"Hm?" Orochimaru was somewhat surprised that the three brats before him remained unfazed under the pressure of his aura. Yet that only piqued his interest. He stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, letting out a low, sinister chuckle. "Your growth... is truly interesting..."
"The last descendant of the Uchiha Clan, the Hyuga Clan's young lady, and... the Nine-Tails brat... hehehehe..."
This guy... Sasuke stared at the strange ninja across from them, his expression grim. His instincts screamed that this man was extremely dangerous!
Since he had already appeared...
Naruto took the opportunity to focus and quietly dispel several clones scattered elsewhere—the clones used as decoys. Once the clones vanished, exhaustion came crashing down on him. Yet his unyielding will, long accustomed to such strain, remained as immovable as a reef amid crashing waves. At the same time, some of the clones' Chakra returned to his body.
The trap for catching the snake should be ready by now...
At that moment, Orochimaru spread his hands. "Let me test... the extent of your abilities!"
Shadow Snake Hands!
Two masses of serpentine shadows shot from his sleeves, lunging straight at Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata!
The defining trait of Orochimaru's secret technique was speed. Before anyone could react, the snakes would already be wrapped around their necks... But he was fast, and so were Sasuke and Naruto.
The snake shadows were already before his face. In that split second, Sasuke stimulated his cells with Lightning Release Chakra and instantly dodged the incoming attack.
Hinata's eyes widened slightly...
Her Byakugan had already seen the snakes' trajectories, but her body could not keep up... Move... move, body...
Smack! Naruto slapped Hinata on the shoulder and shoved her away. At the same time, a kunai he had drawn at some unknown moment was coated in Wind Style Chakra. As he ducked, slash, slash—he severed the snakes in one stroke.
This is... Hinata steadied herself after Naruto pushed her aside and looked at him in surprise.
Naruto gave her a faint smile.
Sasuke had already leaped high into the air. His Three Tomoe Sharingan was open as he finished several Fire Style hand seals in an instant. Puffing out his chest, he opened his mouth and exhaled. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" Clusters of Chakra fireballs immediately raced toward Orochimaru!
Orochimaru smiled without concern. His body weaved between the fireballs like a fish in water, easily dodging every attack... Yet after the Great Fireball flames faded, shuriken appeared from within them!
He hid shuriken inside the flames... Then next should be the Uchiha Clan's "Sharingan Windmill Triple Blade"...
As he thought that, Sasuke had already bound Orochimaru to a tree using Steel Wire connected to shuriken, gripping the line with his teeth and hands!
Hehe, just as expected...
Orochimaru remained perfectly composed.
Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!
Sasuke clenched the most crucial Steel Wire between his teeth and formed the Tiger seal for Fire Style with both hands. A scorching stream of flames instantly raced along the wire toward Orochimaru at the other end—
The blaze engulfed Orochimaru, but it seemed to do him little harm. When the flames dispersed, only his skin had been "damaged," exposing a small part of his true face.
But at that moment—
Gentle Fist!
Rasengan!
Naruto and Hinata lunged at the bound Orochimaru from the left and right. The Gentle Fist and Rasengan struck him squarely... but mud splattered everywhere. It was an Earth Clone!
Orochimaru emerged from the ground on the other side. He looked with interest at Naruto beside his Earth Clone and said in a hoarse voice, "Hehe... Nine-Tails brat, your name is Naruto Uzumaki... right? Sasuke and that Hyuga Clan girl have already given their all, but you've remained calm this entire time... My subordinate was right after all... You truly are an interesting Jinchuriki..."
Could he be using him as training for his companions? Orochimaru's interest only grew stronger. Fortunately, while he had come to Konoha this time to prepare a Curse Mark for Sasuke, he had also prepared a little gift for this Nine-Tails brat...
He wondered whether Naruto would like it... hehehehe...
Naruto silently watched the dangerous man. Hinata beside him slowly lowered her Gentle Fist stance.
Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!
A tremendous force suddenly struck from Orochimaru's flank, driving the air pressure toward him!
Orochimaru's lower body was still underground... Like a frail sapling in a typhoon, he was "snapped" by the palm wind and blown away, rolling across the ground with a hiss for quite a distance.
Hinata appeared at the other side. Her entire body was wrapped in red Demon Fox Chakra, her right hand still raised in the posture of the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. Even she was stunned by the power of her attack. It had only been an ordinary Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm...
She stared disbelievingly at her right palm and murmured, "Is this Naruto's power...?"
Poof. The Hinata beside Naruto turned into white smoke and disappeared.
Hmph, Naruto... well done. You can already convert this old man's Chakra into Chakra others can accept, then transfer it to them...
After all, that was something even that version of me could do...
