Chapter 69: Wood Release: Wood Dragon Jutsu!
"Such an enormous quantity of Chakra—it's already spiraled way beyond any controllable range, hasn't it?" Orochimaru observed, gazing at Naruto before him as if enjoying a thrilling spectacle unfolding for his entertainment.
In this heightened state, Naruto radiated an overwhelmingly powerful aura, his sharp claws slicing through the air and generating gusts of fierce, cutting wind with every motion.
Kabuto Yakushi's figure suddenly lunged toward Naruto with predatory speed, a razor-sharp Chakra scalpel materializing in his hand, glowing with deadly precision.
However, just as he closed in for the strike, he was hurled backward by a massive gust of wind whipped up by Naruto's movements, sending him tumbling.
Renji scooped up Sakura protectively and retreated to the forest on the far side of the Tenchi Bridge, distancing them from the escalating battlefield to ensure safety.
Given the dire turn of events, perhaps it was high time for another one of his clones to make an appearance and intervene.
Besides the versatile Wood Release techniques, what other method was best suited for subduing and controlling a rampaging Tailed Beast?
Naruto charged headlong toward Orochimaru, his body exploding with immense power that was startling in its raw intensity.
He moved with blinding rapidity, barreling straight at Orochimaru without hesitation.
In just a few flickering flashes, he had closed the gap and reached Orochimaru's side, unleashing a ferocious assault from an utterly bizarre and unpredictable angle.
His five sharp fingers converged into a piercing point, thrusting forward with overwhelming might, like a honed sword aimed to rend Orochimaru asunder.
Rip!
The air itself was sliced open by his slashing fingernails, leaving trails of disturbance.
The two combatants were moving so fast that only blurred afterimages lingered in their wake, locked in a tangled frenzy of battle.
The surrounding landscape was nearly obliterated by the ferocious clash between Naruto and Orochimaru, reduced to ruins.
Two figures—one shrouded in black shadows, the other in blazing red—were flung backward simultaneously by the force of their collision.
Orochimaru steadied himself atop a sturdy tree branch, peering down at Naruto with a mocking expression etched on his face. "Borrowing the Tailed Beast's power only gets you this far in terms of ability..."
"You're still leagues behind Sasuke—far inferior!" Orochimaru sneered.
Orochimaru knew exactly how to needle Naruto's sore spots, so he made sure to drop Sasuke's name into every other sentence, stoking the flames.
Orochimaru glanced down at his own hands, now scorched and blistered from contact with the Nine-Tails' corrosive Chakra.
Without hesitation, he suddenly gaped his mouth wide open.
A pair of pale hands forced their way out, prying open his maw as a completely renewed body slithered forth from Orochimaru's mouth, emerging fresh.
The new Orochimaru stood utterly unharmed, as if reborn from the ashes without a scratch.
The Tailed Beast Chakra erupted once more, surging wildly.
The immediate surroundings were flattened in an instant, leveled to the ground.
Kakashi, positioned beside Renji and watching the intense battle unfold, furrowed his brows deeply, a heavy weight settling in his heart.
Oh no—this was bad!
Naruto had spiraled completely out of control, lost to the rage.
Kakashi realized he lacked the means to rein Naruto in at this point.
And now, with the showdown between the four-tailed Naruto and Orochimaru raging on.
It had escalated far beyond anything they could safely join or influence.
Once this brutal fight concluded, only two grim outcomes seemed possible.
First, Naruto could face mortal danger, his body unable to endure the excessive strain of the Tailed Beast transformation any longer.
Second, in his mindless state, Naruto might turn his fury on them, attacking everyone around indiscriminately.
Neither possibility was one Kakashi wanted to witness or deal with.
Renji, for his part, was content to observe the spectacle from afar; it wasn't his moment to step in just yet.
And honestly, how could he recklessly charge into such a terrifying, high-stakes battle?
What if he ended up getting seriously injured in the crossfire?
It was far wiser to let the individual most equipped for handling this kind of chaos take the lead.
Sai, standing right beside Renji, harbored a hidden glimmer of expectation in his eyes, calculating silently.
