59 - Size Doesn't Matter

When chaos erupted grandly outside the barrier, with a group of powerful figures locked in fierce combat, Tsunade and Shizune unexpectedly found themselves with some rare peace inside the barrier.

Originally, Orochimaru had spiced things up with a trap, hiding a bit of poison on Kabuto's skin.

Unfortunately, to Tsunade, such poison was nothing more than a trinket and was easily neutralized.

After all, when Orochimaru set up the trap, his intended target was Pakura; he never anticipated encountering Tsunade.

Back in the Second Great Ninja War, even the toxins of Chiyo from Suna couldn't stump her.

With the poison neutralized and the victim saved, Tsunade simply sat down on the spot.

This stood in sharp contrast to Shizune, who was beside her, visibly panicking.

"Tsunade-sama, what should we do now? They're all fighting out there! How did it come to this?"

"Tsunade-sama, at least say something!"

Though worried inside, Tsunade replied dismissively, waving her hand as if shooing away a bothersome fly.

"Let them be. Once they're done fighting, they'll naturally leave."

Still haunted by the loss of her brother and lover just a few years prior, Tsunade had grown increasingly detached, defaulting to apathy rather than engagement.

Her trauma had also left her with hemophobia—an intense fear of blood—making her avoid combat whenever possible.

Of course, there was another hidden reason for her indifference: she still trusted her former teammates.

Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Hiruko were all her old comrades. Subconsciously, she didn't believe they would lose.

If she had spoken up and sided with Konoha, her old teammate would have helped undo the barrier.

After all, Orochimaru at this point was still Konoha's frontline commander, not the rogue ninja from the future canon who fought Tsunade to the death.

But she didn't speak. 

Because of her aversion to battle, her apathy, and her trust, Tsunade never spoke. Uncertain of her stance, Orochimaru naturally didn't hurry to remove the barrier.

And so, Tsunade simply sat down and became a close-up spectator. In a VIP seat, no less. 

With nothing else to do, her gambling nature flared up, and she couldn't resist making a suggestion. 

"Don't worry. Those two won't go down so easily. If you don't believe me, how about we make a bet?"

But as soon as Tsunade brought up gambling, Shizune, already unsettled, became even more flustered.

"Tsunade-sama, what do you want to bet on?"

"I'm betting that those two won't get hurt. If I win, you can't stop me from drinking for a whole month, nor nag me about gambling. Deal?"

Shizune felt as if she'd been struck by lightning, her thoughts spiraling: We're doomed!

Initially worried about Orochimaru and Hiruko behind the barrier, she stared at the two Konoha ninjas with mounting horror, seeing only ominous signs of danger surrounding them.

Forgive me, I should have stopped Tsunade-sama. Tears welled up in her eyes as she imagined the catastrophe her master's legendary bad luck would bring. The tears flowed freely, startling Tsunade.

"Don't cry! If you're scared of losing, we won't bet, alright?" Tsunade patted her apprentice's shoulder awkwardly, genuinely confused by the extreme reaction.

Shizune looked back, sniffling, her expression complicated as she gazed at Tsunade.

Her eyes seemed to ask: When did you get the illusion that you might win? Tsunade-sama, do you have no awareness of your own abysmal luck?

---

Outside the barrier, Orochimaru remained unaware that he had just been jinxed by Tsunade.

He was still keenly probing Shin, relying solely on his Kusanagi Sword and basic kenjutsu and taijutsu.

In this area, Shin countered with ease, fueling Orochimaru's growing interest. 

"I'm curious, where did you learn your swordsmanship?"

Shin smiled faintly. "An old acquaintance. You might even know him."

"Oh?"

But just as Orochimaru was about to make the connection, Shin seized the opening, slashing upward.

"Wind Style: Triple Flash!"

Psychological manipulation and misdirection was his instinctual combat style. If you can't fight fair, fight smart—honor meant nothing compared to survival.

However, Orochimaru was still one of the shinobi world's elites. The ground beneath his feet had already begun to soften before Shin's attack launched, allowing him to burrow underground at the moment the whirlwind surged.

Shin sighed lightly, eyes scanning the ground for any sign of movement. He is far more cautious than Danzō.

The first time Danzō encountered Shin's hidden sword techniques, he fell for the trap. But Orochimaru dodged effortlessly, like a snake slipping through fingers.

Of course, mentality played a role as well.

At the time, Shin was an unknown, and Danzō underestimated him. But now, his reputation preceded him, ensuring no one underestimated him.

The downside? He'd lost the element of surprise. Even at first meeting, Orochimaru treated him, famed for defeating Hanzō, with due respect.

Thus, catching opponents off guard during introductions was no longer viable.

When the wind strike failed, Shin wasted no time switching tactics. He sprinted forward, then leapt high into the air. The leap carried him above the battlefield, clear of the ground below.

In the next moment, countless venomous snakes erupted from the ground where he'd stood moments earlier, their fangs snapping violently in all directions.

If he'd hesitated even a second longer, those snakes would have caught him.

At the same time, Orochimaru emerged nearby, thowing shuriken at the airborne Shin before rapidly forming hand seals.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

This was the Third Hokage's signature move, but as his student, he had long since mastered it—and even refined it further.

Once the seals were complete, hundreds of shuriken multiplied, hurtling toward Shin like a rainstorm of steel. The sound was deafening, like a thousand angry wasps filling the air.

There was no time to form seals.

Fortunately, he had an ace up his sleeve—or rather, an innate ability. Let's show them what an 'Uzumaki' can do.

Clapping his hands together, he activated his Titan's Chains.

Black chains shot from his back, curling in front of him to form a barrier that swept away the storm of shuriken.

