Chapter 9: Blockbuster
Long, inky black hair. Golden, slit-like pupils. Lavender eye shadow that extended past his cheekbones. Pale skin, light yellow robes, and blue earrings that dangled just above the knot of rope at his waist.
There was no mistaking it.
Orochimaru—the harbinger of disaster—still carried himself with the same unsettling elegance.
His serpentine eyes locked onto Naruto, and for the first time, there was no trace of mockery in his expression. In the brief moment he had resided inside Anko's body, he had felt it—Naruto's power. It was no longer something he could scoff at.
"Naruto Uzumaki," he drawled. "The boy who once clumsily chased after Sasuke-kun… now looks the part of a shinobi. So tell me, you went through all this trouble to resurrect someone who betrayed you. Why?"
Naruto didn't waste time.
"I'll be direct, Orochimaru. I want power—real power. Enough to build a new shinobi world. And for that… I need your knowledge, your ninjutsu. You're essential."
Orochimaru's expression shifted. His eyes darkened with interest.
"I was expecting something easier. A favor, maybe. Like helping you meet your father, Namikaze Minato. But this..." A wicked grin spread across his face. "Your appetite has grown."
Naruto narrowed his eyes. "You're not interested, then?"
"My only goal," Orochimaru said smoothly, "is uncovering the truth behind all things. Villages, organizations… they're just chains. Akatsuki. Konoha. Even your ideal world would only bind me again."
"You wouldn't be bound," Naruto replied calmly. "Help me, and you'll have full freedom to pursue your research. So long as—"
"As long as I don't destroy the world?" Orochimaru finished with a smirk.
Naruto shrugged. "That's impossible to promise. I just ask that you stay within a line I can tolerate."
Orochimaru tilted his head, genuinely intrigued. "You've become… pragmatic. That's not something I expected to hear from you. What happened?"
"If you're that curious," Naruto said, a faint smile touching his lips, "we can talk more next time."
"Hmph. No need to get sentimental."
Konan, who had been quietly watching, stepped forward. "You need a place to recover, don't you, Orochimaru? If you're willing to cooperate with Naruto, Amegakure will provide you shelter—labs, resources, protection. Everything."
Orochimaru's smile widened… and then turned cold.
"Tempting. But no."
Konan's gaze sharpened, her voice turning icy. "That's unfortunate."
She glanced at Naruto. He wasn't looking at her. His head was slightly lowered, deep in thought.
Orochimaru, sensing an opportunity to twist the knife, continued, "Let me be honest, Naruto. I've studied the Uzumaki Clan thoroughly. That vitality… it's potent enough to suppress even tailed beast chakra. Your clan's sealing techniques rival the Senju. But despite all that… the Uchiha remain more alluring."
His obsession was clear.
Itachi had left a deep scar on Orochimaru's psyche, and now he was projecting that fixation onto Sasuke.
"You still haven't let Sasuke go, huh?" Naruto asked, lifting his head.
Orochimaru's voice dropped, reverent almost. "Sasuke is the perfect vessel. He holds the potential to surpass Itachi… even Uchiha Madara. I can't give up on him."
Naruto's expression turned cold.
"Then I guess I can't let you walk away."
"We'll see."
With a sudden twist of his feet, Orochimaru's legs unraveled into a mass of slithering white snakes. He shot toward the exit of the cave, body moving like liquid shadow.
But—
Whoosh!
Naruto appeared ahead of him, blocking the way. The Flying Thunder God mark shimmered beneath his feet.
Orochimaru halted.
"Flying Thunder God Technique…" he muttered. His mind raced. My arms are still sealed within the Reaper's stomach. I can't cast high-level ninjutsu. Judging from what I sensed in Anko, Naruto's physical ability already rivals that of an elite Jonin. And if he enters Sage Mode…
—I'll be in serious trouble.
"Ninja Art: Soft Physique Modification!"
Whoosh!
Mid-leap, Orochimaru's neck suddenly extended like a whip. He coiled around Naruto and bit down on his neck, fangs sinking in with surgical precision.
"I'll restrain him with the Curse Mark!"
Dark chakra surged.
Black lines erupted across Naruto's body, racing along his skin like ink.
But—
Snap!
Naruto caught Orochimaru's snake-like neck in a firm joint lock, clamping down hard with his elbow. He didn't flinch, didn't resist the bite.
"You injected chakra into me… and I can do the same."
He closed his eyes and meditated—Sage Mode.
Natural energy flowed in reverse—through Orochimaru's own chakra channel, straight into his body.
"Ghh—!!"
Orochimaru's eyes widened in agony. His body convulsed. "The... natural energy—it's flowing backward?! No... ughhhh!"
Naruto opened his eyes. Calm. Bright. Filled with nature's essence.
"So? What do you think of Myōboku's sage power compared to Ryūchi Cave's?"
Crack!
Orochimaru's jaw suddenly opened unnaturally wide. His skin peeled away, and from his gaping maw slithered out a fresh, untouched version of himself.
He landed nimbly and backed off several meters.
Zzzz...
Naruto glanced at the dried, discarded husk in his hands—the old skin.
"Orochimaru's body shedding technique… still creepy as hell."
Orochimaru dusted himself off. "Seems I won't be leaving so easily after all."
"Summoning Jutsu: Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes!"
He dropped to all fours.
Hundreds of snakes burst from his mouth. From their mouths, thousands of Kusanagi blades erupted, transforming into a torrent of gleaming white steel that surged toward the cave's interior.
"Konan-senpai, I'll leave Anko to you!" Naruto called as he shot backward toward the cave mouth.
Konan didn't hesitate. She scooped up Anko and disappeared into the forest.
Boom!
The clone Naruto had stationed outside the cave dispelled—its natural energy instantly returned to him.
Orange markings reappeared around Naruto's eyes. His pupils turned horizontal—Sage Mode, fully active.
Boom!
A new clone popped into mid-air beside him, and in one hand, Naruto formed a Rasengan… and twisted it.
The air buzzed.
Blades of wind spiraled out. The Rasenshuriken screamed in his hand, a roaring vortex of cutting chakra.
With a flick of his wrist, Naruto hurled it downward.
"Senpō: Fūton—Rasenshuriken!"
BOOOOM!!
A blinding storm of white chakra erupted, annihilating the snake-blade swarm and tearing apart the ground. The cave collapsed under the shockwave, stones flying in all directions.
Another boom.
From the rubble, something enormous slithered free—an eight-headed white serpent with glowing red eyes.
It towered above the forest, its scales rippling like molten silk.
From the center head, Orochimaru emerged once more, his upper body slick and sticky, rising from between the monster's jaws.
He laughed hoarsely.
"Hmph… sorry, Naruto. That was impressive, but it won't be enough. You'll have to do better than that to kill me!"
"That… is the Eight Branches Technique…" Naruto muttered, eyes locked on the monster.
Orochimaru's most terrifying trump card.
Since his return, Naruto hadn't reached out to Kurama once. The Nine-Tails refused to answer him.
I could summon the toads… but how would I explain all this?
From above, Konan hovered, wings spread wide.
"Do you want me to intervene?"
"No," Naruto said, eyes still on Orochimaru. "Even if we force him back, if we can't convince him… it's pointless."
Swish.
He reached up and unwrapped the bandage covering his left eye.
The air tensed.
Beneath it, his Rinnegan shimmered with an ethereal glow—lavender, with concentric rings radiating from the pupil.
The eye of the Sage of Six Paths.
Orochimaru's smirk faltered. His pupils contracted.
"That eye… could it be...?"
Naruto's lips curled into a cold smile.
"Let's make this more interesting."
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