"Sssshhh!"
A light sound, like a sharp blade tearing through paper, echoed. Old Purple felt an emptiness behind him as the four long tails, condensed from Lava Release power, were severed at their roots.
"How is that possible?"
Old Purple's face contorted in shock. He disregarded the substantial chakra he lost from his Tailed Beast Cloak being damaged and rapidly spun around. Before Orochimaru could retract his divine sword, Old Purple slammed a fist towards Orochimaru's chest.
"You truly learn nothing!"
Orochimaru let out a cold snort with a mocking smile. He extended his left hand, gently blocking Old Purple's incoming punch.
"Have you forgotten how your first attack was parried?"
"Hmph!"
Clenching his palm, the Yin-Yang Release within Orochimaru's body surged into Old Purple.
Old Purple trembled all over, his Tailed Beast Cloak rapidly receding as if encountering its natural predator.
"This..."
Seeing the Tailed Beast Cloak on his body vanish, Old Purple was utterly dumbfounded.
This was the first time he had been suppressed to this extent after using Tailed Beast power. This ninja, who called himself Kong Chen, possessed a strength and peculiar methods far beyond Old Purple's comprehension.
Inside the sealing dimension, the Four-Tails, which was providing Old Purple with power, looked at the returning chakra with surprise. As it wondered, it suddenly sensed a familiar power fluctuation following the chakra into the sealing dimension.
"This is..."
"Grandpa's Yin-Yang Release!"
Outside, Orochimaru looked at Old Purple's stunned and dazed expression with disdain and snorted.
He quickly formed a few hand seals with one hand and lightly pressed them onto Old Purple.
"Sealing Technique – Four Limbs Condemnation!"
A white stream of light flashed across Old Purple's body and disappeared, the powerful restrictive force taking effect immediately.
Old Purple's fist, held by Orochimaru, suddenly lost all strength. His body went limp, and if not for Orochimaru's grip, he would have collapsed to the ground.
Seeing that Old Purple had temporarily lost the ability to resist, Orochimaru released his grip, letting the limp Old Purple fall.
He took out a blank talisman from his robe, lightly drew the blade of his Sky Blade across his fingertip, and quickly wrote Old Purple's name on the paper with his blood.
The Yin-Yang Release power in his palm surged, and a black and white entangled light leaped on the talisman, which Orochimaru casually affixed to Old Purple's forehead.
"Sealing Technique – Soul Body Separation!"
The black and white light pulsed, and a phantom soul floated out of Old Purple's body, dazed and sealed onto the talisman.
"Futile resistance!"
Orochimaru murmured softly and waved to the Nine-Tails, who was observing from a distance.
The Nine-Tails trotted to Orochimaru's side, poked the comatose Old Purple with its claw, and let out a sinister chuckle.
"Heh heh!"
"I said before that most of the stronger ninjas in the ninja world are not very intelligent."
"Look at him, he was so arrogant just now, yet he's never even seen Sage Mode or Yin-Yang Release."
"Tsk tsk..."
The Nine-Tails shook its head and sighed, making clicking sounds.
"But speaking of which..."
"Orochimaru, when did you secretly train Yin-Yang Release to a combat-ready level?"
"This speed isn't slow at all!"
The Nine-Tails gave Orochimaru a look of admiration, a nostalgic expression on its face, and sighed softly.
"The old man once said that he only mastered Yin-Yang Release after being stimulated by the death of Hagoromo Otsutsuki and awakening the Rinnegan."
"For someone like you, without Indra's bloodline, to cultivate Yin-Yang Release on your own and use it in combat is something I've never seen before!"
Orochimaru's lips curled into a pleased arc, and he nodded slightly.
"You saw through it!"
"Being able to fight with Yin-Yang Release only became possible after I merged with the power of the Dragon Veins."
"However..."
Orochimaru gathered Yin-Yang Release in his palm, looking at the swirling chaotic chakra in his hand, and sighed slightly.
"Still a long way off!"
"If I hadn't transformed my body to be compatible with Sage Mode by absorbing the Dragon Veins' power, with just this still-weak Yin-Yang Release, I'm afraid it wouldn't be enough to deal with the White Snake Sage!"
The Nine-Tails twitched its ears and nodded in agreement.
"That's true!"
"If it weren't for Sage Mode chakra being able to restrain the power of Yin-Yang Release, the old man wouldn't have casually gone to Mount Myōboku with that toad back then."
"I'm quite relieved that you recognize your own weaknesses!"
The Nine-Tails stood up and, in a rather comical manner, patted Orochimaru's shoulder with an expression of profound satisfaction.
Orochimaru glanced at the Nine-Tails and, with a backhand, grabbed its playful paw.
"You're becoming more and more human!"
"I'm truly afraid that one day you'll suddenly turn into an old man like Teacher Hiruzen, always pipe in mouth, peeking into the women's bath..."
The Nine-Tails bared its teeth, finding Orochimaru's double-edged remark difficult to accept.
"Tch!"
"I don't have such hobbies!"
"Male or female, it makes no difference to me!"
The Nine-Tails casually defended itself, then stroked its chin with its paw, looking thoughtful.
"Orochimaru, what you said reminded me of something."
"If I'm always disguised as other beasts, can I use ninjutsu to transform into a human form?"
"Then, I can also roam the ninja world openly."
Orochimaru looked at the fox paw in his hand and pondered seriously for a moment.
"Perhaps it's possible..."
"But you'll need to use hand seals to control the overly powerful chakra fluctuations within you, otherwise, no transformation jutsu will likely work on you."
"Your claws seem much longer than a normal fox's, so you should be able to form hand seals like a human."
"Besides, the Transformation Jutsu only requires one hand seal!"
As Orochimaru spoke, he released the Nine-Tails' paw and, without activating his chakra, formed the 'Mi' seal in front of the Nine-Tails.
His index and middle fingers of both hands touched directly, his left thumb pressing on his right thumb; his left pinky and ring finger pressed on his right pinky and ring finger.
The Nine-Tails stared intently for a moment, then couldn't resist lifting its two paws to try.
"This..."
"Seems a bit difficult!"
Looking at its paws moving in unison, the Nine-Tails grimaced before giving up.
"Can you modify it for me?"
"I remember that when Hashirama Senju released ninjutsu, he simply brought his two hands together..."
As the Nine-Tails spoke, it clasped its two paws together, interlocking them through the gap.
Orochimaru shook his head speechlessly, looking at the Nine-Tails with an expression of utter foolishness.
"Kurama, have you forgotten whose reincarnation the First Hokage was?"
"Releasing ninjutsu with only one 'Mi' seal was probably just to appease others!"
"You want to compare yourself to him? Think about how to train your fingers!"
The Nine-Tails pouted, looking dejected.
"Alas!"
"That's why I hate that bastard Madara Uchiha!"
"Indra created so many ninjutsu and hand seals, why didn't he consider those like me who also possess chakra?"
"Without a compassionate heart, no wonder the old man disliked him!"
A line of black beads appeared on Orochimaru's forehead.
This guy is hopeless!
"Alright, you can practice slowly when you have time!"
"Kurama, I believe with your talent, you'll surely find a way to control your claws to bend freely very soon!"
"Now come with me into the Four-Tails' sealing dimension. To obtain the Lava Release power, it won't be as smooth without you!"
The Nine-Tails, flattered by Orochimaru's praise, happily tucked its paws back.
"Of course!"
"Since you've said so, the Four-Tails' Lava Release is on me!"
"Haha!"