Orochimaru

Once she agreed, Naruto used the Flying Thunder God to send her directly to the basement—the place where he usually trained and researched sealing jutsu.

The safety here went without saying; the seals and barriers inside had taken even Naruto a long time to perfect.

Seeing that she had appeared in a strange, underground space, Karin Uzumaki was momentarily terrified.

"This is where I research sealing jutsu. As a member of the Uzumaki Clan, I don't know how much you understand about them, but you can take a look." Naruto gestured toward his research area.

Hearing this, Karin Uzumaki became curious, as she had heard about such things from her mother.

Once Naruto finished speaking, his Shadow Clone vanished.

Back at the main body, Naruto received the memories from his clone. His eyes narrowed, and a faint killing intent stirred within him, especially after seeing the miserable state of Karin Uzumaki.

Although he lived in this world, Naruto only cared about cultivation. He tried his best to avoid the things he found distasteful, as he didn't consider himself a good person and felt little connection to this world. Since the people of this world had never accepted him, Naruto Uzumaki, why should he help them? He had never entertained the idea of changing the world, not even for Konoha.

But the girl he had seen today made Naruto consider destroying Kusagakure, especially after seeing the bite marks on her body, which reminded him of the fate that befell this mother and daughter in the original story.

Three-Tomoe appeared in his Sharingan, beginning to rotate slowly.

However, because Naruto Uzumaki was walking in the lead, no one noticed the change in his eyes.

Hinata and Sasuke suddenly felt a chill; a dense, murderous aura was radiating from Naruto.

The two grew cautious, thinking they had encountered some enemy.

After sensing their surroundings, however, they found nothing.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Hinata asked.

Naruto snapped out of it, and the three tomoe in his eyes, which were on the verge of connecting, slowly dispersed until they vanished without a trace.

"It's nothing." Naturally, he couldn't tell them what had happened.

After a moment of thought, Hinata realized Naruto wouldn't say anything, so she didn't ask further.

Naruto withdrew his aura, and at the same time, his senses picked up a cold, sinister chakra approaching. He immediately realized that Orochimaru had arrived.

"Hinata, fall back. A very powerful enemy is coming." Naruto suddenly stopped and created a Shadow Clone to guard Hinata.

Seeing Naruto's reaction, Sasuke was shocked. It was strange for Naruto to call someone "very powerful," and the fact that even Hinata needed to retreat implied that Naruto might not be able to protect her, which left him stunned.

If Naruto knew what the Second Pillar was thinking, he would be speechless. Making Hinata retreat was for her protection; as for Naruto, now was not the time to expose his full strength. One had to know that Naruto's current power level was already on par with the Fourth Great Ninja War in the original story—he was essentially invincible in the Ninja World, with only the Six Paths power left to attain.

Orochimaru, who was approaching, found the situation suddenly becoming interesting.

"I've been discovered. It's that boy." Orochimaru's sensory abilities were not weak.

Unable to suppress his curiosity, he increased his speed as he approached.

Before long, a figure appeared on a large tree. He wore Kusagakure attire, his eyes golden with slit pupils, staring at the three of them with interest.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Orochimaru, the scientist of the Ninja World.

"Little ghost, how did you discover me?" Orochimaru asked curiously.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto didn't explain, simply stating his name.

"So, it's the legacy of the Fourth Hokage." Orochimaru understood Naruto's identity in an instant.

The other two were confused, not understanding what he meant.

Only the veteran jonin knew Naruto's true identity.

Even for second-generation ninja like Hinata, their parents would never tell them who Naruto really was.

Naruto knew that Orochimaru had already figured out his identity.

"Do you want this scroll? If you want it, come and take it." Orochimaru took out a scroll marked with the character for "Earth" and swallowed it right in front of the three of them.

"Naruto?" Sasuke was tempted.

But he hadn't lost his reason; Sasuke didn't dare to be careless against someone Naruto labeled as a powerhouse.

"Attack together. Hinata, provide support from the back." Naruto finished his sentence and charged forward.

[Shadow Clone]

Dozens of Shadow Clones appeared on the field, each holding a Rasengan.

One Naruto vanished instantly, reappearing beside Orochimaru. He unleashed his Rasengan, but Orochimaru transformed into mud.

The tree behind him was struck and instantly turned to ash—a Fire Style Rasengan.

Watching this scene from afar, Orochimaru frowned. He was surprised that someone of this age could use a ninjutsu of this caliber.

A Rasengan infused with elemental properties was already an S-rank technique; if not for Naruto's control, the explosive power alone would have been immeasurable.

"A bit dangerous. It would be no joke to get hit by that." Orochimaru didn't dare to be careless, especially since his target this time was Sasuke.

Sasuke didn't care at all, charging toward Orochimaru with Chidori in hand.

Naruto's Shadow Clones began to assault Orochimaru.

Summoning Jutsu.

Two giant snakes appeared and began attacking Naruto's clones, but they were quickly dispatched by the clones.

Ten Thousand Snake Strangling

Suddenly, Orochimaru's arm transformed into countless snakes that lunged toward Naruto to bite him.

"Naruto, watch out!" Hinata cried out in worry for Naruto.

But the current battle was simply not something she could intervene in.

Naruto dared not be careless, yet he also could not expose his true strength.

[Wind Style: Storm Dance] Countless wind blades sliced the incoming snakes into minced meat.

"Naruto Uzumaki, not bad strength." Orochimaru was somewhat excited. At the same time, while fighting Sasuke, he couldn't help but feel disappointed in Sasuke's abilities. Compared to the Uchiha geniuses of the same age, Sasuke truly had nothing remarkable at this stage. Whether it was Shisui Uchiha or Itachi Uchiha, they had already made names for themselves in the Ninja World by their teens, while the current Sasuke might not even be able to defeat a Chunin.

"Since you've come, I shall give you a gift." Orochimaru suddenly spoke toward Sasuke.

He saw Orochimaru, in the midst of battle, suddenly stretch his neck out, his mouth opening wide as he lunged to bite Sasuke's neck.

Sasuke was shocked; he utilized taijutsu, his body instantly retreating over ten meters, but Orochimaru's neck was capable of infinite extension.

Just as Sasuke's figure reappeared, Orochimaru's mouth followed, biting down on the Second Pillar's neck. Chakra was injected into Sasuke's body, causing him to stiffen for a moment.

The opportunity has arrived. Naruto's eyes lit up; this was the chance he had been waiting for. In an instant, Naruto's figure vanished, reappearing on the opponent's neck.

His right hand brushed lightly over it, and a red swirl pattern appeared.