Art is an Explosion (Part Two)

"Who the hell are you?!"

Orochimaru's voice was hoarse, his arms hanging limp as his snake eyes locked on Naruto's Female Avatar.

"Me? Guess!" The Female Avatar gave Orochimaru a playful wink.

"You want to kill me? Do you have what it takes?"

Orochimaru's voice was cold.

"Haha, I don't want to kill you. That doesn't mean I can't!" the Female Avatar said seriously.

"Hahahaha!" Orochimaru burst into wild laughter. "You think I can't kill you now?"

"Ha! If you don't believe me, let me show you two fireworks displays first!" the Female Avatar replied.

Konoha had begun the third stage of its emergency plan. All surviving civilians, including the elderly, women, and children, had been evacuated into hiding. The Konoha Ninja in the village launched a full counterattack!

Jiraiya arrived in time, summoned a Great Toad, and crushed the Three-Headed Snake to death beneath it.

Broadly speaking, there were two main battlefields in Konoha.

One lay near Konoha's walls, where the Three-Headed Snake fought alongside Sunagakure Shinobi and Sound Ninja in a coordinated assault.

The other lay near Shukaku, where masses of Konoha Ninja were besieging him to stop him from destroying Konoha at will.

Just then, the Female Avatar formed a one-handed seal. She looked at Orochimaru, the corners of her mouth lifting, and cried, "Art is an Explosion!"

Boom!

Rumble!

Around the Three-Headed Snake and Jiraiya's Great Toad, Clay Spiders burst from the ground across hundreds of meters. They leaped at the unsuspecting Konoha Ninja, Sunagakure Shinobi, and Sound Ninja, then exploded violently!

Boom!

Rumble!

At the same time, the Konoha Ninja focused entirely on attacking Shukaku were caught in another surprise explosion!

The two enormous fireworks displays killed vast numbers of Konoha Ninja. Nearly all the invading Sunagakure Shinobi and Sound Ninja were blown to pieces. They earned Naruto a huge haul of System Points, which doubled under Shura Field Mode!

Hidden in the shadows, Naruto grinned so broadly that he nearly gave himself away.

Outside the Barrier, Kakashi and the others immediately realized that the red-haired Female Avatar inside it was the one who had injured them in the earlier explosion!

The Hokage Guard Corps and Anbu Ninja outside the Barrier also worked out that the Female Avatar was responsible for the two bombings in the village months earlier! She was that descendant of the Uzumaki Clan!

Damn it! Konoha just couldn't catch a break!

Not only had the Third Hokage died, but large numbers of Konoha Ninja had been killed or seriously wounded!

Their enemies now included not just Orochimaru and Sunagakure, but this mysterious, powerful female Ninja too!

Orochimaru watched the two distant explosions, his snake eyes narrowing sharply. He turned to the Female Avatar and blurted out, "Are you Deidara from Akatsuki?!"

Not long after Orochimaru defected from Akatsuki, Sasori of the Red Sands and Deidara had pursued him together. He knew Deidara's fighting style fairly well.

"Haha, guess!" the Female Avatar said with a smug smile. "Now do you think I can kill you?"

Orochimaru fell silent.

Whether or not the Female Avatar was Deidara, she had at least the same Kage Level strength!

Even if she could not kill him, she could cause him enormous trouble. Whether he could escape today was now a serious question!

Orochimaru stared at the Female Avatar for a long while before asking hoarsely, "What do you want?"

He understood that she would not have talked to him for so long unless she wanted something.

"Hand over Ryūchi Cave's Contract Scroll!"

The Female Avatar sounded intrigued.

That was right. Naruto had planned to obtain not only the Kusanagi Sword from Orochimaru, but Ryūchi Cave's Contract Scroll as well. He wanted contracts with both Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave!

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. Many people knew he could summon snakes, but they did not know the name Ryūchi Cave. Even his close aide, Yakushi Kabuto, had learned it only later.

The red-haired, masked Female Avatar's identity was a mystery!

Orochimaru did not agree at once. He glanced at the large number of Anbu Ninja standing ready outside the Barrier, then at Jiraiya sitting atop the Great Toad in the distance. He sighed inwardly.

He had no choice. With the situation against him, Orochimaru opened his mouth and spat out a scroll. To ensure his escape, he handed Ryūchi Cave's Contract Scroll to the Female Avatar.

Wary of a trick, the Female Avatar created a Shadow Clone to catch the Contract Scroll. The clone opened it and confirmed there was no trap.

To be safe, the Female Avatar bit her finger then and there, wrote her name on the Contract Scroll in blood, and left the bloody prints of all five fingers of her right hand.

Namikaze Menma. That was the name the Female Avatar had chosen for herself.

At once, she felt a connection form, exactly like the one Naruto's original body had felt when he made his contract with Mount Myōboku.

The Hand Seals for every Summoning Technique were the same. Otherwise, a young Jiraiya would never have accidentally reached Mount Myōboku after learning the summoning seals the Third Hokage had taught him.

Poof!

The Female Avatar used the Summoning Technique, and a giant python appeared beneath her feet, flicking its tongue with a hiss.

"Hahaha! Excellent, Orochimaru. You can get lost now!" the Female Avatar said, waving him away.

Orochimaru gave her a dark look, then fled swiftly under the protection of the Sound Four, who had released the Four Violet Flames Formation.

"I, Orochimaru, won't forget what happened today!"

With that parting threat, Orochimaru soon vanished.

The Hokage Guard Corps and Anbu Ninja split into two groups.

The Hokage Guard Corps pursued Orochimaru, but Spider Man of the Sound Four spat out a Spider Web and stopped them with ease.

The Anbu Ninja reached the rooftop, intent on killing the masked, red-haired Female Avatar.

But the Female Avatar waved at them with a grin. Then she and Naruto's original body vanished in an instant using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Soon, under Jiraiya's leadership, Shukaku was forced back into Gaara's body. Once Gaara was placed under the Five Elements Seal, he could no longer control his Chakra properly. He could only rage as he was locked away.

Without Naruto talking him around, Gaara remained as he had been, prone to murderous urges and fits of madness.

Although Konoha had driven off the invaders during the Konoha Crush Plan, its losses were devastating!

Shukaku had destroyed nearly half of Konoha. Many Ninja had died at his hands or the invaders', to say nothing of the ordinary villagers slaughtered.

Even Tenten, Choji, Ino, and Kiba Inuzuka of the Konoha 12 had been caught in the explosion in the Exam Venue stands. They survived, but were seriously injured.

Only Hinata had remained with Naruto's Shadow Clone at a remote Training Ground. She had not been hurt at all.

Sakura, Shikamaru, and Rock Lee, whom Kakashi had sent after Sasuke, survived too. So did Shino Aburame, who had secretly followed them, and Neji, who had entered the hospital earlier with injuries.

Most importantly, the Third Hokage was dead. Konoha was leaderless and teetering on the brink.

Naruto had gained the most, though no one knew it.

The Anbu Ninja watching him had seen him chase after Sasuke and stay with him. Little did they know it was merely Naruto's Shadow Clone. No one would suspect Naruto of anything.

Now he was at home, gazing excitedly at his System Points. His strength was certain to skyrocket next!

The only question was, what should he exchange them for?