Chapter 89: There's a Baby in the Belly
Kurama smugly rambled for nearly half an hour.
Shukaku, subjected to the relentless verbal assault, directly shut down.
"Tch, what a shrinking turtle!"
As Kurama's excitement faded and Shukaku began its vow of silence, it finally stopped its trash talk.
A wave of emptiness surged in its heart.
That was incredibly satisfying!
Kurama opened a bag of dog food, downed a bottle of iced cola, and let out two comfortable howls.
"Naruto, you did well this time. This old man is very satisfied."
"..."
Outside, Naruto was speechless.
Satisfied my foot.
Do you want an after-sex cigarette too?
This guy was purely just lonely for too long.
Suddenly meeting Shukaku made it particularly energetic.
Most importantly, the One-Tail was even more miserable than it was.
How does the saying go?
Without comparison, there is no harm.
And building one's happiness on the pain of others.
Kurama originally felt miserable itself, but it had now learned to find joy in hardship.
Aside from not being able to run around everywhere, it was actually quite nice.
There was food, drink, and entertainment.
The outside world couldn't even compare.
Naruto was wondering if he should let this fox out for some fresh air.
After all, Kurama was quite reliable.
By lending him Chakra, he had skipped straight past the partial Tailed Beast transformation stage.
But at the thought of it coming out and adding summoning chants to every move—especially later when the nine Tailed Beasts would fire Tailed Beast Balls together...
That would truly be like a Husky mixing into a wolf pack.
Forget it, let this guy stay in the Sealing Space.
Naruto switched to his identity as The Fool and returned to the Chunin Exams' arena.
At Konoha's East Gate, a giant three-headed snake was wreaking havoc.
Countless Ninjas were also popping up throughout the village.
In contrast, the number of people here at the very center was relatively small.
Naruto only saw Asuma, Guy, Shiranui Genma, and a few others, along with three Anbu acting as commentators outside the barrier.
He activated Kagura Minds Eye.
He immediately located Hinata.
At this moment, she was standing on the roof of the Hyuga Main House with a bow, providing long-range support fire that covered the entire Konoha.
It could be described as extremely brilliant.
Below her, a large group of Hyuga Clan Ninjas were dealing with the endless stream of enemies.
Because Hinata was drawing far too much aggro.
After all, having an arrow suddenly pop out while fighting is very terrifying.
Moreover, the power of these arrows was no less than exploding tags.
Precision targeted strikes.
A must-have for clearing out fodder.
But what these Sand and Sound Ninjas didn't know was that if they actually got close, the combination of Sage Mode, Gentle Fist, and Eight Extremes Fist would show them the meaning of terror.
Naruto felt an itch in his heart watching her.
Indeed, a valiant and heroic young girl has a special charm.
Further away, Iruka was leading the Ninja Academy students into the shelters, and Jiraiya's figure was approaching that giant three-headed snake.
After confirming there were no major issues, Naruto turned his gaze to the battlefield.
Orochimaru's Edo Tensei was not yet perfect.
The three Kage he summoned were not in their prime.
Otherwise, Senju Hashirama alone could have flattened the current Konoha.
It would have been even more impossible for Hiruzen Sarutobi to have the highlight moment of sealing three Kage-level fighters with a single Reaper Death Seal.
But to outsiders who didn't know the truth, it was indeed quite intimidating.
Just listen to it.
Hiruzen Sarutobi versus Senju Hashirama, Senju Tobirama, Rasa, and Orochimaru.
Three dead and one injured.
With such a record, who would dare say he wasn't strong?
Next should be several episodes worth of a soul-tugging battle.
Naruto prepared to find a spot to watch the show.
"Yo, you're here too? What a coincidence."
"..."
Uchiha Itachi looked unlucky.
He had only one thought regarding The Fool: to strike this guy into the Pure Land.
"Why don't you go up and help?"
Naruto pointed at the two people fighting.
One was a loli he had a life-and-death bond with.
