Chapter XXXII - Nori vs. Orochimaru
The jet black hair of the female Hokage danced fiercely in the chaotic wind as she approached Orochimaru faster, her every step increasing in power as the ground began to crack underneath her very feet. The sly Sannin kept his signature smirk, a smirk demanding for more pandemonium in the village that he once called his home.
Orochimaru wasn't blind to Nori's tremendous strength. The last time he underestimated Tsunade, it nearly cost him his life. Being fully aware of the Senju blood running through the woman's veins, the Sannin wanted to tire out Nori before dealing the fatal blow. But since Nori was a Senju with Sage Mode, he knew it'd be like going against the legendary Hashirama Senju himself.
Great strength, indeed, but the Hokage has to die in order for Gyatsō to maintain full control of the village, he thought before dashing forward, sword in hand. When he and Nori were mere inches apart, Orochimaru attempted to slice the woman's chest, but she caught the blade with just two fingers. Nori would then roar, applying pressure to crack the sword in half.
The Sannin lost his smirk as he now looked slightly worried as Nori lunged her fist forward, catching Orochimaru square in the jaw. The feeling reminded him of when Tsunade did the same thing long ago when all three Sannin were in a fierce battle.
Orochimaru was sent sprawling back in the air and landed on the ground with a loud thud. When he looked up, Nori was already above him, moving her leg down in an attempt to slam it into his head. Orochimaru quickly moved his head to the side, avoiding a fatal injury as the ground cracked when the woman's foot made contact.
Nori gritted her teeth as she struggled to move. The force of the attack caused her leg to become stuck in the earth underneath her, hindering her movement. Orochimaru slightly smirked, his long, snakelike tongue already wrapping around Nori's torso. Forcing her up, he constricted her more as to hold her in place.
"Come now, Hokage! Where's that fighting spirit of yours the Senju possesses?!" he cackled out.
Raising his arms, he then proceeded to send fast, hard punches to Nori's face. After about 20 seconds of such blows, Nori flung up her hands, catching Orochimaru's.
"What?!" he gasped, shocked to her sudden defence.
"If you wanna see it so badly, I'll gladly show you!"
With another roar, she headbutted him hard, forcing the Sannin to release her as he was pushed back, a small line of blood flowing out of his nostrils. Orochimaru jumped back, gritting his teeth as his angry eyes fixated on the smaller woman.
Slowly wiping away the crimson red blood with a knuckle, he slapped his hands together before performing multiple hand seals. Nori rose her fists in an act of defence, bracing herself for whatever Orochimaru would soon launch at her.
"I must admit, I always avoided using this jutsu unless I was in a life-or-death situation," he started, accelerating his hand movements. The slight compliment caused Nori to smirk, pride glistening in her eyes to hear she was pushing a Sannin to this limit.
"It's not so much as life-or-death, you bastard. I swear that I'm going to kill you here, you've meddled with my village for far too long! I'm going to show you the power of the Hokage!" she declared loudly, slamming her foot on the ground.
Orochimaru stared at Nori for a short time, seeing her as Tsunade at that moment. Everything about the young woman reminded him of his former comrade. Her words, her face, even her fighting style.
"She really does take after Tsunade, but she's still too weak. Looks like I had nothing to worry about, as always," Orochimaru said to himself, slowly regaining his sinister facial expression.
"What was that?!" Nori boomed, now running towards Orochimaru. She already knew that her Sage mode wouldn't last too long, for her Sage jutsu chakra was already rapidly depleting. Without the physical prowess given by the transformation, she concluded that she couldn't actually kill the Sannin. She had to finish things, fast.
"What good would telling you do when you're at death's door, my dear?" Orochimaru chimed, still performing hand seals.
What the hell kind of jutsu requires so many hand signs? I better not drop my guard, thought Nori as she reached Orochimaru, throwing fast punches and kicks. Orochimaru dodged each blow, his reaction speed much faster than the woman's own. Nori's speed was diminishing by the second, thus Orochimaru became less caring about his own movements.
"Damnit!" Nori yelled, gritting her teeth roughly as the markings under her eyes slowly began to fade away to Orochimaru's delight.
"Is this the limit of your Sage mode?! I don't even have to use this forbidden jutsu to beat you, how distasteful!" Orochimaru cackled out, launching a sudden counterattack. With one swift, hard kick from the Sannin, Nori was sent back sliding on the ground in a panting mess. Her once straight, black hair was now messy, her bangs sticking to her forehead due to her sweat.
"Honestly," Orochimaru started, standing above the woman. He held the grip of his sword tightly as he pointed it at her face. Nori looked at the blade to see her own reflection in the metal before her eyes met Orochimaru's.
His fierce, green hues peered into hers, her conscious, and somehow, her entire being. For the first time in years, Nori actually felt scared for a second.
"You're the most pathetic Hokage this village has ever had, and I've been close to three of them. The power of the Hokage means nothing to me, and soon, you won't either," said Orochimaru. Nori's remark about the Hokage's power seemed like nothing more than naïveté to him. "Hokage" was just the title for the biggest fool in the village.
"Why are you doing this?! You swore loyalty to Konoha after the last war, didn't you?! What happened?!" Nori demanded, slowly rising to her feet.
"As I said earlier, I'm not saying anything to a woman on her deathbed," Orochimaru replied.
"Don't you remember what your sensei, Lord Third, said to you before you betrayed the village so many years ago?!"
"That I'll become yet another criminal whose hands will be stained with the blood of those I care about? You foolish woman, Sarutobi sensei was just a senile old buzzard who failed the village. Hokage after Hokage, you're all just tools feeding a worthless cause," he replied, crossing his arms.
Nori's eyes widened in anger as she balled her fists, her nails digging into her flesh. A small line of blood escaped through the cut.
"And what would that worthless cause be, specifically?" she asked.
"Protecting the Leaf, of course. This village is nothi-"
Nori interrupted Orochimaru by smashing her fist into his face as hard as she could, sending him crashing into a pool of debris. Hearing him disrespect the village itself set Nori aflame inside, her burning passion to defend Konoha radiant in her eyes.
"Don't you dare say that in front of me, you snake bastard!" she yelled, holding onto her damaged hand. She had fractured her knuckles with that punch, but it was worth it. Although her Sage mode had completely diminished now, it appeared that there was some secret power Nori still held onto. Her Will of Fire!
Orochimaru would slowly emerge from the debris, a hand covering his damaged face. He didn't want to give Nori the satisfaction of seeing him injured to that extent. Some of his blood dripped onto the ground.
"How's that, huh?! I hope you're ready for another," said Nori with a slight smile, quickly dashing towards Orochimaru once more.
"You can't do anything in that state, so just die, Hokage..."
Orochimaru quickly uncovered his face, revealing his tongue wrapping around his sword. Nori gasped and tried to jump back, but the pain in her hand caused her to stop in her tracks. The Sannin jumped forward to shove the blade deep in Nori's chest. Her blood coated Orochimaru's face as he smirked widely, both of them falling onto the ground with the Sannin kneeling above her.
Panting lightly, Orochimaru slowly stood up to look behind him, Hikari's blue eyes meeting his. Hikari's blonde hair gently swayed in the wind as he wordlessly looked over to Nori's body before looking back at the Sannin.
Orochimaru's tongue hesitantly released the sword and went back into his mouth as Hikari now studied Nori's body for vital signs.
"No need for that, boy. The Hokage is dead."
"Hmph. Orochimaru..."