Sasuke: Those Who Scold Me Must Be Naruto!

Outside the village.

The moon was cold and the wind was biting.

Jirobo, Kidomaru, Tayuya, Sakon, and Ukon of the Sound Five had been waiting for a long time.

"Has Lord Orochimaru really been captured?"

"Even the Third Hokage was no match for him; what is that Naruto Uzumaki supposed to be?"

"That's true, but Orochimaru's vessel situation is critical and must be replaced as soon as possible. We must bring him back to the Sound!"

The Sound Five were whispering among themselves in the forest.

A pale, gaunt figure appeared within their line of sight.

Kimimaro.

Jugo's closest friend, and once one of the vessels Orochimaru favored most.

He was now terminally ill, at risk of dropping dead at any moment.

He had come here today for only one reason.

To infiltrate Konoha and sacrifice his life to rescue Orochimaru.

"Kimimaro? I didn't expect you to come. This mission was supposed to be our death sentence!"

Kidomaru said cautiously.

"You're in no condition to fight, Kimimaro. Don't force yourself."

Tayuya knew that Kimimaro was already beyond saving.

"It is precisely because I am a dying man that I must cast aside my life to save Lord Orochimaru. Only if he lives can he create an absolutely perfect new world!"

Kimimaro's face grew even paler.

He had barely taken a step when he heard a sound in the woods.

Orochimaru appeared before them as if no one else were there.

Huh?

Kimimaro was stunned, and the Sound Five exchanged bewildered glances.

What was going on?

Wasn't it said that Orochimaru had been defeated and imprisoned by the Acting Hokage?

How did he escape?

"As expected of you, Lord Orochimaru, to be able to escape from Konoha's heavy confinement!"

Kimimaro was overjoyed; seeing Orochimaru escape to safety made him feel better than he ever had.

"Escape?"

Orochimaru stood atop the tree canopy, looking down at his former subordinates.

"Kimimaro, you were supposed to be waiting for Kabuto in the village, but this works too. Since you've appeared, there's no need for Kabuto to go out of his way to find you."

"And as for the rest of you, go to the Experimental Base in the village. Danzo will make arrangements for you."

Orochimaru flicked his tongue.

He could already imagine the fate of the Sound Five.

A madman like Naruto, who dared to transplant Hashirama Cells directly into his own body, would likely appreciate the power of the Shikotsumyaku as well.

"What are you saying, Lord Orochimaru!"

Jirobo was now beginning to doubt whether the person before them was the real Orochimaru.

He had escaped from Konoha for no apparent reason, only to tell them to go to Konoha and throw their lives away.

Since he had escaped, shouldn't they all be leaving as quickly as possible?

"It is nothing."

Orochimaru couldn't be bothered to pay attention to these pieces of trash.

He turned his gaze toward Kimimaro.

"Kimimaro, you will have even more value to that lord. The Gate of the Sage is right before us, and you possess the bloodline of the sage."

Orochimaru landed on the ground.

He looked at the terminally ill Kimimaro.

"Lord Orochimaru, what are you talking about? Didn't we set out to seek immortality?"

"Did Konoha do something to you, or are you not the real Orochimaru at all!"

Kimimaro felt that the Orochimaru of today was far too unfamiliar.

"It is precisely because Konoha did nothing that I find it so attractive."

"Kimimaro, from this moment on, I shall cooperate with the Acting Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, to unearth the true path to eternal life!"

"You, too, shall become a part of it!"

Orochimaru did not need anyone to save him.

"Do not come looking for me; all matters of life and death are now subject to the orders of Naruto Uzumaki!"

He turned and walked toward the direction of the Land of Wind.

He left only Kimimaro and the Sound Five petrified on the spot.

A long while later.

Kimimaro said with trembling hands:

"Lord Orochimaru has surrendered!"

The Sound Five had never expected such an outcome.

If they had a choice, they would rather die!

They were absolutely unwilling to surrender to Konoha!

"He is not Lord Orochimaru, absolutely not!"

Sakon and Ukon shouted in agony, back to back.

"What are you howling about?"

At the edge of the tree canopy.

A figure of similar age to them was looking down at everyone.

He had arrived too quickly, moving even more silently than Orochimaru.

The six of them were stunned for a moment.

"Naruto Uzumaki!"

The Sound Five recognized Naruto the moment they saw him.

Kimimaro also fixed his eyes intently on Naruto.

He regarded him as a mortal enemy!

"I truly look down upon the power you possess, but the Shikotsumyaku is indeed a good thing; it can lend me a helping hand on the path of forging a True Sage Body using Sage Mode Double!"

Naruto pointed at Kimimaro from beneath the Hokage hat.

A still-youthful face startled Kimimaro.

So young!

To think he had already become the Acting Hokage of Konoha!

What kind of strength must this boy possess to be able to reduce even Orochimaru to an assistant?

