TitoVillar
patreon
NBB Chapter 119: Under a Moon Too Bright to Ignore
🕑 Added 2025-07-29 00:06:02 +0000 UTC“Now’s the time!”
Kakashi took a deep breath, his Mangekyō Sharingan scanning rapidly. In the next instant, he suddenly drew a kunai.
“That guy Hidan isn’t the real problem. The real threat... is Kakuzu. He’s the one we have to take down.”
Kakashi stayed calm—he knew exactly who was the most troublesome... and who was the most dangerous.
[Zzzzzzt—]
The kunai crackled with lightning, and the power of Kakashi’s Mangekyō had built up to its peak. In the next instant, he launched the kunai straight ahead!
[Whoosh—]
The kunai, shrouded in Lightning Release, shot forward at high speed. Under the dazzling lightning, there was even a faint ripple of dark chakra flickering beneath the surface.
“Guy, get out of the way!”
Kakashi, feeling the last of his strength slipping away, still managed to shout.
“Hah!”
Guy drove his fist into Hidan’s stomach, sending him flying, then leapt quickly aside—just as the kunai flew straight past his back, streaking toward Kakuzu!
“Huh?”
Kakuzu’s expression changed instantly. Seeing the kunai speeding toward him, he instinctively tensed. The Lightning Release had given it terrifying speed.
With no other choice, Kakuzu twisted his body and raised his arm to block—but in the very next second, his expression turned grim.
Because the kunai suddenly burst with an impossible suction force—like it was going to tear him apart.
“Did it work?”
Guy landed beside Kakashi, watching as Kakuzu’s body twisted unnaturally. He asked quietly, unable to hide his concern.
“Not sure... but it should’ve worked, right?”
Kakashi shut his Mangekyō Sharingan tightly, breathing heavily. This was one of the techniques he had developed through recent experimentation.
He wasn’t very skilled at using it yet—and it consumed a massive amount of chakra—but it was a technique powerful enough to decide the outcome of a battle!
...
“Aaaaagh!”
The space around Kakuzu continued to distort. He let out a furious roar—and suddenly, his body split open as three creatures burst from within him.
The three creatures were sucked into the twisting force of Kamui and vanished completely.
But that moment of destruction gave Kakuzu just enough time to react. With a powerful leap, he managed to escape the warping space in a disheveled state.
“Damn it!”
Kakuzu glared at Kakashi and the others, seething with rage. The hearts he had just gathered—gone again.
“All of you... will die for this!”
...
“Not good...”
Kakashi’s face tightened. Looking at Kakuzu’s fury—and Hidan lurking nearby with predatory eyes—he knew things were about to get even more dangerous.
[BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—]
Just then, a series of thunderous explosions echoed across the desolate sands.
Dust and sand flew everywhere, and a towering wall of smoke billowed skyward—so vast it seemed to obscure the moon itself.
“What’s that...?”
Kakashi turned to look behind them, a flash of unease in his eyes.
“Did something happen on Gen’s side?”
“Hey... Kakashi.”
At that moment, Guy suddenly spoke, a note of confusion in his voice.
“Don’t you feel like... the moon is way too bright tonight?”
...
“Looks like you really don’t have it in you anymore, Granny.”
On the other battlefield—
Sasori stood surrounded by the Third Kazekage puppet and a host of other puppets. He looked at Chiyo, who had only a few puppets left, and shook his head.
“You really have aged. There were several moments where you could’ve struck me—but you hesitated. The Chiyo from before wouldn’t have done that.”
“Maybe so. People get sentimental when they get old. But unfortunately... my disappointing grandson is far beyond the point of no return.”
Chiyo looked at the Iron Sand clinging to her mechanical arm and couldn’t help but sigh.
This Iron Sand was interfering with her puppet control. She knew it was the Third Kazekage’s technique—but there was nothing she could do about it now.
“A loss is a loss. People have to keep moving forward... especially when they have a goal.”
Sasori tilted his head back, his expression unreadable. Yet his eyes drifted to the battle in the distance.
Explosions echoed continuously from that direction, where a massive snake-like silhouette loomed and struck again and again like a mountain on the move.
Each twist and strike of the serpent carried the destructive force of an A-rank Earth Release technique.
The ground trembled with its every motion, and its contorted body stirred up waves of dust and sand, the booming impacts resounding like the desert itself was groaning.
“Who would’ve thought even that wretched snake would get a chance to flaunt his power?”
Sasori sneered. He lifted his head to the sky and let out a faint sigh.
“The moonlight tonight is beautiful. Even with the sky full of sand, it shines so brightly... maybe this is the perfect night to bury you, Granny.”
“Wouldn’t you agree?”
...
“Captain, what do we do now?”
In the sands outside Rōran, the Kumogakure shinobi felt the constant quaking beneath their feet. They watched in tense silence as the massive serpent let out furious hisses.
