Training Tool

Naruto was throwing a flurry of punches when one suddenly pierced through Orochimaru's body. He immediately stopped his assault and swiftly tossed the body, which still maintained Orochimaru's appearance, into the distance.

A second later, the body suddenly turned into mud, and sludge splattered everywhere—Earth Substitution: Fracture.

"So that's how it is... sealing all your chakra within your body, sacrificing the ability to use ninjutsu and genjutsu entirely in exchange for an explosive increase in taijutsu power."

Orochimaru, who was unsure if he was the original, emerged from the ground nearby and stared intently at Naruto. "But it seems there is more to it than that. If you were merely sealing your chakra, your palm should have been pierced by the Kusanagi Sword long ago."

Naruto offered no explanation. He tossed the Kusanagi Sword he had been gripping onto the ground, focused his senses to confirm that the Orochimaru speaking was indeed the original, and lunged forward with a punch.

"Your speed has increased!"

Orochimaru felt a hint of surprise, but he was still able to react, attempting to parry with both hands.

He failed to block it.

The arms, condensed with a massive amount of chakra, were shattered less than half a second after making contact with Naruto's fist. Had Orochimaru not reacted quickly enough to use the Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique, his entire upper body would likely have vanished—just like the giant snake he had summoned.

In mid-air, Orochimaru beckoned, and the Kusanagi Sword on the ground flew into his hand automatically. He thrust the tip toward the charging Naruto.

Naruto once again grabbed the tip of the blade with one hand, swiped it aside, and continued to charge at Orochimaru while maintaining his perception to ensure Orochimaru could not deceive him with another Earth Substitution.

Sure enough, the Orochimaru holding the sword before him was not the original.

"Tch!"

Naruto let out a sound of annoyance. He increased the force in the hand gripping the Kusanagi Sword, swung Orochimaru's substitute away, and simultaneously expanded his sensory range to locate the original Orochimaru—who was heading toward Sasuke and Sakura.

Accelerating, he appeared right in front of Orochimaru just as he emerged from behind Sasuke and Sakura, and stomped down.

Orochimaru, along with the patch of earth he was hiding in, was ripped from the ground and left suspended in the air.

With his azure eyes fixed on Orochimaru within the mud, Naruto delivered another simple, unadorned punch.

"The power... it's grown even stronger!"

Orochimaru felt the crushing pressure radiating from Naruto's fist. He bit his lip, sprayed blood onto the mud in front of him, and slammed his hands down: "Rashomon!"

Orochimaru's strength was sufficient to summon three Rashomon gates simultaneously, but he was too rushed this time and could only ensure one.

A massive, thick, crimson ghost gate was summoned, standing between Orochimaru and Naruto's fist.

The fist collided with the gate, producing a deep, resonant sound like an ancient bell. A moment later, the fist shattered the gate, continued forward, and landed on Orochimaru's face, sending him flying dozens of meters away.

Sasuke looked at Naruto, his gaze appearing somewhat dazed: "So strong!"

"Still not enough."

Naruto shook his head, looking dissatisfied: "If Master were borrowing my body, this punch just now should have turned both this gate and Orochimaru into dust."

"Cough, cough... Truly a powerful punch, even more forceful than Tsunade's."

With blood trailing from the corner of his mouth, Orochimaru looked at Naruto and the Sasuke behind him, saying regretfully: "The people from Konoha will be here soon. It seems today's goal will be difficult to achieve."

"I will remember you, little one of the Uzumaki Clan."

Orochimaru slowly sank into the ground: "I will come looking for you again."

Naruto sensed carefully, confirmed that Orochimaru had moved far away, and let out a sigh of relief before pressing his palms together: "Release."

The black markings on his body representing the seal vanished, his physique returned to its usual state, and he collapsed backward.

Sasuke and Sakura hurried over to support him.

"Are you alright?"

Sasuke asked with concern: "Are you injured anywhere?"

"I'm fine, not injured. Just a bit tired, I'll be okay after a rest."

Naruto waved his hand limply: "Sorry, I couldn't manage to snatch the Scroll of Earth."

"Don't worry about the Scroll of Earth at a time like this."

Sakura wore a look of lingering fear: "Who exactly is that guy called Orochimaru? When he released his killing intent just now, I felt like I saw a vision of myself being killed."

"I don't know much about Orochimaru either."

Naruto said: "But my old man said that Orochimaru is a missing-nin from our Konoha and was once a student of the Third Hokage."

"A student of the Third Hokage? A missing-nin?"

Sakura's brows furrowed tightly: "Why would someone like that come to attack us?"

"I don't know, but it certainly isn't for anything good."

Naruto recalled the expression on the man's face and the things he had said during their fight: "He never looked at Sakura from start to finish, and he didn't recognize me either. His most likely target must be Sasuke."

"Yeah, I also think he was coming for me."

Sasuke said calmly: "When he appeared just now, his attention was always on me. He was especially excited when he saw my eyes; he must be trying to claim my Sharingan for himself."

"But even if he dug out your eyes and installed them, at most he'd reach the level of Kakashi-sensei, and he'd still run the risk of not having enough chakra."

Naruto speculated: "My dad said that when Orochimaru was still in Konoha, he was someone who loved to research. Perhaps he has developed some technique that can fully unleash the power of the Sharingan."

"Perhaps."

Sasuke didn't seem to care much: "As long as I keep getting stronger, stronger than him, no matter what techniques or plans he has, he won't succeed."

"That is the logic."

Naruto nodded: "But from here on out, you had better try your best to be careful."

"I know."

Sasuke was very calm: "At the very least, within the village, with you all around, I am still safe."

"Right, if it's just about strengthening the ability to escape, perhaps it can be achieved in a short amount of time."

Naruto thought of an idea: "Are you two interested in the sealing jutsu I just used?"

"Is that allowed?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow: "Isn't that a secret technique of the Uzumaki Clan?"

Sakura also expressed her doubt: "It feels like it requires a significant amount of chakra; I probably wouldn't be able to use it."

"It's not a secret technique; this sealing jutsu was taught by Master. Even if I didn't tell you, I expect Master would have taught you eventually."

Naruto said: "As for the chakra, during the use of this sealing jutsu, the more chakra you have, the greater the risk, so it is actually more suitable for those with less chakra."

While delighted, Sakura asked: "What kind of risk?"

"That has to start with the effect of this sealing jutsu."

Naruto lay quietly on the ground, only his mouth moving: "The effect that Orochimaru mentioned earlier was correct, but not entirely. First of all, this jutsu does indeed seal the chakra within the body to prevent it from leaking out. But that isn't to increase the power of taijutsu; it is to utilize the chakra to train oneself at the cellular level."

"Using chakra to train... wouldn't the consumption be massive?"

Sasuke did not quite understand: "What is the difference between cellular-level training and ordinary training?"

"Chakra is the product of our physical energy and spiritual energy combined; in theory, it can indeed be used for training, but the problem lies in the specific method of training."

Sakura thought as she spoke: "After all, our body's cells are tiny, and there are a vast number of them. To ensure that the chakra doesn't damage the body's cells while allowing them to gain training, I don't think humans are capable of such a thing."

"Doing it directly is, of course, impossible, but you can create 'tools' and achieve it with the assistance of those tools."

Naruto said: "This sealing jutsu is a tool specifically created by Master."