Chapter 21.2- One Thousand Hands

Even if Jiraiya had not felt it, Orochimaru definitely had felt the chakra buildup for the substitution. He had also felt enough chakra being pulled up that he knew that the substitution was just the beginning. That was why he brought his momentum to a dead stop with an application of the tree walking technique on his feet, and then jumped straight backwards. Years of working together meant Jiriaya did not even hesitate for a second to mirror his teammate’s movements. That retreat had saved them a painful end as water shot out from the ground around the young Senju and rose to the sky before arcing downwards and crashing down.

Both of them retreated atop trees, allowing the water to pass beneath them harmlessly. No one was foolish enough to interact with Shorirama’s water needlessly when he had started showing a proclivity for including all sorts of tricks with his water release. He bent down to his knees and weaved two more seals before thrusting his hand into the water. it was like ink, the black liquid that spread through the water. The grass nearest his feet was the first sign, as the little bits that poked above the water level blackened and crumbled to dust in seconds. It spread quickly, reaching the trees next, and to the shock of all three onlookers, the trees that had stood for years browned and blackened in seconds before crumbling to dust. Seeing it happen to trees in front of them, Jiriaya and Orochimaru needed no warning to get the hell out of dodge.

They both covered an immense distance in seconds before running through seals at the same time. Their fire release was so hot, that even as far away as he was, Shori felt his skin itch at the heat. They evaporated a good portion of the water near them, and with a single seal, Orochimaru lifted a wall of dirt to act as a sort of dam for the poisoned water that still worked to destroy everything in its path.

“What the hell is that, Shori?” Jiriaya asked, not even hiding the worry in his tone.

“Just something I’ve been working to reverse engineer for a bit.” He said, and then smiled as he saw the water begin to eat into the dirt dam Orochimaru had formed. He focused for a second, and added even more water to the amount milling beneath his feet, directing all of it towards Orochimaru’s wall.

In the meantime, the duo were forced to focus their attentions on their resident Taijutsu specialist. Tsunade landed between them with a falling heel kick that formed a massive crater and forced the both of them to jump apart. Orochimaru had been sloppier with his retreat, and so he was the one forced to put his arms up to block a knee to the head. Of course, his guard was nothing before Tsunade’s strength and he was sent rolling along the floor with two broken arms and a bleeding nose. She moved to press her advantage but had to bank to the left to avoid a series of fire bullets from her white haired teammate.

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