With his Sharingan, Sasuke Uchiha was the first to spot Orochimaru's attack. In his panic, he used both hands to shove Naruto out of the way, but that split-second delay allowed Orochimaru's flying needle to cut a bloody line across his face.
"Hehehe, you two really are close!"
Seeing Sasuke choose to get hurt rather than risk Naruto's safety, Orochimaru seized the chance to tease him. But even as he spoke, his hands never stopped moving.
While Sasuke was occupied with the flying needle, Orochimaru used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside him. A sweeping kick sent Sasuke flying.
"Sasuke!"
Seeing Sasuke take the blow head-on and slam hard into a tree, Sakura immediately rushed toward him. Naruto, who had witnessed everything, felt his blood surge.
"You bastard! I'll kill you!"
As Naruto's rage mounted, a strange power surged from his dantian into his limbs. As it spread through him, he suddenly felt as though he possessed limitless strength. What he failed to notice was that his eyes had turned blood-red under its influence, just like those of the Nine-Tailed Fox that had once thrown Konoha into chaos.
Bolstered by this new power, Naruto charged straight at Orochimaru, shouting. In mere seconds, his speed more than doubled.
"Hehehe, how interesting. The Nine-Tails brat is still alive. Unfortunately, I have no interest in you."
The Nine-Tailed Fox's leaking power might have allowed Naruto to instantly defeat many powerful enemies he normally stood no chance against, but Orochimaru was not one of them.
As things stood, Orochimaru's strength was a bottomless abyss. Neither Naruto nor Sasuke could begin to gauge its depths.
Facing the enraged Naruto, Orochimaru casually sidestepped his attack, then drove a fist into his abdomen.
One punch from Orochimaru silenced the previously vigorous Naruto and left him unable