Battle

Naruto Uzumaki and his group soon arrived at the small plaza, where both sides officially confronted one another.

Orochimaru stood there with his arms crossed. Seeing that the newcomer was Jiraiya, he let out a sinister chuckle. "Heh heh heh, Jiraiya, when did a loser like you start obsessing over looking young, just like Tsunade?"

The Jiraiya standing before him did not look like the man he had seen a few years ago; instead, he appeared as he had in his twenties, just as Orochimaru remembered him.

He assumed Jiraiya had found a way to regain his youth, much like Tsunade had.

"Orochimaru, you're still the same, and your laugh is just as disgusting as ever," Jiraiya countered, staring at his opponent without a hint of weakness.

Orochimaru merely shrugged, spreading his hands. "What? Have you forgotten how you ended up lying on the ground a few years ago?"

Years ago, Jiraiya had tracked Orochimaru down, leading to a battle. Because Jiraiya had been unwilling to kill his former comrade and had refrained from using Sage Mode, he had been defeated.

After being wounded, Jiraiya had laid on the ground, expecting to die at Orochimaru's hands, only for the latter to let him go.

"I didn't come here to convince you to return to Konoha; I've long since abandoned that idea," Jiraiya said calmly.

Orochimaru let out another cackling laugh. "To think a naive fool like you would finally see the light. Then why are you here? And why bring two brats along?"

Naruto Uzumaki went without saying, but Shisui Uchiha was only fifteen this year. In Orochimaru's eyes, they were both mere children, and he couldn't fathom why Jiraiya would bring such dead weight to a confrontation.

Jiraiya stared at Orochimaru, his tone turning deadly serious. "I'm here simply to beat you into the ground."

"Heh heh heh heh, since when did a loser get such a big mouth?" Orochimaru laughed exaggeratedly.

Jiraiya furrowed his brows. "I'm not joking. If you don't resist, you might suffer a little less later."

Orochimaru's already gloomy gaze turned even colder. "Hmph, then let's see you try."

At this moment, Naruto Uzumaki stepped forward. "Pervy Sage, take a break. I'll go first."

Seeing the brat step up, Orochimaru initially found it strange, but upon hearing Naruto Uzumaki's words, he felt insulted. His anger flared as he roared, "Jiraiya!!"

He immediately unleashed his Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, deciding to kill the brat first before settling the score with Jiraiya.

Several large snakes lunged from Orochimaru's sleeves, their mouths agape to reveal venomous fangs, striking toward Naruto Uzumaki with a foul, fishy stench.

Naruto Uzumaki remained calm; Orochimaru wasn't the only one who knew how to use ninjutsu without hand seals.

He quickly activated Spirit Energy Body Infusion and condensed a Rasengan. Because they were underground, he carefully controlled the amount of spirit energy, resulting in a Rasengan only the size of a human head—but it was more than enough.

He hurled the Rasengan at the snakes. The sphere, swirling with violent spirit energy, flew toward Orochimaru.

The moment the snakes touched the Rasengan, they were shredded to pieces by the spirit energy coating its surface. Before throwing it, Naruto Uzumaki had calculated exactly how much energy was needed to maintain a spirit energy membrane around the sphere so it wouldn't detonate upon impact with the snakes.

After obliterating the snakes, the Rasengan continued toward Orochimaru, who dodged just as it reached him. The sphere then detonated.

Because the small plaza was cramped, Orochimaru couldn't deploy his defensive ninjutsu and was forced to take the hit head-on.

Although the Rasengan was only head-sized, Naruto Uzumaki had spent this entire period practicing spirit energy fragmentation, and the resulting power was far from negligible.

The shockwave from the explosion tore off one of Orochimaru's arms, slammed him against the wall, and sent him sliding to the ground.

The moment he landed, Orochimaru opened his mouth wide. Two hands emerged from his throat, gripping his upper and lower jaws to pry them open, and a new Orochimaru crawled out, his arm fully restored.

This was the Snake Shedding Technique; by shedding his skin like a serpent, he could transfer his injuries to the discarded husk.

Naruto Uzumaki didn't stop him; it would be no fun if the fight ended so quickly.

Orochimaru stood up, tore off the layer of mucus on his face, and glared at Naruto Uzumaki. "Brat, I underestimated you. If I'm not mistaken, that was the Rasengan of Namikaze Minato."

Naruto Uzumaki wasn't surprised that he recognized the technique; Orochimaru had been a ninja of Konoha, so knowing his father was expected.

He didn't speak, simply nodding once.

Orochimaru said nothing more. He opened his mouth wide and crouched, spitting out a dense swarm of snakes. They formed a wave of serpents rushing toward Naruto Uzumaki, each snake's mouth agape, clutching a sword.

Seeing this, Naruto Uzumaki quickly formed hand seals and unleashed Wind Release: Great Wind Disaster. Spirit energy rapidly gathered in his mouth, forming a vortex.

