A Single Punch Shattered the Tailed Beast, and Konoha Still Wanted to Monitor Me?

Only a few memories remained—a warm, golden light that dispelled the endless darkness brought by the monster within him. He had never felt that warmth before. It wasn't his mother's embrace, nor his father's gaze.

Someone used their fists to tell him—"You thing inside me, I'm tougher than your father, you better stay put."

Gaara opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

But he remembered that figure.

"Naruto!"

Karin ran up from behind, pounced on Naruto, and offered him her arm.

"You need more Chakra! My blood can—it worked last time! Bite again! Quickly!"

Naruto shook his head.

"That's enough. You already saved me once. You can't smoke anymore."

His gaze swept over the dense, old teeth marks on Karin's arm.

Every tooth mark was evidence that the Grass Ninja had treated her like a disposable commodity. New wounds were layered on top of old ones; some had turned white, while others still had a pinkish tinge.

His eyes darkened for a moment. A chill rose from the depths of his eyes, and the temperature dropped several degrees.

It wasn't directed at Karin. It was directed at those who left marks on her arms.

Karin froze completely.

From childhood to adulthood, everyone treated her like a medical kit, a blood bank, a consumable. They'd bite her, use her up, and then discard her. No one cared about the scars on her arm. No one would say, "Enough is enough."

His eyes reddened, and tears streamed down his face, his trembling even more violent than when he was on the battlefield.

Naruto didn't turn around.

"Step back. Once your brother recovers, he'll take you back to Hidden Leaf. No one will dare bite you again."

Karin covered her mouth, squatted on the ground, and cried uncontrollably.

Sasuke walked up to Naruto, about to say something.

The Snake Mark on the back of his neck suddenly throbbed violently.

Black lines spread from his cervical spine to his cheeks at an astonishing speed, like ink spreading. At the same time, the Yang Release Mark on his shoulder emitted a blinding golden light, and the two forces clashed fiercely within his body.

Sasuke coughed up a mouthful of blood and knelt on one knee.

Naruto frowned and placed his hand on the back of Sasuke's neck.

Sage Body was mostly destroyed, but his senses remained. A thin, cold Chakra Threads coiled deep within his Sasuke spine, like a lurking snake.

"Orochimaru... actually left you something."

He channeled Yang Release energy into his palm, forcibly pressing the Snake Mark back deeper. It wasn't completely eliminated, but merely suppressed.

"It's under control for now. This thing is a time bomb; we need to find a way to completely eliminate it."

Sasuke gritted his teeth and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Big brother... I've caused you trouble again."

Naruto leaned against the tree trunk, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"What trouble did you cause when you wiped out those Hidden Sound?"

Sasuke was taken aback.

"Let's go. The old man's gone; the village's going to be in chaos for a while."

Sasuke carried Naruto on his back and continued walking forward.

This time, my steps were more steady than before.

The walls of Hidden Leaf appeared ahead.

They were not greeted by a medical team.

A large number of Anbu wearing animal masks blocked the village entrance. Not far away, wisps of smoke still rose from the ruins of the purple barrier.

The Anbu of the operatives, behind his mask, gleamed with extreme vigilance.

"The Third Hokage Hokage has died in battle. The village is under the highest level of martial law."

Their gazes fell on Naruto was unconscious on Sasuke's back.

"Immediately hand over Naruto Uzumaki, the A-level surveillance target."

Sasuke gripped his Kunai. Temari unfolded her Iron Fan, and an extremely cold ice blade condensed in her white palm.

Three people stood around Naruto, and the atmosphere turned icy.

Hidden Leaf Boundary. Dark cave.

Orochimaru, clutching the charred wound on his neck, leaned against the stone wall.

The wound cannot regenerate. The burning effect of Yang Release completely destroyed the cellular-level recovery mechanism.

Kabuto Yakushi one knee and revealed all the information he had gathered at the edge of the Forest of Death.

Sixth Gate. Gate of View. Ice Release. Absolutely Yang energy that counters Yin Chakra. Suppresses a fully-formed Tailed Beast by himself.

Orochimaru listened without showing any anger.

What erupted was an even more distorted thirst for knowledge and a sense of apprehension.

"To directly seize that body... is already a pipe dream."

His voice was hoarse, carrying the chilling quality characteristic of snakes.

"I won't do anything that leads to my death."

Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "That Sasuke— "

"The backup plan. Keep the Snake Mark for now." Orochimaru's lips curled into a smile. "Abandon all direct probing against Naruto. Activate the backup plan, the 'Konoha Crush Plan'."

He paused.

"Use all resources to investigate the weaknesses of 'Primordial Yang Life Energy.' That thing... always has imperfections."

Dou accepted the order and sealed the complete footage of the battle in a specially made scroll. A meaningful smile appeared on his lips.

"Naruto Uzumaki... it seems we need to reassess his priorities. Lord Orochimaru would be very interested."

He turned and disappeared into the dark passage.

Anbu surveillance station.

The three looked at each other in bewilderment.

The captain's hand was shaking, and the tip of his pen pierced the paper as he wrote the report.

"A special-grade incident... no, this goes beyond the special-grade category. He single-handedly suppressed a fully-formed Tailed Beast."

Another person added, "And he's still alive. Unlike the First, he didn't overdraw his life force."

The third person remained silent for a long time.

"The Third Hokage lord is no longer with us. To whom should this report be given?"

The monitoring station fell silent.

Outside the window, above the city wall at the entrance of Konoha, the silhouettes of the Anbu confronting Sasuke, Temari, and Haku were stretched into a taut line in the setting sun.

Accessory Perspective Completion: Kabuto Yakushi

Kabuto stood deep in the dark passage, adjusting his glasses.

He looked at the images in the scroll three times.

First, confirm the data. Second, confirm you haven't misread it. Third, confirm you're not hallucinating.

Gate of View. Sixth Gate. One punch shatters Tailed Beast- level Drilling Air Bullet.

He had seen Lord Orochimaru fight at full power, and he had also seen videos of the Third Hokage Hokage in his youth.

The thirteen-year-old Genin in front of them had already surpassed the two of them in terms of pure explosive power.

Dou's fingers unconsciously tapped the surface of the scroll.

What concerned him most was not the Sixth Gate, but that golden light.

Yang Release).

Lord Orochimaru's neck wound is now unable to regenerate. The cellular-level recovery mechanism has been completely destroyed. This is not an ordinary Chakra burn—it is some kind of deeper, more fundamental force that touches the very essence of life.

He quickly mentally analyzed seventeen possible countermeasures.

Fourteen options were rejected. The remaining three require substantial experimental data and cannot be implemented in the short term.

A smile still tugged at the corners of her lips.

Interesting.

Only opponents of this caliber are worth studying.

He carefully put away the scroll, turned, and headed towards the cave where Orochimaru was. His steps were unhurried, no different from usual.

But his fingers had already formed a hidden mark inside his sleeve.

The secret communication code of the Otogakure's undercover agents.

It's time to activate the backup Konoha Crush Plan.