Domain Expansion

Naruto watched in stunned disbelief as the First and Second Hokage, who had been ground to nothingness by the Imaginary Technique "Purple," miraculously regenerated—surprise and curiosity surging through him like intertwining tides.

This extraordinary recovery sparked an unprecedented level of fascination and awe within him for the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu.

But just as he stood frozen, a foreboding sense of dread struck him like a cold wind.

Orochimaru's sinister, smiling face appeared behind him like a ghost, and a colorless, odorless toxin silently invaded his body with each breath.

"Not good!" Naruto's mind snapped alert. In an instant, he distanced himself from Orochimaru, his body shooting upward into the sky.

But the First and Second gave him no time to catch his breath. The First swiftly used Wood Release to lift himself and the Second, pursuing without pause.

Naruto felt a creeping weakness spread through his entire body. Orochimaru's cold laugh echoed in his ears: "Naruto-kun, confidence is a good thing, but overconfidence is the fatal flaw of you geniuses!" As the words faded, Orochimaru rode the First's Wood Release toward Naruto, and in an instant, three figures surrounded him.

Orochimaru wielded the Kusanagi Sword, the First swung a fist brimming with monstrous strength, and the Second used the Flying Thunder God Technique to appear behind Naruto, a Kunai pressing hard against his back.

Though the Kunai couldn't break through the "Infinity Technique," it severely restricted Naruto's movements.

Then, Orochimaru's Kusanagi Sword and the First's fist came crashing in, launching a fierce assault on Naruto.

Orochimaru first thrust the Kusanagi Sword at Naruto's chest, forming a pincer with the Second.

Then, the First coordinated with Orochimaru's blade—his overwhelmingly powerful fist drove the Kusanagi Sword deep into Naruto's chest, forcing a spray of blood from Naruto's mouth.

Orochimaru, staring at Naruto so close before him, wore a greedy grin on his face.

He laughed savagely, as if already envisioning the scene after claiming Naruto's body.

But at this critical moment of life and death, Naruto grinned back, mocking: "Orochimaru, finally got you!"

Orochimaru's heart tightened, and he retreated swiftly, but how could his speed compare to Naruto's release of the Imaginary Technique "Purple"?

Naruto's smile grew more "radiant." With one hand, he grabbed the Second behind him and flung him forward, while his other hand simultaneously activated Forward Spell "Azure" and Reverse Spell "Crimson," instantly unleashing the Imaginary Technique "Purple."

Seeing this, Orochimaru bit his palm and slapped it in the air—Summoning Technique: Triple Rashomon answered the call.

Three massive, grotesque gates were summoned from the summoning array, charging toward the oncoming Imaginary Technique "Purple."

But the Triple Rashomon crumbled like paper, holding out for less than a second before being ground into nothingness.

Yet in that single second, Orochimaru's upper body narrowly escaped the Imaginary Technique "Purple," collapsing weakly to the ground.

Naruto coldly stared at the half-body Orochimaru on the ground and said icily, "Stop acting. I know you're not that easy to kill."

As the words fell, laughter rang out.

From the mouth of that half-body, Orochimaru emerged as a brand-new self, while the Impure World Reincarnated First and Second also restored themselves.

By now, Naruto's eyes behind his sunglasses had turned into golden frog eyes, with the distinctive eye shadow of Sage Mode appearing at their corners. This was because he had been constantly using Sage Chakra, causing changes in his body.

This physical transformation came from using a large amount of Sage Chakra in a short time—a side effect of maintaining Sage Mode continuously while unleashing high-power techniques.

Though called a side effect, it only downgraded his constant Sage Mode into a normal Sage Mode, meaning his Sage Mode now had a time limit.

Once Sage Mode ended, without Sage Chakra to support him, his own chakra alone couldn't sustain this level of battle—unless he relied on the Nine-Tails.

Thus, Naruto knew he had to finish this quickly.

Orochimaru, fully restored, curled his lips into a smug smirk.

He stared at Naruto hovering in the air, the Kusanagi Sword he had just stabbed still lodged in his chest, and boasted: "Look at you—your vitality and willpower are astonishingly tenacious. But even so, with a sword through your chest, how much longer can you hold out? It'd be so much better if you joined our side. See this Regeneration Technique of mine? Even if my chest gets stabbed, I don't worry at all—I recover instantly."

Naruto snapped out of his thoughts, glanced at the wound on his chest, and a flicker of mockery crossed his eyes.

Under Orochimaru's shocked gaze, he yanked out the Kusanagi Sword.

Then, Naruto's chest healed at an astonishing speed—Reverse Curing activated, the wound closing rapidly, skin flawless, as if never injured.

He asked flatly, "You mean this sword?"