Chapter 503: Utilizing

"Is that where the enemy's main body is?"

On a tall fir tree, You and Dahe were gazing at the distant mountain peak.

There, a tall tree stood silently.

It looked no different from the surrounding trees.

But careful You still noticed the difference.

The snow falling on the canopy of this big tree looked no different from that on the trees to the right.

But… the rime, that layer of rime on its surface was out of place.

Rime is a white or milky-white opaque ice layer that forms on the windward side of ground objects (such as tree branches).

It is actually a kind of frost, formed by ice crystals depositing as white opaque granular structures on objects below freezing temperature.

When supercooled water mist (temperature below zero degrees) collides with an object equally below freezing temperature, rime forms. When water vapor in the air contacts an object and immediately deposits as solid, it forms a rime layer or rime deposit.

This big tree also has it, but You can tell that this layer of rime was disguised using a special ninja method.

"Dahe, send a signal!"

The current You has been trained to be very ninja-like, or rather, a very handy tool.

Having located the enemy's main body, without hesitation, he directly had Dahe send a signal.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Before Dahe's hand could reach his own ninja pouch, a familiar tearing sound came from his side.

Ding ding ding!

They were merely shuriken, which could not possibly injure Dahe and You.

Before those shuriken could get close, they had already dodged a step ahead.

"It's… paper?" Upon looking down, Dahe's face was full of surprise; a row of white, like paper-made shuriken, was stuck in the fir tree he had just stood on.

If it weren't for Dahe's particular sensitivity to wood and wooden products, he wouldn't believe that these shuriken deeply embedded in the tree trunk were actually made of paper.

I won't let you send a signal!

The comer was none other than Xiao Nan, who stayed beside Changmen.

She had placed many 'eyes' near the stronghold, and when You and Dahe arrived, she detected their trail.

He's actually a flying ninja!

Seeing Xiao Nan's legs suspended in midair, both You and Dahe knew this enemy would be more troublesome.

Exchanging a glance, You stepped forward to shield Dahe without hesitation.

And Dahe took out his flare gun from his backpack again.

Hmph~

With a cold snort, Xiao Nan, who had two white wings on her back, pointed at You and Dahe.

From her wings behind, a large amount of paper detached, then automatically folded into shuriken resembling four-bladed pinwheels, like a swarm of bees, shooting electrically toward You and Dahe.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Against paper, Fire Release is naturally the best, and You just happens to be a Fire Release master.

A great fireball blocked the enemy's offensive; You was wondering why the opponent's attack was so easily blocked by himself.

Behind him, Dahe's face suddenly changed, and he shouted at the front-facing You.

Watch out, someone is sneaking up from behind!

Having warned You ahead, Dahe hesitated not at all, quickly forming seals with both hands.

"Wood Release: Wooden Barrier!"

Judging from the wind behind, the enemy likely used kunai, but… You was in front of him, so he couldn't dodge.

Ding ding ding!

In the deep forest, a volley of kunai rang out again, the crisp sound of them hitting wood, followed by a faint sizzling.

They're explosive tags!

Dahe, who had used Wood Release in place to block the enemy's attack, shuddered.

Looking back ahead, at You who was blocking the continuous attacks of the flying woman, he couldn't help but sigh.

He and You, at this moment, neither could dodge.

If he dodged, You would suffer from the kunai and explosive tags attacking from behind.

If You dodged, he would suffer from the woman's shuriken attack from the front.

Boom boom boom!

A continuous explosion sound came.

Then a large amount of wood chips scattered flying.

"..."

Looking back, Xiao Nan furrowed her brows; such a commotion, what's the difference between this and having fired a signal flare?

Ye Cang, let's team up and take care of these two!

Having not communicated beforehand with the opponent, she couldn't say much; since the position might be exposed, she didn't dwell on it further.

Urging Ye Cang, her body began to drift in the air like sheets of paper, losing its trace.

And Ye Cang, without hesitation, instantly manifested three orange‑yellow fireballs behind him, attacking toward Dahe.

Be careful of Ye Cang's bloodline limit; don't let those fireballs get close to the body...

You's eyes swept over Ye Cang, he reminded Dahe a bit, but before he could say more, his body turned into a single black crow that scattered and flew away.

What a strange ability!

Seeing the spot where he stood suddenly engulfed by a large mass of white paper, You felt fortunate in his heart.

The opponent's ability is really strange; they actually had a large amount of white paper buried beneath me, hidden in the surrounding environment.

If I didn't have the Sharingan, I wouldn't have been able to discover this woman's technique.

