Desperate Sasuke, the Mad God Steps Forward

That casually tossed question, even laced with a hint of disgust, was like an impossibly sharp scalpel, precisely cutting through the tangible, frozen killing intent.

"Tch."

"Say, old man."

"Do you... have bad breath?"

The terrifying aura, enough to make even jonin tremble in fear, actually froze for an instant.

That instant was enough!

"Cough... huff, huff..."

Sasuke and Sakura were like drowning people violently dragged up from the deep sea, finally able to breathe again.

Great gulps of air flooded their lungs, bringing a burning pain.

But this time, Sasuke did not kneel.

He endured the trembling from deep within his soul, bit down hard on his tongue, and used the intense pain to force himself to remain standing.

Cold sweat slid down his forehead drop by drop, splashing into the dirt.

His Two-Tomoe Sharingan was still spinning wildly. The illusion of mountains of corpses and seas of blood had faded from his vision, but the fear branded deep into his soul had not diminished in the slightest.

Just now... he had died.

Under that man's killing intent, he had truly experienced death once.

And that monster had merely stood there from beginning to end.

Was this... the world of the Shadow Level?

Sakura was in a far more miserable state. She sat collapsed on the ground, utterly drained, but her powerful will to survive kept her mind from going blank as it had before.

With a gaze full of lingering terror, fear, and shock, she stared fixedly at the figure in the straw hat before looking incredulously at the orange-clad back standing calmly with both hands in his pockets.

In that terror capable of freezing even one's soul, only Naruto Uzumaki could still turn around and mock his opponent.

Just where was this man's limit?

"Hehehe... what an interesting little brat."

That scalp-numbing, hoarse laughter rang out again. The killing intent receded like the tide, replaced by a deeper and more dangerous interest.

Orochimaru, wearing the straw hat, slowly raised his head.

Beneath the shadow of the hat, a pair of vertical golden snake eyes lingered on Naruto with interest before shifting toward Sasuke.

"I received yesterday's warning."

Orochimaru's voice was sticky and dangerous. "A brat who could sense my presence and dared to provoke me on his own... your courage is far more interesting than your strength. I originally only wanted Sasuke-kun's perfect vessel, but now it seems I have found an even finer experimental subject."

He extended his long tongue and licked his lips. The greed and fanaticism in his eyes, as though he were looking at rare experimental material, were completely undisguised.

Naruto sneered inwardly.

So the warning was useless... Rather than making him wary, it only stirred up an even stronger desire to possess me.

Fine. The first phase of the intimidation plan has failed, so we'll move directly to the second phase.

Since this old snake insists on taking the bait, I'll be the sweetest—and most poisonous—bait there is!

"Attack."

Orochimaru gave Team 7 no time to react. He issued a concise command to the two Grass ninja disguised beside him while rapidly forming hand seals!

"Ninja Art: Four Violet Flames Formation!"

Four purple pillars of light shot into the sky from the positions of Orochimaru and his subordinates, instantly linking into a translucent barrier that completely sealed off a hundred-meter radius!

It cut off sound, chakra fluctuations, and... all outside observation.

"This is bad! A barrier!"

Sakura cried out in alarm. She immediately recognized the purpose of this high-level ninjutsu. "He's going to deal with us here without letting anyone discover it!"

The instant the barrier was complete, the two Grass ninja transformed into afterimages, attacking Naruto from the left and right in a pincer movement!

Their objective was clear: hold back the strongest, Naruto, and create an opening for their master!

And Orochimaru's target had always been only one person.

"Your body, Sasuke-kun, I will take it!"

Before his words had even faded, Orochimaru slammed both hands onto the ground!

"Summoning Technique!"

"Boom—!"

The ground beneath Sasuke exploded, dirt flying everywhere!

A giant purple snake as thick as a water barrel burst from the earth. Its savage head blocked out the already sparse sunlight filtering through the forest, and it opened a blood-red maw large enough to swallow a cow. A foul gale hit them head-on as it bit ruthlessly down at Sasuke without hesitation!

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sakura let out a terrified scream.

This time, Sasuke was not controlled by fear!

"Don't even think about it!!"

The helplessness of the Uchiha massacre and the humiliation before him intertwined, transforming into a towering rage!

His mind screamed wildly, ordering his body to dodge, but his nerves had been ravaged by Shadow Level killing intent. His reaction was sluggish, and his legs still felt as heavy as lead!

"Move!!"

"Move already!!!"

Sasuke roared madly in his heart. As the massive jaws were about to swallow him, he yanked a kunai from his ninja pouch and, without the slightest hesitation, drove it brutally into his unresponsive thigh!

"Stab!"

The intense pain shot through his body like electricity, forcibly activating his numb nerves!

"AAARGH—!"

Sasuke roared, using the burst of strength brought by the pain to roll sharply backward and to the side, narrowly dodging the giant snake's fatal bite!

