The Sannin Orochimaru, Defeated!

"Mandala Formation!"

Orochimaru spat out hundreds of crawling snakes to launch an attack.

Their speed was swift and difficult to parry, covering the ground beneath Naruto's feet in an instant.

Combined with the thousands of smaller snakes he had transformed into himself earlier.

The ground became entirely covered in snakes.

He used this to once again obstruct Naruto's pursuit.

"Take them all down!"

Naruto surveyed the surroundings, and his Multiple Shadow Clone Technique clones surged forth.

Every one of them unleashed a variety of ninjutsu.

"Rasengan!"

"Thunderstorm Rasengan!"

"Rasenshuriken!"

Orochimaru did not want to spare even a single glance at the Rasengan series.

This stuff really ruined his mood; the destructive power it displayed upon appearing was quite terrifying.

"Flame Bullet!"

"Great Flame Bullet!"

"Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

On the other side, it was Fire Release again, as dozens of shadow clones unleashed a barrage of fire to burn the snakes.

"Are you even human?!"

Orochimaru gritted his teeth in anger.

He had never imagined that one day he would encounter a situation where there were more people than snakes.

It was a completely suppressed situation!

"Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"

Oh no!

Orochimaru completely broke down.

What was terrifying about this move wasn't just the wide-range lethality and destructive power it caused with Water Release.

More importantly, it could trap people inside.

Kisame Hoshigaki loved using the Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave for destruction, imprisonment, and self-protection.

Those trapped inside the water found it hard to get out, and those outside found it hard to get in.

Hundreds of snakes were immediately trapped inside, suffering the strangulation of the water vortex.

"Watch us! Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld!"

A group of shadow clones emerged from the west.

They immediately buried all the snakes in the treacherous, impassable swamp.

"Use Scorching Release! Extremely Steam Killing!"

Another group of shadow clones slaughtered their way from the other side of the grass.

They grilled the poor little snakes, which quickly turned into snake skins.

"You're even using Kekkei Genkai? I suggest using the Five Elements!"

"Five Elements: Great Barrage Technique!"

Five shadow clones joined forces.

They surrounded the hundreds of snakes and slaughtered them together.

On the sidelines, Tsunade had just overcome her psychological trauma regarding blood.

She summoned Katsuyu.

Jiraiya stood on Gamabunta's head, also at a loss for what to do.

"Isn't this a bit excessive?"

Shizune had never seen the Sannin look so disheveled.

"Jiraiya might really not have been lying. Tell me, did the Third Hokage teach Naruto the Five Elements and Enma's techniques?"

Tsunade felt a sense of lament.

But the next second.

She witnessed an even more shocking scene.

Several shadow clones used the Shadow Clone Shuriken Technique in their hands.

A series of blinding flashes followed immediately!

It was the Flying Thunder God Technique!

If any snake managed to escape, it would purely be because Naruto had intentionally let it go.

"Jiraiya."

Gamabunta, the boss toad, spoke with a grave expression to Jiraiya, who stood atop his head.

"If you had possessed strength as terrifying as Naruto's back then, perhaps you could have brought back the lost Orochimaru."

At this, Gamabunta even lit his large smoking pipe.

"No."

"Thinking back now, he could never have returned to Konoha; all the blame for his research fell squarely on Orochimaru's shoulders."

Jiraiya looked back on the past, feeling only sorrow.

Once a ninja loses their utility, they are easily discarded.

Even someone as powerful as one of the Sannin is no exception.

"Open the gate and release the rabbits!"

"Summoning: Rabbit Family!"

His signature summoning technique.

Naruto's Shadow Clone directly summoned an adorable family of rabbits.

They were small and cute upon arrival.

But as they hopped, they grew larger and larger, eventually picking up snakes to play with like rubber bands.

Where on earth did this kid learn so many bizarre techniques!

Jiraiya thought, slapping his forehead.

Naruto had no weaknesses in Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, space-time Ninjutsu, or summoning.

He lacked only age and seniority.

Otherwise, he would truly be the best candidate for Hokage.

Thinking of Tsunade's stubborn temper and the possibility that she might actually recommend Naruto for Hokage made his head ache even more.

"Naruto!"

Surrounded by Shadow Clones, Orochimaru was nearing a mental breakdown.

"Great Snake Style Substitution Technique."

Without needing hand seals, he shed his skin and emerged from the body of a snake.

