substitution Jutsu!"

Forced to, Orochimaru escaped from his burning body once again.

But, Mikoto clearly had a grasp on his movements. Her left eye's focus never left Orochimaru: "Amaterasu!"

"Dammit!"

Orochimaru, usually calm, cursed out of panic.

By the skin of his teeth, he dodged the black flames, but the person behind him gave him no time to rest. Another deadly Amaterasu came at him immediately.

Run! Run! Run!

At that moment, the only thought left in Orochimaru's mind was to flee.

Using his modified snake body, he slid quickly through the forest, dodging the thick bushes and grass, trying to escape the 'maniac' behind him, while occasionally needing to be careful of the 'Amaterasu.'

One was running for his life, and the other was chasing just as fiercely.

The black flames quickly set the forest outside Konoha ablaze. Huge swathes of black fire spread, creating a massive sea of flames that even turned the sky dark.

The terrifying heat began to melt the ground, turning it into flowing molten lava.

In an instant, the roaring sea of black flames could be seen even by the Second and First Hokages in Konoha.

"What's happening over there?"

Senju Tobirama's forehead veins bulged in anger. "Quick, send the sealing team to put out those flames! Go now!"

That entire forest was a resource for Konoha—there was no way they could let it burn to the ground!

"Don't let me find out who did this!" Senju Tobirama was both furious and heartbroken, grinding his teeth as he shouted. "Otherwise, I'll show them what real punishment looks like!"

Meanwhile, Mikoto and Orochimaru had no idea about any of this.

Mikoto was like an arsonist; wherever she went, Amaterasu would burn everything in its path, setting the mountains on fire as she advanced.

However, despite several attempts, Amaterasu couldn't hit Orochimaru. That guy was too fast and as slippery as an eel, making it hard to lock him in with Amaterasu.

The backlash from the Mangekyō Sharingan was taking its toll on Uchiha Mikoto. Every cell in her body felt like it was screaming in agony, signaling that the danger threshold was getting closer.

She was in so much pain that she was almost losing consciousness. Despite this, Mikoto's left eye, bloodshot and wide open, remained fixed on Orochimaru ahead.

In her eyes, there was a deep and overwhelming hatred, as intense as an abyss.

It was as if she wanted to devour and tear apart the person in front of her.

"I won't let you escape, Orochimaru! How dare you play with his soul? You won't be forgiven!"

Her intense resentment was like a vengeful spirit chasing him. Even Orochimaru felt a chill run down his spine, as if cold air was traveling up from his back to the top of his head.

"Using the Mangekyō Sharingan's abilities so frequently, doesn't she fear going blind?" Orochimaru thought, secretly alarmed. 

Turning to look at the woman behind him, who looked like a madwoman with her left eye locked onto him, he couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, the Uchiha are all crazy, especially the women—they're even crazier!"

He deeply regretted getting involved with these red-eyed lunatics. If he'd known, he would have avoided them!

Even though he ran as fast as he could, he couldn't shake the madwoman off. In fact, the distance between them was shrinking.

"Finally… it's ready!"

Mikoto's right eye, which had been tightly closed, slowly opened.

At the same time, a chilling aura mixed with deadly intent suddenly surrounded Orochimaru, making him tense up. He looked back at the madwoman, only to find her right eye staring at him.

Shit! He had almost forgotten about her other eye!

He had been so preoccupied with evading Amaterasu that he had completely forgotten about the second Mangekyō Sharingan.

In her crimson eyes, which were as clear as a mirror, Orochimaru's panicked figure was reflected. As the Mangekyō Sharingan spun in a cross-shaped pattern, the space in front of Mikoto, about fifteen meters ahead, suddenly froze, like a photograph being captured.

The space seemed to be completely frozen in place.

Though Orochimaru's body couldn't move, his mind remained alert. A sense of terror surged within him as his pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks. A powerful sense of impending doom filled him, causing him to break into a cold sweat.

He would die. He was certain of it.

An instinct stronger than anything he'd ever felt told him that this move would kill him!

"Ukemochi!" 

The cross-shaped pattern in Mikoto's right eye's Mangekyō Sharingan flashed as she activated her technique.

*Crack!*

A clear, sharp sound of something breaking echoed.

Immediately after, the space that had been completely frozen suddenly split into two parts by a slanted "thin line."

The two sides of the space appeared to be misaligned, creating an extremely bizarre scene.

In the next moment,

The area within her line of sight was neatly divided into two halves by the "thin line."

No matter if it was the hard rock, a gust of wind, or the dust floating in the air—everything, both tangible and intangible, including Orochimaru—was cut in two!

Orochimaru himself was sliced diagonally across his shoulder, splitting him into two pieces.

Blood erupted like a fountain, spilling out violently, staining the nearby ground in a sea of red.

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