Starting with Wood Release, he survives in Konoha Hospital and becomes a big shot.

"Notify Kurosuki Raiga to prepare for retreat!" the person in the shadows said directly.

Continuing the fight is pointless. They came here to hold off the Konoha reinforcements so that the mission over there can proceed smoothly, not to kill Orochimaru.

The mission should now be complete, and it's time for them to leave. Otherwise, once the people of Konoha arrive to provide reinforcements, it will be too late for them to escape.

On the other side, Yao Xingji, who was rushing over through the fog following the sounds of battle, suddenly stopped and looked into the fog in the distance, where a huge serpentine shadow could be vaguely seen.

"Summoning beast Manda? Is that Orochimaru making the move?" Yao Xingji's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately figured out who was fighting over there.

"That's right. Only a ninja of Orochimaru's caliber could deal with the other members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. I just wonder how many of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist came this time, and who exactly they are?"

Konoha is currently short-handed, and with the situation tense at the front lines, all the ninjas that could be sent out have already been dispatched, such as Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze, and Sakumo Hatake. Even Tsunade seems to have a mission. At present, only Orochimaru is engrossed in science and has not gone out, having been sent by Danzo to cause trouble.

After pondering for a moment, Yao Xingji took out his Thunder Blade, Fang, and rushed towards the battlefield where Orochimaru was.

On the walls of Konoha.

"Look... what's that..."

A ninja pointed to the enormous snake shadow that was faintly visible in the mist in the distance and said in horror.

"Could it be that someone is planning to attack Konoha?"

Seeing this, some ninjas immediately panicked.

"That looks like Lord Orochimaru's summoning beast, Manda!" A senior ninja immediately recognized the summoning beast, his face showing surprise and uncertainty: "It actually forced Lord Orochimaru to summon Manda, could there really be a powerful enemy?"

"No, this matter must be reported to the Hokage immediately."

Originally, the Root ninjas' obstruction made them think that there was nothing going on outside, at least not enough to endanger Konoha. But now, even Orochimaru has summoned Manda to fight, which shows that the enemy is very strong. If Orochimaru cannot stop the enemy, then Konoha must prepare its defenses.

In the underground base of the roots.

"Lord Danzo, Orochimaru summoned Manda during the battle. Something seems amiss," a Root ninja reported.

"Ok?"

Danzo frowned and stood up abruptly.

"The fact that Orochimaru could summon Manda shows that the opponent is very strong. But Orochimaru did not run away immediately. Instead, he summoned Manda to fight, which means that he is confident. Who exactly did Kirigakure send?" Danzo's mind raced, and thoughts flashed through his mind.

"In any case, it seems that my judgment was wrong. We must send reinforcements immediately. No matter who the Hidden Mist Village sent this time, we must keep these people here."

Without any hesitation, Danzo immediately led the Root members out of the village.

Meanwhile, the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had also received the news.

Orochimaru summoned Manda to fight?!

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression immediately changed. Orochimaru was his disciple, and he knew Orochimaru's character very well. In this situation, it definitely meant that his opponent's strength was evenly matched with his own.

He originally thought that Danzo sending Orochimaru to do this task was a sure thing, and that apart from Yakusei, no one else would be in much danger. But now it was clear that he had miscalculated.

"Walk."

Hiruzen Sarutobi led his men straight out of the village without hesitation, because his son was there as well.

In the fog.

Orochimaru, with the enormous body and immense power of Manda, suppressed the ninja duo who were unable to fight freely. However, the two wielded two unique ninja swords, making it difficult for him to deal with them in the short term.

blah blah blah...

Suddenly, terrifying lightning began to gather behind Orochimaru, and even through layers of mist, the terrifying lightning could still be seen flashing within.

"There's one more person!"

Orochimaru's expression immediately changed.

Judging from the chakra fluctuations, this person was definitely at the level of one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and even he was shocked by the intensity of the lightning.

"Orochimaru, things are not looking good," Manda said hoarsely, sensing the danger as well.

"Three members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Kirigakure really went all out this time!" Orochimaru said with a gloomy expression.

He could handle two people, but three would be a bit of a challenge, especially since he didn't know the specific purpose of the ninja swords they were wielding.

"Danzo, I have done my best. Now you should handle this yourself."

Orochimaru has considered retiring. Although he is also a member of Root, he would never do something like working for Danzo.

Bang!

Orochimaru immediately retracted Manda, his legs transforming into long snake tails, and he vigorously swam towards Konoha.

"I'm outta here..."

------------

Just a thought

Yesterday I met a particularly lovely reader, thank you Yangyang who doesn't want to eat candy for the generous donation. Actually, the author has another Naruto fanfiction, "The Fruit of the Divine Tree in Another World," which is nearly five million words long, but it's blocked on this site and can only be found on QQ Reading or in pirated copies.

So after reading the pirated version, he specifically came to give me a reward, which surprised and touched me greatly. "The Fruit of the Divine Tree in Another World" is my first novel. As a newcomer, it may have many imperfections, but I still put a lot of effort into it. I'm really happy to see that someone likes it.

In short, thank you all for your support. I will write this new book with all my heart. The story is still unfolding and will be even more exciting in the future. I hope you will continue to support me as always.

Finally, I'm begging for monthly votes, favorites, and recommendations (at my wits' end)...

------------

Chapter 55, Li Hexagram, Top Nine: Suitable for Expedition

While the two from Kirigakure were surprised by Orochimaru's escape, they made no attempt to stop him.

"He's really fast!" The dark blue-haired man, having sheathed his twin swords Hiramekarei, watched Orochimaru's serpentine movements as he quickly disappeared into the mist and remarked.

