Naruto: I Am The System

Compared to the battered and exhausted Tsunade and Jiraiya, Orochimaru was clearly in much better shape.

Even though he was carrying Lucy, the primary target of the enemy mages' search, the presence of Tsunade and Jiraiya wreaking havoc throughout the area provided enough distraction that, combined with Orochimaru's exceptional scouting skills, he encountered far fewer battles.

However, as time went on, more and more sections of the sewer system collapsed, and the number of places they could hide steadily diminished.

Yes—Orochimaru could use Earth Style techniques to carve out new paths or dig small caverns to hide in with Lucy.

But no one knew whether hiding within walls or underground would be enough to evade this world's magic-based detection techniques. If discovered, they'd essentially have dug their own graves.

After all, Lucy couldn't use Earth Style and remained unconscious. Otherwise, with all of them diving in and out of the subterranean network using chakra, who could possibly keep up?

With fewer hiding spots and growing risk, splitting up again might lead to them being picked off one by one.

"Orochimaru, how much chakra do you have left?" Tsunade asked the moment they regrouped.

"Seventy percent."

Orochimaru's calm reply shocked both Tsunade and Jiraiya.

This guy… really knew how to conserve his strength. Tsunade, after countless battles, was down to less than thirty percent chakra.

The worst off was Jiraiya—his Sage Mode natural energy was completely drained, and he hadn't had a moment to recharge. His combat ability had dropped by more than half.

Still, hearing Orochimaru's answer, Tsunade quickly pulled out a pouch of soldier pills from her ninja tool bag.

"I've got thirteen high-grade soldier pills left. They can restore chakra instantly. Use Earth Style to create confusing tunnel networks. All we have to do is last twenty-four hours, and the mission will be complete!"

She didn't mention the side effects of soldier pills.

It didn't matter. Once the mission was over, the Lord God System would restore them completely, no matter how severe the aftereffects.

Orochimaru's eyes flickered with a strange glint, but he nodded.

"Understood."

Among the Three Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru was the only one proficient in Earth Style, making him the ideal person for this task.

If they left the narrow, maze-like sewers and entered the open city streets—where the enemy was most familiar—their danger level would skyrocket. So they needed to stay underground as long as possible.

Orochimaru clearly understood this.

Just then—

BOOM!

The wall beside them cracked and exploded, stones scattering as dust choked the air.

A girl stepped into the tunnel—wearing a suit of medieval knight's armor, gripping a gleaming steel longsword. Her beautiful yet fierce face was framed by fiery red hair, and she exuded a terrifying aura.

Her angry, cold voice echoed through the corridor.

"You dared to abduct Lucy by force… and killed Fairy Tail's comrades? Unforgivable!"

As shinobi, the Sannin hadn't held back during their battles. Several enemy mages had died by their hands.

Those deaths enraged Fairy Tail—what had started as a rescue mission for Lucy had now turned into a mission of vengeance.

Unfamiliar with the norms of this world, the Sannin had no idea of the weight of what they'd done.

All they saw was the girl before them glow with a bright white light.

The next instant, her armor transformed—replaced by a menacing set of spiked, black steel armor, forged like it came from hell itself.

Her sword shifted as well, becoming a jagged, two-meter-long greatsword.

Purgatory Armor!

Erza Scarlet's second most powerful armor—infamous for its raw destructive force. Legend had it that none who witnessed this form lived to tell the tale.

With a roar of fury, Erza swung the massive blade with both hands. It tore through the air as if it were cleaving space itself—coming down with terrifying force on the three shinobi.

Where the blade passed, stone silently turned to dust. Even the air itself was split, creating a vacuum that engulfed the entire corridor in destructive force.

Even a Substitution Jutsu wouldn't help. The range was too wide. There was no escape.

It might've taken a while to describe…

But from the moment Erza appeared to when she changed armor and swung, barely one or two seconds had passed.

Feeling the deadly pressure, Tsunade gritted her teeth—

And stepped forward.

She directly charged into the path of the descending blade, her upper body coated in a black metallic sheen.

With her left fist, she struck out.

Slash!

A flash of the blade.

Blood sprayed everywhere.

Tsunade's left arm was sliced clean off from the shoulder—severed into multiple pieces.

But Erza's overwhelming attack had been successfully intercepted. It never reached Orochimaru or Jiraiya behind her.

The defensive enhancement from Armament Haki helped her endure the blow.

Just as the blade's aura dimmed—

Tsunade showed no signs of pain. She furrowed her brow, and her right hand shot forward like lightning, grabbing hold of Erza's wrist.

Imagine Breaker!

A power the Sannin had exchanged from the system before the mission—allowing the user's right hand to nullify any supernatural ability they touched for ten seconds.

But there was a catch: the suppression extended to the user's own abilities, too.

Facing an S-Class Mage with terrifying power, Tsunade finally chose to use this ability—for the first time.

By sacrificing her left arm, she succeeded in making contact with Erza.

All of Erza's magical power vanished in an instant. The fearsome S-Class Mage was now reduced to nothing more than a normal girl.

Since it was a conceptual nullification, Erza felt no pain or drain—just a sudden, helpless vulnerability.

Without hesitation, the long-synchronized teammates struck.

"Ninjutsu: Needle Hell!"

"Earth Style: Rising Spikes!"

---

In the dim tunnels below, Orochimaru tunneled like a mole through the earth—fast, silent, and methodical—leaving a twisted network of passages behind, sometimes connecting with other corridors.

That battle a few hours ago—despite their combined effort, the Sannin had failed to kill Erza.

The formidable red-haired girl had relied on sheer physical strength to move in heavy armor, swinging her massive blade with astonishing technique.

Even after her magic was nullified, her Purgatory Armor remained physically indestructible, granting her remarkable defense.

Through sheer will, she withstood their attacks for ten seconds. Once her magic returned, her combat strength exploded again.

Imagine Breaker had a cooldown. And even if it didn't, Tsunade wouldn't have used both charges on a single opponent.

The Sannin made the rational decision—to retreat.

Due to her heavy injuries, Erza didn't give chase. She could only watch as they slipped away unharmed.

After regrouping, the three split up as originally planned.

Orochimaru's task was to confuse the enemy.

Perhaps because of that clash, the enemy forces had thinned—but those that remained were far stronger.

Orochimaru darted through the underground like a rat, evading confrontation wherever possible. Finally, he'd made it to the final stretch.

As he prepared to burrow deeper and wait for time to run out—

The air in front of him suddenly distorted.

From the rippling light emerged a man in a wizard's cloak, reeking of decay and death—his appearance sudden, like teleportation.

"Took me quite a while to find you… filthy little rat."

He sneered, voice like poisoned honey.

"Now, won't you be a dear and tell me… where our lovely Miss Lucy is?"

~~~

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Remove the parentheses btw