He gently brushed a hand over it, and a red spiral pattern appeared.
Orochimaru was shocked. He pulled his neck back, his face showing no sign of delight, and Sasuke fainted.
"Flying Thunder God Mark!" Orochimaru wasn't an idiot. He'd fought alongside the Fourth Hokage before Naruto was even born, so he knew this technique well.
He recognized it at first glance.
Orochimaru opened his mouth, and another Orochimaru crawled out of it.
Orochimaru's own version of the Substitution Technique—one of a kind in the Ninja World.
The wet Orochimaru stood up and looked at his neck. No one else could have pulled off such a difficult feat, but Orochimaru had managed it.
"It's no use. The Flying Thunder God Mark can't be removed." Naruto smiled. His opponent was far too good at escaping, and Naruto had played along with him for so long just to place the mark.
Of course, Naruto was right. Short of the Six Paths Power, the Flying Thunder God Mark couldn't be erased.
"You brat, you're asking to die." Orochimaru erupted in fury. His terrifying killing intent filled the area, and Hinata behind them fainted from the sheer force of it. It wasn't that Hinata was especially weak; Orochimaru had killed countless people during the Ninja Wars, and with his formidable strength, it was only natural for his killing intent to be so overwhelming.
Even so, it paled beside the malice of the Nine-Tails.
"Lord Orochimaru, would you believe me if I said I mean you no harm?" Naruto's smile faded. He knew that to work with Orochimaru, he would have to reveal some of his strength.
As he spoke, his hair began turning red from the roots until it was entirely red. His pupils became red and slit-shaped, and ten golden chains swayed slowly behind him.
Orochimaru's pupils contracted.
Having met Kushina, Orochimaru naturally understood what Naruto was. The ten chains in particular would have been troublesome even for him.
As Naruto revealed his power, Orochimaru sensed the unfathomable depth of his chakra. Even though he had seen the Eight-Tails, this chakra still struck him as terrifying. But most frightening of all were Naruto's slit pupils.
"You've mastered the Nine-Tails' power." Even Orochimaru was shaken.
That was the Nine-Tails, the strongest Tailed Beast. No one had ever mastered it. Even the First Hokage had only been able to defeat it. As for controlling it, only Madara Uchiha had ever managed that.
"That should put your mind at ease, Lord Orochimaru. I mean you no harm."
Naruto smiled, but didn't return to his normal state.
"A Perfect Jinchūriki? How interesting. I wonder if the Third Hokage knows about your current situation, little brat." Orochimaru couldn't help licking his lips.
Hearing the threat in his words, Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"Snake, are you saying you won't do me this favor?" The Three-Tomoe Sharingan suddenly appeared in his eyes.
Naruto's voice turned cold.
Suddenly, Orochimaru felt the world around him turn red. Before him stood a red Nine-Tails Fox, baring its fangs at him.
The sheer volume of its chakra was beyond anything Orochimaru could measure.
His pupils contracted to pinpoints.
He tried to move, but couldn't even summon his chakra.
"I know what you're after, but I have goals of my own," the giant Nine-Tails Fox said.
"You've controlled the Nine-Tails."
The scene left Orochimaru utterly stunned. Only then did he notice the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in Naruto's eyes.
"How is that possible? How do you have the Sharingan?" A strange thought arose in Orochimaru's mind. Had Minato Namikaze been cheated on?
He shook his head, banishing the foolish notion.
"You'll find out later." Naruto didn't want to explain.
"Oh? Then what is it you want, Naruto-kun?" Orochimaru finally became serious.
"Hashirama Cells." Naruto named what he wanted.
"You want to master Wood Release." Orochimaru's pupils contracted again.
He wasn't an idiot. If Naruto had managed to acquire the Sharingan, then he must have a way to master Wood Release as well.
Orochimaru began wondering how Naruto had done it.
The Uzumaki Clan's abilities, the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan, and the Senju Clan's Wood Release—all in one person. Orochimaru grew excited. This was the perfect body he had always wanted.
"Exactly. If I had time, I could research it myself, but that would be too much trouble. So I thought of this simpler method." Naruto wasn't lying. Given enough time, he could research it himself. It might take a while, but he was sure he could develop Wood Release. As Asura's reincarnation, Naruto didn't believe he couldn't awaken it.
Orochimaru didn't know why Naruto was so confident, but he believed he wasn't lying.
"Fine. What will you trade for it?" Orochimaru wasn't about to let himself be threatened. Even if he died now, he could be reborn somewhere else, though the process would be more troublesome.
"I don't need them right now." The giant Nine-Tails Fox vanished, and the two returned to the real world.
"You know about my plans." Orochimaru began to think.
"Don't worry. I seek only power—absolute power. I won't concern myself with anything else." Naruto knew what Orochimaru was worried about.
"It seems you know quite a bit about my plans, Naruto-kun." Orochimaru couldn't help being surprised.
"I know a little. With my current strength, there's plenty I can find out." Naruto didn't elaborate.
Though Naruto gave no explanation, Orochimaru understood.
"In that case, it's settled." Orochimaru didn't know what Naruto was planning, but when he thought of the Flying Thunder God Mark on his neck, he knew Naruto had planned this from the start.
Neither of them said another word. Orochimaru left.
Naruto laid Hinata beside a tree so she could rest. With the matter settled and the Flying Thunder God Mark in place, there was no need to fear Orochimaru escaping.
As Orochimaru continued on his way, he frowned in thought. He hadn't paid attention to Konoha's affairs, but the treatment of Jinchūriki was much the same in every village.
The village's higher-ups both feared the Jinchūriki's status and depended on it.
That left Jinchūriki in an awkward position. They could hardly learn any advanced techniques, and no one would teach them.
Only in the Cloud Village were Jinchūriki different, because each generation chose a brother of the Fourth Raikage.
"Naruto Uzumaki? You're getting more and more interesting. Where did you learn your techniques?" The Flying Thunder God alone was something Naruto could never have gained access to. Even if his father knew it, he couldn't have passed it on to him.
And that Sharingan clearly hadn't been transplanted from someone else. Was there another way to obtain the Sharingan?