Many of them instinctively swallowed hard. They were beginning to understand just who they were dealing with. One of the Kumo-nin couldn’t help but whisper: “That’s Orochimaru. Looks like he’s part of Akatsuki. And the one fighting him is someone from Konoha.”
Toroi, however, remained perfectly calm. He had already spotted the purple figure darting around the battlefield—and he knew exactly who it was.
The brat who had harmed their Raikage.
“This is a perfect opportunity. Let’s strike now—take them both out at once. Don’t give them any chance to react.”
As he said this, he cast a strange glance toward the sky—but continued speaking steadily.
“They’re both from Konoha, and both are suspects in the Raikage’s ambush. Taking them down serves all of us. Everyone, get ready!”
“Yes, sir!”
None of the Kumogakure shinobi hesitated. They all nodded at once.
Toroi then retracted his gaze from the moon, muttering to himself: “Strange… the moon’s so bright tonight. Seems like a good day to bury them.”
...
While the Kumo forces were preparing, the Sunagakure squad had also arrived.
“That’s… Orochimaru, isn’t it?”
Yura murmured as he watched the distant battle, then shook his head.
“Get ready. Tonight, we send them all to their graves.”
“Yes, sir!”
The Sunagakure shinobi replied immediately. All of them were loyal followers of Sasori.
For Sasori’s sake, they would do anything.
...
Amidst the chaos of the battlefield, Orochimaru stood drenched atop Manda’s head, glancing warily in every direction.
At some point, numerous fresh wounds had appeared across his body—evidence of the real threat Kitagawa Gen posed.
“That suction force... and that repulsion. What kind of jutsu is it?”
His gaze was locked on the ground below—locked on Kitagawa Gen’s every movement.
Earlier, Gen had scattered a barrage of kunai and used Flying Thunder God Mode to launch his attacks. Both Orochimaru and Manda had been pushed to their limits just dealing with it.
Manda’s thick hide absorbed several blows—it was clearly in pain, but the attacks only served to enrage it further.
As for Orochimaru himself, he’d been left in a rather sorry state.
That sneak attack, launched via a kunai appearing out of nowhere beside him, had nearly caught him off guard.
And then that strange suction force had dragged him violently, almost taking his head off. He remembered all of it vividly.
'I really didn’t expect this brat to be such a pain in the ass!'
Orochimaru cursed inwardly. He was starting to think he’d rather be facing Jiraiya instead—at least with Jiraiya, he knew how to respond effectively.
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, Orochimaru’s expression shifted. He turned his head and saw large numbers of shinobi charging in from both flanks.
Even he couldn’t help but frown at the sight—but in the next instant, those two groups of ninja launched attacks… on them.
“Lightning Release...!”
“Wind Release...!”
“Fire Release...!”
“Earth Release...!”
A torrent of jutsu rained down like a meteor storm. It wasn’t just ninjutsu—waves of densely packed kunai came flying in as well.
Watching this, Orochimaru’s brows tightened. He hadn’t expected even more parties to interfere in this fight.
“Gen-kun… looks like we have uninvited guests.”
He quickly formed hand seals, and a massive earth wall rose from the ground to block the incoming attacks. His eyes met Kitagawa Gen’s, who was also preparing a defensive move.
Despite his annoyance, Orochimaru still let out a raspy chuckle.
“Looks like our battle ends here, doesn’t it?”
“Actually… I think now’s the perfect time.”
Kitagawa Gen clapped the dust off his hands and stood upright. His eyes scanned the approaching waves of ninja.
Kumo shinobi, Suna shinobi... He wasn’t quite sure why they were here, but he didn’t seem too concerned.
“It’s been an honor to face you, Orochimaru. I might not have learned much from your tactics—but your experience and battle instincts were incredibly instructive.”
[BOOM—]
As he spoke, explosions erupted one after another beyond the massive earthen walls. The force of ninjutsu and explosive tags detonating shook the battlefield.
The twin walls began to crumble—and with them came a flood of aggressive, charging shinobi.
“Which means...”
Amidst the thick smoke and dust, Kitagawa Gen’s body suddenly began to rise off the ground.
Orochimaru’s eyes widened in shock.
“He’s flying? What is this technique...?”
Manda, too, seemed to sense something. It roared in alarm and tried to flee—but Orochimaru forced it to stay put through sheer will.
“I’ve spent so long preparing... if Orochimaru-sama doesn’t fully appreciate this, wouldn’t that be a waste?”
Kitagawa Gen was clearly winded, but he still lifted his head and looked skyward.
In that moment, the moonlight—somehow piercing through the thick desert dust—fell softly to the earth.
Slowly, Orochimaru felt his heart begin to race.
It was as if an invisible force had descended with the moonlight—gentle, yet unbearably heavy—pressing down in front of them.
And then—
A burst of blinding light erupted.
In the very next instant, Orochimaru had only one sensation:
The sky collapsed.
The earth shattered.
