Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic.

The former's face was full of shock. This kid was actually able to stand up to him head-on?

despair!

Using the recoil, Qingwu created distance, taking several steps back more than Raikage. In a direct physical duel, even with Sage Mode activated, he was still slightly weaker than Raikage.

However, he also had slugs.

He casually cast a healing spell on himself, and the pain in his fist and the minor injuries disappeared without a trace.

"Hidden Shadows, Many Snake Hands!"

At that moment, Orochimaru seized the opportunity to attack the Raikage.

This guy has never been one to follow the "rules." Dozens of ferocious venomous snakes shot out from his sleeves, binding Lei Ying to the spot.

However, the Raikage, though seemingly reckless, appeared to have anticipated this.

Bang!

Lei Ying, bitten by a venomous snake, exploded in a burst of lightning, killing all the snakes.

Orochimaru's gaze sharpened; it was actually a lightning clone.

"A rogue ninja, indeed a rogue ninja!"

The Raikage appeared not far away and roared.

Sizzle—!

He then turned his attack on Orochimaru.

Qingwu's eyes darted around, and he manipulated the withered wood guards to attack Orochimaru as well.

Compared to the straightforward Raikage, it's more in my best interest to cripple the treacherous Snake first.

The three parties then engaged in a chaotic battle.

Click click click click click—!

The originally slow-moving, defense-dependent, and root-entangled withered tree guardians have their strength and toughness increased dramatically under the "hero attribute" bonus provided by Sage Mode!

They moved with heavy steps, yet their speed increased considerably.

When it swung its giant arm down, the resulting wind pressure whipped up the ice and snow on the ground.

More importantly, their roots have become more flexible and resilient, with a faint green luster of natural energy covering them, greatly enhancing their resistance to physical damage.

More than seventy withered tree guardians, like a moving forest of fortresses, surrounded Raikage and Orochimaru from all sides.

The roots intertwined into a net, and the giant arms blocked their path, causing them great trouble.

Of course, under Qingwu's control, the main target of the attack is Orochimaru.

But the Raikage doesn't play by the rules. When he saw that Qingwu's target was Orochimaru, he took the opportunity to bypass the encirclement and appear above Qingwu's head.

"Righteous thunder axe!"

Lightning Release chakra concentrated in his feet, and the Raikage slammed his leg down like a battle axe towards Qingwu's head.

Despite the danger, Qingwu remained calm and summoned the unicorns he had previously recovered.

"hold head high--!!"

The unicorn's appearance also changes in Sage Mode.

Its entire body is even whiter and more flawless, as if it were formed from light. The single horn on its forehead has grown longer and become more crystal clear, with spiral patterns emitting a faint light.

Its mane and tail hair became long and flowing, moving even without wind, exuding a sacred and powerful aura.

boom--!!

The unicorn and the Raikage's leg strikes collide head-on.

The lightning collided with the natural beam of light, creating an explosion several times more violent than before.

The unicorn lowered its body, clearly having withstood immense force, but even the Raikage was forced back two steps.

What chilled him to the bone was that at the moment of impact, his vision suddenly blurred as if a bright light flashed, and his vision became momentarily blurred and dark!

"The probability of triggering the blindness trait has increased?"

Lei Ying suddenly stood still, and Qing Wu immediately guessed that he had been affected by the "blindness" trait.

Without hesitation, "Celestial Art: Fiery Demon Wall!"

Sensing the danger, Raikage vanished from the spot.

boom--!!

The fiery wall, which was originally only twenty meters high, is now nearly a hundred meters high and soars into the sky.

Feeling the terrifying, scorching energy contained within, Orochimaru, who was dodging the withered tree guards, could no longer laugh.

click!

In his daze, he was locked in place by the tough roots of the withered tree guardian.

At the same time, a unicorn lowered its head and its long horn rammed into him without hesitation.

Orochimaru attempted to dodge the unicorn's charge using a substitution jutsu, but was struck by the light accompanying its horn.

Although she managed to soften her body in time to deflect the force and avoid being directly stabbed, she was momentarily disoriented, causing her hand seals for the Substitution Jutsu to be a beat slower.

The horn swept across Orochimaru's shoulder, and he felt a sharp pain, as if his bones were about to crack.