That was... the Nine-Tails' Chakra... This brat had actually mastered the Nine-Tails' power to this extent!?
Hiss—
Orochimaru sprang up with the momentum and retreated onto a tree. He began chuckling sinisterly once more, slowly forming hand seals as he spoke to Naruto. "Naruto Uzumaki, such talent is truly wasted on a Jinchuriki... If not for Sasuke, if not for the fact that you are a Jinchuriki, perhaps I would have set my sights on you, Naruto Uzumaki..."
"Pah, who cares?!" Naruto fiercely displayed his contempt.
Sasuke and Hinata moved to Naruto's left and right, both fully on guard against the man across from them.
"Hehe... is that so..." Orochimaru finished his seals and sneered. "Then I wonder whether you care about the gift I prepared for you..."
Smack! He slapped his right palm against the tree branch!
Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation!
Rumble...
A wooden coffin slowly rose from the ground beneath Orochimaru...
Bang! The coffin lid opened, and dust billowed into the air.
The person inside the coffin gradually revealed her face.
Naruto's pupils suddenly contracted!
Karin was forcefully dragged over by the two Grass Ninja traveling with her. Her right sleeve was roughly rolled up, and the two injured Grass Ninja, who had expended a great deal of Chakra, seemed to turn into... two vicious wolves that had spotted fresh meat. Crunch! They viciously bit down on Karin's arm, which was covered in teeth marks.
"Ah..." Karin gritted her teeth in agony as the two leech-like men sucked away the Chakra within her body, rapidly restoring their stamina and healing their wounds.
This power... Why do I have to possess this power...? Mom... Why do we have to bear the Uzumaki name...?
Karin screamed in anguish within her heart.
Then, a golden figure descended from the sky.
Bang! Bang!
The two Grass Ninja had barely pulled their mouths away from Karin's arm before they could react. They were knocked down by the attack from above, losing consciousness and collapsing onto the ground.
Karin was utterly dumbfounded. She stared blankly at the dazzlingly golden back before her and murmured, "You... who are you...?"
"A Konoha ninja..." The golden figure slightly turned his head, his voice powerful yet warm. "Naruto Uzumaki!"
Kabuto had only one feeling right now: he was completely screwed.
He truly could not understand it, not at all. His disguise had been flawless. Sometimes, he could fool even Orochimaru—he could even fool himself... But why?!
Why was he surrounded by these people now?!
Kabuto's expression was ugly as he scanned the people surrounding him without leaving even the slightest opening for escape... Gekko Hayate, Shiranui Genma, three masked Konoha elite Anbu, Asuma, Might Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, and... Naruto Uzumaki?!
Naruto, in Sage Mode, smiled at Kabuto. This man had not yet become someone who would bring catastrophic trouble upon the entire ninja world... It could not have been better to capture him now.
"May I ask..." Kabuto's entire body stiffened as he pushed up his glasses, cold sweat streaming down his face. "What could a small fry like me possibly have done to warrant such an esteemed gathering?"
"Ah... that's a good question... phew..." Asuma looked lazy and relaxed as he exhaled a puff of smoke, smiling. "But I don't know either... Still, since Lord Hokage personally issued the mission, all we can do is carry it out without the slightest deviation."
Naruto struck his right fist into his left palm and smiled. "I think this treatment is just right!"
Kabuto's expression darkened.
Watching the figure step out of the wooden coffin one step at a time, Naruto could no longer contain his fury! For the first time in his life, he felt such endless rage, as though a raging inferno had exploded within his heart—
"Orochimaru, you bastard..." Naruto clenched his fists tightly, his teeth grinding audibly as the veins bulging on his forehead throbbed.
"So you already know who I am..." Orochimaru, perched in the tree opposite him, was somewhat surprised. Having spent his life crawling through heaps of corpses, he instinctively caught the scent of something wrong.
Naruto! Naruto! Calm down! Anger won't help anything!
Stop nagging, Kurama! I can't tolerate this!
"Naruto..." Hinata looked at Naruto in surprise. She wanted to reach out and comfort him as he trembled, yet she was faintly afraid as well. At this moment, Naruto radiated an oppressive and terrifying aura...
"..." Sasuke looked toward Naruto, whose emotions had clearly gone completely out of control, then toward the woman stepping out of the coffin. Who exactly was she? How could she make Naruto lose control like this?
Rage surged to Naruto's head as he stared at the woman who had emerged from the wooden coffin. Her beautiful red hair drifted gently in the air... Naruto's eyes instantly turned into the Demon Fox's vertical pupils!
Boom...
Golden Chakra, like blazing fire, engulfed Naruto in an instant!
And from within the golden flames came his roar:
"Orochimaru! I will never forgive you!"
Before you continue