Inside the barrier, Tsunade's expression shifted slightly as she observed this technique for the second time.

The first time they clashed, she'd been too rushed to fully process it. But now, watching from her VIP seat with no distractions, she couldn't possibly mistake it.

Those chains are similar to... Could he be an Uzumaki descendant?

Tsunade was still observing the battle. Something's different about this one. He moves like a veteran, not some random kid from Ame.

Her years of combat experience told her this fight was about to escalate dramatically.

The next moment, the shurikens that had been swept away didn't simply vanish but instead exploded into dense clouds of white smoke.

Following that, a sharp hissing sound emerged from within the smoke, growing louder and more concentrated.

The shurikens closest to Shin suddenly transformed into venomous snakes. They opened their mouths, and lunged at him.

Orochimaru, standing at a distance, continued forming hand seals.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

The probing phase was over; he unveiled one of his signature moves as one of the Legendary Sannin. He summoned his colossal summoning beast—Manda.

Upon appearing, the snake prepared to boast and demand offerings as usual, but before it could finish, six black chains erupted from the ground and tightly bound its massive body.

"What is this?! Orochimaru, what did you summon me into this time?"

Standing atop Manda's head, even Orochimaru was momentarily stunned. He was curious—while his opponent used the Adamantine Sealing Chains to bind Manda, how had he dealt with the venomous snakes hidden within the shurikens?

Looking down, he saw a circle of dead snake bodies segmented into pieces around Shin. Beside him stood a grey elephant, barely the size of a cat, dwarfed by Manda's gargantuan form. The tiny creature's stance showed no fear despite the size difference.

Just as Orochimaru had Manda, Shin also had Ayumi.

Although their sizes were worlds apart, the tiny elephant's reliability was no less than that of the massive snake.

Moments earlier, Ayumi, holding the kunai with her trunk, had leaped into the air and swiftly sliced through all the venomous snakes targeting Shin.

This timely intervention allowed Shin to control the chains, inserting them into the ground and binding Manda from below.

This technique was not the Adamantine Sealing Chains, which had restrained even the Nine-Tails in the original story, but it easily subdued Manda.

Ayumi pointed her trunk toward Manda. "A snake from Ryūchi Cave? Nothing special~"

Although Sora-ku lacked a mythical figure like the White Snake Sage, its cats held no fear of ordinary summoning beasts and taught her everything she knew. Sometimes, even Ayumi herself thought she was a cat, despite being an elephant—that's how long she had been around cats.

Manda's next roar made the place tremble. "Orochimaru, you must prepare at least two hundred sacrifices this time!"

"T-Two hundred sacrifices?! How dare you demand so much?! Outrageous! I only ever asks for three mangos for my work! Why should you get more just because you're bigger?!"

A peculiar sense of competitiveness ignited in her. This time, she was outraged.

Leaping into the air, she signaled to Shin, who immediately angled his blade and swung with all his might.

Ayumi landed on the flat side of the blade, a kunai clutched tightly in her coiled trunk. She pressed her body into a tight ball for the spinning launch, then propelled herself skyward like a bullet.

She flew toward the restrained snake at high speed. In mid-air, she unfurled from her spin as she aimed the kunai at Manda's vulnerable eyes.

"For equality! For mangos!" Her battle cry rang out with surprising force for such a small creature.

Thus began the battle of summoning beasts, where size didn't dictate victory. Manda thrashed against the chains, his massive head weaving to avoid Ayumi's precise strikes. "Orochimaru! Free me from these chains!"

"Focus on your opponent, Manda," Orochimaru replied coldly as he descended from snake's head and launched another attack on Shin.

He cared little for Manda's predicament. Of the three Sannin, he was the most influenced by his sage land's teachings but paradoxically the most indifferent to his summoning beasts.

Perhaps it was a reflection of a serpent's cold-blooded nature. To Orochimaru, Manda's suffering was acceptable since it had already served its purpose.

"Using the Adamantine Sealing Chains this way? Aren't you just restricting your own mobility?"

Indeed, Shin's movement was limited since he had anchored the chains into the ground to bind Manda. Orochimaru saw his opening.

Brandishing the Kusanagi, he slashed at Shin, who barely managed to parry. But then Orochimaru's free hand extended forward.

"Striking Shadow Snakes!"

From his left sleeve, a torrent of snakes surged, bypassing Shin's defense to strike from the side. He twisted his body, executing a circular slash that decapitated the serpents. Blood and scales scattered across the ground.

But Orochimaru wasn't done.

His frontal assault and snake attack were diversions. At the same time, his neck extended unnaturally, coiling in mid-air like a serpent. It circled behind Shin and struck toward his nape.

Right hand with the Kusanagi, left hand with Striking Shadow Snakes, and a prehensile neck for surprise attacks—this three-pronged assault showcased Orochimaru's true mastery.

His prowess was overwhelming.

Retracting his neck back to its unnatural length, Orochimaru smirked, enjoying his handiwork. Blood dripped from severed snake bodies around them as he approached Shin slowly, ready to examine his specimen. 

"Born in Ame, yet you've reached such heights so young. You're almost on par with us. You really fascinate me."

Despite the danger, Orochimaru's obsession with experimentation overruled his caution. Your curiosity will be your undoing, Shin thought as he maintained his defeated posture.

But as Orochimaru gloated, Shin raised his head and muttered calmly:

"Who are you talking to?"

Orochimaru's grin froze. The kneeling figure before him flickered and vanished—the real Shin was two meters away.

A moment later, despite the chains binding him, Shin closed the distance and struck first with an upward slash.

"Wind Style: Triple Flash!"

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