"Oi, Orochimaru, it's you again."
A massive, purple-striped giant serpent appeared, known as Manda, the leader of the Ryūchi Cave's snakes.
As a representative of evil summoning beasts, Manda was formidable, and his strength was not to be underestimated. Though he demanded a hefty tribute each time he was summoned, his power was substantial. The fame of the Sannin was significantly due to their respective summoning beasts.
"Greetings, Manda-sama."
Orochimaru responded casually, "I have prepared enough tributes for you, but I need Manda-sama to help us with transportation first…"
This was a battlefield, so there was no shortage of "tributes."
"That brat, is he also one of my tributes?"
Manda lifted its colossal head and gazed at Wakaho, who was floating in mid-air. It then met Wakaho's three-tomoe Sharingan.
"Sensei, I can also sense a strong dark aura from him…" Wakaho said.
"Manda-sama comes from the Ryūchi Cave. I have a contract with the Ryūchi Cave, Wakaho-kun," Orochimaru said, trying to mediate between the two parties.
"That pair of eyes…" Manda rumbled, "Orochimaru, I've changed my mind."
"This brat can replace… four tributes. Let me devour him!"
Manda's decision was not contingent on Orochimaru's approval. If Manda wanted a tribute, it would take it.
Orochimaru, feeling somewhat helpless, was about to end the summoning and call a different serpent to ride, but then he heard Wakaho's provocative remark.
"Catch me if you can, you bastard."
With that, Wakaho controlled the fire dragon and soared off into the distance.
"Damn little brat, you'll pay for this!" Manda roared and began to chase after Wakaho.
"There are rocks ahead, Manda-sama," Orochimaru calmly advised from Manda's head, smiling as he guided them around obstacles.
"Hmph!"
...
Thus, the trio set off.
Their destination, the Shinu Bridge, wasn't too far. With Manda and the fire dragon's flying capabilities, the journey would be significantly shortened.
However, this mode of travel was somewhat audacious.
But audacity aside, stopping this combination required considerable courage.
A blazing fire dragon flew through the sky!
Chasing the fire dragon was Manda, occasionally attempting to attack the fire dragon with its enormous serpentine body!
Wakaho controlled the fire dragon's direction.
The fire dragon controlled Manda's direction.
Manda's massive form bulldozed through any Iwagakure ninja they encountered. These ninjas, unable to block or even flee, had to contend with Wakaho and Manda's dominance.
"What's up with that giant snake? It's enormous!"
"Did Orochimaru and Konoha ninjas launch an attack?"
"No, look up!"
"Orochimaru's target isn't us; it's that Uchiha… the Uchiha from Konoha!?"
"Send a message to the Third Tsuchikage immediately!"
"This is bad! Their trajectory is suspicious! It looks like… their target is Iwagakure!"
"They're insane! They plan to launch a surprise attack on Iwagakure like this?"