On another front, as a wave of white water vapor spread, Dahe also got into a tough battle.

Not far from where they were fighting, a mysterious figure watched all of this.

「Great… this way, that brat will have no one else interfering. 」

Watching the two sides fight, Orochimaru's eyes showed a satisfied smile, and then his whole body sank into the ground.

Yuzhibo Dongshilang, this Hokage, has gained quite a few good things from my hands; this time it's the opponent's turn to repay principal and interest.

Meanwhile, the two sides fighting in place didn't feel Orochimaru's arrival or departure.

「Looks like… the main body is in that direction. 」

In the silent primeval forest, the explosion sound could travel far; plus Dong Shilang's excellent five senses, he raised his head and glanced at a distant mountain peak.

Then he flashed a cheerful smile at Pain.

「Since we've already found the main body, there's no need to entangle with you guys! 」

After saying that, Dong Shilang waved the flame fan in his hand, creating a huge gust of wind, and then disappeared on the spot.

「Leader, aren't you going to chase? 」

Seeing Dong Shilang disappear, but the leader still had no movement, Xie found it a bit strange.

「No need」

Glancing at the direction where the Hokage disappeared, the Heaven Path wasn't in a hurry; even if that guy found the location of the main body, what then?

Moreover, I still have a faster way to return to the main body's side.

「Be careful, then take a look at Didala that guy. 」

Didala, since the start of the war, has just been flying in the sky with no action, but we still need Xie to go check; otherwise, when that move is used later, if he gets hit by mistake, it won't be good.

Bang!

After saying that, the Heaven Path, together with the other Pain Six Paths, disappeared all at once on the spot.

Leaving Xie alone here.

「Obito, let's go take a look too~」

The explosion sound of the detonating talisman was heard not only by Dong Shilang and company, but also by Jue, who had been hidden in the dark without showing himself, and Obito.

After merely determining the direction from which the explosion sound came, he couldn't wait any longer and started heading toward Changmen's location.

No matter what, we must not let the Reincarnation Eye come to harm, otherwise all my years of scheming would have been for nothing.

「You seem… especially nervous about Changmen's affairs. 」

Hearing Jue's words, Obito gave Jue a strange look.

This Ban, used to monitor myself, has recently shown some behavior that is easier than usual.

Especially when it involves Changmen, he becomes even more irritable, which seriously does not match the other side's usual behavior.

「Because Changmen is the key to the plan. 」

Hearing Obito's question, Jue froze for a moment.

After recalling, my performance these past few days is indeed i somewhat different from usual.

But this was quickly brushed over by him finding an excuse.

At the same time, his inner heart kept shouting, how could he possibly still be as calm as before?

This matter, however, relates to my schemes of thousands of years; if some other problem arises, he can still make amends.

But if now Changmen, or rather the Reincarnation Eye, falls into Yuzhibo Dongshilang's hands.

「Then… everything will really be over~」

「Is that so? 」

Muttering a sound, Obito also didn't dwell on this issue any further; a ripple spread in the space around him, and he had already disappeared on the spot.

In the dim tree hole.

「Can't wait any longer! 」

Watching Changmen as he was forming seals, Orochimaru, who had just hidden nearby, carefully restrained his aura, not daring to show the slightest flaw.

Originally I also wanted to take another look to see if Dong Shilang's side could distract the enemy further.

But I didn't expect the opponent to actually plan to summon the Six Paths to his side.

This somewhat disrupted his plan.

In his original plan, there was the Hokage entangling Changmen's Six Paths clones, plus the Hokage's guards and Xiaonan entangling.

He could then launch a surprise attack and in one fell swoop capture Changmen's Reincarnation Eye.

But I didn't expect the opponent to actually plan to use the Spirit Summoning Technique.

Changmen, who had just finished forming seals, suddenly felt a strange aura emanating from the ground beneath his feet.

Before he could react, a chakra-modulated aura was already sensed by him.

「Spirit Summoning Technique」

A huge-bodied purple snake appeared on the spot, with a pair of horn-like bumps on its head.

At the same time, Orochimaru's body turned into a blur, rushing toward Changmen.

「This time I must succeed! 」

Having made up his mind, Orochimaru spat out a similarly sharp grass-cutting sword from his mouth, held it in hand, and launched an attack from Changmen's rear.

The myriad snakes he summoned also hesitated not, their bodies writhing and twisting, then lunged at Changmen from the front.

Obviously, Orochimaru had already made a deal in advance with that ill-tempered fellow before summoning him.

Otherwise, this Wan She guy wouldn't be so obedient.