Outside the village.
The moon was cold, and the wind bit.
Jirobo, Kidomaru, Tayuya, Sakon, and Ukon of the Sound Ninja had been waiting for a long time.
"Was Lord Orochimaru really captured?"
"Even the Third Hokage couldn't beat him. What could that Naruto Uzumaki possibly do?"
"True, but Lord Orochimaru's vessel can't wait any longer. He must be replaced as soon as possible. We have to bring him back to Otogakure!"
The Sound Five whispered among themselves in the forest.
A pale, gaunt figure appeared in their sight.
Kimimaro.
Jugo's close friend, and once one of Orochimaru's most promising vessels.
Now, however, he was gravely ill and could die at any moment.
He had come here today for only one reason.
To infiltrate Konoha and rescue Orochimaru, even if it cost him his life.
"Kimimaro? I didn't expect you to come. This mission should have been ours to die on!"
Kidomaru said cautiously.
"You're not in any condition to fight. Don't push yourself, Kimimaro."
Tayuya knew Kimimaro was already at death's door.
"Because I'm a dying man, I have all the more reason to give my life to save Lord Orochimaru. Only he can create an absolutely wonderful New World!"
Kimimaro's face grew paler still.
He had just taken a step when he heard a sound from the forest.
Orochimaru appeared before them as if no one else were there.
Huh?
Kimimaro was stunned, and the Sound Five exchanged bewildered looks.
What was going on?
Weren't they told that the Acting Hokage had defeated and imprisoned Orochimaru?
How had he escaped?
"As expected of you, Lord Orochimaru! You actually escaped Konoha's layers of imprisonment!"
Kimimaro was overjoyed. Seeing Orochimaru escape alive made him happier than anything.
"Escaped?"
Orochimaru stood atop the treetops, looking down at his former subordinates.
"Kimimaro, you were supposed to wait in the village for Kabuto. But this works out. Now that you're here, Kabuto won't need to go looking for you."
"And the rest of you, go to the Experimental Base in the village. Danzo will make arrangements for you."
Orochimaru flicked out his tongue.
He could already imagine what would become of the Sound Five.
Naruto was crazy enough to transplant Hashirama Cells directly into his own body. He would probably be interested in a powerful ability like Shikotsumyaku, too.
"What are you talking about, Lord Orochimaru?"
Jirobo was beginning to wonder whether the person before them really was Orochimaru.
He had inexplicably escaped Konoha, and now he was telling them to go to Konoha and die.
If they had escaped, shouldn't they all leave together as quickly as possible?
"Nothing."
Orochimaru couldn't be bothered with these useless fools.
Instead, he turned to Kimimaro.
"Kimimaro, you'll be far more valuable to that lord. The Gate of the Sage is right before you, and you possess the bloodline of a sage."
Orochimaru landed on the ground.
He looked at the gravely ill Kimimaro.
"Lord Orochimaru, what are you talking about? Weren't you seeking immortality?"
"Did Konoha do something to you, or are you not the real Orochimaru?"
Kimimaro felt that the Orochimaru before him was a complete stranger.
"Konoha did nothing to me. That's precisely why I've come to find it so appealing."
"Kimimaro, from now on, I'll work with Acting Hokage Naruto Uzumaki to uncover the true Path of Eternal Life!"
"You'll be part of it, too!"
Orochimaru didn't need anyone to rescue him.
"Don't come looking for me. Your lives and deaths are up to Naruto Uzumaki!"
He turned and headed toward the Land of Wind.
Kimimaro and the Sound Five were left frozen in place.
After a long while, Kimimaro's hands trembled as he said:
"Lord Orochimaru surrendered!"
The Sound Five had never expected things to turn out this way.
If they had a choice, they would rather die!
They would never surrender to Konoha!
"He's not Lord Orochimaru! He can't be!"
Sakon and Ukon shouted in anguish, standing back to back.
"What are you yelling about?"
At the edge of the treetops, a figure about their age looked down at them all.
He had arrived so quickly, and moved so silently, that he had outdone even Orochimaru.
The six of them were stunned.
"Naruto Uzumaki!"
The Sound Five recognized Naruto at a glance.
Kimimaro also fixed his gaze on Naruto.
He regarded him as his mortal enemy!
"I'm really not impressed by the power you lot have. But Shikotsumyaku is a pretty good ability. It'll give me another edge as I use Sage Mode Double to forge a true Sage Body!"
Naruto pointed at Kimimaro from beneath his Hokage Hat.
Kimimaro was startled by the young face beneath it.
So young!
And he had already become Konoha's Acting Hokage!