Even in his current state, Orochimaru still held several trump cards.

Yet, facing such an incredibly monstrous genius as Naruto, he still felt stifled.

"What exactly do you want!"

"Is it really impossible for you to let me leave alive?"

Orochimaru let his hands hang limp.

His snake-like facial markings twisted.

Even in this moment of despair, he did not forget to let out a wretched, miserable laugh.

"Your teacher Jiraiya didn't dare kill me! The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't kill me! By what right do you!"

"Naruto Uzumaki! Do you really think that if you drag me back, Konoha will be at peace?"

"You are too young; you don't understand how dark the sky over Konoha truly is, and you understand even less why I left in the first place!"

"Dragging me back is useless; it will only drive a bunch of old men insane! They are the very ones who want me to live the most!"

In Orochimaru's eyes, Naruto was too naive, too ignorant.

When they were young, who hadn't given their all for Konoha, fighting until death?

Who could have imagined that in the end, it would all be a cycle of discarding the donkey once the grinding is done.

"Naruto is still just a child; how could he understand these things."

Tsunade's approval of Konoha had also dwindled to almost nothing.

It was a place of sorrow; one could even say the entire Ninja World was like a meat grinder ready to start at any moment.

Countless lives that were laughing and talking only yesterday would, in the blink of an eye, become cold, silent corpses.

"From the moment ninjutsu was born in this world, from the moment humans possessed chakra, everything was destined to be a fate that ninjas rush toward, generation after generation."

The Child of Prophecy that Jiraiya had always dedicated himself to finding was meant to end this tragedy.

Only after experiencing the most brutal wars did the Sannin understand just how cruel the Ninja World truly was.

"Nine-Tails Chakra Mode!"

"Open for me!"

Naruto's Sage Technique chakra was exhausted, having finished tempering his physique.

In the blink of an eye, he utilized Nine-Tails chakra to activate an even more ferocious form.

"Just how many trump cards do you have, you monster kid!"

Orochimaru felt envious deep down; if he could have the protection of Naruto's layer upon layer of chakra cloaks, how tenacious his vitality would be, not to mention the sheer amount of chakra he had squandered until now!

"Orochimaru, don't think about stalling for time."

"Even if you burrow into the ground, I will still drag you out."

Behind Naruto, nine sharp claws condensed from Nine-Tails chakra appeared.

The chakra fox claws surrounded Orochimaru, and the gathering of hundreds upon hundreds of Shadow Clones left Orochimaru with nowhere to hide.

"Do you know how your parents died?"

"Naruto, do you know why your parents were left isolated and helpless on that night?"

"Do you want to know who the enemy was?"

Orochimaru flicked his tongue out, wearing a wicked grin.

Upon hearing this, both Jiraiya and Tsunade frowned.

Many things were merely speculation, and they hadn't been in the village at the time.

The Night of the Demon Fox.

Danzo had indeed misled the Uchiha Clan, making things even more difficult for Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.

But how could one seek revenge?

Danzo, who had also experimented on human bodies back then, was protected, while Orochimaru became the target of everyone's scorn.

The current Konoha was still led by those disciples of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.

"I know."

Naruto could sense Orochimaru's malice through the Nine-Tails chakra.

He locked onto every one of Orochimaru's movements.

"I have always known."

"That is why I am different from you; I don't need to run."

"You killed the Third, so why didn't you finish off Danzo as well? Did you form a bond while dissecting corpses together?"

"You are just wasting my time and energy."

Naruto raised a hand.

Thousands of Shadow Clones and nine chakra fox claws attacked Orochimaru simultaneously.

"You!"

"You really are a madman!"

"Hehehehe, I truly want to see how you intend to do it!"

"The mountains of Konoha are even more stable than those Hokage Rocks; how could you possibly shake them!"

Orochimaru could not escape, nor was there any need to run anymore.

He wanted to witness Naruto's madness.

Caught by the massive Nine-Tails chakra hands, Orochimaru's eyes erupted with monstrous killing intent.

"Naruto Uzumaki! I surrender. Take me back to Konoha; I want to see if you can truly overturn the high mountains of Konoha!"

Orochimaru's laughter was incessant.

Tsunade and Jiraiya, however, were already wearing grave expressions.

"Fine!"

"The mountains of Konoha—I will overturn them!"

Darkness flashed in Naruto's eyes, vanishing into his pupils in an instant.