The other was his old superior.
Uchiha Itachi remained silent.
Naruto stopped provoking him, lest he couldn't resist transforming into a Gundam and bringing down a forty-meter blade.
It had to be said that the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu was truly a bug.
Facing the soul-touching Reaper Death Seal, Orochimaru's originally calm expression turned to horror.
"Don't come over here!"
He feared nothing and had no scruples, but he was afraid of death.
Because he wanted eternal life.
He wanted to give Hiruzen Sarutobi a dignified death, but that didn't include going down with him.
"Orochimaru, come with me!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at him with determination. "Let me bury your ambition. You are the mistake I made, the one I failed to correct in time, and in the end, I will... eh?"
He was suddenly stunned.
How could there be two souls?
When the Shinigami's hand plunged into Orochimaru's belly, it actually discovered two souls.
What was going on?
In the previous battle, Orochimaru had turned into a loli.
Because of that, he knew that Living Corpse Reincarnation had been successfully developed.
This Ninjutsu was essentially body-snatching; how could it possibly allow the original soul to exist?
But no matter how confused he was, the two souls were a fact.
So which one was Orochimaru's?
The Reaper Death Seal was a life for a life.
Now Orochimaru effectively had two lives.
Furthermore, Hiruzen Sarutobi had neither the time nor the opportunity to perform a second Reaper Death Seal.
In the moment of his hesitation, Orochimaru seized the chance. The kusanagi sword leapt up with a speed far exceeding the original work, causing Enma to fail to catch up as it directly pierced Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart.
Orochimaru immediately pulled back to a distance.
He had been caught earlier because he didn't know the effect of the Reaper Death Seal, but now that he understood it, he wouldn't let him catch him even if he had to self-destruct.
After all, he could resurrect from a self-destruction, but if his soul was gone, it would truly be the end.
"Why... why are there two souls in your body? Won't it cause rejection?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi knew all chance was lost and death was imminent, but he was indeed very curious.
Orochimaru stroked his belly.
I didn't expect you to save my life.
He smiled and said, "Under normal circumstances, one body naturally wouldn't have two souls, unless there's a little baby in the belly."
"???"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was so shocked he forgot about the long sword pierced through his heart.
Was it possible that he was actually dreaming?
"???"
Enma was equally shocked, forgetting its guilt over not catching the long sword.
It suspected something was wrong with its ears.
"Teacher, I win this time."
Orochimaru licked the corner of his mouth and said, "Your Konoha will eventually be destroyed by me."
"Enough."
Accompanied by flying black feathers, Uchiha Itachi appeared.
He naturally wouldn't let Konoha be destroyed.
Orochimaru was slightly taken aback and said, "You're going to stop me?"
Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi breathed a sigh of relief; he knew Uchiha Itachi was an undercover agent.
As long as Sasuke remained in Konoha, he would not betray them.
With Uchiha Itachi's strength, Orochimaru should fail.
And he could also leave in peace.
Uchiha Itachi remained silent.
Naruto revealed himself at the right time.
He looked at Orochimaru, then at Uchiha Itachi, and also at the confused Hiruzen Sarutobi and Enma because of his arrival.
This scene seemed to be missing something.
Oh, the BGM.
Naruto's DNA was triggered.
He couldn't help but sing, "Ah, ah, ah, waiting once in a thousand years, waiting once... waiting once in a thousand years, I have no regrets..."
"???"
The three people and one monkey all looked toward him.
"Natural reaction! It's a natural reaction!"
Naruto gave a hollow laugh and smiled awkwardly.
It really was a reflex.
Blame it on the fact that he was too damn familiar with this song!
[Congratulations to the host for achieving the 'Third Wheel Across a Millennium' achievement, obtaining one normal card draw.]
"???"
Naruto's face was full of question marks.
Should I leave then?
Thanks to Big Boss Xiao Meng Lai Le for the tip. PS: I don't know why, but this was written with a strange sense of joy.