"What did you say!?" Naruto's attitude instantly enraged the Raikage. Crackle! A cloak of lightning erupted around him.
Heavy Flowing Break!
He lunged straight at Naruto's face!
"So fast!" Naruto marveled, already preparing to meet the attack.
Whoosh!
But suddenly... sand blocked the Raikage's path.
It was Gaara's doing.
"Hmm?" The Raikage turned back furiously. "You Kazekage brat, you'd better explain yourself!"
The Raikage's guards, Darui and C, prepared to act!
The Kazekage's guards, Temari and Kankuro, likewise readied the Three-Star Fan and their puppets, bracing for battle!
Amid the hair-trigger tension, Gaara slowly stood. "He's my friend. Could you let me ask him something first?"
The Raikage said coldly, "Hmph. You'd better make it quick, or I'll deal with you too!"
"Gaara..." Naruto looked at Gaara with conflicted eyes. He hadn't told Orochimaru that his reason for taking such a roundabout approach wasn't just his wariness of Danzo's Kotoamatsukami. Someone he had once shared a bond with was also in this hall.
Burdened with the same fate, the lonely boy in the desert, the demon who loved only himself, had learned to love others...
"Phew." Gaara drew a deep breath, calming his emotions. When he first saw Naruto, he could barely believe his eyes. But he still trusted Naruto, believing he must have a compelling reason for doing this.
Gaara gazed at Naruto. "Naruto, I'll ask you just one thing. Are those two samurai still alive?"
Mifune, the samurai commander, tightened his grip on his sword slightly. His men's lives were his greatest concern.
Naruto met his gaze openly. "Of course. I wouldn't hurt innocent people..."
Gaara's tense lips relaxed into a faint smile. "Good. That's all I wanted to ask. You can do what you came to do. I believe you must have a reason that left you no other choice..."
"Thank you..."
Naruto clenched his hand. Words could no longer express how deeply moved he was.
The Raikage erupted in disbelief. "Kazekage, are you kidding me? Is that childish nonsense something a shinobi should say?!"
Gaara said firmly, "Then let it be childish. If you attack Naruto again, you'll have to go through me. I'll fight you to the end!"
The Raikage roared, "Fine! I'll kill you first, then the Nine-Tails!"
"These youngsters are unbearable..."
The Tsuchikage, Ōnoki of Both Scales, floated into the air. His aged eyes were dim, but still keen. Of all the tailed beasts in the shinobi world, only the Nine-Tails hasn't fallen into the Akatsuki's hands. Disposing of its jinchūriki here would thwart the Akatsuki's plot and weaken Konoha's fighting strength. Young man, blame yourself for taking such an ambiguous stance and giving me a legitimate reason to eliminate you here...
Bzzzt!
As the thought arose, a transparent white cube appeared between Ōnoki's palms, aimed at Naruto below.
Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!
Gaara cried out anxiously, "Naruto, look out!"
"Too late... no one can survive my Dust Release!"
Whoosh!
The beam of Dust Release, capable of reducing everything to molecules, shot diagonally downward.
Yet Naruto merely raised his left hand, and the beam of Dust Release vanished instantly...
Ōnoki jolted in shock. "What!?"
Akatsuchi exclaimed, "He neutralized the old man's Dust Release! How did he do that!?"
Kurotsuchi's lovely eyes lit up. "Incredible...!"
Naruto looked up and murmured, "The old Tsuchikage's Dust Release is as troublesome as ever..."
Mei Terumi, the Mizukage and the only one on the field who had yet to act, shifted her gaze. Naruto Uzumaki's actions and motives remain unclear. I can leave him alone for now. But Orochimaru was once a member of the Akatsuki-that's an indisputable fact. Whatever happens, I can't let him escape.
Swish!
As the thought arose, Mei Terumi formed hand seals. Her fiery red lips parted, and a highly corrosive liquid swept down toward Orochimaru.
Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!
Splash!
The corrosive liquid poured down, eating into the floor and raising fumes... dozens of gray snakes shielding Orochimaru dissolved and fell from his body, exposing his tattered clothes.
Orochimaru sighed. "The lava release kekkei genkai truly is troublesome..."
Mei Terumi's lovely eyes turned cold. "Chōjūrō!"
"Yes! He's one of the legendary Sannin... but I'll do my best!"
Though Chōjūrō sounded timid, his grip on his sword was steady. As he poured vast amounts of chakra into Hiramekarei, it grew enormous, and he swung with all his strength!
Hiramekarei, unleash!
Boom!
"Urgh..."
Hiramekarei struck Orochimaru squarely, sending him crashing through the wall and flying into the corridor.
Tap, tap, tap!
Mei Terumi swiftly pursued him.
When Orochimaru rose from the floor, he found that Mei Terumi had filled the collapsed wall with lava release. The corridor had become a completely sealed chamber!
Mei Terumi fixed him with an imposing gaze. "Mr. Orochimaru, rumor has it that you've conducted numerous dangerous experiments and colluded with the Akatsuki. Your existence is a threat to the shinobi world. Eliminating that threat is my sworn duty as a Kage!"
She completed her hand seals, and scorching acidic mist gushed from her small mouth.
Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique!
Hiss!
As the acidic mist grew denser, the air inside the sealed chamber became hazy.
Sizzle!
Orochimaru's skin began to show signs of melting.
His slit pupils gleamed. "Lava release and boil release-two kekkei genkai. Though you're still young, your potential surpasses even that of the previous Mizukage, Yagura. Would you be interested in becoming one of my test subjects?"
Mei Terumi said, "Stop joking and melt here quietly..."
"I'm not joking..."
Swish!
Orochimaru's neck suddenly stretched toward Mei Terumi in a grotesque motion.
"Hmm!?" Startled, Mei Terumi hurriedly retreated, but the sealed chamber was cramped, leaving little room to dodge... Orochimaru's neck coiled around her torso several times before his fangs sank into her neck!
Whoosh!
Orochimaru retracted his neck... "Ugh." Mei Terumi collapsed limply. "This is a cursed seal that restricts movement. But I've already raised the acidic mist's concentration to its maximum. Your body will melt!"
"Not necessarily..."
Covered in wounds, Orochimaru gave a wicked smile, opened his mouth wide, and spat out a fresh version of himself, who rose from a puddle of viscous slime.
Mei Terumi's gaze trembled. "How could you..."
"Your technique isn't powerful enough to kill me. Among the current Five Kage, the only thing that can truly threaten my life is the Tsuchikage Ōnoki's Dust Release..."
Whoosh! Naruto appeared out of thin air inside the sealed chamber and placed a hand on Orochimaru's shoulder. "It's time we got down to business, Orochimaru..."
Whoosh!
He took Orochimaru out of the sealed chamber.
"The Flying Thunder God Technique. He already left a mark on Danzo back then..." Mei Terumi's gaze sharpened. Her weakened state prevented her from controlling her chakra precisely, and the lava release sealing the wall crumbled.
"No, the acidic mist is going to spill into the meeting hall. I have to adjust its concentration..."
For the moment, the clash at the Five Kage Summit came to an end.
Naruto... was about to face Danzo in battle!