"Boom!"

The giant snake's head smashed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Nice one, Sasuke!"

In the distance, Naruto kicked one Grass ninja away and casually turned back to praise him before flashing aside to evade the other Grass ninja's tricky attack.

But the danger had not passed!

Having missed its strike, the giant snake swept its enormous tail toward him like a steel whip. It moved so fast that Sasuke, who had only just regained his footing, had no way to dodge!

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Sasuke formed hand seals with one hand, ignoring the injury in his leg as he poured all his chakra into a massive fireball and blasted it straight at the snake's tail!

"Boom!"

Flames erupted, scorching the snake's scales with a sizzling sound, but to such a massive summoned beast, it was no more than a scratch!

The enormous tail paused only slightly before continuing its sweep without losing momentum!

Was he going to die?

No!

He still could...

Sasuke's Sharingan spun madly, trying to find even the faintest chance of survival within that impossibly fast attack.

"Bang!!!"

At that critical moment, an orange streak shot in at a speed almost impossible for the naked eye to follow!

Naruto had somehow already escaped the entanglement of the two Grass ninja. He leaped high into the air, his long right leg carving a fierce, unstoppable arc through the sky!

There was no glow of chakra, no flashy ninjutsu effects—just a pure kick, condensed from the utmost physical power!

It slammed viciously into the giant snake's jaw!

"BOOM—!!!"

A thunderous explosion capable of rupturing eardrums erupted!

Terrifying Monster Strength burst forth completely at the instant of impact!

The giant summoned snake, dozens of meters long, its enormous head comparable to a small mountain, was kicked to pieces by that single blow!

Bones shattered, and flesh flew!

It did not even have time to cry out before its massive body lost all strength. Like a tattered sack with its bones removed, it was flung backward even faster than it had come, snapping several giant trees near the barrier before crashing heavily to the ground, completely motionless.

One kick!

Just one kick!

Instant kill!

Naruto slowly landed, slipping both hands back into his pockets as though he had merely kicked a small stone off the roadside.

Meanwhile, the two fairly capable Grass ninja were already sprawled on the ground nearby like broken trash, dead or alive unknown.

Silence.

An eerie silence fell over the barrier.

Sakura covered her mouth, her beautiful eyes wide open as her mind buzzed from being unable to process such a shocking sight.

Sasuke leaned on the kunai embedded in his leg, gasping for breath as he stared almost blankly at the back standing in front of him.

Shame, relief, shock, resentment... He had given everything he had, even resorting to self-harm just to struggle for survival, while Naruto had ended it all so effortlessly.

The thought, That mountain has grown taller again, had only just surfaced in his heart before being replaced by an even stronger wave of self-loathing.

You're still marveling at him? Sasuke Uchiha, you worthless fool! Other than standing there and watching, what else can you do?!

"Oh?"

A flicker of genuine surprise finally appeared in Orochimaru's golden snake eyes.

He did not care whether the summoned beast or his subordinates lived or died. What he cared about was the power Naruto had displayed.

"Pure taijutsu... can actually reach such a level? Besides the Nine-Tails' power, your body holds another secret? How interesting... far too interesting! You are even more perfect material than the Uchiha bloodline!"

"Material my ass."

Naruto finally turned around and shot Orochimaru a disgusted look.

"You freaky old pervert, don't look at me like I'm some idiot. It's disgusting, got it?"

But inwardly, he sneered.

Good. The fish has completely taken the bait. Your attention is fully focused on me now. That way... Sasuke won't be harassed by trash like you again.

"Brat... you're courting death!"

The repeated humiliation finally provoked genuine rage from Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin.

His hands flew through a series of seals!

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

A hurricane of extreme violence formed out of thin air, instantly becoming a tornado that swept through the forest!

Countless tiny wind blades, nearly impossible to see with the naked eye, swirled within it. Giant trees and rocks alike were shredded to pieces wherever it passed!

This was no longer a ninjutsu genin could withstand. Even ordinary jonin would be torn to pieces if caught in it!

The raging wind rushed toward him, making Naruto's orange jacket snap violently.

Yet instead of retreating, he advanced. He grabbed Sasuke and Sakura by the backs of their collars while they were still dazed and flung them behind him as though tossing out garbage.

"Get the hell out of here. Don't stand around getting in my way."

His domineering, unquestionable words rang clearly in their ears.

Sasuke and Sakura tumbled through the air before landing awkwardly near the distant edge of the barrier.

When they looked up again, they saw Naruto standing alone before that world-destroying storm.

He slowly rolled his neck, producing a crisp crack.

The blood and vitality in his body began surging at an unprecedented speed. Faint green vapor, nearly invisible, began to seep from the pores of his skin in wisps.

He grinned, revealing a mouthful of stark white teeth. That smile was wilder than the most savage beast in the forest!

"Today, I'm going to skin this shameless snake alive... and pull out every last tendon!"