It wouldn't be such a bad outcome if Uzumaki Naruto ended up perishing at Orochimaru's hands—perhaps even beneficial.
Deep within the massive pit that had formed.
Orochimaru's body writhed across the ground like a true serpent, sinuous and predatory.
Tens of thousands of small snakes erupted from Orochimaru's gaping mouth, surging toward the fully Tailed Beast-transformed Naruto in a writhing mass.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Each snake's maw spat forth a razor-sharp white gleam, long swords emerging one after another.
The long swords ejected from the snakes' mouths cleaved through the air at blinding speeds, producing a continuous, piercing whistling sound that filled the ears.
The dense swarm of snakes appeared poised to overwhelm and engulf Naruto completely.
"Roar!"
The four-tailed Tailed Beast Naruto flailed wildly in response, unleashing primal fury.
A massive shockwave burst forth from his hand, rippling outward with destructive force.
The entire snake swarm was obliterated in an instant by the overwhelming shockwave, scattered to nothing.
"Just a simple swing of his arm, and it generates such an enormous shockwave—unbelievable!" Kakashi remarked with a solemn expression, his voice grave.
He extended his hand out in front of him, bracing against the relentless gales sweeping through.
The sheer power of a Tailed Beast was extraordinarily formidable, a force of nature.
But its attack patterns were also relatively straightforward and singular, lacking complexity.
Tailed Beast Naruto clenched his five fingers into a tight fist and swung again toward Orochimaru with terrifying might.
The horrifying force behind it could instantly shred Orochimaru into bloody pieces if it connected.
Orochimaru let his arms dangle loosely, soft and flexible like whips, then took a swift step forward as his hands morphed into a writhing swarm of snakes, lashing out to bind Tailed Beast Naruto.
Tailed Beast Naruto's figure rocketed forward in a burst.
The four tails trailing behind him transformed into gigantic palms, pursuing Orochimaru's evasive form with mad intensity.
Their speed rivaled thunder, accompanied by the shrill sound of short swords slicing through the air repeatedly.
Countless black snake shadows flickered before Orochimaru's eyes, phantom-like, thrusting at Tailed Beast Naruto from a myriad of bizarre and unpredictable angles, blanketing his entire body in threats.
The four tails whipped out like powerful lashes, swinging with ferocious power and creating countless afterimages under the sunlight's glare.
The snake swarm was bisected cleanly, severed in half by the strikes.
The Chakra, brimming with malice and resembling molten volcanic magma, burned with scorching heat.
As Orochimaru's Hidden Shadow Many Snakes Hand approached, it was instantly incinerated to ashes upon contact.
Orochimaru regenerated a new life yet again, slithering forth from his own mouth in renewal.
Right at that moment, the fresh body underwent a startling metamorphosis—its lower half contorted into a massive snake tail, and Orochimaru hurtled toward Tailed Beast Naruto at lightning velocity.
In the very next second, Orochimaru's fist rocketed like a cannonball, smashing viciously into Tailed Beast Naruto's cheek with bone-crushing impact.
Just as Tailed Beast Naruto reeled in a daze from the heavy blow, a gigantic and razor-sharp claw abruptly manifested on his body's surface.
This colossal claw slashed mercilessly, cleaving Orochimaru in two, sending his upper body soaring away like a kite severed from its string.
Though Orochimaru's upper torso had been detached from his lower half, innumerable snakes poured out from the wound, rapidly intertwining and reconnecting the severed parts with eerie efficiency.
From a safe distance away.
Sakura turned her worried gaze toward Renji. "Will Naruto... be okay?"
Naruto's body could only handle up to three tails at maximum; now with a fourth tail emerging, would his physical form be able to withstand the overload without breaking?
At that precise moment, Renji had no spare time to address her concern properly.
Renji was preoccupied with his own pressing matters that demanded attention.
Countless spheres of Chakra began surging from Tailed Beast Naruto's body, gathering ominously.
These tiny Chakra orbs gradually coalesced into a deep purple sphere hovering above his head, pulsing with energy.
The sphere underwent several compressions, shrinking denser each time.