"Ha..." It had been so many years since he had felt this kind of pain.

Bang!

The unicorn brushed past him, and Orochimaru finally completed the hand seals, freeing himself from the roots of the withered tree guardian.

He landed not far from Lei Ying, his eyes filled with even greater greed:

"These summoned beasts... have also been enhanced by magic!"

He originally thought that Qingwu's immortal technique was newly mastered and had a limited duration, but judging from this, the other party's control over natural energy was exceptionally skillful.

At this moment, the Raikage activated his chakra to flush out the meridians around his eyes, barely restoring his vision.

Even though the "blindness" effect doesn't last long, it can be fatal in a battle of this magnitude!

"Raikage! Stop holding back! His Sage Art is flawed, and these summoned creatures have become stronger. Dragging this out is disadvantageous for us!"

Orochimaru shouted hoarsely, simultaneously forming hand seals, "Summoning Jutsu: Fivefold Rashomon!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Five enormous gates, carved with ghost faces, rose from the ground, temporarily blocking the attack of several unicorns and withered tree guards.

"Then let's all attack together and cripple him first!"

The Raikage growled, though he disdained teaming up with others, especially rogue ninja.

But he wasn't stupid. The Thousand-Handed Azure Phoenix in front of him, who had activated its immortal arts, along with those troublesome spirit beasts, would indeed be difficult to deal with alone.

Orochimaru may be despicable, but at this moment he is a "good sword" to weaken Konoha's power.

Judging from the Raikage's reaction, this guy truly lives up to his title as the Kage of a village. Who says a brute can't scheme? His moral compass is quite flexible!

"Just what I wanted." Orochimaru chuckled hoarsely.

His desire for Qingwu overwhelmed everything, but he also knew that Qingwu was too much of a threat at the moment and had to be subdued first.

As for whether to study or seize the items after they're subdued, that depends on their own abilities.

The three-way battle, which was originally a balance of power, instantly turned into a one-against-two due to Qingwu's demonstrated strength.

The battle broke out again.

"Celestial Technique: Meteor Shower!"

The meteorite, originally the size of a millstone, has its size and attack range increased after being enhanced.

Together with the other three unicorns, they bombarded the Rashomon gate that Orochimaru had summoned, causing it to tremble violently and cracks to spread.

boom--!!

Boom—!! Boom—!!

One by one, the five Rashomon gates were destroyed.

Orochimaru's pupils contracted. During their first encounter, the Triple Rashomon technique was enough to keep Qingwu's summoned beasts occupied for a long time, but now...

Clang!

Faced with the massive surge of roots, Orochimaru unleashed the Kusanagi Sword.

However, the Kusanagi sword, which could easily sever the roots of the trees before, now required some effort to cut them off.

The key point is that the quantity is not on the same level as before.

At this moment, Qingwu also began to feel anxious.

Even though his natural energy had reached over 40,000, the duration of Sage Mode was still limited. He never expected that these two "big shots" who were famous in the ninja world would join forces so easily.

The Raikage attacked again.

He pushed his Lightning Release chakra to its limit, the lightning on his body turning almost blue-purple, "Lightning Release: Unstoppable Lightning Plow Blade!"

His figure vanished instantly, and the next moment, three afterimages appeared simultaneously on Qingwu's left and right sides and directly in front of him.

Three afterimages simultaneously unleashed deadly elbow strikes!

This is a visual afterimage produced by pushing speed to the limit, but each afterimage contains real and terrifying power!

Qingwu's pupils contracted.

The enhanced senses granted by Sage Mode allowed him to detect the Raikage's true form and trajectory, but the opponent was too fast, and the attacks from three directions almost completely blocked his evasive maneuvers.

"Immortal Technique·Wood Release·Wooden Ingot Wall·Thousands of Weights!"

Qingwu clapped his hands, and a wooden wall, much thicker than before and covered with natural energy patterns, instantly rose up, forming a triangular shape to protect him in the center.

Boom boom boom!

Three violent explosions rang out almost simultaneously, shattering the triple wooden walls and sending wood chips flying in all directions, accompanied by lightning.

Qingwu retreated rapidly from the center of the explosion.