He spat the vortex at the incoming wave of snakes. Once released, the vortex expanded rapidly under the infusion of spirit energy. Naruto Uzumaki maintained the output, and the snakes were scattered in every direction by the gale.

At this moment, the figures behind Orochimaru moved. Shisui Uchiha saw them advancing and flashed forward to intercept. Jiraiya, meanwhile, remained standing with his arms crossed, watching.

Although there were six people on Kimimaro's side, Shisui Uchiha was more than enough to handle them. Setting aside the power of his Susanoo, his Body Flicker Technique alone was enough to give them a headache.

Only Kimimaro required caution. As for Jugo, despite his natural Sage Body, he lacked control, limiting his true strength. The other four possessed strange abilities, but their raw power was unremarkable.

Though Shisui Uchiha was only fifteen, his talent for the Body Flicker Technique had allowed him to reach an incredible level, earning him the title of Body Flicker Shisui in the ninja world.

He had already drawn his Wakizashi and, using the Body Flicker Technique, kept the six of them at bay.

Because the space was narrow and Naruto Uzumaki had ordered them to be kept alive, he didn't kill them, merely forcing them back to prevent them from interfering in the main battle.

On Naruto Uzumaki's side, Orochimaru saw that the snake wave was useless and turned to head into the tunnel. The underground space was too small; most of his ninjutsu couldn't be deployed effectively.

He wanted to move the battlefield to the surface. Naruto Uzumaki understood his intent but didn't stop him; the underground space limited his own performance as well.

He craved a heart-pounding battle. Since he began his training, he had only experienced two real fights, including this one.

The best way to improve martial arts and ninjutsu was through live combat, especially when fighting an opponent stronger than oneself. Orochimaru was the perfect whetstone for his skills.

Naruto Uzumaki grabbed Jiraiya and quickly pursued Orochimaru. "Brother Shisui, Pervy Sage and I are going after Orochimaru. Just knock the rest of them out."

He sensed the path Orochimaru had taken and used the Flying Thunder God to reach the surface exit, waiting for him.

Before long, Orochimaru burst out of the tunnel, only to be stunned.

Not far ahead, Naruto Uzumaki stood waiting, while Jiraiya sat cross-legged on the grass behind him, looking as if he had been waiting for a long time.

Without giving Orochimaru a chance to speak, Naruto Uzumaki flashed forward, spiritual energy gathering in the meridians of his legs.

Naruto Uzumaki used the second form of the Mad Demon Leg, Stream Cutter. Just as he had during his battle with Kakuzu, he threw a Kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God seal, flickering constantly around Orochimaru.

Orochimaru was pinned in place by the shockwaves attacking from all sides, unable to move.

At this moment, Orochimaru's right leg transformed into a giant snake and began to burrow into the earth. In Naruto Uzumaki's perception, the snake was lunging toward him, about to drill into the ground directly beneath his feet.

He quickly switched moves, unleashing Mountain Breaker, and slammed a kick into the earth beneath him.

By then, the snake had already reached that spot with its jaws wide open, revealing Orochimaru's head. Orochimaru spat out the Kusanagi Sword from his mouth, aiming to strike Naruto Uzumaki above.

As Naruto Uzumaki's kick connected with the ground, the crushing power of Mountain Breaker took effect. The underground was churned into a mess, and Orochimaru's head was forced deeper into the earth, after which all signs of life vanished.

Naruto Uzumaki sensed the area, only to find a shed snake skin left behind; Orochimaru had already escaped and was currently burrowing back toward the surface.

Emerging from the ground, Orochimaru looked at Naruto Uzumaki with a dangerous glint in his eyes and snapped, "Brat, was that the Flying Thunder God you just used? Who exactly are you?"

Orochimaru had obtained the Flying Thunder God, but no matter how he trained, he had made zero progress.

Seeing Naruto Uzumaki use the Flying Thunder God, and the more he looked at him, the more familiar he seemed—he felt as if he were seeing the shadow of someone else.

"You'll find out in a moment," Naruto Uzumaki replied casually, then summoned Kurama within the Sealing Space.

Kurama responded from the Sealing Space, rapidly channeling his spiritual energy into Naruto Uzumaki's body.

As Kurama's spiritual energy poured in, ripples of energy radiated from Naruto Uzumaki's skin, and he entered Sage Fox Mode.

Upon sensing the energy fluctuations emanating from Naruto Uzumaki, Orochimaru detected a hint of familiarity. Once Naruto Uzumaki entered Sage Fox Mode, he realized the truth and exclaimed, "So it's you, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. How could the Third let you leave the village?"

By now, Naruto Uzumaki had fully entered Sage Fox Mode. He raised his right hand, rapidly condensing a massive Rasengan in his palm. "I'll tell you after I'm done beating you up."

He then hurled the gargantuan Rasengan toward Orochimaru.

Seeing this, Orochimaru quickly bit his finger, pressed his hands to the ground, and performed the Summoning Technique.

Three gates carved with demonic patterns appeared before Orochimaru.