It condensed down to merely the size of a baby's fist, compact and lethal.
Yet, the surrounding ground fractured inch by inch, unable to bear the immense pressure emanating from it.
The look in Orochimaru's eyes grew a fraction more serious, acknowledging the threat.
Such incredible Chakra density packed into that form.
If he took a direct hit from this, death would be certain—no survival.
Orochimaru bit down on his finger, drawing blood.
"Summoning: Triple Rashomon!"
The Tailed Beast Ball hurtled forward and slammed into the Rashomon gates with cataclysmic force.
The devastating impact nearly blasted Kakashi and the others—hundreds of meters distant—off their feet from the shockwave alone.
Once the blinding intense light and billowing thick smoke finally cleared away.
The Triple Rashomon barriers on the ground had been annihilated in a flash, reduced to rubble.
Orochimaru lay sprawled on the earth, his body limp and seemingly lifeless.
Tailed Beast Naruto advanced step by deliberate step toward Orochimaru, but right then, an unbelievably sharp sword erupted forth suddenly.
This blade pierced straight through Tailed Beast Naruto's chest with pinpoint precision, the overwhelming force hurling his body backward in an instant.
Orochimaru had spat this elongated sword from his mouth, his neck extending infinitely like an endless coil, stretching without limit.
The sword, streaking like a bolt of lightning, elongated for a thousand meters, impaling Naruto solidly against the sheer rock wall.
"How utterly pathetic!" Kabuto Yakushi sneered from the sidelines, witnessing the scene unfold. "He doesn't even resemble a human anymore! All this just to save Sasuke, and he's reduced himself to nothing but an irrational, rampaging beast."
His venomous words struck like daggers, piercing deep into Sakura's heart; tears welled up rapidly in her eyes, and she bolted toward Tailed Beast Naruto in desperation.
"Wait! Sakura—stop!"
Kakashi swiftly intervened, halting her advance.
"Don't get anywhere near Naruto in this state!"
Lord Jiraiya had warned Kakashi long ago that when Naruto manifested four tails, he would lose all sense of friend versus foe, attacking anyone and everyone in his vicinity without discrimination.
So, under no circumstances should anyone approach him now!
Seeing Sakura impulsively dash toward Naruto, Kakashi instinctively glanced at Renji; he knew someone had to rein her in immediately, and that responsibility fell squarely on Renji.
Renji, grasping Kakashi's unspoken intent, promptly pulled Sakura back to safety, and gazing at the tears streaming endlessly down her face, he spoke softly. "Let me handle this, Sakura—stay here."
However, Sai clamped down on Renji's wrist with a vice-like grip, staring at him with ominous intensity. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Throwing your life away?"
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +5000!]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +5000!]
[Chakra (72470501 / 100000000)]
Right at that juncture, Naruto lashed out fiercely at Renji, his tail morphing into an incredibly sharp blade that pierced through Renji's shoulder at astonishing velocity.
"Renji!"
Sakura screamed in sheer horror, her voice breaking.
"Naruto, what are you doing? Stop this!"
"That's enough—please!"
Sakura sobbed, her pleas desperate and heartfelt.
"Don't do this anymore—come back to us!"
Renji gripped his shoulder where blood flowed continuously, a grimace of pain twisting his features, even as the wound began healing at a rapid pace.
His gaze swept past the now fully irrational Naruto, locking firmly onto Orochimaru in the far distance.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +1000!]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +1000!]
[Chakra (72,471,501 / 100,000,000)]
Orochimaru's lips curved upward slightly, his eyes brimming with profound, hidden meaning, as he emitted a low, sinister laugh that chilled the air. "I've had my fill of entertainment for today—let's reunite another time, shall we?"
With those parting words, Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi's figures vanished instantaneously into thin air, leaving no trace.
Naruto, however, grew even more frenzied in that moment, the number of tails behind him multiplying relentlessly, as if he could no longer contain or control the surging power.
But oddly, when one of his tails swept toward Renji, it hesitated for a brief instant, pausing mid-swing.
"Naruto."
Renji spoke up, his voice steady.
Please, don't screw this up right now—hold it together!
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"
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