What kind of strength did a boy who had even turned Orochimaru into an assistant possess?
"We'll never submit! Don't think you can make us surrender with the power you used to confuse Orochimaru!"
"Naruto Uzumaki! Today is the day you die!"
"Attack!"
Whoosh!
The Sound Five attacked Naruto together.
Kidomaru, with six arms, covered the forest in spider silk.
Jirobo used Earth Release to divide the battlefield and stood ready to absorb chakra.
Tayuya pulled out her flute and immediately began casting genjutsu, while using the Summoning Technique to call forth the Three Demons.
Sakon and Ukon entered their battle form, taking on the appearance of some inhuman monster.
And finally, there was Kimimaro, the main attraction and centerpiece.
To be cautious,
he immediately activated the first state of the Earth Curse Mark. Razor-sharp bone spikes sprouted from his joints, hands, and shoulders.
"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Willow!"
In this state, both his defense and offensive power were greatly enhanced!
The six of them were strong enough to put most elite jonin in a desperate situation.
They had genjutsu, control, chakra absorption, a rare Kekkei Genkai, and the ability to hold opponents off and tie them down.
Too bad.
Their opponent was Naruto!
"You're really not much to look at now. Still, I might as well take you back and let that old man Danzo study you."
"I like those two abilities of yours: Shikotsumyaku and chakra absorption!"
Naruto clapped his hands.
Then he formed Hand Seals.
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Now that was what you called overwhelming strength.
Since transplanting Hashirama Cells, Naruto hadn't used Wood Style even once.
His chakra reserves far exceeded Yamato's and Danzo's, too.
The power of his Wood Style was terrifying.
Even the Nine-Tails, inside the Sealing Space, found it rather troublesome.
"So that brat really did grow to this point."
That day, the Nine-Tails remembered the terror of being beaten senseless by Hashirama Senju.
But Kimimaro and the Sound Five were experiencing it for the first time.
The forest was already full of trees, and in an instant, enormous vines blanketed everything.
So what if they had spider silk, earthen walls, or a few extra bone spikes?
Under the overwhelming destructive force, they were all useless.
The trees surged like enormous waves in the deep sea, shattering the group's combined attack in an instant.
In the end, all that remained was a wrecked patch of ground, with the group caught in the vines and trees.
Under the moonlight,
Naruto's strength was enough to make anyone tremble with fear.
Danzo arrived in time with his guards, followed closely by the new Hokage's guards, Yamato and Sai.
When they saw Naruto's arm, they were all astonished.
"As expected of Lord Naruto! You've easily done what this old man couldn't. This is the power of Wood Style as wielded by the First Hokage, Lord Hashirama!"
Danzo was now nothing but a devoted Naruto fan.
He immediately showered Naruto with praise, laying it on thick.
"So the Hokage's Wood Style is this powerful? I always thought I was the only one who could use even a fraction of its power."
Yamato felt as if he'd found someone like himself, but his expression remained wooden.
What really astonished Yamato was Danzo.
How had he changed so much in just a few days? He'd never been this polite, not even to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
It was as if he'd gone from a rabid dog to a loyal house dog.
"So this is Konoha's new Hokage!"
Sai had just returned to Konoha from a mission. Seeing Naruto easily defeat the Sound Ninja left him deeply impressed.
"Take them back for experiments. Analyze what I need as quickly as possible."
As Naruto bundled the group up in trees,
only Kimimaro still tried to grab him.
"Lord Orochimaru, why would you obey him? That couldn't have been him!"
The anguish in Kimimaro's face earned only a cold look from Naruto.
"Immortality, eternal life, power—any one of those is enough to tempt him. You're still too young, Kimimaro. You don't understand what that snake wants."
Kimimaro wearily closed his eyes. "So it's immortality. What an ambition, so far beyond our reach."
[Warning!]
[Sasuke wasn't rescued by the Sound Five, and he's in an extremely foul mood, on the verge of Blackening.]
[Please help Sasuke Uchiha return to the right path as soon as possible.]
"Sasuke?"
"System, are you Fugaku Uchiha? If you're not his father, stop sticking your nose into things. Get lost and out of my sight!"
[This system advises the Host to turn back before it's too late and mend his ways! Hmph!]
"Get lost!"
Naruto stood with his hands in his pockets, looking down at his defeated subordinates. He truly didn't know what it meant to have a worthy opponent.
"Sasuke's going to Blacken? This is the perfect time for me, the Blackening Mentor, to make my entrance."
At the Uchiha Compound,
Sasuke suddenly sneezed.
"The one cursing me has to be Naruto!"