NRAO: Chapter 419/420

Chapter 419

Seeing the two of them chatting as if no one else was present, Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki roared in fury.

The lava giant took two steps forward and swung its meteorite-like fist once again!

However, this time, with the distance in his favor, Orochimaru was well prepared!

Vibrant trees sprouted from the ground, quickly entangling the stone colossus!

At the same time, the white skeletal frame of Susanoo rapidly expanded, lifting both Kaguya and Orochimaru up to its head.

Moments later, Orochimaru's Complete Susanoo manifested in full view of everyone!

Orochimaru's Complete Susanoo remained white, and his weapons were still a dragon cannon and a katana.

As soon as it appeared, Susanoo's hands moved with tremendous force, catching the lava giant's fist head-on.

Boom!

A deafening impact shook the battlefield, and the ground instantly caved in.

The already cratered landscape now had a new depression several kilometers wide!

Mokuton and Susanoo?

Seeing this, Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki sneered in disdain.

"Hmph, how boring!"

Roar!

The lava giant bellowed, effortlessly tearing apart the wooden restraints.

"This thing is quite strong!" Orochimaru smirked from atop Susanoo's head.

This lava giant's technique was known as Saruwa Iwa—the Rock of the Monkey King.

The raw strength of a primate's arm was already far greater than that of a human.

Naturally, Saruwa Iwa's power surpassed Susanoo's. If not for Mokuton weakening it beforehand, Orochimaru's Susanoo wouldn't have been able to catch that punch at all.

Just how strong was this lava giant?

It could only be said that a single Tailed Beast was no match for it.

"Do you want me to take action?" Kaguya asked indifferently.

Orochimaru waved his hand casually. "No need."

As he spoke, he brought his hands together.

Boom!

A massive surge of chakra erupted once again!

This wasn't the first time Orochimaru had used ninjutsu while inside Susanoo!

Senpō: Mokuton—Mokujin no Jutsu!

A wooden golem as massive as the lava beast rose from the ground!

Wrapped around its body was a wooden dragon!

Unlike chakra constructs, this wooden entity rivaled even Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki's creations.

The Mokujin wasted no time, charging directly at Saruwa Iwa!

At the same time, the Mokuryū lunged forward, coiling around the enemy.

Orochimaru clenched Susanoo's fist, pulled a bazooka from his back, and fired.

Boom!

The lava giant, bound by the Mokuryū, was blasted apart!

Suddenly, a firebird appeared in the sky, circling overhead while releasing fire bombs!

Was this… a phoenix?

No—it was merely a chakra construct of the fire attribute!

Orochimaru smirked.

"Nehon, huh?"

He effortlessly aimed his rocket launcher at the lava giant.

Boom!

A single shot—annihilation!

The lava giant, already restrained by the Mokuryū, had no way to dodge.

Boom!

The rock colossus was shattered in an instant, and the Mokujin seized the opportunity to deliver two devastating punches!

Boom!

The earth trembled violently!

Orochimaru swiftly put away his rocket launcher, drew his katana, and slashed upward!

Slash!

The firebird in the sky was cleaved in two!

"This level of technique doesn't pose a challenge to me at all!"

"You lowly creature, don't get arrogant!"

"Lowly creature?" Orochimaru chuckled. "You always call others 'lowly creatures' but now that you've been beaten down by one, what does that make you? A defective experiment?"

As he spoke, Orochimaru's Susanoo raised its foot and stomped down, grinding the shattered remains of the lava giant into the earth.

The humiliation was undeniable!

"Damn you… Take this!"

Gritting his teeth, Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki wasted no more words.

Extending his left hand, he condensed a massive purple-black chakra sphere.

"Chakra can be used in countless ways during battle, yet all you do is hurl it around mindlessly?"

Orochimaru sneered. "How primitive!"

"What did you say?!"

"Explode!"

Boom!

A tremendous explosion echoed across the battlefield!

Before Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki could react, the chakra sphere in his hand detonated!

A mushroom cloud surged into the night sky!

"This guy…!" Momoshiki's eyes widened in shock.

He had no idea how the chakra sphere in his hand had exploded.

But it didn't matter!

As the golden Rinnegan in his right hand absorbed the explosion's energy like a black hole, he prepared to retaliate.

Just as he was about to unleash the amplified chakra blast, his expression suddenly changed!

Without hesitation, he hurled the attack behind him!

"Trying to ambush me? Die!"

Orochimaru had just dispersed Susanoo and was emerging from the space rift Kaguya had created, lying in wait for a sneak attack.

But he was hit directly!

Whoosh! Boom!

A devastating impact!

The overwhelming energy engulfed Orochimaru completely.

Momoshiki sneered.

"That fool is dead!"

But then… Orochimaru smiled within the explosion?

Bang!

A puff of white smoke flashed—Orochimaru vanished!

"What?!"

A clone?!

Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki had never seen a shadow clone before.

When Orochimaru's body disappeared, his face was filled with shock!

"My turn!"

With a twisted grin, Orochimaru dropped from the sky—a black rod in hand!

Momoshiki immediately sensed danger and retreated!

But—

Splurt!

A gray bone pierced through his back, straight through his heart!

Momoshiki's eyes widened in disbelief.

He slowly turned his head, only to see Kaguya's cold, expressionless face.

Without hesitation, Kaguya withdrew the bone spike and swiftly distanced herself!

"Impossible…!"

Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki's mind reeled in shock.

He… had actually been hit by Kaguya?!

(To be continued.)

Chapter 420

The Shikotsumyaku bones were powerful, but for Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki, they weren't enough to make his body collapse instantly.

All he had to do was use his own chakra to suppress the Shikotsumyaku's disintegration effect.

Unfortunately for him, with his enemies right in front of him, he simply had no time to do so.

Orochimaru, who had just landed, knew that getting struck by Shikotsumyaku was a decisive moment in the battle.

There was no need for him to rush in for another attack.

"To you, Earth's shinobi may seem weak, but when it comes to creativity, they far surpass the Ōtsutsuki clan—who arrogantly call themselves gods yet remain stagnant in their ways."

"Earth's humans? So this is how mortals fight?" Momoshiki scoffed.

"Mortals? Haha, just call us that outright." Orochimaru chuckled lightly.

Cloning was a standard tactic among shinobi.

Even in a split-second confrontation, not even Momoshiki's Byakugan could instantly distinguish a shadow clone from the real body.

Using this technique to mislead an opponent was a tried-and-true method.

Momoshiki's Rinnegan could absorb any chakra-based attack and reflect it back with amplified power.

Of course, Orochimaru was well aware of this.

By modifying the chakra composition with his biological engineering, he had made Momoshiki's chakra sphere explode prematurely!

The explosion served as a distraction, forcing Momoshiki to react instinctively.

Then, while Momoshiki focused on absorbing the blast, Orochimaru quickly dispersed Susanoo, sent a shadow clone into Kaguya's different dimension, and launched himself high into the sky.

The sheer scale of the explosion disrupted Momoshiki's Byakugan, momentarily obscuring his vision.

By the time Momoshiki had finished absorbing the energy and his sight cleared, Kaguya had already opened a rift behind him, allowing Orochimaru's clone to attack!

With the real body, the clone, and Kaguya, they had formed a three-pronged assault!

This was basic shinobi combat logic.

Yet Momoshiki fell for it.

He was arrogant—he looked down on Kaguya, believing himself far superior.

Because of this, he focused entirely on Orochimaru, the primary attacker.

Thus, while he managed to react in time to counter Orochimaru's clone and evade the real Orochimaru's attack.

He could not avoid Kaguya.

It all happened in an instant.

---

"Let me ask you one last time… where is my father buried?"

Kaguya's cold voice echoed through the battlefield.

She raised another Shikotsumyaku bone, its tip aimed at Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki.

She would never forget the look in her parents' eyes when they risked their lives to save her.

It was because of that betrayal that pure Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was forced down the path of a murderous witch.

Hearing her question, Momoshiki let out a cold laugh.

"Who knows? Maybe some wild beast took the corpse away."

"You want to die…?"

Kaguya's eyes flashed coldly.

Whoosh!

Without hesitation, she fired another bone projectile.

Momoshiki instinctively raised his hands to block.

But just as he moved, several black rods suddenly emerged from a rift in space, piercing his back!

Orochimaru had attacked again!

As a shinobi, he would never hesitate to exploit an enemy's blind spot.

He had no need for honor in battle.

Chuchuchu!

The countless black rods impaled Momoshiki, turning him into a pincushion.

"Damn you… mortals!"

Momoshiki couldn't believe it.

He lost? Like this?

He was unwilling—furious.

He had eaten so many divine fruits…

Yet he was defeated?!

"Die!"

Kaguya's Shikotsumyaku struck again and again, mercilessly piercing him!

Orochimaru did not stop her.

He knew Kaguya needed this.

She needed to vent.

No one knew how long it went on.

But after Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki's body completely collapsed, Kaguya finally stopped attacking.

She crouched on the ground, breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

She wasn't exhausted.

She was enraged.

Orochimaru walked toward her, reaching out his hand.

"Well? Still searching?"

Kaguya grasped his hand and stood up.

"No. He refuses to say anything. Asking further is pointless. Besides…"

She hesitated.

"A thousand years have passed. Even if I find the site… there might be nothing left."

She didn't finish her sentence, but Orochimaru understood.

After a thousand years, even bones might have crumbled into dust…


---

With Momoshiki defeated, the war outside continued to rage.

Even though the Ōtsutsuki couldn't stand against Orochimaru and Kaguya, they were still overwhelmingly powerful compared to the White Zetsu army.

It often took hundreds of White Zetsu to kill just one Ōtsutsuki warrior.

And as expected, the difference in combat strength between the White Zetsu and the clones was evident.

A single White Zetsu had combat abilities comparable to an average Chūnin.

Meanwhile, a clone possessed Jōnin-level strength with Sharingan.

No—by now, the clones had even awakened Mangekyō Sharingan.

Although they couldn't manifest Susanoo, their combat power had skyrocketed.

In this battle…

If Orochimaru hadn't upgraded these clones to Mangekyō, the 100,000 White Zetsu might have been completely outmatched.


---

Now, back on the Ōtsutsuki homeworld, Orochimaru stood among the clouds, watching the battle unfold below.

A slight smirk appeared on his lips.

"These are your people. What do you want to do with them?"

"Leave no one alive."

Kaguya's expression was cold.

Without waiting for Orochimaru's response, she leapt into battle once more.

"So ruthless…"

Orochimaru chuckled but showed no concern.

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened.

On the battlefield, he spotted a mysterious figure holding a fishing rod.

"That is…?"

(To be continued.)