"Raiga is back, we should go."

As soon as he finished speaking, a somewhat bulky figure slowly emerged from the mist.

This was a somewhat obese middle-aged man with long orange hair that reached his waist, sharp teeth in his mouth, a loose bandage wrapped around his neck, and green stripes painted on his cheeks.

He was none other than Suigetsu Hobuki, the first wielder of Samehada, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

"The strength of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha is nothing special. I thought Orochimaru was so powerful. He was just born a few years earlier than me and made a name for himself in the Second Shinobi World War." The dark blue-haired ninja said with lingering pride, "If the Shinobi World War breaks out this time, my name will definitely be known to everyone."

Suigetsu Hozuki glanced at the dark blue-haired ninja, seemingly used to the guy's arrogance, and said without changing his expression, "If it weren't for me, you would most likely have died at Orochimaru's hands. He didn't even use his full strength."

"Hey, why do you always boost others' morale while belittling your own?" the dark blue-haired man said impatiently.

Suigetsu Hozuki frowned and said, "Kyoko Taro, you'll die from your arrogance sooner or later. Don't come to me again if you have a mission next time."

Kyoko Taro's expression froze, clearly sensing Suigetsu Hobuki's displeasure, and he said, "Alright, I understand, I'll be more careful in the future."

Suigetsu Hobuki didn't say anything. Although the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were a small team, they weren't subordinate to each other, and no one had to listen to anyone else. Moreover, each of the ninjas who could obtain these seven swords was an elite of Kirigakure, and none of them were willing to submit to anyone else. It wasn't strange to him at all that they had such personalities.

However, Suigetsu Hobuki knew that Kyoko Taro was just arrogant in words and wouldn't make any basic mistakes in practice. After all, someone like that would have died in the Blood Mist long ago and would never have had the chance to pick up that ninja sword.

The fog had begun to dissipate, and the distant lightning had died down after Orochimaru fled. A figure was rapidly approaching.

"Raiga, you're too slow. Such a simple task, and you've taken so long. Did you even kill a few Konoha ninjas?" Kyoko asked, watching the figure gradually emerge from the mist.

Although he was asking his companions a question, Kyoko Taro's right hand was resting on the twin swords, Hiramekarei.

Watermelon Mountain Pufferfish Demon sensed the approaching figure and cautiously became on guard.

Caution is the boat.

Their life as ninjas, living on the edge of danger, requires them to be constantly vigilant, even towards their teammates, especially since this teammate had just left and no one knew exactly what had happened.

"I didn't kill anyone. One of the children among them was very strong, so I didn't rush in to kill them."

Kurozuki Raiga slowly emerged from the mist, holding the Raiga-no-Kami in his hands, a wisp of electricity still flickering on it. His gaze swept warily over his two companions.

Upon seeing Raito Kiba, Kyoko Taro's caution immediately eased considerably.

There's no way to fake a ninja sword; they can tell at a glance whether it's one of those seven swords.

Given Raiga Kurosuki's strength, it would be almost impossible for him to be killed silently, so there was no doubt about the identity of the person in front of him.

"I told you I should have gone on the mission and you guys should have stayed here to hold off Konoha's ambush. You didn't even kill a single person, what a waste of such a good opportunity," Kyoko Taro said with dissatisfaction.

After saying that, he stopped looking at Raiga Kurosuki and turned to walk towards Suigetsu Hozuki.

"Let's go. I reckon the people from Konoha will be here to reinforce us soon. This was only a temporary mission, and we need to get back..."

puff!

In a flash, a blade crackling with lightning pierced through Kōtarō's back, striking his heart directly. Lightning flowed into his body through the blade, tearing his heart and other internal organs apart almost instantly by its terrifying power.

The lightning spread, instantly covering Kyoko Taro's entire body. He had no chance to resist, and without anyone leaving a word, he simply collapsed, paralyzed by the lightning.

In the end, he didn't even realize how he died.

Not far away, Suigetsu Hobuki witnessed the whole process, but he had no chance to warn Kyoko Taro that 'Kurosuki Raiga's' sword strike was too fast, and he didn't even notice that his teammate was having any problems.

If it weren't for his cautious nature keeping him at a safe distance, he too might have died at this man's hands.

Bang!

Suigetsu Hozuki's bandaged sword Samehada suddenly burst open and was gripped in his hand, revealing the deep blue, barbed sword.

"who are you?"

At this moment, the Watermelon Pufferfish Demon's face was extremely pale, and a large amount of cold sweat had appeared on his forehead.

A person who can kill Raiga Kurosuki silently must possess terrifying strength.

Information about all the strong members of Konoha flashed through his mind, but it seemed that none of them matched the person in front of him who was good at using the Transformation Technique.

Ordinary transformation techniques wouldn't fool them, but this person's transformation technique had reached a level that was indistinguishable from the real thing. Logically, he couldn't possibly be an unknown person, yet he suddenly appeared here and even killed two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

"I'm here to kill you, of course."

The 'Black Hoshino Raiga' in front of him chuckled and slowly pulled the Raiga Kiba from Kyoko Taro's corpse.

Suigetsu Hozuki kept retreating, his face slowly turning extremely ugly.

This place is close to Konoha. No matter who this person is, as long as we can stall for time, he will surely die.

He only has one option left: to run away.

But can he escape?

Just as the Watermelon Pufferfish Demon was pondering how to escape, the 'Black Hoshi Raiga' not far away suddenly changed.

His green hair disappeared and turned white, his appearance became handsome yet sinister, and his clothes instantly transformed into a dark purple astrological robe. A hollowed-out three-ringed celestial globe appeared, inside which was a blooming dark purple peony.