"We will never submit! Don't think you can make us surrender using the power that confused Orochimaru!"

"Naruto Uzumaki! Today is the day you die!"

"Attack!"

Swish!

The Sound Five joined forces to surround and attack Naruto.

The six-armed Kidomaru covered the forest in spider silk.

Jirobo used Earth Release to isolate the battlefield and stood ready to absorb chakra at any moment.

Tayuya took out her flute to cast genjutsu and summoned three demons via summoning jutsu.

Sakon and Ukon entered their combat forms, appearing like inhuman monsters.

Finally, there was Kimimaro, acting as the anchor and the centerpiece.

To be cautious.

He appeared immediately in the first state of the Earth Curse Mark, with extremely sharp bone spurs growing from his joints, hands, and shoulders.

"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Willow!"

In this state, his defensive and offensive capabilities were fully enhanced!

The strength of the six was enough to trap most Jonin in a dead end.

Genjutsu, crowd control, chakra suppression, rare bloodline limits, and the ability to block and entangle individual targets.

Unfortunately.

The opponent they encountered was Naruto!

"Your current strength is truly not worth looking at, but it wouldn't be bad to capture you and let that old geezer Danzo study you properly."

"I quite like these two abilities: Shikotsumyaku and chakra absorption!"

Naruto clapped his hands.

He immediately formed hand seals.

"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"

This was what it meant to be crushed by sheer power.

He had yet to use the Wood Style he gained after transplanting the Hashirama Cells.

Naruto's own chakra reserves far exceeded those of Yamato and Danzo.

The power of the Wood Style he unleashed was truly terrifying.

Even the Nine-Tails, watching from within the Sealing Space, felt a headache coming on.

As expected, this brat has grown to this point after all.

On this day.

The Nine-Tails was once again reminded of the terror of being beaten black and blue by Hashirama Senju.

For Kimimaro and the Sound Four, however, it was their first time experiencing such a thing.

The forest, already dense with trees, was instantly blanketed by massive vines.

What did spider silk, earthen walls, or a few extra bone spurs matter?

Under the weight of such absolute, crushing destructive power, they were all nothing but paper tigers.

The trees surged like a deep-sea tidal wave, shattering the offensive formation the group had built in an instant.

In the end, there was nothing left but a ruined landscape and the captives ensnared by the vines and timber.

Under the moonlight.

Naruto's strength was enough to make one's heart tremble with fear.

Danzo arrived just in time with his guards, followed closely by the new Hokage guards, Yamato and Sai.

When they saw Naruto's arm, their faces were filled with astonishment.

"As expected of Lord Naruto, you have easily accomplished what this old man could not. This is the true power of the Wood Style once wielded by the First Hokage, Lord Hashirama!"

Danzo had become a pure Naruto sycophant.

He started off with a barrage of flattery, painting a flowery picture of the situation.

"Is Lord Hokage's Wood Style really this strong? I had always thought that I was the only one capable of unleashing even a fraction of its power."

Yamato felt as though he had met a kindred spirit, though his expression remained wooden.

What truly surprised Yamato was Danzo.

He hadn't seen him for a few days, and yet he had changed like this; he hadn't even been this polite back when Hiruzen Sarutobi was in charge.

How did he go from a wild dog that bit everyone to a loyal, unwavering house pet?

"So this is the new Hokage of Konoha!"

Sai had just returned to Konoha from a mission, and he was quite shaken to see Naruto defeat the Sound Village ninjas so easily.

"Take them back for experimentation. Analyze what I need as soon as possible."

As Naruto bundled the group up with wood, only Kimimaro still tried to reach out toward him.

"Lord Orochimaru... why would he listen to your orders? That absolutely wasn't him!"

Kimimaro's pained expression was met only by Naruto's cold, downward gaze.

"Eternal life, immortality, power—any one of these is enough to make him salivate. You are still too young, Kimimaro; you don't understand what little Orochimaru truly wants."

Kimimaro closed his haggard eyes. "So it's eternal life... what a distant, unreachable ambition."

[Warning!]

[Sasuke Uchiha was not rescued by the Sound Four; he is in an extremely foul mood and is currently Blackening.]

[Please help Sasuke Uchiha return to the righteous path as soon as possible.]

"Sasuke?"

"System, are you Fugaku Uchiha? If you aren't his father, why are you meddling in his business? Get out of my sight, and be quick about it!"

[This System advises the Host to turn back before it is too late and to behave himself! Hmph!]

"Get lost as far as you can!"

Naruto stood with his hands in his pockets, looking down at his defeated foes; he truly didn't know what it meant to have a real opponent.

Sasuke is going to Blacken, huh? It's time for the Grandmaster of Blackening to make an appearance.

In the Uchiha compound.

Sasuke suddenly sneezed out of nowhere.

"The person cursing me must be Naruto!"